Page 112 of The Umbra King

He was right, but donuts were soft. “Why did you bring food if I can’t have any?”

He reached into the basket and pulled out a bowl. “I brought you applesauce.”

“Applesauce?” It was thoughtful, and she knew that, but if she had to watch him eat a donut in front of her while she ate pulverized apples, she would lose it.

He chose that exact time to bite into the donut with a wide grin. “Delicious.”

She jumped at him and grabbed blindly for the donut, but he moved out of the way, spewing crumbs as he laughed. He shoved another bite into his mouth, but before he could hold it above his head again, she swiped it from his hand and tore into it with her teeth.

His chewing slowed as his face darkened at the sight of her ravaging the pastry. “Do you shove everything into your mouth with that much enthusiasm?”

She antagonized him as she chewed slowly, careful not to use her side with the missing tooth. “You know I do.”

“Careful, Miss Raven,” he warned.

She took a step back and shoved the rest of the donut in her mouth. “Or what?” Bits of food fell from her mouth in a very unappealing fashion.

Caius watched her every move as though chewing food was the sexiest thing alive. “You almost died today, and I’d rather not heal you only to break your back.”

Everything in her flushed hot, and his expression revealed the truth in his words. “The potions worked fast.” She stuck a finger in her mouth and slowly licked the sugary glaze from its tip.

He followed every flick of her tongue, and when he rubbed his thumb across his bottom lip, she knew she had him. The truth was, she needed to forget what had transpired today.

Yes, she’d held her own, but if Lauren and Caius hadn’t shown up when they did, the outcome would have been different.

Caius shook himself and turned from her. “Tempting me will only make your punishment worse when the time comes.”

Rory deflated. She could press him, but she was tired too, and if he wouldn’t fuck her stress away, then she would sleep it away. The cool air hit her still damp skin, and she shivered before walking to turn out the bathroom light.

Caius followed close behind. “Why are you shaking?”

She straightened the products in the shower, used her towel to wipe down the glass doors, and tossed it in the hamper before turning back to him. “I’m cold.”

He frowned and scanned her clinically. “Wait here.”

“No.” She trailed behind him and closed the bathroom door behind her. It freaked her out to leave doors open when she slept. Waking up to a person sized gaping hole in the wall was not her idea of a good time.

“You’re impossible,” he grunted and opened the dresser she never used. “Put these on.”

A bundle of fabric hit her in the chest, and upon inspection, they appeared to be a pair of his sweatpants and a t-shirt. “You own sweatpants?”

He tilted his head to look at the ceiling, muttering to himself. “Yes. Put them on. As much as I love seeing you in that scrap of silk,” he said, gesturing to her shift. “It’s not practical to sleep in all the time.”

“It was this or a set of flannels,” she pointed out. “It’s too hot in the staff quarters to sleepin flannels.”

Caius’ lips lifted into a bemused smile. “You know there are different styles of pajamas in town, don’t you?”

If she weren’t hopping on one leg to pull on the warm pants that smelled like him, she would have told him to go screw himself. “I used my credits on sleep shorts, but they’re no warmer than a shift.”

“You don’t have credits,” he replied, exasperated. “You can buy every set of pajamas in every size and color.”

The pants slipped from her hips because she was shaped like an ice pop stick, and she tugged them back up. “Stop doing that.”

Large hands grabbed the fabric around her waist and cinched it closed. “Hold this,” he instructed and disappeared into the bathroom, only to return with a ponytail holder. Grabbing the bunch of fabric from her, he secured it with the tie.

“They make these with drawstrings, you know?” she said, inspecting his work.

The shift slipped over her arms in one fell swoop before he pulled the shirt over her head. “I buy my clothes to fit.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “I don’t need ropes in my clothes; only my bedroom.”

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