Page 83 of Desire

I knew he meant my mood, and I felt guilty for having lost control the day before.

“Is Garron okay?” I asked.

“He is,” he said. “A small lump on the back of his head. Something Edmund’s given him before to no lasting effect.”

“I want to try again.”

“Throwing him?” Brandle asked with a laugh. “Darian and Daemon will approve.”

“Of course not. I meant the spell we were working on. Will he be willing?”

“I think that’s a question you should ask him. Are you ready for your bath?”

I rolled off Brandle in answer and stood. The light cramping in my middle had me wrinkling my nose. Eloise’s monthlies passed without fanfare. Mine, while more agreeable than most, liked to make itself known.

After Brandle put on his shirt, he wrapped me in my cloak and carried me to the privy. When he returned me to the cottage, Darian and Daemon were already waiting inside.

Both bowed deeply to me.

“We will be serving as your attendants today, m’lady,” Daemon said.

He whisked me away from Brandle and stripped me of my shift before I could blink. I swatted his hand when he tried to untie the strings.

“No attendants,” I said.

Darian—the deviant man—untied the strings from behind me and kissed my shoulder.

“Darian, you can’t simply?—”

He swept me up and placed me in the cold water. I sputtered at the chill engulfing me.

“Heat it quickly, Princess,” he said.

I bared my teeth at him even as steam rose around me.

“She looks upset,” he said to his brother. “It’s our duty to bring a smile to her lips.”

“No, it isn’t,” I said, stealing the cloth from him and wetting it. “I can wash myself, thank you very much.”

Daemon knelt beside the tub and gave me a pleading look.

“We have been waiting for you for as long as any of us can remember, Lamb—the woman who will set us free. We’ve dreamed of the day that we would be able to care for you. Please don’t take this from us.”

His pleas softened my resistance. “Daemon, be reasonable. I have my monthlies. Let me wash in peace.”

“Exactly so! Do you think we haven’t prepared for this? Allow us to prove we know how to care for you at all times.”

“And we’ll bring you the peace you need so you can calmly study with Garron,” Darian added.

When I looked at him, his shirt was off and he held another washing cloth.

“Shall I start with your feet?”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I didn’t trustthe look in Darian’s eyes when he reached into the water and lifted my foot out.

“Look at these toes, Daemon,” he said, washing them. “They’re so adorable that I could eat them up.”

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