Page 43 of Seized to Sacrifice
Annoyed at his high-handedness, she went back to the bed and sat down hard, forgetting about soreness between her legs and wincing.
‘How are you feeling?’ Nyx asked, his eyes travelling over her body.
She shrugged, but whatever he saw in her eyes made his lips tighten into a thin line.
He picked up a book up from table and sat in his chair.
She sighed, preparing herself for another long few hours of sitting, but instead he began to read aloud. She quickly realized that the subject matter was as uninteresting at the others, but the sound of his voice was rich and melodious.
She settled back in the bed, curling up with her head on the pillow and watched him, relaxing as she listened.
A little while later, there was a knock on the door. He answered it without opening it properly, as if he was protecting her from the outside. He came back into the room with a tray laden with food.
‘You could use a hearty meal.’
Elle’s stomach rumbled and she sat up eagerly. She hadn’t felt hungry since she’d been here, but she was today.
He poured her some wine and she tasted it, finding that she enjoyed it much more than she thought she was would, and finishing it in a few gulps. She frowned at the cup, and he laughed, pouring her another.
‘Be careful,’ he said. ‘You aren’t used to the wine here.’
He put the tray on her lap, and she tore the bread apart, dipping it in the thick stew. She ate her fill, trying to ignore the way he watched her, and pushed it aside when she was finished.
He took it away but left the wine and she drank the rest although she was feeling a little bit lightheaded.
She laid back in the bed again, her stomach sated.
‘Why are you so different from Rye and Thorne?’ she asked.
Nyx regarded her in silence for a moment. ‘Am I?’
‘You know you are,’ she said softly. ‘Your touches are kind. You let me stay in your bed. You read to me. You said you don't hate me. You won’t tell me why the others do, butwhy don’t you?’
Nyx went to the casement and looked outside. ‘I spent too long in the shadow of my hatred. I came out the other side and realized how futile it was. The others have not yet done the same.’
She frowned.
‘Do you think they will?’
‘I hope,’ he said quietly.
‘You were angry last night,’ she observed, ‘at me.’
‘No,’ he turned, ‘not at you. Rye … shouldn't have done what he did.’
She winced and he crossed the room in two strides, turning her chin up to look at him.
‘You know that he said those things to hurt you, don't you? They aren't true.’
Her eyes prickled.
‘You don't know that,’ she whispered.
He sat down on the bed in front of her.
‘I do know that,’ he said, caressing her cheek, ‘and I won't let him do it again.’
On impulse, she surged forward and put her lips on his. His eyes widened in surprise before they closed and he moved his mouth against hers, kissing her back. He pushed her down on the bed gently and she let him. One of his thighs between hers, they lay together in the bed, but after a few moments, he pulled back.
