Page 49 of The Discovered
“I’m running you a bath,” he murmured, still regarding me with concern.
I rose from the bed, and after a moment of hesitation, I allowed him to undress me. He removed my red jacket, laying it neatly on the bed. I lifted my arms as he pulled the sweater over my head. We paused to look at each other for a moment, and he fixed strands of my hair that had gone awry. He knelt to the ground to remove my snow boots, pulling them from my feet and placing them off to the side. Next, he lent me his arm as I pulled off my pants and leggings underneath.
The cold air formed goosebumps along my bare skin. Now in merely a pink bralette and panties, he scanned the length of my body. It was nothing like how he looked at me the previous night, but his eyes still held the same air of possession.
Tonight, he looked at me as though he cherished me—like I was something to be in awe of. “You’re shivering,” he said softly. He trailed his fingers along my arm until they encircled my wrist, then turned and led me to the bath.
When he let go, my body felt the absence of his touch. He stooped down to feel the temperature of the water in this grand, white bathtub, and then turned the faucets off. I slipped out of my panties and bra, casting them to the tile floor. When he turned to look at me all I could see in his features were devotion. A lump formed in my throat.
“You’re so beautiful, Áine,” he said.
He crossed the bathroom and grabbed a hair tie from the vanity. When he returned, he stood behind me and kissed my neck softly, then carefully swept my hair into a bun high on my head. Grabbing my hand, he steadied me as I stepped into the warm water, which was brimming with bubbles and smelled subtly of perfume.
Something about the way Daelon was taking care of me in such an intimate way, with that undeniable look of adoration, nearly brought me to tears again. I should’ve felt exposed, as I lay naked before him and he knelt beside the tub fully clothed, but all I felt was security, warmth, and gratitude.
He brushed a wayward strand of hair behind my ear. “Would you like to be alone?”
“No,” I said quietly, leaning my head back against the tub, tilted to hold his gaze.
He nodded, stroking the side of my face. He looked like he was mentally working through a puzzle.
“What is it?”
“I just—don’t understand you sometimes,” he said. “You say you want to avenge your mothers. You want to stop people from inflicting harm. You heal wounded animals. Yet you stopped. You couldn’t kill that murderer.”
I inhaled deeply, drawing my brows together. “There is no contradiction. I hate violence. But it seems I must use violence to stop violence.”
He was silent for a moment. “I see. I’ve also had to do a lot of things in my life that I hated for the greater good. A lot of terrible things.”
He seemed to retreat to a dark corner of his mind. I reached out a soapy hand to his face to bring him back, and he leaned into my touch. He grabbed it and kissed my knuckles. “I know that I’m here for something greater than myself,” I said. “Even without knowing exactly what it is, I’m terrified that I’ll fail. It feels like people are counting on me—like without me, it all falls apart.”
“No. I will make sure that you don’t fail, Áine. I will help you every step of the way.” He sighed. “I’m here for a reason, too. It’s how I found you. I know my purpose is to protect and guide you by any means necessary.”
I swallowed, suddenly feeling brave. “When will your past no longer be off-limits? When will you tell me everything you know? Everything Ineedto know, not just what you want to tell me?”
Daelon’s eyes hardened, jaw tense. “When I’ve done all I could do to prepare you—when we run out of time.”
I flashed back to the spell Daelon did in the clearing, when he channeled something dark, and my body rejected it.A spell for more time.
“When will that be?” I asked. My stomach churned. I was terrified that whatever was coming for us would steal Daelon away from me.
“I don’t want to think about it, Áine,” he pleaded.
He was scared. I closed my eyes in defeat, relishing the soothing warmth from the water. I breathed in the aromatic floral and fruity notes of the bubble bath. The stress from this long, arduous day began to fade away. I hadn’t even had a chance to think about last night, when Daelon and I had finally given in to our desires.
I became more aware of how exposed I was as I recalled those moments—the feeling of his hands on me, his hips moving against mine, the way he made me want to obey his every command and submit all of myself to him… I still wasn’t entirely convinced he hadn’t spelled me somehow. What else could explain all that I felt for him? Even as he hid so much.
“What are you thinking about?”
I knew my cheeks flushed bright red. I kept my eyes closed, nearly flinching again as his fingers grazed my cheek.
“Ah. I see,” he said, humor leaking into his voice.
I opened my eyes to squint at him, unable to stop the smile tugging at my lips. “Shut up,” I muttered, closing them again.
As I lay submerged in the water, I heard rustling—Daelon’s clothes dropping to the floor. My breath hitched, and I waited silently until I felt the water rise, nearly to my chin.
This time when I opened my eyes, I was met with the breathtaking sight of a naked Daelon sitting opposite me. His legs touched mine under the water. He cocked his head, motioning with his fingers for me to come to him. I shook my head, challenging him. He lifted a brow, his eyes shifting into something more primal.
