Page 166 of Upon Buried Embers
I don’t look away, don’t dare to, but when his eyes lock with mine, the weight on my neck disappears and tears gather in my eyes.
“It’s off, Elf,” he says gruffly, and I hear the others leaving.
“Truly?” My words tremble, and I don’t care to hide it.
He nods. “Truly.”
Rohan places the collar on the ground that I don’t care to look at, and he lifts his fingers to my throat, stroking there.
I suck in a breath when he makes contact, and my own hand lifts. Rohan clasps it in his, moving it up and down my fully exposed neck for the first time in years.
“I’m… free,” I breathe, tears spilling over.
“You have been since you met me,” he says gruffly.
I launch myself at him, and he freezes for a moment as I bury my face in his neck. But then his arms wrap around me, a rumble vibrating his chest.
“Thank you.”
He holds me tighter, burying his nose in my hair. “You don’t have to thank me.”
I look up at him. “Of course I do.” I feel my neck again, and I realize there are some scars there.
I follow the lines, brows furrowed. Rohan removes my hand and tilts my chin to the left with the other before placing his mouth against my neck.
He doesn’t kiss them, just rests his lips there.
“No, you don’t have to thank me,” he mumbles into my skin as my breathing picks up. “Just live.”
“Dragonbond, the bath is here,” someone calls, and I jump, startled at the sudden sound.
I climb off Rohan’s lap when he calls them in, and he eyes me as my cheeks heat.
The bath is placed in an area to the right, and he orders me into it. I do so, stripping out of my tunic. Rohan usually gives me privacy, always turning his back, so I don’t care to hide my body. So when I feel his hand against my back, I freeze.
His hand against my bare skin leaves fire in its wake, but when he touches a particular spot, I whimper in pain, leaning away from his touch. He drops his hand to my hip.
“Who hurt you like this, Elf?” he asks. “This is the second time I’ve seen bruises on your body that someone has put there.” He sucks in a deep breath. “Who caused you to spiral into a panic? Who caused you to call out to me like you would die if I didn’t get to you?”
His touch is soft, a slight tremble to his fingers, but his voice is stone cold. Harsh. Deadly.
“I—”
His grip tightens. “Do not lie to me. You know who hurt you last time, don’t you?”
I nod.
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“I’m scared.”
He spins me so suddenly, I stumble against him, my hands landing on his waist to steady myself.
“You’re scared?” I nod into his chest. “Of me?” he practically growls.
“No…” I say slowly. “Not anymore, but I am scared that you won’t like what I have to say. That…”
“I won’t do anything about it because they’re in my clan,” he summarizes.
