Page 117 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m…” Maseo broke off, unable to finish the sentence.
Kitsuki paused, lifting his gaze to meet Maseo’s. “There is nothing to apologize for.”
“This is inappropriate. You’re trying to help me, and I’m?—”
“Responding to care you have never known,” Kitsuki finished for him. “There is no shame in that.”
Maseo’s good eye widened, surprise overriding his embarrassment. “You’re not offended?”
“Not at all.” Kitsuki resumed his application of the healing salve. “Your body recognizes what your mind perhaps does not yet understand. That is all.”
The cryptic statement hung between them as Kitsuki continued his work. He brushed against uninjured skin in a touch that lingered a moment too long to be clinical. Another moan escaped Maseo when Kitsuki’s fingers trailed along his side to secure the bandage, the sound halfway between pleasure and pain.
“Only your eye remains.” Kitsuki settled before him, their knees touching on the sun-warmed grass as he reached for the dressing covering the left side of Maseo’s face.
Maseo winced as it pulled away, revealing the devastating wound.
Kitsuki’s heart constricted at the sight, his dragon roaring with rage at the damage. “We will reach Tiora in time for Auslin to help,” Kitsuki said with fierce determination, dipping his fingers into the poultice once more. “His Divine heritage carries healing gifts that should hopefully be able to overcome the necromantic poison.”
“Even if he can’t, it was worth it.”
Maseo’s simple statement, offered without self-pity or regret, touched Kitsuki. It was the courage that had first drawn his dragon’s attention, the quiet strength that had proven itself worthy of a king’s regard. He dipped his fingers into the poultice, then hesitated, his hand hovering near Maseo’s face. “May I?”
Maseo nodded, a small smile touching his lips. “I trust you.”
Three simple words, yet they carried the weight of mountains. After a lifetime of betrayal and isolation, Maseo’s trust was a gift beyond measure. Kitsuki accepted it with the reverence it deserved, applying the healing salve with gentle touches.
Maseo’s good eye fluttered closed at the contact, his breath catching in his throat. The scent of his arousal intensified, mingling with the sharper notes of shame and embarrassment. But there was also a yearning so profound it seemed to emanate from his very soul.
Kitsuki’s dragon pushed forward with sudden urgency.Kiss him now. He needs our comfort.
The impulse almost overwhelmed Kitsuki. With Maseo’s face cradled in his hands, it would be so easy to close the distance between them, to taste what his dragon insisted was already theirs.
Kitsuki forced his focus back to the salve, though he felt the tremor in his own hands betraying his want that warred with duty.
“This is what makes you such a wonderful king,” Maseo said.
Kitsuki paused. “What do you mean?”
“The citizens of Valzerna are fortunate to have a monarch who cares so much,” Maseo continued, his remaining eye lifting to meet Kitsuki’s. “You’re so good at taking care of people.”
“I regret that war was necessary,” Kitsuki admitted, resuming his careful treatment. “So many lives were lost to Nasume’s senseless violence.”
“That’s his fault, not yours,” Maseo replied with quiet conviction. “You tried to prevent this conflict at every turn. When that failed, you led your people with honor and protected them as best you could.”
The absolution in Maseo’s words made Kitsuki’s dragon stir with satisfaction, no longer restless with possessive urgency but content in the moment.He is ours to protect. Ours to cherish. We will not let Nasume steal him from us.
Kitsuki acknowledged the truth of his dragon’s certainty while he continued. Since holding Maseo in his arms after the battle and feeling the rightness of that connection, he had stoppedfighting against what his dragon had always known. Maseo was theirs, and completing the trinity bond with Auslin would make them whole.
“There,” he said, securing a fresh bandage over the injury.
Maseo reached up, his fingers brushing against Kitsuki’s as he touched the edge of the dressing. “Thank you.”
Kitsuki didn’t move away. Instead, he rested his hand on Maseo’s shoulder. “You fought bravely. Valzerna owes you a debt that cannot be repaid.”
Maseo shook his head. “I did what anybody would have done.”
“No, what you did was extraordinary. Few would have had the courage to face Nasume as you did.”
