Page 20 of Across the Sapphire Sea
Valeri sat on the bed next to him, picked up his hand and clasped it between his own. “I wanted you here, and here you are. The rest is up to you.”
“Why did you want me here?” Elias couldn’t read Valeri’s closed expression. Couldn’t peek beneath the veil.
Valeri opened his mouth but hesitated before admitting, “I was lonely.” He shrugged. “And I liked the way you looked at me. I like how you’re looking at me now. As if you’re trying to decipher a code and haven’t quite worked it out.”
Elias squeezed his palm. “Tell me what I should know then.”
Valeri blinked. “I don’t have all the answers. Especially not before breakfast. Aren’t you hungry?”
Letting the change of subject slide, Elias nodded. He was always hungry, and the thought of the figs and bread from last night made his mouth water. He allowed Valeri to pull him from the bed to his feet.
Standing before him, face to face, Elias remembered their kisses, the sting of teeth slicing his flesh, and the euphoria that followed. The desire to pick up where they’d left off simmered in the space between them.
“Not yet,” said Valeri, reading both appetites from his expression. “You need to eat.”
Elias’s stomach rumbled on cue. Right. Food first, then maybe a stream to wash in. He felt dirty there in the middle of Valeri’s finery with a day’s sweat and a night’s ride still lingering on his skin.
“Can I wash?”
“Of course. I should have offered earlier. I’ll set water to boil.” Valeri left for the main room.
Elias followed. An indoor scrub sounded even better than an icy stream. Afterward, he would wear the soft clothes Valeri had provided. He’d never had new clothes before. Always hand-me-downs, tattered upon receipt.
He ate his fill from the food left on the table and began wondering. “Valeri?” He tried the name for the second time, smooth on his tongue. He’d rejectedm’lordormaster,and Valeri had yet to correct him, which Elias thought of as a good sign.
Glancing over his shoulder from tending to the stove, Valeri either didn’t notice the lack of title or didn’t care. “Yes?”
“Do you eat food?”
Valeri’s gaze dropped to Elias’s neck. “You know what I eat.”
“So no food?”
“No food.” Valeri returned to his task, adding wood to the stove, then water to the pot above it.
It occurred to Elias the entire reason he was there might be solely for Valeri’s nourishment. The idea carried a trace of disappointment. “How often will you drink from me?”
“Why? Are you worried or eager?”
“Both,” Elias admitted, taking a huge fig into his mouth so he wouldn’t have to explain further.
Finished with his task, Valeri approached. Elias didn’t flinch when he reached out to trail a finger from ear to collarbone, leaving a path of oversensitive skin in its wake. Instead, he tilted his head to offer better access. Valeri’s hand lingered at his throat.
“You’re quite bold for someone so young. How old are you?”
Elias had to finish chewing and swallow before he could answer. “Nineteen.”
“You’ve had lovers before me?”
The insinuation was not lost on Elias. He’d wanted it from the start, but the confirmation they would soon be lovers coaxed a flutter from his stomach. “Yes.”
“Women?”
Elias gave a nod. “And men.”
Valeri’s lips curled at that. Elias snuck a peek at the twin daggers they revealed.
“I prefer men, myself,” said Valeri. “But to each their own.”
