Page 33 of Her Warrior Fae

“I know it’s rude to stare,” I said carefully. “I’m just trying to find pieces to put together.”

“I understand.” He offered me a kind smile before he kept talking about his training program.

It was the one thing that got Dex talking—he was a man of few words otherwise, but fighting was what he understood, it was what defined him.

I didn’t want to tell him that with him, I remembered small things. It gave me hope that there was a way out of this eternal maze, but I didn’t want to rely on it. What if these small, almost insignificant flashbacks were all I would ever get?

I didn’t want to get Dex’s hopes up for nothing. He tried so hard to show me things, to talk to me, to make sure I was okay. It was important to him to keep me safe, and I didn’t want to give him hope only for it to be crushed again. For now, I would keep it to myself.

“I should go,” Dex said when his tea was finished.

We both stood, and I walked around the table, getting closer to him. He watched me as I neared him.

“Ellie will be here, soon. She wants to show her son to me today.”

“You’ll love the little prince,” Dex said with a grin. “He’s the kind of baby you can’t help but love and revere at the same time.”

I smiled and nodded. I didn’t know if it would change things. Ellie seemed to hope that showing me things would jar my memory, but it didn’t. Dex brought back more for me.

“Thank you for coming,” I said. “I’ve come to enjoy our little visits.”

“Me too,” Dex said warmly, his eyes filled with affection.

Something about Dex drew me to him. He was magnetic, intoxicating. I might not have known who I was, but I knew what attraction felt like.

I took a small step closer to Dex. I breathed his scent and closed my eyes. It was so familiar, and yet so foreign.

Dex studied my face. He lifted his hand as if to touch me, and my skin tingled, craving it. He hesitated, but when I didn’t pull away, he brushed his fingertips against my cheek. I tilted my head, leaning into his touch, and he cupped my cheek. His touch was as rough and calloused as it was warm and gentle.

His eyes locked on mine before they slid to my mouth, and I desperately wanted him to kiss me.

He swayed on his feet, leaning forward, but he caught himself inches from me.

“I’ll come to check in on you later,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“I look forward to it,” I breathed.

Dex glanced at my lips one more time before he took a step back, tearing himself away from me.

I was disappointed when he walked away. I wanted him to stay.

I touched my fingers to my lips.

I’d wanted him to kiss me. I’d wanted to feel his lips against mine, the brush of his stubble against my chin…

Why did I know what it felt like to kiss Dex?

10

DEX

“What are you doing?” a voice asked behind me when I carefully shut Nylah’s door, and I froze.

“Dex?” Ellie demanded, and I squeezed my eyes shut before I turned to face her.

She stood with Deron on her hip, her face angry.

She’d caught me in the act.

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