Page 53 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

He eased me away from his erection, set me on the floor so my legs hung off the edge, and then started scrubbing the rest of me down.

I was in too much shock to protest or take over.

His hands were strong but gentle as he slowly cleaned my skin, taking his time to massage my arms, legs, and feet as he went.

When he pulled me back into the bathing pool to work on my hair, my eyes were already closed, and I was relaxing against him. The way he massaged my scalp was blissful.

Ravv finally finished scrubbing me clean, and then held my body to his as I let myself snuggle against him for a few minutes. He was big, hard, and warm—the perfect combination.

And he held me like I mattered to him, which made me feel good, even if I knew I was going to have to retreat physically and emotionally from him as soon as we were up and dressed.

Eventually, I told him we needed to get out. He eased us both from the pool and dried me off before drying himself. I watched him closely, though I didn’t want to admit that I was curious to see if he would really treat me differently after our conversation.

I hadn’t gotten growled at in a while, which seemed like progress compared to the day before.

“I can get myself dressed,” I murmured to him, stepping away to put a little space between us.

He looked like he wanted to protest, but dipped his head in a nod.

Progress.

He dried himself and pulled on a pair of the tight shorts he wore as an undergarment, while I slipped into my own, and then the black dress I’d worn since the Timeless Sands. It was clean and fresh, when it hadn’t been the day before, so I assumed he had cleaned it.

That made my chest warm a bit.

“I’d like to have breakfast alone, so we can spend some time apart,” I told him, meeting his gaze steadily. “After I eat, you can show me around the city, if you’re interested?”

He grimaced but agreed, and I slipped out of the room alone.

Even after our conversation, I was surprised it had been that easy. I scratched Gleam’s head as I passed her, and she continued snoring without missing a beat.

As soon as I stepped inside the dining hall, I noticed a tiny blue-haired woman sitting in the corner of the room, looking ill. There were only a few other people inside, and she was so much smaller than them that I had to assume she was human.

She had a gigantic gray wolf sitting next to her with its side pressed against her legs. Though she had three plates of food in front of her, one of her hands was buried in the wolf’s fur while the other held her utensil.

After I stopped in the kitchen to ask for a plate of my own, I sat down across from the woman and flashed her a smile. “Hey. You’re human, right?”

Veil, she was as pale as I was.

She nodded, and I noticed her hair lift slightly in some kind of breeze. There was no wind in the dining hall, so I didn’t know where the breeze was coming from.

Maybe from her?

“I am too. I’m Laeli.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “I’m Kaelle.” She pronounced it kay-ell. “At least I’m not the only one.”

“There’s another one of us too—her name’s Nissa. She has plant magic, and she’s mated to Kier.”

Kaelle grimaced. “He’s terrifying.”

“Is your king not?”

She shuddered. “Vayme is worse.”

The poor girl looked absolutely terrified.

“Did he abduct you too? Ravv likes to tell me he rescued me, which is technically true, but I’m pretty sure he would’ve stolen me away even if I’d been happy in my old life.”

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