Page 48 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

I was still angry that she’d kissed another man.

Veil, I was furious about that.

But there was a small chance I had lost control of my jealousy, and overreacted.

“I’ll get the full story on her and Toveo,” Elwynne said.

I agreed, and we split up.

After a quick stop in the dining hall for a plate of food, Gleam and I headed back to the bedroom I’d been assigned. When I found the door locked, I opened it with my ice—Laeli hadn’t figured out how to secure it properly yet—and slipped inside, scratching Gleam behind the ears before leaving her to sleep in front of the door.

She wanted us to have privacy, and still needed to rest so she could recover from our journey. And no fae would ever hurt a bonded beast outside of a battlefield, so I knew she’d be safe.

Laeli was in the bed, buried beneath the blankets. Her hair was sprawled over half of the mattress, damp and tangled.

I set the plate down on the table beside the bed as I sat on the edge of the mattress, smoothing some of her hair away from her face.

She made a soft noise at the touch, and her eyes cracked open just a little bit.

Her lips curved upward when she saw me, and mine did the same.

Her happiness vanished as soon as it had appeared, and then she groaned and buried her face in the bed. “Go away.”

“I brought food.”

“Keep your damn food,” she mumbled into the blankets.

I slid further onto the mattress, sitting with my back to the wall as my side met hers.

“Unless you’re here to apologize for being such an asshole, save us both the trouble and just leave,” she added.

I set a hand on her back and slowly started to rub her skin.

She groaned again. “I hate you.”

But she didn’t ask me to stop, so it was progress.

“I may have lost my temper,” I said gruffly.

“Is the guy dead?”

“No.”

She paused, and I continued rubbing her back.

After a moment, she asked, “Is he bleeding? Or afraid for his life?”

I scowled. “No. I didn’t go to him.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly.

I stopped moving my hand, and she grumbled, “Rub my back or leave.”

A low chuckle escaped me as I turned, setting both my hands on her shoulders and pressing my thumbs into her muscles lightly.

Another groan escaped her—a louder one that sent blood rushing straight to my cock. If I wasn’t already hard just from the sight of her sprawled across a bed, veil knew the sound alone could give me an erection.

“I still hate you,” she mumbled. “And that wasn’t a good enough apology.”

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