Page 50 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“No, you didn’t. My rule is that you don’t let another man put his hands on you. What’s yours?”

“I’m going to regret this.” She pushed some hair out of her face, sagging against the pillow as I continued massaging her. “Fine. My rule is that you have to be nice to me. I’m tired of getting snarled at.”

I’d done a really terrible job of winning her over, hadn’t I?

“Nice isn’t measurable,” I said. “And I’m not practiced in it.”

“Then the deal is off.” She groaned at my touch.

“No. Come up with a way to measure it.” I worked one of the larger knots, and she lost her voice for a moment before finally straining,

“Fine. If I give you a glare or tell you to stop something, you stop. If you don’t stop, you’ve broken the boundary, and you give me as much space as I ask for.”

“As much as you ask for? No. One day of as much space as you want, and then I at least get the chance to grovel.”

I couldn’t believe I was bargaining for the chance to grovel.

But… maybe for her, I’d do it.

“Veil, you’re stubborn,” she grumbled.

“And you’re not?”

“Fine, fine. We’ve officially made rules. I won’t touch anyone else, and you’ll be nice to me, especially around water.”

“And we’ll share a bed every night,” I added.

“I don’t remember agreeing to that one.”

“You didn’t. That’s my rule.”

“Alright, if you’re making a rule about sharing a room, I need a rule that gives me space from you. I’m still trying to figure out who I am outside the cellar, so I need time apart, too,” she said.

I dug my fingers in harder, just to get another groan from her. “It’s not safe for you to have time alone here.”

“Gleam can stay with me, then,” she said. “Or Elwynne. Or anyone you want—I just need some space to make sure this is what I actually want.”

“I’ll be what you want,” I growled.

“It’s easy to say that, but harder to prove it. And so far, you haven’t proven it.” Her words were harsh, but deserved. “It’s going to take me time to move past your selfish reasoning for abducting me, even though you rescued me in the process.”

When she put it like that, I sounded like an absolute asshole. I supposed I deserved it, too.

“I didn’t intend to like you,” I admitted. “The goal was just to save myself. One of the elves’ leaders felt your magic through the earth, and sent me after you. If it was anyone but the Demon hunting me, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“I don’t even want to think about the Demon coming after us,” Laeli mumbled. “Why is he hunting you?”

“Vayme Vuuth believes someone from his kingdom sent the assassins after us. He’ll look into it further when he’s back.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” I said.

“You’re afraid of the Demon. How would you protect me from him?” she countered.

“I’d give myself to him before I’d let him touch you.”

She groaned at the pressure on her shoulders. “Veil, you’re good at this. Don’t tell me you learned on your last life partner.”

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