Page 145 of Cruel Tides

The logic seemed sound enough to me, but Barren’s serious expression had me wondering if I’d managed to slur every word.

He scooped me up without warning, collecting me in his arm. “Wait, hey—Barren!” But he wasn’t listening, and I scrambled to turn off the shower before he left with the water still running. “Hey.” I thumped him on the shoulder, pouting. “I can walk, you know.”

But then I noticed the floor, slick with water. It was a wonder he hadn’t slipped. “You know, before you guys came along, I never once flooded a bathroom.”

Barren’s sullen expression only broke long enough to stifle a chuckle. “Towel,” he said, turning me to the rows of shelves.

“Oh, right,” I mumbled. But instead of only grabbing one, I grabbed two, holding them close as he carried us into his bedroom.

“Hey, Barren,” I whispered, leaning into his neck. “Most people dry off in the bathroom.”

“Too cramped,” he said, and I had to grab hold of his shoulders to keep myself steady as he shrugged.

“What’s it like, being a titan?” I asked, keeping my tone playful as he sat me down next to his bed. Wow, I was feeling surprisingly good, all things considered. Who knew a smack to the head could produce such a rush? I handed him a towel, which he took with a nod. But instead of unfolding it, he simply held it, his gaze fixated on the top of my head.

“I don’t know. What’s it like to be a fisherman?” he said, his tone unreadable.

My lips pursed. He really wanted to talk aboutfish gutsright now? Obviously, my sex appeal wasn’t working like it should.

I stared up at him a moment, half naked and dripping with water, waiting to see if his gaze would stray. If maybe he would look at the rest of me, considering how he’d admitted to liking the bikini top earlier.

But he couldn’t seem to draw his attention away from my injury, his eyes dark and haunted, as if his mistake underwater was still replaying in his mind.

Well, if he couldn’t break his focus away from my head, I’d break it for him. Twirling around, I bent forward, flipping my hair over so I could towel dry the ends. “Sometimes it’s interesting,” I said coyly. “I once caught a merman in my net.”

Behind me, the floorboards creaked.

There. Focus broken.

“Lucky merman,” Barren said, the deep rasp in his voice causing the corner of my lips to lift.

I stole a glance back, half-expecting him to have turned around to give me privacy, but no. He’d taken a step closer.

“Barren?” I straightened up, my face flushing. His eyes moved up my body, taking in every inch of me before finally meeting my gaze. “What are you doing?”

He remained still as a statue, his chiseled neck thickly corded with tension. “Watching you.”

I dropped the towel from my hair and wrapped it around me, half-heartedly drying my back. “Is that right?”

“Mmh,” he mumbled his usual grunt, not even bothering to pretend to care about toweling himself off. He breathed in heavily, his chest expanding. “Someone will have to watch you for the rest of the night.”

My flush crept down my neck.

“Really, now?” I ambled a step closer, perhaps a bit more unsteady than my usual gait. My fingers moved to the hem of my towel, letting it fall to the ground with a soft rustle.

A small, almost imperceptible smile played at the corner of Barren’s lips, a silent approval that set my pulse racing even faster. I moved to his towel, and he let it go without protest, watching my hands as I unfolded it. “And why’s that?” I asked, reaching up in an offer to dry his hair.

For a moment, I wasn’t sure if he would let me. But Barren’s neck bowed forward, his throat bobbing as he mumbled, “For signs of a concussion.”

“… Oh, right.” Was it wrong that I wasn’t entirely upset about possibly having a concussion?

I patted down his hair, surprised by how much water had soaked into the curls. After I finished, I waited for him to look back up at me before grinning. “Are you volunteering?”

“That depends,” he murmured. To my surprise, he took the towel from me, moving it aside to close the space between us.

Now I was really curious. I gazed up at him, my breath bated.

The disarray of the room was clearly not a concern, because the hand that came up under my chin wasn’t holding a towel. Barren tilted my chin up, much like I’d done to him. He swallowed, his jaw tensing before his eyes settled on my lips. “Has my voice ever called to you?”

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