Page 74 of Firebird
“So much more, Malina. There will be forever.”
I laughed, finishing the suture without him even wincing. “You jest.”
“Not at all.”
I swallowed hard against his certainty. I’d only recently given in to this madness between us. The idea of forever felt a little terrifying.
I set the needle and thread aside and wrapped a clean bandage around his wound. When finished, I tidied his table and replaced his bed linen with another. I’d have to wash tomorrow. I blew out the oil lamp on his table and walked to my side, where my smaller bed was waiting for me.
“Malina,” he called to me.
I stood above the second oil lamp burning on the table where we usually ate meals, about to blow it out. Julian outstretched his arm.
“Come sleep with me.”
“Absolutely not. I just redressed your wound.”
“Just sleep,” he teased, his mouth quirking in that insanely attractive half smile.
“I could still jostle you.”
“Please, Malina.” He sighed. “I just want to lie beside you.”
I glanced through the sheer curtain toward the tent opening, wondering if that was wise. What if someone caught us? Then again, what if they did? They all thought I was his pleasure slave anyway, so who cared?
Julian wanted me beside him for comfort, and I couldn’t deny him. Not anymore.
I blew out the lamp and climbed in beside him. Instantly, he pulled my body close, my head lying in the crook of his shoulder and chest, his arm wrapped down my back. He exhaled a heavy sigh, then a grunt of satisfaction when I tucked my hands between our bodies against his side.
“There,” he whispered. “That’s perfect.”
There were a dozen sharp protests on the tip of my tongue, about how this was stupid considering we’d just reopened his wound. But I didn’t say anything at all. I snuggled closer.
“Good night, Malina,” he murmured against the crown of my head.
“Good night.”
I’d known that our tether had never broken, but I’d often kept the connection closed, fearful what I would feel if I opened it wide. Tapping into the line, our bodies warm and entwined, I opened our connection.
Stunned but not surprised, I exhaled deep relief at the overwhelmingaffection pouring into me from Julian. I let his potent emotions soothe me into a warm cocoon of sleep. I relaxed further into his embrace, grateful that for tonight I could let my worries go, that I was wrapped in the strong arms of Julian, my dragon. Nothing had ever felt more right.
XXI
JULIAN
I thought I was dreaming. Her slight weight was molded against my chest and my side, her drugging scent filling my nostrils. The strangest thought came to me as I stirred awake: this was how I wanted to die. With her in my arms, many years distant from now after a full life together.
Immediately afterward, reality and true fear set in. How was I going to keep her safe in Rome? There had been an ominous cloud hovering over me ever since I’d taken her from that battlefield in Gaul. The danger of losing her had become a constant obsessive thought.
That was why my dragon had been so wakeful as of late. He didn’t want to slumber beneath the man’s machinations. He wanted to strike and kill anyone who threatened her or us. Seeing as I needed to continue my charade as the compliant Conqueror for my uncle, that suddenly became a problem. The dragon didn’t want to pretend anymore. He wanted to drag her far away, where she’d be safe, and fuck the rest of the world. Let them fend for themselves.
As if divining my worries, Trajan stepped into the tent. I could see his scowl through the sheer curtain between the living quarters and the rest of the tent. He stopped right on the other side.
“Julian.”
“Enter.”
He stepped through the curtain holding a scroll, not even bothering to make a face about the woman sleeping in my arms. Since we’d known each other, I’d never had a woman sleep in my bed.
