Page 113 of Journey to the Elderoak
The door opened and in walked Casimir, shirtless, his arm out of the sling. He stopped before her bed, looking at her with amusement.
“What are you doing in my room?” Ava asked.
“I must work all day, but I wanted to have breakfast with you.”
“But it’s so early,” she whined.
“Well, I’d rather snuggle with you in bed all morning. But unfortunately, I only have an hour before I’m busy and I want to spend time with you.”
“Snuggling sounds like a much better option.”
She threw off the covers and he stepped back, allowing her to walk to the bathroom. Luna had gone back to sleep and Titus crawled to where she lay, nuzzling into her fur.
“Let me get dressed.”
“It’s just us. You can come naked if you want,” he said.
She peeked her head out from the bathroom and looked at him. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”
He grinned.
“I’ll just grab my robe,” she said as she walked back into the bedroom.
The cotton nightdress she wore was short, stopping mid-thigh, and it was sleeveless, showing off her toned arms and shoulders. The dress left nothing to the imagination as it revealed her muscular thighs and curved ass. She caught him watching her intensely and she turned toward him.
“What?” she said.
“I like that thing you’re wearing,” he answered.
“You’ve seen me in a night dress before.”
He stayed still as he looked at her across the room. “Yes, but the circumstances were… different.”
“Right,” she said. He had seen her in a nightgown. The night Corvus attacked her. He’d also seen her naked, but she remembered he’d never looked at her body, always keeping his eyes at her face and above.
It was different now. Now they’d confessed their feelings and unleashed themselves on each other. She was about to turnaround and grab her robe hanging on the wall when his eyes dipped lower and caught on her thigh.
“Tell me the story of that,” he said, eyes full of concern.
It was a scar. A large one from her time imprisoned in Deidamia’s camp.
“Didn’t I already tell you?”
“It was briefly mentioned, but tell me now.”
She cleared her throat. “Andras…he jammed some type of jagged knife in there and…twisted and…I don’t know, he said something about it being something to remember him by and then I don’t remember the rest because I passed out.”
His eyes widened as fury crossed over his face and he approached. When he reached where she stood, he knelt before her and lifted her gown, revealing the entirety of the scar. He traced his fingers over it, and she sucked in a breath as he leaned in and placed a light kiss where it lay.
He rose and gripped her face. “He’s going to regret every single thing he did to you.”
She shivered at the violence in his voice. He kissed her on the forehead and walked out, leaving the door cracked for her to follow. She retrieved her robe and wrapped it around herself before following and taking her seat at the small dining table.
The table was laid out with eggs and bacon and a dozen fruit-filled pastries along with a bowl of fresh berries. Ava was starving, but before she could grab her plate, Casimir took it and piled it with food.
“I know you’re going to be too anxious to eat tonight, so make sure you eat enough now.”
She smiled at the reminder of him knowing her quirks and hang-ups. No one had ever noticed her interests or anxious tells. But he did. He noticed everything. And not because he was in charge of her training—like he had insisted several times before—but because he wanted to take care of her. He sether full plate before her, poured her a cup of tea, and handed it over.
