Page 49 of Blade

“Whew.” Stepping back, he took my hand as he played cute again. “I wasn’t sure I had the strength to look away but I was going to offer.”

He’d have done a good job, but with his impulsiveness, trying might’ve given him a heart attack.

“I appreciate that.” But as confused as I was about a lot of things, Henley wasn’t one of them. “It’s not necessary, though.”

My worrying about what he wanted also wasn’t necessary because he chattered so much it wasn’t hard to understand what he was thinking.

“But you’re going to tell me when it does become necessary.” Picking up my clothes, he took my hand again and led me to the bathroom. “I know living in tight conditions can get annoying because someone else is always around.”

Because from what he’d chattered about over the past couple of days, his family lived a very nomadic lifestyle as well. That seemed to mean he was used to it but he was also cognizant of what could be frustrating to outsiders.

“I’m not sure when I will get to that point but I will let you know when we do.” If just thinking about letting him out of my sight was making my stomach churn, I didn’t think it would be anytime soon. “I want you to let me know when you need space too.”

So far we hadn’t run into that issue, though.

It was easy to read how he was feeling and he didn’t seem to mind our constant closeness. If he got frustrated, it was because food hadn’t turned out right or from not understanding what I’d been trying to say. That might change with me being able to talk but I couldn’t predict how.

This definitely hadn’t been how I thought I’d find my mate, so I was starting from scratch on some things.

Frowning, Henley set my clothes on the long counter that hadn’t been there when I was a child and turned on the water for the shower…another new addition.

Had it been remodeled when Ida had been alive?

What had she thought?

Was this all new or had it been done years ago?

Everything looked familiar but different and it was giving me the strangest feeling of being in some kind of alternate dimension. Taking a breath I hoped was subtle, I focused on Henley. Lean. Handsome. Innocent-looking even when he frowned.

“I’m honestly not sure when I’ll need space. Being away from…well…being alone for the past couple of months has actually been really nice, but I think that was more about escaping than being alone.” Sighing, his face scrunched up as he leaned against the counter. “It was actually peaceful for a while.”

Because one of his thousand relatives hadn’t been trying to kill him or threaten him

“Having you around has been nice, though.” Shrugging, he smiled, pushing away the negative thoughts. “That might be because you’re my magical mate.”

Did he actually understand that?

He seemed to accept it but he was oddly cavalier about the whole situation.

“No matter why, I’m glad I haven’t been driving you crazy and I’m very grateful for everything you did when you didn’t have to.” And probably shouldn’t have. “You and I are going to have a talk about self-preservation, though.”

Rolling his eyes, he huffed while I did my best to hide how cute his drama was. “I couldn’t leave you. Firstly, because youwouldn’t have let me. Secondly, I didn’t know what you were, so I had to take you home just in case. Thirdly, the ranger.”

He was not impressed with the overprotective man.

“I’ll accept the first one as valid but everything else is ridiculous, and you can’t include the ranger on that list because you wouldn’t have had a problem with him if you hadn’t taken me home.” Ignoring his grumbles, I reached into the shower and tested the water. “Time to close your eyes if you’re shy.”

I gave him a few seconds to decide what he was going to do before dropping the thin blanket Serena had given me.

He watched.

“I… You’re my mate.” He was getting more and more used to that word, but I had a feeling he needed time for the reality of it to sink in. “And you said you didn’t have an issue with me seeing you.”

That was not what I’d said.

“No.” Slowly stepping into the tub to stand under the spray, I made sure to leave the curtain open enough that he could still get peeks of me. “I said I’d like to be ogled by my mate. I’ve been waiting a while for you.”

Since I was a teenager, really.