The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (26 page)

“Thank you but I think I have it from here
,
” I said looking down and he knew what I meant
,
so he gave me some privacy. Once I had finished sorting myself out and washing the trousers and underwear that had been given to me, I wrapped a towel around myself and went back out. Draven passed me some more sweat pants to put on and this time these were my own. He didn’t say a word as he passed me some water and more tablets as the others didn’t have
much chance at fulfilling their use
.

“Better?” He asked when I downed all the water to the last drop. I nodded before walking up to him and hugging him like he was a lifeline. He held me back and I felt him sigh.

“Did I say I was sorry?” I said again hoping this would work but when I looked up he didn’t look very mad at me.

“Yes you did and although it is nice, it is also unnecessary.” He went to kiss me and I turned my head. I had brushed my teeth like a woman possessed but I still d
idn’t want him kissing me just i
n
case.

“Although when you do that
,
it doesn’t help the forgiving process
,” h
e said teasing me but he knew why I did it. I held his hand and pulled him to the bed were he lifted me over the steps and into the bed like I was child that needed a boost. We snuggled down into bed and the lights changed into a gentle glow. I knew this meant he want to talk.

“Are you still in pain?” He was obsessed wh
ether or not I was still
hurting
,
bless him.

“Not a lot
,
” I lied.

“I wish I could take it away but unfortunately
,
I c
an
not heal what is not broken
.
” This made sense as it was nature so he kindly reminded me.

“But maybe I could still help
.
” He lifted back the covers and lifted my top exposing my bare stomach.

“Hot or
cold?” He asked showing me his hand.

“Umm
...
hot please
.
” He nodded and placed a very warm hand across my skin and pulled down my trousers exposing more of the area where I hurt. The heat helped more than I could have imagined. I relaxed back and let his warm tingling hand make my pain fade.

“Is this helping
?
” He asked after I was silent for a while.

“Oh yes, better than any painkiller
.
” I said smiling to prove just how efficient it had been.

“Good,” h
e said into my hair.

“You’re like a hot water bottle without having to wait for
the kettle to boil!” He let out
deep and rough
laugh
and this brought a smile to my pale face.

“What did you dream about?” His question caught me off guard and I stiffened up in his hold. I knew I couldn’t get away with passing it off as nothing but I really didn’t want him
worrying anymore about me. Well
there was one saving grace….at least I hadn’t dreamt of Lucius. When I didn’t answer he took my reaction for what it was and rested his lips at my ear.

“Tell me
,” h
e whispered but this made my stomach flutter and not from pain. His scent always did crazy things to my body and mind. I sighed and
looked up at the carved roof of
the bed. Then I explained my dream to him but leaving out the details was hard to do when he kept asking questions. I
could feel him grip the covers
and heard a ripping sound when I told him of when she stabbed me.

“Draven!
You promised you wouldn’t over
react
!
” He let go of the covers
and made the material heal it
self. When it was finished
knitting itself
back together
you couldn’t even tell where he had torn it. I looked round to face him and noticed he was deep in thought. I took a moment to study his features that were harder than I was used to. He
was
clearly
not happy that I was being made to witness these things but come on
,
it had been far worse when I was seven! And then
,
of course
,
I didn’t have my own delicious protector to wake up to, even if I had bled on his fancy bed.

“Were you frightened?” His voice was trying to stay neutral but it sound
ed
strained.

“Yes
,
but mostly
,
I just want
ed
someth
ing big and pointed
to whack her with! I wanted to help George
.
” This brought him back to
being
my Draven. He kissed my cheeks while he was still grinning to himself. It was probably the thought of me swinging a big sword l
ike Zena the warrior princess but k
nowing my luck I would get it so high above my head and then fall backwards with the weight.

“You would make a fierce enemy to have. I would not like to get on the wrong side of you
.
” Ok
, so
now he was most definitely teasing me

“You have been on the wrong side of me and you survived
.
”

“Barely
!
” He mouthed over my skin before kissing me and he held my face in his unbreakable hold so I couldn’t pull away. Of course after about three seconds I didn’t try to any longer. His hands moved around to my neck and down my back making my body cry out for more. Then my new situation must have
dawned on him as his hands relea
sed me.

“How long does this last for?”
He asked in a hoarse voice as he
was clearly desperate to have my body in more than an embrace.

“Um
m...
usually a week
.
” I said in a hopeless tone. How would I last the night let alone the week! Now this was painful.

“I could sleep at home if it would make things easier
.
” I did
n’t
really want to do this but I didn't want to make this harder on him. But this wasn't the right thing to say as he let out a low growl and his face turned stern.

“
Keira
!
Do you think I only get pleasure from your body?  It pains me to be away from you and this is not just down to what your body does to me.”
He scolded and I blushed but
for once I hoped it turned my skin a healthier colour.

“It is your mind and heart that captured me, your body is just the b
onus I get along with you
....and what a body it is
.
” His hands ran up m
y sides making me inhale deeply
. He wasn't the only
one
finding this excruciating
.

“But if you…” He cut me off with another kiss and I
was
starting to think this was his favourite way of shutting me up.

“Enough of this
talk of leaving me. You will NOT
!
Understand
?
” Ok
,
this was a clear order I was happy to comply with. I nodded
,
smiling at his domination over me and I kind of relished in it. Once he was happy that the idea was firmly out of my mind
,
he pulled me closer to him after asking me if I was comfortable. I let my head rest on his chest while he played with my hair. The feeling was making my lids heavy and I
yawned
making him chuckle. He made the lights die and I knew that the sound of his strong heart beat would soon have me fast asleep in the only place on earth I wanted to be. In his arms
....

Forever.

Chapter 12

A Long W
ait.

When I woke,
I saw the morning light filter through the curtain cracks. I moved s
lightly and then realised
Draven
and I
hadn’t moved all night from the p
osition we had fell asleep
in. I could tell he was still asleep because his breathing was steady and light.

I shifted slowly so I could see his face but he was looking the other way. His arm w
as still securely around me as if
he had tried to protect me from any more nightmares. I knew I needed to get up for obvious reasons but that didn’t mea
n I wanted to. I could have lain
there all day listening to his
calm
breathing.

I moved slowly trying to slide down under his hold but his arm weighed a ton
n
e. They were solid and pure muscle which rippled down
,
starting from his impressive shoulders. They would then meet the biggest one, his biceps. They looked bigger than my head. One blow from that bad boy and you wouldn’t be getting up again
,
that was for sure!

I managed to scoot out without waking him and I gently put my warm feet to the cold slate floor. Once my skin was used to the shock
,
I got up and straightened my top that had twisted. I looked back as I heard the bed shift but thankfully he had just rolled over t
o his side. He was still asleep, so
I tiptoed into the bathroom and after finishing my morning routine I walked further round into the room.

At the end was a massive
stone arch th
at was mirrored by a window
let
ting
the m
orning light flood the room. Through the arch was a raised bath that
had steps up into it like Draven’s bed did. I walked closer a
nd the bath was the biggest
I had ever seen.
Even bigger than Sophia’s, which
I had once been lucky enough t
o take a dip in. The cramps started
telling me to ease the pain by taking a swim in it
. I looked back at the door as though
I was about to do something naughty but to hell with it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. So
I
bent over to where I thought the water came out but there was nothing. No tap, no spout, no hole…. nothing.

I bent further in
, leaning
over the rim, realising it was made from a block of ca
r
ved stone. Then I had a thought. His shower was on a motion senior so maybe this one was too. So I waved my arm about
,
thinking how glad I was that I doi
ng th
is alone, as I felt like an
idiot
waving at a wall. But it worked. The st
one wall to the side started to move
and one block came out
half way
causing the
water
to quickly follow
. It poured into the stone
pool
below and I looked about for anything to add
to the water
. I noticed that there was a stone shelf hi
dden and there were
glass bottles
filled with luscious smells. I pulled the top of
f one and poured it in, then
bingo
,
the clear water started to create bubbles.

I slipped off my clothes and stepped in letting my hair down as I went. The temperature was perfect
and I sighed as the water devoured my skin. I dipped my head under fully and smiled as I came up for air. I pushed the drips of
f
my face and pushed my hair back. I stretched out and didn’t once come into contact with the sides as you could have fitted ten people in here easy. I was about to close
my eyes and rest my
head back when I noticed the window.