A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows

I traced the starlight with my fingers, connecting them along my skin as if they were freckles. My mother had done that once upon a time to the marks on my face. The thought made me both angry and sad.

“What are you thinking about?”

Water splashed out of the tub as I screamed, and Evren chuckled as he raised his hands in surrender.

“Hell, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He was lying on the bed with his back against the wooden headboard, and he looked so damn at ease as he watched me.

“When did you get in here?” I covered my breasts with my arm causing him to grin. “Did you use your magic to do so?”

“No.” He wiggled his black-stained fingers in the air. “I used these hands to open that door while you were apparently having a moment under the water. It’s not my fault you didn’t check your surroundings.”

“Get out.”

“I’d much rather watch.” He smirked and lifted one of his arms behind his head. “The view is perfect from here.”

I shifted in the tub, giving him my back, and heard his deep inhale.

“Gods.” He stood from the bed, and I watched as he made his way to me.

“What are you doing?” I tightened my arm on my breasts and pressed my thighs together. He was still wearing his black trousers, but his boots had been removed along with the top buttons of his shirt.

“Your back.” He touched my shoulder, and I tensed. “It looks awful.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He dropped to his knees beside the tub before his fingers skimmed along my shoulder. “You are breathtaking, but you’re bruised. If I could go back and kill him again, I would.”

“You mean my mark is breathtaking?” I asked as I scooped some water in my hands and let it trail over my knees.

“No, princess. I mean you. With or without those marks, you are the most exquisite thing I have ever seen.”

I turned to look at him, and he was staring at me like he meant every word that had just passed through his lips.

“Please let me take care of you.” He didn’t wait for my answer. He unbuttoned his shirt sleeves before slowly pushing them up his arms. Then he grabbed the soap and poured it out into his hands. “I need to take care of you after I let this happen.”

He dipped his hands into the water, gathering moisture, before rubbing his hands together.

“You didn’t let this happen.”

“I did.” He stared up at me just as his hands met my shoulder. “I am more responsible for these bruises on your body than you know.”

He wasn’t to blame, but if he needed this to help clear his conscience, then I would give it to him.

I lifted my hair off my back as his hands roamed over me and gently washed my skin. It felt divine as he touched me with so much care and precision. He poured more soap into his hands before he raised them to my hair and scrubbed the soap throughout.

I bit down on my lip as he met the spot where my hair had been pulled from my scalp, but I tried my hardest not to let him see the pain.

“Have you washed many women before?” I chuckled softly as he moved to the ends of my strands and worked the soap through.

“No. You’d be my first.” He smiled. “I have never wanted to care for someone like this before you.”

My chest ached, and I tried not to read into what he was saying.

“You take your duty seriously, Captain.”

He met my gaze as he let my hair fall against my back, and the urge to lean backward and kiss him was overwhelming. “I do.” He nodded, and his hand slid behind my neck and back into my hair.

He dipped me backward into the water, and I blinked up at him as he cupped water in his hand and let it cascade through my hair. “But what I feel for you has nothing to do with my duty, princess.”