Page 75 of Wild Flame

The silence was probably only awkward to me, but eventually I turned partially around on the stool, clearing my throat. “Thank you . . . for today.”

He glanced up as I spoke.

“For bringing Helene here and taking me to see her before . . .” I trailed off. “I didn’t know how badly I needed to see a familiar face until I saw her standing there. And not just for that, but for including me in the meeting today. I know you didn’t have to do that.”

His eyes warmed. “You are welcome. And as for the meeting, as I told the others, you will be my wife and my queen, and I don’t want that to be in name only. I value your opinion.”

I felt my lips tip up as I turned and began brushing out the few tangles in my hair. I hadn’t yet fully removed my braids around him. He might see us as basically married, but I didn’t. Not yet anyway. I knew he had noticed, but he hadn’t said anything.

“You’re smiling, siren,” he noted unexpectedly.

I lowered the brush and turned to look at him again. “So?”

“It’s just that you smile so rarely that each one feels like an achievement. So you will allow me to gloat and take note of it when it happens, because I’ve earned it.”

“I smile all the time,” I protested, knowing even as I said it that it was not particularly true.

The quip I expected in response didn’t come. Instead, I was surprised at the intensity with which he stared back as he replied, “I’ve seen you smile plenty, but rarely are they genuine. And when they are, they are shy, fleeting things that come and go so quickly I wonder if they were there at all.” He paused. “When I took you to see that play, that was the first time you truly smiled for me. And since then, I have made it my mission to have you do so as often as possible.”

I swallowed hard, for some reason, almost finding myself near tears. “Why do you care so much if I smile?” I asked softly.

“Because you deserve to smile, siren. You deserve to live a life full of them.”

I opened and shut my mouth several times, not sure how to respond, or how to deal with the flood of conflicting emotions his words and the look in his dark eyes stirred in me.

Standing up, I walked over and climbed into the bed and rolled so my back was to him, pulling the covers over me.

You deserve to live a life full of them.The sting of tears threatened, and I couldn’t allow him to see.

“Good night, Malik.” By some miracle, I kept my voice from shaking.

There was a gentle pause. “Good night,isholet.”

Something woke me in the night, and I rolled over to find Malik sitting at the edge of the bed, his back to me, his head resting in his hands.

A small lamp on his bedside table cast the only light in the dim room as I sat up. “Malik,” I said softly, “what is it?”

He didn’t even lift his head from his hands. “It’s nothing. I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep.”

His tense shoulders and the way he kept rubbing at his eyes indicated it was most definitely not nothing.

I said as much, and he grimaced again.

“It’s my head,” he finally admitted, and his voice was tight with pain. “It happens every so often. Ever since the war ended . . .” He winced and trailed off. His hands raked through his hair. “It feels as if someone is taking a lance to the inside of my skull.”

“Come lie down,” I said, crawling out from under the covers and kneeling on the bed. “My sister deals with such pains from time to time, and I would often help her when they were particularly bad.”

At first, he gave me a skeptical look, but then seemed to decide it wasn’t worth arguing with me. I had him lie down on his back and let him rest his head in my lap. Once he was settled, I fed my fingers through his thick hair, pulling gently at the dark silky strands. A small thrill went through me at being able to touch him like this. “It is not fair for a man to have such beautiful hair,” I murmured after a while, trying to distract myself.

He chuckled, but the sound was strained. “Was that an actual compliment?” He stared up at me.

“A statement,” I corrected sternly, but my tone gave me away and he smiled.

“I’ll take what I can get,” he muttered.

“Hush now,” I said. “No talking. And close your eyes,” I demanded for good measure.

He smirked but then did as I ordered. I began massaging his scalp, then moved down, applying gentle pressure to the back of his neck and then up to his temples.

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