Page 161 of Powerless

So that’s just what I’ll do. I won’t speak, I won’t think—I’ll feel. I’ll drown out the insistent thoughts and simplyfeel.

I turn, slowly, and meet his gaze. His breath catches, his gaze softens.

He didn’t think I would stay.

He expects everyone to leave him.

And with that heartbreaking thought in mind, I don’t hesitate as I lift the covers of his bed. He tracks the movement, watches my hands as they fold back the blankets, my body as I fold beneath them.

I don’t think he’s breathing, and my head is spinning so much that I don’t think I am either. I sink into his mattress, his soft pillows, the scent that covers them. Him. I’m surrounded byhim. I curl onto my side, heart racing as I feel the bed shift beside me.

And then I’mactuallysurrounded by him. His chest brushes against my back in question, silently asking if I want him closer or farther. I swallow before leaning back, ever so slightly, in answer.

I want you closer.

He doesn’t hesitate. His arm is wrapped around my middle and tugging me against him before I have a chance to catch my breath. I’m pressed to his strong body, tucked between the covers and him. I feel secure and safe and more soothed in his arms than I have in years.

Ifeel.

Something about this, about us, seems different. Intentional. We bothwantedthis. We weren’t forced together because of the cold or because of an injury. I could have walked away, but I chose this. No,wechose this. We chose each other.

And that terrifies me.

His thumb is drawing idle circles on my lower stomach and my tank is doing little to stop the heat of his fingers from seeping through. My eyes drift closed, somehow feeling tired yet too terribly aware of his body pressed against mine to let myself sleep.

He rests his head in the crook of my neck, his breath tickling my skin as he murmurs, “Thank you.”

Those two words startle me enough to make me twist my head to look at him. I wonder how rare it is for the prince, the future Enforcer, to say those words so earnestly.

His face is close to mine, and he studies it thoughtfully, thoroughly, as if he has all the time in the world to do so. He tilts his head to the side, gently tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. My breath hitches when his fingers trail down the side of my neck, and he smiles, soft and sweet and satisfied. So very satisfied in this moment.

A smile he’s designed just for me.

“Does it shock you? That I would thank you?” he asks, voice low and quiet.

I study the planes of his face, the perfection that is him. “It shouldn’t. Not anymore.” I swallow as the truth of those words sink in. I’ve gotten to know him, gotten to see the man behind the many masks who is more than what his father has molded him into.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been studying him when I realize how heavy my eyelids have become. I’m blinking, trying my best to escape the sleep that is desperately clawing at me, so I can continue memorizing his face a little longer.

He’s doing the same, taking in every inch of me with a look of wonder. I blink and my eyelids threaten not to open again, sleep daring to drag me away from this moment.

His lips are suddenly at my ear and that is all I need to have my eyes fluttering open. “As tempting as it is to watch you stare at me all night,” his voice is a caress, lulling me to sleep with a single sentence, “sleep, Pae.”

I manage to give him a groggy grin before asking, “Are you going to sleep?”

“Oh, darling, I’m already dreaming.”

He pulls me impossibly closer, and I turn my head away. My eyes fall closed, the steady beat of his heart a lullaby. I feel fingers combing through my hair, weaving loose strands together as I whisper, “What are you doing?”

He ducks his head close to mine, and I feel his lips brush against my hair when he murmurs, “Practicing.”

I drift off to the feel of Kai braiding my hair, vaguely wondering if I should be afraid of how safe I feel with him. If I should be worried that I feel content and comforted in his arms.

I feel happy, I feel words murmured into my ear, and the whisper of fingers stroking my hair.

And then all I feel is blissful sleep.

ChapterFifty

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