Page 44 of Glass and Bone
“Can’t we eat here?” I pout dramatically and he bends down to suck my bottom lip into his mouth, nipping it gently, the delicious scent of cedar and smoke wafting over me. I will never get over it, overhim.
“If that is what the birthday girl wants.” He presses a dramatic kiss to my lips before sliding out of bed. I roll over to my side to watch him make his way to the door. He’s only wearing a pair of shorts and I can see the evidence that he also enjoyed our little morning activity. I smile and cover my face with the blanket. I hear the door open, and I peek over the edge, he’s talking to Laris. I cover my face again with the blanket, but it gets pulled off of me.
“Hey!” I yell as he slips his arms under me, pulling me out of bed. “No, I want to stay in bed.” He carries me down the steps to the sitting room all the way to the couch.
“They are bringing us food and coffee.”
“I don’t want coffee.” I pout again as he sets me down on the couch. The blood stain is gone, and the couch is once again sparkling white. He collapses onto the couch next to me and I nuzzle up against his side. “I want pastries.”
“I told them to bring one of every pastry the kitchen made today along with fruit and eggs.”
“No, just pastries.”
“You need fuel, Ela.”
“Ela.” I repeat. “I like it better than Nora.”
“Good. I’m glad.” He kisses the top of my head. There is a knock on the door and then it opens without us answering. Men carrying trays walk in and bring them over to the table in front of the couch. Plates and plates of various pastries cover the trays along with a fruit bowl, bacon, and eggs. The last tray has glasses of juice, mugs of steaming coffee and then tiny little pitchers of cream. They exit quickly without saying a word to us.
I excitedly slide off the couch to the floor and sit in front of the table. I grab a pastry that is dripping with some sort of jam and sugar. It melts in my mouth, and I groan. Tobias leans over and pours some of the cream into a mug of coffee. He uses a spoon to stir it before picking it up and handing it to me.
“Ew, no. I don’t want that.” I scrunch my nose and lean away from it.
“I promise you’ll like it like this. It’s how my mother used to drink it.” I glance up at him with narrowed eyes and set down the sticky pastry. I grab the warm mug and smell it. It smells like coffee and dirt, but there is something else, something sweet. I take a small, hesitant sip and instead of the bitter liquid I tasted before, sweet, creamy coffee pours into my mouth. I can taste caramel and ice cream and it tastes rich and decadent.
“What did you do to it?” I ask as I take another large mouthful. He laughs as he picks up his own mug of black coffee and sips on it.
“I added sweetened cream. It makes it entirely unhealthy and more like a dessert, but if you like it that way then that’s fine too.” I swallow again, savoring the warm liquid cascading down my throat. “Don’t drink it too fast, it has caffeine in it.” I nod and set it down, picking up another pastry. This one has chocolate and almonds on it.
Tobias is quiet as he takes a few mouthfuls of eggs and some fruit. He eats very clean and healthy, unlike me and my sweets. I stare at him, his eyebrows bunched together while he chews. One hand loosely holding his mug and the other his fork. He’s still shirtless, his fine chest hair glowing gold. His hair is messy, tickling the tips of his eyebrows. He keeps it short, only a couple inches long, still long enough for me to run my fingers through it. He looks over at me and freezes.
“What?” He asks and I just smile.
“I think I could love you.” I admit and then my smile falls. “I mean, um.” I bite my lip and look down, cursing the blood flowing to my cheeks.
“I think I could love you, too, Elaenor.” He responds and I look back at him. I set my pastry down and grasp his face with my sticky hands, pulling his lips to mine. “You taste like chocolate.” He murmurs into my mouth, and I giggle. He pulls back, taking a sip of his coffee. “Eat your breakfast so we can get back to relaxing.”
I only managed to eat a couple pastries before my stomach protested against more food. Tobias leads me through the dressing room to a door I didn’t even notice. He pushes it open, and we step into the bathroom. Why didn’t I know there was a door to the room this whole time? There is already steaming water inside and candles glowing around the room. The windows are closed, keeping the room dim. He closes the door behind him and my feet step onto the cold marble.
He steps up behind me and runs his hands down my arms before grabbing the hem of my nightdress and pulling it up and over my head. I stand still as his hands return to my shoulders, his thumbs lightly brushing some of my scars. His hands trail down my back, stopping to touch some of the worst ones.
I almost stop him, but the room is dim enough to where I know he can’t see much, but I still feel the urge to wrap myself up in a towel to hide my bare skin. He wraps his arms around me from behind, pressing his lips to my shoulder.
“Just a bath.” I nod as his hands fall away. I can hear him taking his own shorts off as I step up to the tub and stick one of my feet into the steaming liquid. It’s hot, milky with oils and I climb in. The scent of roses and cedar fill my nose. I inhale as I sit down, hugging my knees to my chest. This tub is almost deep enough to cover my shoulders and I enjoy its warm embrace. I keep my back to Tobias as he climbs in behind me, spilling water over the edges. I lean back against him, my back to his chest, his legs resting next to mine.
I can feel my muscles relaxing as I exhale. Tobias’s arms wrap around me with one of his hands on my stomach and the other holding my arm. His lips press softly against my neck, and I close my eyes.
“Do you think I’m crazy?” I ask as his thumb starts to move up and down.
“Not at all. I just think you’ve been through a lot, and you have a unique trauma response.” I stay quiet and he kisses my neck again. “I do think you should tell Pakin about your nightmares and your hallucinations. He might be able to help.” I nod, my wet hair sticking to his chest.
“I spoke to one of the master’s in Chatis and he said that it was just because of what I went through, but they never went away. Last night was different though. I was awake and it felt so real.” I murmur.
“I know, and to you itwasreal. I only ask that next time something like that happens, don’t cross a border. I don’t care about the diplomacy bullshit, it’s just dangerous. Your title doesn’t protect you there, it just makes you a target.” I nod and relax against him.
“Do we have to do anything today? Or can we just stay here all day?”
“I don’t have anything that can’t be done tomorrow. I’m yours today, Ela.”
