Page 93 of Damned and Broken Gods
He crushed his mouth to mine, silencing me with brutal kisses before pulling free, his chest heaving. “Don’t say it. Don’teversay it.” He ran his finger down my cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning, Leela, and we won’t speak of this.”
I blinked back tears, nodding because once again, we’d crossed a line, and the only way to reestablish it was to pretend it had never happened, long enough for us to believe it.
He melted into the crowd, and I clung to the wall, my body recovering from the fire he’d ignited.
“Hey…” Priti joined me. “Are you all right?”
I shook my head, mouth trembling with the effort of holding back tears.
“Oh, Leela…” Priti put her arm around me and pulled me into a hug. “Come on, let’s go get some tea.”
With a final look at Araz’s retreating form, I allowed her to lead me away.
Priti ledme to the empty barracks kitchens, a functional space with a couple of wooden tables and benches and a cooking and food prep area. We spent a lot of time in here in the evenings as there was no sitting room or lounge and someone had brought in cushions to make the benches more comfortable.
Priti sat me down on one of those cushions and busied herself making tea, tucking her hair behind her ears. It was loose today, falling in soft waves about her shoulders. Eyes rimmed in kohl, cheeks flushed, she glowed, and my heart squeezed with love for her.
She passed me a mug of tea and straddled the bench beside me. Her penetrating gaze fixed on me. “What’s going on between the two of you?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. I just…I got overwhelmed.”
She arched a brow. “Leela, we’ve been watching you both. You obviously have a strong connection. The way he looks at you…”
My head whipped up. “How does he look at me?”
She smiled softly. “The same way you look at him.”
I dropped my gaze, not wanting her to see the whole truth. The longing that made my chest hurt and the pain that lanced through my heart every time I remembered that he wouldn’t be staying with me. No one could know my plan. Not yet. It was too risky.
“Leela?”
I sighed, fixed a smile on my face, and aimed it at her. “It’s complicated.”
She pursed her lips. “Okay, okay. I’ll drop the subject, but if you decide you want to chat about it, you know I’m here for you.”
“Yeah, I know.” I sipped my tea. “Oooh, this is good.”
“Right? I added a little honey.”
We sipped in silence for a moment.
“I spoke to Bhartina,” Priti said. “You, me, and Vick are going to be together tomorrow.”
I perked up. “Yeah?”
“Yep.”
Vick wandered into the kitchen, a soppy smile on his face, his hair all mussed. “I just got kissed,” he announced before swooning onto the bench opposite us. “Eniya kissed me.”
I was lost. “Who’s Eniya?”
Priti answered. “One of the humans that lives here. She’s sweet on Vick.” Priti reached over the table and ruffled his hair.
How had I missed this budding romance? “Do tell…”
Vick hiccuped. “Oh, she is sooo beautiful and funny. She’s funny.” He hiccuped again.
Priti frowned. “Vick, did you drink the flamebrew?”
