Page 46 of Boundless
Maleom beamed up at her, standing straighter than Len had ever seen him do. It made him look a decade younger, and Len realized that perhaps he wasn’t quite as old as Len had thought. He already knew that if he was torn from Daega he’d wilt and shrivel; it made all too much sense that that kind of heartbreak would have affected Maleom the same way.
He felt a warm hand on the nape of his neck and turned to see Daega had moved behind him at some point. Her touch was soothing, sinking into his skin and easing the fear he’d felt at the thought of winding up like Maleom, miserable and without his brightly burning flame in the darkness of his life. Her thumb trailed up and down the side of his neck and he leaned into her greedily, seeking more of her warmth. As Yollyn and Maleom walked off in the direction of the kitchen tents Daega called out, stopping them. “Oy, Granny! Can we still fuck?”
Len sputtered and almost fell to the ground, his face on fire and dizziness teasing at his senses.
“If ye can figure oot a way t’dae it wi’oot using yer leg an arm then ‘at shuid be fine,” Yollyn called back, making Len want to sink into the ground under his feet and let his spirit drift from his body. Aevel’s hooting laughter didn’t help the situation, either.
Daega clapped a hand to his shoulder. “Right, then. To our tent, aye?”
He wanted to be mad at her for spouting their business off like that, letting anyone know what they were about to be up to…but instead, he found heat pooling low in his belly, his cock twitching in his pants at the thought. There was something in him thatwantedpeople to know how thoroughly he was being claimed by the woman at his side, that wanted them to see the incredible pleasure she brought him. Was it sick to think that way?
He leaned closer and lowered his voice so only she would hear. “Yes. I will follow you anywhere, M-mistress.”
She grinned at him wickedly, her voice much lower this time when she spoke. “Good boy.”
He was putty in her hands.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Surprises at the Camp
DAEGA
IT HADbeen devastating to hear Daega was still several weeks away from being healed. She was so cunting tired of the sling and crutch that sometimes she wished she'd just lost the damned limbs outright. It was irrational, for surely havingnolimbs would force more of an unwanted lifestyle change than disabled ones, but there were a lot of irrational things that sounded appealing lately. Such as carrying Len around strapped to her body like new mothers did with their babes, or marching straight back to that damn castle to relieve King Prick of his smug, foolish head.
Why was it suddenly so hard for Daega to live her life in peace? A part of her knew it was because this was the nature of politics, and the darker side of what she’d signed up for when she’d volunteered to wed the elf prince. But the louder part of her raged against it, wanting to lay waste to every horse’s arse who was standing between her and Len and the peace of their nations.
But at least there was still this one constant: Len's gentle hand on her back, his pale face flushed and green eyes heated as he stole looks at her on the uncommonly long walk back to their tent. Finally, they would be able to find privacy.
So why was she starting to feel uneasy? Hadn’t she been dreaming of this for ten sodding days?
Daega hated it, but could admit she was worried that with her enfeebled, Len’s attraction to her might wane. After all, he'd said many times that he loved how safe she made him feel, and what could she do to protect him now? They were away from his gods-cursed father and safe from the dangers of the road; what use did he have for her? The most she could do for him was to smooth his way with her own people, but her family had already been sowing those seeds the entire time they'd been in Llyvelli; already there were more curious or even kind eyes than guarded ones watching them.
By the time they'd made it back to the tent and tied it shut behind themselves, something queasy yet sharp was roiling uncomfortably in her belly, dimming the flame of arousal that should have still been blazing hot. There was something deep inside her, some insecure and slithering thing, that worried that if she wasn’t actively helping others then they’d grow tired of her and resent her for needing so much of their time and care. And knowing Len, he'd be kind about growing apart. They'd just slip into a celibate relationship and be quietly miserable until one of them died.
Anxiety sent her heart rate throttling up, her skin itching under the bandages in awareness. Desperate for something that could knock her loose from her darkening thoughts, she tossed the crutch to the floor and sat on the edge of their shared cot, catching Len around the waist and pulling him close, settling him between her spread knees.
"Dae, be careful," he chided, adjusting himself so he wasn't even touching her right leg. "D-don't irritate your injuries."
She frowned, her anxiety tipping into anger and boiling over. "I'm so bloody sick of hearing how enfeebled I am, Lenlethael," she snapped, pulling away from him.
His pale brow furrowed, his expression going sour. “Daega, you areinjured. If you d-don’t rest you will only make yourselfm-moreinjured.” He folded his arms over his chest, shrinking from her a little. “Did—did I say something? I-I’m sorry if I did.”
The fight deflated from her, and she flopped back onto the bed with a sigh. “No, I’m sorry, love. I’m just…gods, Ihatefeeling this way. Helpless. Useless.” Tears burned at the backs of her eyes, and she squeezed them shut, forcing the damn things not to fall. “If someone needs me, I’ll fail them,” she rasped.
"Dae..." Len said, sitting beside her on the bed and taking her uninjured hand, “W-where is this coming from? Even if all you could do was sit there a-and talk to me, I’d still n-need you. You—you’reessentialto me.”
“Even if I’m useless?”
“People sayI’museless. A-all the time. But a certain g-gorgeous Istarii Drakan woman has been sh-showing me otherwise.” He lay down on his side, cupping her face and forcing her to look at him. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling when his sweet face, filled with concern, filled her field of view. “What’s wrong, my heart?”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. Bloody gods, maybe it was her monthly looming. “I just…I worry. That if I can’t help then I’m hurting.”
He made a small pained noise, his thumb wiping away her tears. “I understand. F-feeling that way. But it’s not true. Usefulness is not thepointof love.”
She sighed, nodding even as more tears fell. “Aye, and I’d be the first to say it, normally. I just…” She shrugged, at a loss.
“Then I’ll j-just have to get s-stern with you.” His brows lowered, his pretty face settling into a severe frown that had her laughing. “Young lady, you w-will stop thisright now. Y-you are allowed to rest and I-I’ll hear no more talk of uselessness. Am I understood?”
