Page 23 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

Whiskery Kisses And The Scent Of Home

LEELA

C handra had been so confident that the Authority would allow me immediate ascension that he hadn’t bothered to arrange us transport back to Prashikshan. Arranging a carriage back for us ate into the whole day, and it was late by the time we returned.

Dharti Ghar barracks slept as we entered, silence closing in around us, floors swallowing the sounds of our footsteps as we slipped through the open-plan sitting room and climbed the stairs to our quarters.

Two beds waited for us.

Separate.

Cold.

I didn’t want to get into mine. Not yet, so I unpacked in silence, drawing items of clothes from my case, refolding them and placing them onto shelves, all the while hyper aware of Araz’s gaze on me.

Long seconds passed, and I sensed his approach, closing my eyes as his heat touched me. Resisting the urge to lean back against him.

“Leela, would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?” His voice, soft as velvet, enticing, inviting, threatened to push past the defenses I’d spent the whole carriage ride here erecting.

Because would I like to share a bed with him? Gods yes, I’d like it. Was it a good idea? No. It was a terrible idea.

It was easy to be cavalier with my heart when I’d thought we only had a handful of days left together, but now we had weeks, months even, and if I allowed myself to lean on him too much, if I let my heart decide, let it guide, then I might as well tear it out now and hand it to him, because what if breaking the bond didn’t stop this…

this twisted ache deep in my soul? What if cutting the thread that bound us didn’t stop me yearning for him?

What if the way I felt wasn’t influenced by the bond at all?

He cupped my shoulders, branding me with the warmth of his palms. “Leela? Just for tonight?” The ache in his tone matched the one in my heart.

“But it won’t be, will it?” I turned in his arms, tipping my face up to look him in the eyes. “One night will become two, then three, and we’ll get closer, we’ll cross lines, and when it’s time for me to ascend and for you to leave, it will hurt. It’ll hurt bad.”

He let out a slow breath, the fire in his eyes dimming. “You’re right.” He smiled, a shadow of a smile. “You’re stronger than me, Leela.”

I let out a breathless laugh because he was so wrong. “I’m strong in this moment, maybe, but you’ve carried the burden of strength every other time. I want you, Araz, there’s no denying that. I want you like a bear wants honey, but you’ll give me cavities, huge, painful ones.”

His mouth twitched. “Cavities?”

“Yep. Cavities that will be impossible to fill, so…yeah. I know we can’t be lovers, but…we can be friends. Will you be my friend, Araz?”

He pressed his palm to my cheek. “It would be my honor.”

“Wake up, sleeping beauty!” Blue pressed whiskery kisses to my cheek.

I reached up and gently cupped his furry body, turning my head to nuzzle my nose against him. “I missed you.”

“Liar,” he said. “Bet you were too busy ogling Pecs of Perfection over there.”

I rolled onto my side to find Araz standing with his back to me, combing out his long, luscious hair…shirtless. Dawn light spilled into the room, kissing his body, tracing the path of sinew and muscle as they moved like silk beneath his bronze skin in a symphony that my body ached to memorize.

“Fecking, hell, Leela, put your tongue back in yer mouth.”

“Don’t be too harsh on her, Blue,” Araz said, scooping his hair up and winding it into a knot. “I am quite delectable.”

“What?” I sat up, staring at the tattoo that snaked up his nape. “You’re so…up yourself.”

“Am I?” He threw an arch look over his shoulder. “One taste of me, and you’ll be on your knees begging for more.”

My cheeks burned at the image his words conjured. “I thought we agreed to be friends.”

He rolled his epic shoulders. “Friends don’t drool over each other.”

“I wasn’t—You know what? Forget it.” I threw off the covers and swung my legs out of bed. “You’re not that hot. Just arrogant.”

He turned to face me, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “Not arrogant, simply confident. But feel free to prove me wrong.”

“Do it!” Blue said, hands on hips, dark eyes gleaming with indignation on my behalf.

I looked down at him in confusion. “Do what?”

He pointed a paw at Araz. “Lick him.”

Araz arched a brow, his lips twitching. “It would be a true test of your restraint.”

He knew I wanted him. Knew what he did to me. Then why was he playing games? Games…Was this him trying to lighten the mood? To take us into friend territory?

“Friends don’t lick each other.” There was no fire in my words, though, because my pulse was thrumming in my neck and throbbing between my thighs. The thought of being that close, of having my mouth on his skin… Gah!

He raked me over, nostrils flaring, eyes darkening before he dropped his gaze. “You’re right. Friends don’t get that close.” He fixed his attention on Blue. “You should know better.”

Blue snorted. “And you should know not ta challenge us. We do not shirk from a challenge, do we, Leela?”

He looked to me for confirmation, his dark gaze filled with such confidence and pride that it made my heart ache. I scooped him up and squished him to my cheek.

“I love you, Blue.”

He resisted for a moment before melting against me. “I love ya too.” His claws dug into me slightly as he clung to me, as if he couldn’t get close enough.

“So…no licking?” Araz asked, biting back a smile.

“Put a damn shirt on, you lug!” Blue ordered.

Araz chuckled, the sound an oral caress.

He reached into his wardrobe and pulled out a shirt. Something fell out and hit the ground with a soft thud.

He stilled, staring at the spot on the other side of his bed, a spot I couldn’t see from mine.

“What is it?” Blue asked.

Araz’s throat bobbed, and he reached down to retrieve the item. The velvet box that Umbra had given him. The artifact from his mother.

The air was suddenly heavier. I felt Blue’s gaze on the side of my face like an inquisitive caress, but I couldn’t tear my eyes off Araz, off the tension in his jaw and the mist in his eyes.

“Are you going to open it?”

He took a shuddering breath. “Yes. I suppose I am.”

He flipped the lid, exhaling softly at the sight of whatever lay within.

Blue tensed in my lap, his tiny ears perking up, his nose twitching. I gently laid my hand on his back, and his tiny body relaxed.

Araz plucked a ring from the box and held it up to the light.

The band gleamed black, but I caught a flash of crimson too.

I hadn’t realized I’d moved until I was standing beside him and looking at the ring.

It was a plain enough item, black band threaded with dull red lines that resembled fractures, or veins, and the signet held a symbol—an eye inside a flame—the design etched in red.

“An heirloom,” Araz said. “Passed down through generations from father to son until my mother…She was the first female to carry it, and now…Now it’s mine.”

He slipped it on to the ring finger of his right hand, sucking in a breath as he did.

“What’s wrong?”

He frowned and shook his head. “Nothing. It was just cold for a moment, that’s all.”

I reached out to touch it, pulling my hand back as static pinched at my skin before trying again. It was cold, but then it warmed, heated by Araz’s body.

“One day this ring will belong to my son,” Araz said softly. “One day when my people are free.”

His words were a stark reminder that our journey would land us on very different shores.

I withdrew, hugging myself and forcing a smile to my lips. “I’m going to shower.”

“I’ll meet you downstairs.” He shrugged on his shirt and left.

“Well…” Blue said. “That went from hot to cold quickly.”

“It’s for the best. And no more dares that involve proximity, okay?”

He held up his paws. “Okay, okay. Now hurry up and shower; ya hair’s all greasy and ya smell like clouds. Not the fresh kind, the acrid ozone kind.”

“You’re such a sweet talker.”

“I know, it’s a curse.”

I grabbed fresh clothes and headed into the washroom. I’d only been gone two days, but it felt much longer, and I couldn’t wait to see my friends.