The Elder Blood Chronicles – Book Three(206)

“Hmm?” His voice sounded as content as her own and she opened her eyes to gaze up at him.

“I don’t want to stay in that room alone,” Jala said quietly, her eyes watching the expression on his face carefully. A look of surprise crossed his features, followed by one of disbelief. She smiled again as he continued to stare at her. “But I can if you keep looking at me like that,” she added.

The expression vanished from his face instantly and he shook his head quickly. “No, it’s just…” His voice trailed off and Valor snorted in amusement. “I’m not thinking quite as clearly tonight as I normally do. I was about to offer you another room until it dawned on me what you were saying,” he admitted with a heavy sigh and rubbed his face. “I was saying that I want to stay with you tonight,” Jala pressed, her eyes watching him closely for any signs of hesitation. “I can’t look at you as a friend anymore, Valor. You are so much more to me than that,” she added in a softer voice.

“I haven’t thought of you as just a friend in a very long time,” Valor admitted softly. He looked over at her with a faint smile and shook his head slowly. “I had just convinced myself that you were never going to share the same sentiments.”

“I didn’t know what it meant,” Jala said as her hand rose to touch the black earring he wore. Her fingers trailed past the earring to brush gently through his hair. “I wish I hadn’t been so thick. I was blind to everything but protecting Merro.”

“It’s OK, Jala,” Valor said, his dark blue eyes watching her. “You did what you had to. At first I was angry that you turned to Seravae rather than Arovan, but after what I’ve seen here, you made the right choice. I didn’t realize Arovan had nothing left to give.”

Tracing her fingers slowly down to his cheek, Jala leaned forward to kiss him. She felt her pulse quicken as Valor leaned into the kiss, his arm moving behind her to pull her closer. Pulling back, she stared into his eyes and saw her own feelings mirrored in the dark blue depths. “I love you,” Jala whispered as she moved closer, sliding her leg across him to straddle his lap. Gently she wrapped her arms around his neck and settled back, her weight resting lightly on his knees.

Valor’s gaze flicked down to where her robe had fallen open in the front and she felt him tense again. With painful slowness he slid his hands beneath her robe to rest lightly on her hips. “I have forced myself not to say those words to you for so long, it almost feels wrong to speak them now,” Valor said, his voice low. His thumb moved in slow circles across her skin, tracing a circle around her hip bone.

“You don’t need to speak them, Val. I can see it written on your face so clearly now that I’m looking for it that I find myself wondering how I never noticed it before.” Jala leaned closer and pressed her lips gently to his, but he didn’t return it as he had before. Pulling back she studied his face. His expression was a mixture of desire and trepidation. Raising an eyebrow, Jala waited for him to speak.

“Usually at this point of the dream, I either wake up or it takes a turn for nightmares and I end up on trial for rape again,” Valor said, leaning back and rubbing his face.

Nodding slowly, Jala slid a hand down his shoulder, tracing the muscles of his arm and pinched him hard. Flinching, he stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. “You aren’t dreaming,” Jala informed him with a smile. Slowly, she pushed him flat onto the bed and rolled to the side, resting her head on his shoulder. “We don’t have to do anything but sleep tonight. I’m content simply being close to you,” Jala assured him closing her eyes.

“To hell with that,” Valor whispered as he rolled onto his side, his lips finding hers once more. Jala rose to meet him, her eyes closing as his hand slid to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Her hands tugged at his shirt until she could slide them beneath to press against his bare skin. Pulling back, he shrugged out of the tunic and tossed it behind him to the floor before leaning down to kiss her again.

Her fingers traced across the hard muscles of his back and down his side to rest on the scar on his stomach. “I love you,” Jala repeated, her voice a hoarse whisper as his lips moved to her neck. Closing her eyes once more, Jala pulled at the laces on his pants as his hands moved across her body. Her breath was coming in short rasps as all thoughts faded and she could feel his urgency rising to match her own. For now, nothing mattered to either of them beyond each other. All the stress and frustration of the world beyond was forgotten.