“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For treating me like… I matter.”
He kissed her shoulder. “You’re not something to be endured, River. You’re everything I didn’t know I needed.”
She turned slightly, enough to see his face, his eyes glowing softly in the steam. Her heart gave a strange, gentle lurch.
He is mine, she thought. This dangerous, powerful man—the Deathbringer himself—just became the gentlest place I’ve ever landed.
The warm bath had dulled the ache in River’s muscles and lulled her into a calm, dreamlike state. Nestled between Heiko’s arms, she felt safe—but never unaware.
With him, safety was wrapped in thorns and heat, always one heartbeat away from something darker. Something wild.
She tilted her head back slightly, looking up at him with a soft, almost teasing
