Maybe this was a terrible idea. She could get killed.
“Come here,” I told her.
She started and slid her gaze my way. “What?”
“Come here.” I patted the floor just in front of me. “It’s time we took care of that hair of yours.”
Her face flushed. “You can’t be serious.”
“If you’re not going to braid it, I will.”
I’d never braided anyone’s hair before, but I’d watched Niamh do it time and time again. I might not get it perfect, but it’d be better than the messy strands that fell into her eyes. In a fight, those would blind her. In training, they often did.
She shifted on her backside and didn’t make a move to come near me.
I flashed her my teeth. “I won’t bite.”
Her neck bobbed as she swallowed. I couldn’t help but stare.
“You do kind of look like someone who would bite, Kalen.” Her voice was hushed.
The way she said my name shot a thrill down my spine. It had been days since she’d called me by that fucking name Oberon had given me, but I still could not get used to howKalenrolled off her tongue. I could listen to her say it all damn day.
“You’re right. I do bite sometimes. But I wouldn’t do it to you. Unless you asked.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, and then she finally shifted closer to me. Turning her back to me, she pulled her knees up to her chest and gazed ahead at the fire. I could see her pulse thrumming in her neck, as quick as a rabbit. Something within me yearned to reach out and touch it.
Instead, I focused on her hair. Pulling a deep breath into my lungs, I swept the tangled strands behind her shoulders. Her arms tensed.
“Is this all right?” I murmured.
A breath spilled from her parted lips. “It’s fine.”
Gently, I slid my fingers into her hair and eased them through the strands, careful not to pull too hard when I hit a tangle. The moments ticked by, the warmth of the fire drenching us as I tried to comb her hair with my hands. There was only so much I could do without a brush.
After a quarter of an hour, she leaned a little closer. Her shoulders even relaxed, though the frantic beat of her heart remained.
“There,” I said, in more of a growl than I’d intended. “That should be good enough to braid it for now.”
She patted the back of her head. “It’s still a mess.”
“That’s why we’re braiding it.” I separated her hair into three thick chunks the way I’d watched Niamh do. Slowly, I wound them together. With every sweep of her hair, I saw more and more of that delicious neck, to the point I almost forgot what I was doing. Clenching my jaw, I finished it off with a bit of rope tied at the ends. I sat back, wondering what in moon’s name had gotten into me.
She reached behind her and ran her fingers along the braid. It was messy, I’d admit, but it’d keep the hair out of her eyes, and that was all that mattered.
“Thanks.” She twisted toward me. “How does it look?”
Without all that hair in her face, I was struck by how big and beautiful her eyes were. They seemed to leap toward me to grab hold of my shirt and force me to stare into the depths of them… and get lost there forever.
“Not bad,” I said, clearing my throat. “Niamh would have done a better job, but it’ll do for now.”
Her eyes softened. “I know you’re worried about her. Maybe tomorrow will be the day we get out of here.”
My chest tightened. Every damn day, I’d tried to force the storm back. And every day, I’d failed. We would not leave this place until the storm died. And that could be a very, very long time.
“Perhaps,” I said.
Sighing, she turned back to the fire and leaned against my legs. Shock jolted me, though I stayed put. Tessa hadn’t tried to flip me onto my back since that once, and I hadn’t entered her dreams again. This was the first time we’d touched in days, other than blocking blows during training.