Chapter thirty

Tessa’s POV

Coming out from a deep sleep, I felt my stomach churn and I suddenly felt very sick.

Bile rose in my throat and I shot my eyes open, getting up and finding the bathroom just in time for all the contents of my stomach to come up.

It burned my throat and tears pricked my eyes.

My hair fell out of its ponytail, but a pair of hands caught it just in time.

“Woah. Can’t be having that in your way,” Lucian said and found my scrunchie, pulling my hair into a bun so that it wouldn’t get messy.

My stomach lurched again, and more intoxicating liquid fell into the toilet.

“That’s it. Come, let everything out,” he said softly and rubbed the small of my back which caused the rest of the alcohol to come up.

After I finished, my body trembled, and I felt so weak. Lucian flushed the toilet and dropped the lid, placing me gently onto the toilet seat.

He turned to the mirror and found a toothbrush, slapping a dollop of toothpaste on the bristles of the brush.

“Ah.” He said as he came down to my height and I obediently opened my mouth. He brushed my teeth for me and gave me water occasionally to rid of the foam from the toothpaste.

He brushed one more time and we’d locked eyes a few times before he stood and cleaned the brush off, handing me another cup of water to rinse my mouth.

He turned to the bath and started running the hot water. Once that was going, he turned to me and leaned down to place a kiss on my cheek.

“Good morning,” he said softly, and I swallowed slowly.

“Morning,” I said in response and he went into the room. I heard lots of shuffling, followed by sounds of zippers and the clanking of shoes.

He came back with a towel that looked so soft and took my hands, lifting me gently.

He put the towel down and reached for the hem of my dress. He grabbed it, pulling it up and over my head. He helped me out of my underwear, allowing me to lean on him when I stepped out of the fabric.

He felt the water and switched the taps off.

He offered his hand and helped me to climb into the hot water. I sat down slowly, and the water stung a little, but it eventually faded.

He sat on a little stool next to the bath and watched me and I moved slowly in the tub.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and he sighed, shaking his head.

“When I tell you something Tessa, I’m doing it for your own good. I don’t know how well I can protect you here while you are drunk.” He said and I saw the concern in his eyes.

I bit the inside of my cheek in shame and looked down.

He grabbed my chin and lifted my eyes to meet his.

“Never drop your eyes from me. You are my equal. My Luna.” He said and a small smile tugged on my lips.

She smiled back and gave my lips a quick peck before grabbing the soap and sponge.

Tessa’s POV

He sat behind me, washing my back down with soap and I sat still, feeling his hands massage the muscles.

“Yesterday, in the carriage.” I began and he made a sound to continue.

“I felt very funny after having that chocolate,” I said.

“As I told you, this Kingdom is ruled over by drugs, sex, and blood. Our drugs are strong because of our dragon blood.” He said and I nodded.

“And the girl in the hall yesterday—”

“Samantha.” He cut me off and I knew I should tread lightly.

“Were you and she involved?” I asked him carefully.

“Yes, but that was a long time ago Tessa. More than seven years ago,” he said, and I knew not to talk about that topic any further.

It was quiet for a few minutes beside the sounds of water.

“No more dresses while we’re staying here, okay? The males here are not as nice as wolves.” He said and I nodded.

“Head back.” He ordered and I did as I was told. I dipped my head back as he rubbed cinnamon smelling shampoo into my hair.

“The people here are very fond of exotic smells,” I stated, and he smiled.

“Boisterous. As I said,” he said and kept his eyes on my hair, making sure non of the soap went into my eyes.

He rinsed my hair and dried it slightly with a towel, putting it up into a messy bun. I looked over my shoulder and his eyes caught mine.

“Join me,” I said softly.

“I don’t think—”

“No sex. Just get in with me,” I insisted, and he swallowed, reaching down and pulling the sweater over his head and threw it with my old clothes.

He stripped, then slowly climbed in in front of me I grabbed the soap and sponge from where he’d left it, giving it to him.

He looked at me and put some soap on the sponge. He lifted my one leg up and spread the soap along the length of my calf and thigh.

As promised, we never did anything exciting in the bath except for a very intimate session, washing each other down.

I knew he needed me badly, I could see it in the water and the way his eyes went very dark.

After I’d washed him down, he got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wrapped me in a soft towel and showed me the outfit he’d picked out for me.

It was a pair of black jeans and a simple t-shirt with the different shapes of the moon. I pulled my boots on and decided to leave my hair in the bun it was already in.

Lucian wore black jeans and a dark blue shirt. He pulled his own boots on and he placed the back of his hand against my forehead.

“How’re you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” I said and took his hand, linking our fingers and lifting to my ties to surprise him with a quick kiss.

He smirked and gave me a little twirl.

“You hungry?” he asked, and I felt my stomach growl.

“I think I could eat five cows,” I said, and he laughed opening the door, letting me pass.

“Let’s go find food.” He said softly and linked our fingers again as we softly ran down the hallway and into a door that leads to a staircase.

We went down and the smell of various foods had my stomach growling and my mouth watering.

We walked through a door to the kitchen. My mouth fell open. It was ten times bigger than my mother’s and Lucian laughed at me.

“They cater for dragons and dragons eat a lot,” he said.

“No kidding,” I shot back, still staring in awe.

“Come, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” He said and we walked straight into the full kitchen of people.