Chapter 89

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

Ryker

When Ellery knelt beside me, her apple scent engulfed me. She also smelled of horses, woman, and the woods, but that sweet fruit aroma was the most prominent.

As she leaned closer, the loose strands of her hair tickled my shoulder and face. The familiar sensation brought back memories of the times we'd spent entwined together, taking pleasure from each other.

Despite my loss of blood and exhaustion, my cock stirred. I'd gone too long without release again, and she was the only one who could ease me, but I willed my erection away while trying to ignore everything about her.

However, it was as impossible to ignore her as it was to make the sun stop rising. She was as beautiful and warm as the sun's rays lighting the way… just as she'd lit the darkest recesses of my soul.

But that was before she revealed her truths, ripped that light away, and plunged me back into darkness. I closed my eyes against the pang squeezing my heart before opening them again.

Sitting back, she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Your wounds are healing… slowly. They'd probably heal faster if you'd rest, but they look better."

"I am resting."

"You need sleep. You should return to the castle… or maybe not. If your father enters your apartment again and sees you're injured?—"

"I'll go to Tucker's encampment. I have a tree house there."

"You do?" She couldn't keep the astonishment from her voice.

"Yes."

Ellery studied me before lowering her eyes. Before she did, I saw the sadness that flickered through them. She didn't like not knowing this about me.

"Okay then, let's get you back there," she said. "I'll tell Tucker and Ianto we're leaving."

She turned and slipped out of the shelter. Rising, she kept her shoulders back as she wound through the trees toward them.

* * *

Ryker

Every step I took jarred the injuries in my shoulder and back. I ignored the pain as Ellery and I walked through the portal I'd created. I wasn't sure I'd be strong enough to open the portal, but since Ellery had never been in my tree house, I was the one who could get us inside it.

After we emerged into the tree house I'd established in Tucker's encampment, I closed the portal behind us. In my father's castle, I had a suite of rooms sprawling across a whole floor, but I liked this small space more than all that pompous splendor. That's why I spent most of my nights here.

Refusing to show my pain, I walked over to the mattress set against the far wall and sat on it. The soft leaves of the Maylin tree were stuffed inside and crinkled under my weight. It wasn't anywhere near as comfortable as the mattress in my father's castle—it was the only thing I missed about that place—but I slept well enough on it.

Stepping back, Ellery looked around before hurrying to retrieve the bucket of water in the corner. She carried it over to me.

With my good arm, I pointed over my head. "There's a cup on the shelf."

Rising onto her toes, she pulled the cup down, dipped it into the water bucket, and handed it to me. While I drank, she surveyed the tree house.

"You've decorated more here than in your apartment at your father's castle," she remarked.

"I like it here more."

"I didn't know you were living here."

"I return to the castle often enough to appease my father. It's too soon to have him hunting me; that will come with time."

She scooped up the cup when I set it down. "More water?"

"No."

"Then it's time for you to sleep."

She walked over to the doorway that looked over the rest of the camp. With deft fingers, she undid the snaps holding the thick canvas in place above it.

Before she unrolled it to cover the door, I noted the nearby tree houses were already dark as their occupants slept. When the canvas settled into place with a rustle, it shut out the glow from the fire below, some of the night's noise, and the small summer breeze.

With the doorway covered, the only light illuminating the space came from the moon shining through the two windows on each side of the structure. It was enough to still see her as she strolled over to the windows and pushed them open.

"Should I roll the canvas up again? Will it get too hot in here for you?" she asked.

"I close it every night to block the early morning sun. The windows are enough."

She returned to hover beside the bed. "Would you please lie down?"

I couldn't stop myself from smiling at her bossy tone. I settled back on the bed and faced her to keep from lying on my wounds.

Now that I knew she was safe, exhaustion took over and I fell asleep.