I swear I’ll never ask another favor. Ever. Ever. Ever… ever.”
He brushed her hair back from her face. “Only if you do something for me.”
“What?”
“Kiss me.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it… well, and smile. Don’t look so scared, Licia. I’d never hurt you.”
Laughing, she kissed him. “Thank you!”
Talyn held her against his chest. “No problem.” For her, there was nothing he wouldn’t do. He just couldn’t afford to let her know that. He’d already seen what happened when one partner loved another and the other one left.
It was devastating. Even decades later.
The last thing he wanted was to have the same heartache his mother dealt with every day. He had no idea how she could still love his father, but she did.
Talyn swallowed as he tried not to think of the picture his mother kept hidden in her nightstand. The photo he’d found years ago while hunting for clues on what to get her for a birthday gift. It was of his parents in school. His mother had been staring up at his father with an adoring look he’d never seen on her face. One of complete, untainted happiness. To this day, even when she was ecstatic, there was always a twinge of sadness in her eyes that nothing ever erased.
For that alone, he hated his father. And he hated how much he looked like him. It had to have been excruciating for his mother to watch him grow into an exact duplicate of the male who’d fucked her over and ruined her life. Yet to her credit, she’d never once said anything about it. At least not negatively. Nor would she allow him to say anything against his father. That, too, told him how much she’d loved Fain Hauk.
Bastard. Too bad he hadn’t been stralen.
“You okay?”
He blinked at Felicia’s worried frown. Smiling, he fisted his hands in her beautiful curls. “Fine.”
“You sure you’re not mad at me?”
“For this? No, baby. Not even a little.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you mad at me for something else?”
“Gods, no!”
Letting out a relieved breath, she gave him a light squeeze before she pulled away. “Good. I’ll go call my brother and make his day.”
Talyn bit back a groan at the reminder. He really wasn’t a social creature. Too many years of being rebuffed at best, ridiculed at worst had made him extremely skittish around anyone else. Though, to be honest, he’d had a friend once.
For five minutes.
It’d been his first day of military training. When he’d moved into the barracks, his bunkmate had been nice and welcoming. Until his CO had walked in and announced Talyn’s lack-Vest status to everyone there.
So had ended any semblance of normality.
Although, once he’d entered the Vested league and had begun winning titles, Andarions would come up to talk to him. But only because of his fame. He was well aware of the fact that they didn’t know him or care to befriend him. He was like a zoo animal in a cage. They wanted to pet his fur and take a photo, then beat a hasty retreat from his presence.
At least Felicia would be with him for the ordeal. That alone made this bearable.
She stuck her head back in the door. “Do you think you’ll feel up to dinner next week?”
“Sure.”
With a dazzling smile, she returned to her call. “He says that’s fine. No, Lo, I’m not telling him that.” She paused for a second to roll her eyes. “Fine, I’ll tell him. My brother says that your last fight paid off his transport. He loves you for that. He’s hoping with your next fight that he can top off his son’s university tuition.”
“Tell him thanks. I’ll do my best for him.”
She laughed at whatever her brother said. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you then. Bye.” She hung up. “You made his day. I’ve never heard him so happy.”
“I’d much rather make his sister’s day.”
Pressing her lips together, she closed the distance between them. “And I’d rather make yours.”
“You did that the minute you came home.”
Felicia hated the weepy feeling she had every time he said something so sweet to her. She’d always prided herself on being pragmatic. Always on keeping a level head, no matter what, but all that went out the window whenever he was around. He made her want to believe in fairy tales and lies. In males who were decent and loving.
Things she knew didn’t really exist. She was living proof of what happened after a few years of marriage, once the new wore off. Her father had