Kenric watched as the energy entered Annalise's body and settled in the core of her belly before diminishing, its bright silvery glow vanishing slowly before completely fading away.
Taking a deep breath of relief, he pulled away to sit straight and watched his wife who was sleeping soundly. She seemed relaxed but he knew that the bad memories of the forest could return and hit her at any moment and send her into a panic.
He took hold of one of her hands and tangled their fingers together before placing a soft kiss against her fingers. "I'm sorry, Little Bird. I not only disappeared like a coward that day but I also failed to protect you. It seems like I'm failing you as your husband."
That day, he left in a hurry without any word because he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself around her at that point. His body was literally burning with passion and desire for her. But at the same time, he was ashamed of what he did to her. He felt like he took advantage of her and if Valerius hadn't stopped him, even he wondered how far he would have gone that day.
A sigh escaped his lips as he pushed his troubling thoughts to the back of his brain. He didn't wanna think about that day because every time he recalled those moments, he could feel the fire of desire once again igniting inside him. And losing his control around her all over again was the last thing he wanted at the moment.
His thoughts were disturbed by the knock on the door as Sera and Aunt Claire appeared at the entrance of the bedroom with a bucket of clean water and fresh clothes.
"Come in." He allowed them entrance as he slowly let go of Annalise's hand before standing up. "Make sure to not disturb her sleep. Let me know when you are done here. I'll be waiting downstairs."
Both the maids bowed their heads in understanding and waited till he left the room before they closed the door and started with their task.
****
Annalise stared at the side profile of Valerius' face as the moonlight filtered inside the room through the open window.
She wasn't expecting to find him of all people to be fast asleep beside her when she woke up a couple of moments ago.
Surprisingly, instead of getting panicked, she found herself relaxing at his sight. His presence beside her was probably what she was searching for.
"How long are you going to stare at me?"
"Huh?"
The sudden words from the man resulted in panic which made Annalise jump out of the bed. Her movements were so sudden and hasty that she ended up getting entangled in the cover and ended up on the cold floor.
"Aah!" A painful cry escaped Annalise's lips as her left elbow hit the floor first and had to bear the harsh impact of the fall.
"How clumsy." Valerius was beside her in a blink as he helped her in a sitting position and placed her back to rest against his chest.
"Let me look at the wound." He looked at her for permission and only when she nodded her head in approval did he dare to remove her sleeve above her elbow which was bruised and covered in blood. "Getting injured twice in a single day. You are really full of surprises, my wife."
Annalise pouted at his accusing and teasing words but soon her expression changed as pain shot through her elbow. A hiss escaped her mouth and pulled Valerius' attention to her.
"My apology." He whispered before placing his palm over her bruised elbow as safely as he could without hurting her.
Annalise felt a soft sensation erupting over her elbow before it started spreading all over her arm. "It's ticklish." She couldn't stop herself from saying as she closed her eyes and waited for her elbow to heal.
"It's done. Let me fix your dress too." Valerius cast a quick spell to fix her torn sleeve.
"Thank you," Annalise whispered as she watched him stroking her wrist with his thumb.
"Your skin is so soft." He muttered as he kept stroking her wrist as if he was lost in some thoughts. He suddenly looked up at her face and their gaze collided once again, igniting a special kind of fire that burned their bodies and heart in embers of passion.
Valerius suddenly shook his head as he looked away from her face, a small smile breaking on his lips but she couldn't tell the meaning behind his smile as he had averted his gaze.
"What's so funny, My Lord?" She dared to ask as her curiosity took control of her.
Valerius was quiet for a few moments but then he finally looked up at her face and she found a dark glint in his icy-blue eyes. There seemed to be that same icy fire burning in his eyes at the moment that she once noticed in the past.
"I can see that you are doing completely fine now. So I should be taking my leave. Get some more sleep and we will see you in the morning." He suddenly stated as he prepared to stand up but got stopped by Annalise before he could.
His eyes landed on her hand which was grabbing his arm tightly. "Yes?"
"You..." Annalise opened her mouth to speak but then stopped. Taking a few seconds to pull her thoughts together, she tried again, "Are you mad at me, My Lord?"
Valerius looked straight into her ocean-blue eyes as he questioned, "Why would I be mad at you?"
"Then?" Annalise was confused and she didn't try to hide it at all.
"I'm just trying my best to not become your next victim, My Lady. But you are making it way harder for me." His gaze was intense as he looked at her without even blinking his eyes.
"Victim? How...? What are... what are you talking about, My Lord?" Annalise was at a complete loss. She had no idea what he was trying to say. Also, she was confused why all her husbands kept saying weird things about her. Was there something wrong with her?
Valerius suddenly snickered as he shook his head and stood up, "Rest. We will see each other in the morning." And just like that, he left the room, leaving a confused Annalise behind.