Page 56 (1/2)

"What are you s into his chest "You look like the cat who ate the creah was low and satisfied "I’hed again when she elbowed his side, then he pulled her close and said, "Sleep, Ava Rest with me"

"I don’t think I’ve ever felt this exhausted"

"Sleep," he whispered "I will see you in your dreams"

When he dreah a dark wood She eluded him for a ti He could not see her face, but when her lips touched his, he knew her And she was his

He blinked awake Ava was still sleeping next to him, boneless in her exhaustion Malachi slipped out of the narrow bed, wishing he had soic did not want to share its h his room in the scribe house was one of the most isolated, it still lacked the privacy he craved

He threw on so sory when she woke Her metaboliser before long Though expending energy during sex was one of theThey couldn’t stay in his roo

He ran into Rhys halfway to the kitchens The otherMalachi’s expression, relaxed

"I ondering whether you were going to hit me or not," he said "But you’ve obviously found another way of runted and crossed his arms "If she’d been more co that pass since you’re in a postcoital haze"

"Ava is my reshon"

Rhys was speechless for a few moments, instinctive rebellion evident in his eyes But finally he said, "Of course she is I probably knew that before you did, you idiot Does she knohat it ure it out"

Rhys fell silent again "She’s not had an easy tis, brother Her relationships, froht it"

Malachi’s lips curled "She won’t win"

"If you expect " A shadow of sorrow passed over Rhys’s face Then the expression cleared and his acerbic wit resurfaced "Heaven, you’re going to be rees to see him I swear, you even look taller"

"I feel taller"