Free West of Want (Hearts of the Anemoi) by Laura Kaye Page B

Now.”

CHAPTER NINE
    Ella was down the rabbit hole. No doubt about it. A beautiful and presumably gifted man with impossible powers. A miracle healing. Some sort of fraternal feud that had apparently put the crosshairs of a curse on her back.
    And the weirdest thing? It all felt real. The oddness was as exhilarating as it was frightening. But she was going with it, for now. After all, he’d eased her pain, healed her injuries, and offered his protection against his own brother—what more would a man have to do to earn her faith? So, she believed Zephyros, believed in him. She just hoped she didn’t live to regret putting her faith in him. But at some point, she had to listen to her gut again, start trusting it.
    Not everyone was Craig.
    She returned the scissors to the counter, pushed them far from the edge. Everything looked like a mishap waiting to happen, now. She had no idea how someone could make you have bad luck, but something had to explain how she’d tripped and almost fallen, busted her toe, burned herself, and cut her hand, all in the past fifteen minutes.
    She whirled on Zeph. “So, will you do it?”
    He studied her face. “Perhaps you would like to hear what it entails first?”
    Ella released a shallow breath. “Okay.” She shifted feet. “What do I—”
    “You must be in water, and I must bathe you.” Ella gaped. “First in a salt bath, and then I must rinse you off in the shower.”
    She scoffed. “Oh, that’s all?”
    “Yes.”
    Ella thought to argue, but now that Zeph had described her as “marked,” she was sure she could feel it. The memory of that cold, slick wind surrounding her made her shiver. It almost felt as if her heart had to work harder to pump normally. Maybe it was just her anxiety, or the weirdness of…everything. She met his waiting gaze. “Okay, I guess.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “This is really the only way besides just waiting to see what else happens?”
    “I’m afraid so.”
    She twisted her fingers together. “Then let’s get it over with.”
    He nodded and started filling the tub. “Now, can you bring me as much salt as you have?”
    “Like, regular table salt?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Sure. I’ll just, uh…” She thumbed over her shoulder, then left.
    “Ella?” he called.
    She swung back around the doorjamb. “Yeah?”
    Intense gray-blue eyes stared at her. “Be careful.”
    She nodded and retreated. Her mind went mechanical. Salt. Salt. Salt . Thinking about anything else threatened to unleash a serious case of nerves. Shaker off the table, canister of Morton’s from the pantry. Of course, when she reached for the latter, it slipped out of her hand and spilled on the floor. Bad luck on top of bad luck. Just great. Eager to be free of whatever was happening to her, Ella returned to the bathroom, shut the door, and plunked her findings on the counter. “Please tell me this is enough.”
    “Should be.” He unscrewed the lid from the saltshaker and emptied the granules into the filling tub. Repeated the process with the canister, pouring what was left of it in.
    “So, er, I suppose it’s too much to hope this will work with clothes on, right?” Heat infused her cheeks, but the thought of baring herself to him got her hot and wet in a way that had nothing to do with the steam the shower had thrown off earlier.
    He turned and raked his gaze down the front of her. “I’m sorry.”
    “Uh, don’t be. Somehow, I knew.” She nearly asked him to turn around so she could undress, but any attempt at modesty was pointless if he had to bathe her. Besides, this was simply a clinical procedure. Like being at the doctor’s office.
    Uh-huh. Right.
    Well, Dr. Zeph, here goes nothing .
    Before she allowed herself another second to consider her actions, she whipped her shirt over her head, then shoved her sweats to her ankles and stepped out of them. She wasn’t ashamed of her body—she bore no resemblance to Barbie, to be sure, but her body was strong and