Caught

25.

It was very late, the orange shimmer of the lamp illuminated the small windowless room, and I was lying on the bed, pleasantly tired, drifting off to sleep. Beside me, Shira was lazily running his fingers up and down my naked back. I felt relaxed, content and, despite our uncertain future, even happy.

If only I could stop time and make this moment last forever.

What had we been doing all day? We ate, talked a bit and I had to change Shira's bandage twice.

And for the rest of the day, we couldn't tear ourselves away from each other.

As expected, our wild activities caused the wound on his leg to reopen and start bleeding. It wasn't a big deal, but I felt guilty and angry that Shira was taking it so lightly. But every time I said something to him, he just waved his hand over it, kissed me and then... it got pretty wild.

I smiled at the thought. The whole thing seemed surreal. If someone had told me a few months ago that I'd end up in bed with a man with a passion for deadly weapons, I'd probably have sent him to a shrink.

Shira slowly rolled over onto his side and, for a change, began to fiddle with my hair, still damp from the shower.

Shower.

That was another memory I had to grin at. And if there was any shame left in me after everything we'd done together today, I might even blush. Instead, a spark of excitement ran through my body as I vividly remembered what Shira could do with his mouth.

I turned my head, which had been resting on my folded hands, and looked at my black-haired lover.

"What are you thinking about?" he broke the silence.

"How is it possible that I'm lying here in bed with a man, and the Emperor's right-hand man at that," I grinned, resisting the urge to touch him.

An amused smile crossed Shira's face, "And what bothers you more? That you slept with a man or that you committed treason?"

"I will gladly be court-martialled for this treason," I leaned towards him, and this time I had to touch him. I gently brought our lips together in a lazy, slow kiss.

I felt so good in his arms, never imagining it would be so perfect between us. Because Shira was so perfect and I was falling more and more in love with him with each passing minute.

"You're nothing like I expected."

"What did you expect?" He asked, looking at me with interest in his eyes.

I had no idea what to say without offending him. But Shira had to know what everyone here was thinking of him. What I thought, too, before I got to know him better. A cruel, ruthless man who revels in killing. A sadistic cutthroat, not to be messed with.

"The soldiers here are all afraid of you, they think you're a brutal maniac with a katana," I finally spoke. "Even the prison guards were afraid of you, even when you were chained up. Everyone here thinks you let me live just to..." I couldn't finish.

"To do what?" Shira raised an eyebrow in question. "Throw you on the bed and rape you?"

"Well... yes," I finished, hoping I hadn't offended him. Especially since I knew how far from the truth that was.

"I see," he pressed his lips together, but didn't seem insulted.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me.

"I know you're not like that."

"What am I like?"

I brushed the black strands from his face, looked into his stunning eyes and ran my thumb over his lower lip.