My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 200: Bare

Violet

His fever faded slowly, until touching him no longer felt like pressing my palm against a fire. The sweating reduced too, from the constant drenching that had soaked through everything to occasional dampness that I could manage with a cloth.

The black veins were fading faster now too, but his wounds still hadn’t really healed. They remained angry and swollen, and the bruising across his back and side was still a mottled mess of purple.

Still, the most important thing was that the poison was leaving his system.

I found myself dozing off more and more. At first it was just moments here and there, my head nodding forward before I jerked awake. Then it became longer stretches, my body finally surrendering to the rest it had been denied.

He still asked for my lap whenever he came awake. His voice was stronger now, less of a rasp, but the request remained the same.

It had become... comfortable.

I tried not to think about what that meant.

At some point during the night, my other hand had moved. I found it resting on his shoulder, my fingers curled loosely against his skin.

I didn’t remember putting it there.

I didn’t move it either.

[ - ]

When I woke up, I just laid there for a moment, confused.

The stone floor of the cave had become familiar, but there was fabric underneath me, cushioning me from the ground.

I did not remember spreading out the sleeping fabric to lie down. I especially did that because of Rowan’s sweating to prevent it from getting soaked through.

’Wait...’

I sat up too fast, my head spinning, and looked around wildly.

Rowan wasn’t here.

The damp fabric I had been using to wipe him down was folded neatly to the side.

Panic seized my chest—

Then I felt the bond leading deeper into the cave.

He was alive. He was moving.

I let out a shaky breath, pressing my hand to my chest.

Then I looked down at myself.

My clothes were different.

I was wearing one of my other clothing and my pants had been changed to a cleaner pair.

All in all, this was definitely not what I had been wearing when I had fallen asleep.

I went still.

I had fallen asleep with his head on my lap. I had been drenched in his sweat too, and he had... changed me?

While I was asleep?

I scrambled to my feet, confused and a bit disturbed. My changed clothes aside, I doubted he was in good enough condition to be moving around like this.

I got up and made my way back inside only to stop dead when I rounded that familiar colour into the glow of the crystal lights.

Rowan was standing with his back to me, pulling his pants up over his hips.

His bare hips.

For one horrifying moment, I saw everything.

The broad expanse of his back, still mottled with fading bruises. The defined muscles along his spine, tensing as he moved. The narrow taper of his waist leading down to...

His backside was completely exposed.

The muscles there flexed as he shifted his weight, tugging the fabric higher, and I watched, frozen, and unable to look away, as the trousers slowly slid up over the curve of him, the fabric catching briefly before he yanked it into place.

My mouth fell open and he spun around, his eyes wide, and his hands fumbling with his waistband.

We stared at each other.

His face burned but mine was already on fire.

"I—you—I didn’t—" Unable to form coherent thoughts, I immediately turned around and fled. "I’m so sorry!"

[ - ]

The waterfall’s spray hit my face like a blessing.

I crouched at the cave entrance, cupping water in my hands and splashing it against my burning cheeks. The cold did nothing to erase the image seared into my mind.

I just saw his butt!

I was not new to seeing something like that but why was his bigger than mine, and—

’Stop!’

’Stop thinking about it!’

I pressed my wet hands against my eyes and groaned.

It was still odd to have seen him like that and I felt a bit guilty for just budging in during a private moment. But how was I supposed to know he was—

I groaned again, louder this time.

The sound of footsteps made me stiffen.

I didn’t turn around. I wasn’t sure I could look at him this moment.

"Violet."

His voice was quiet. Embarrassed.

I kept my eyes fixed on the waterfall.

"I apologize. My senses are not quite... alright. I didn’t hear you coming until—" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"No, please. It’s not your fault. I should also apologise for just barging in like that," I cut in, hiding my face in my palms.

He moved closer, and I heard him settle onto the ground a few paces behind me.

"Sorry for also changing your... clothes." He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was even smaller. "You were soaked through. And I didn’t want you to keep doing everything. I thought I could at least..."

He trailed off.

I finally turned my head, just enough to see him from the corner of my eye.

He looked terrible.

Better than before, yes. The grey pallor had faded from his skin, and the black veins were almost invisible now. But he still clearly looked visibly unwell.

The simple act of walking here had left him slightly breathless.

And he had used what little strength he had to take care of me.

My embarrassment flickered, shifting into something else.

"You shouldn’t have gotten up," I told him, getting to my feet. "You still need to rest."

"I know." He ducked his head, looking almost sheepish. "I just... wanted to help."

I stared at him.

He laid down on his back.

His clothing was loose and I was going to ask him if it was a good idea to be dressed when he was still sweating, but I didn’t say anything.

I sat back, watching him from the other side as his eyes found mine.

Neither of us spoke, and the awkwardness hung in the air.