doce

"Why are you following me?" But instead of staying where I am, I move on. I want to go home. At least that's where he can't follow me.

Zaret shrugs and pushes himself off the wall. And that alone is way too intimidating. He gets even bigger when he's standing up straight. That annoys me. How can it be that he radiates so much more authority with such a small thing? If I do the same thing, probably no one will even notice.

"I need a place to sleep," he says as I walk past him. And that makes me stop. Did he really just say he wanted to sleep with me? And that hasn't been a question. No, it didn't even sound uncertain. More like a fact that would be perfectly normal. But it's not. Not at all. So I just turn around and shake my head. "But certainly not with me."

He grins and indeed manages to look embarrassed. This guy is really incredible. "You made sure that I'm no longer safe anywhere."

And that's enough for me. I immediately keep stomping, waving my hand in the air. "No. You can forget that very quickly." But instead of giving my words any meaning, he walks behind me again. And now the crunch of footsteps seems even louder than it did before. It almost seems like a reminder that I don't have the power to decide who is allowed in my room. That makes me nervous. I really don't want to admit it to myself, but that's the way it is. And so I bite my bottom lip while trying to figure out how to get rid of him.

"Kalota." There's that thunder again that goes through my bones. And indeed I stop briefly. Only a moment. Rather a halt in an otherwise fluid movement.

"Put your Kalota somewhere else," I say angrily and have to really try not to hit him again. But instead of giving in to this urge, I clench my fists. Every bone in my body hurts and I can't take another argument with Zaret today. And with that I reach you door. All I have to do is slip in and fasten the latch. He would hardly want to come in by force. He probably wouldn't even make it. Even if Zaret doesn't show his injuries that clearly, it's obvious that he's not feeling well.

And so I quickly open the door, jump in, and just as I'm about to slam the wood, Zaret sticks his shoe in. I immediately close my eyes in resignation. Did I really think that my elaborate plan would work out? God, I really should think a little more. Especially at Zaret. I usually do that too. But today my thoughts are stuck. Like tough porridge. No wonder. In the end I learned quite a lot.

"Did you really want to lock me out?" He laughs, panting, and then he pushes the door open again. Since I'm well aware that I don't even have to try to counteract this, I just stand with my arms crossed in front of my upper body. "You will not stay here." My voice sounds steady. That amazes even me. But Zaret doesn't seem to care. He tilts his head slightly and takes a step closer to me. "Yes. You leave me no other choice."

I snort and just stand there. Even when Zaret steps even closer to me, I don't move an inch. This time I won't be intimidated. "Go to one of your friends or to a woman." And now I can't help but grimace in desperation. God, I don't want him here. Absolutely no way. But instead of considering my proposal, he just shakes his head. "So that you can also send some people to murder me? No, thank you. I don't." He tries to push me aside, but I just brace my arm.

"You let me rape you and you really think I'll take you in now?" What is said is more hysterical than I intended, but I will not delve further into it. Instead, I want to say something else, but Zaret forestalls me.

"You wanted to have me killed." And now he stops trying to push me aside and turns to me. "And at least I apologized," he grumbles, raising an eyebrow. In fact, he sounds pouty. This leaves me completely stunned and I can only raise my hands in the air, overwhelmed. "Do you really think that makes it better?"

And now Zaret is gaining confidence. There's that gutter's bat again. The one feared by everyone. "Yes that's what I think." And as much as he stirs up fear in me, I just don't let him intimidate me. This whole conversation is too surreal for that. "Well, if that's the case: I'm sorry that I wanted to have you killed."

And now we both deliver a very special kind of gaze duel. Neither of us intends to give in. I narrow my eyes and want to put all my disgust into my facial expressions. But while I'm giving it my all, all he can do is smile.

"It works," he grumbles and now pushes me completely to the side. I want to pull him back immediately and just throw him out in a big bow, then he turns to me again. "I accept the apology." And that's exactly what nipped my resistance in the bud. God, this guy doesn't have them all anymore.

And while I can only stare at him, Zaret grabs the rag of his shirt and wants to pull it over his head. Immediately he moans softly and I would never have thought it possible that he could sound so suffering. But again he comes up against granite with me. After all, I've had to endure endless torment more than once because of him. He was never interested in my screams and begging either. So why should I show something like pity now? "What are you doing there?"

He grumbles something but stops moving. "I take off my clothes. What do you think?" Before I can protest, he pulls his shirt over his head. And now it's clear that he's really badly injured. There are gaping cuts on his upper body. Not many. But the few that are there are deep, very deep, the blood on the skin is dark red, and just to emphasize once again that he really is in pain, Zaret makes a tight noise.

"How did you survive?" The question comes out automatically rather than being really considered. I still can't take my eyes off the cuts. Especially the one across the stomach doesn't look good. He rubs himself crosses my face and looks for something in my room. "What do you want to hear, the version where I stand out as untouchable or the truth?" And now he seems to have found what he is looking for. Instead of looking at me and waiting for my answer, he walks across the room to my kitchen.

"The truth," I murmur, looking with interest at what he's actually up to. But when he reaches for the bucket, I realize that he probably wants to clean himself up. And that's exactly why I turn away from him. It works No danger from him at the moment.So I close the door and quickly light a candle.Light up the room as much as I can,then face Zaret again, lightbulb in hand.

****

He takes a deep breath and grabs a sponge. And only when he has held it in the water and is slowly leading it to the wound on his waist does he turn around again. "I was lucky." He shrugs and now gently presses the sponge on the cut. He immediately grimaces in pain, but continues to clean the wounds.

I've also removed most of the blood from my hair, but now I'm going to clean the rag and sponge. It has to be done right away or I'll never get the blood out there again. And while I'm doing the work that Zaret should have done as well, he goes to my bed of straw. And now that makes me forget that things have to be cleaned up. "What are you doing there?"

But he doesn't stop and settles down on my sleeping place with a sigh. "What does it look like? I want to sleep." And he rubs his face again and now it's obvious to me too that Zaret's day is in his bones. He's sitting there almost sunken. His shoulders aren't as taut as I'd usually expect know him, but I can't deal with that.

"Oh no. You're sleeping on the floor." With that, I walk up to him and grab his wrist. He allows it. That's weird and should actually make me suspicious. But right now, the only important thing for me is to somehow get him off my bed. And stuff like that I tug on his arm. With all my might. I clench my teeth and really do my best. And nothing happens. Only an amused brow raise shows that he even notices what I'm doing. My goodness, this man must be a ton to weigh.

"Zaret," I whine softly and let him go now. There's no point. Only that I hurt myself with it. And so I can't do anything but look at him pleadingly I can sleep in my bunk, but there's no pity from him, he shrugs slightly and just falls back, back first.

"I'm sorry, little Kalota. But I can't sleep on the wood with my wounds." And with that he grabs my blanket. This is driving me completely insane. What is he thinking? This is my room. After all, I'm paying for it and I really have it every utensil, however old and shabby, worked very hard. Zaret made sure of that, after all. So I grab the blanket before he can cover himself completely with it and snatch it from him. He lets out a protesting sound, but I don't care. I'm angry. But even through the haze of the flames, I can see that there's no point in discussing this with him any further. Anyway, I'm pretty lucky he hasn't physically attacked him yet. It must be because of the injuries. Normally he would have grabbed my head and banged it against the wall over and over again until I just collapsed. So I shouldn't overdo it.

Finally, I must not have too many wounds on my body. What would the king think? Although I can't even say if he would be interested in it at all. But I don't want to think about that now either. I should go to sleep. So I just blow out the candle and lay down on the floor with a grumble. And that's just enough to elicit a pained sound from me. Heck, I'm injured too and need a soft pad just like Zaret. And now? Now I'm lying on the cold wood, every bone in my body protesting. And that's not even all. It is cold. The blanket is not enough to protect me from the cold of the ground and to cover me at the same time. And so the cold can just sneak up on my skin. make me chill That's enough for me.

So I snort in disgust as I get up and go to Zaret. It's too dark to see if his eyes are still open. But he's definitely not going to sleep yet, so I just start talking, "I sleep against the wall." And with that, I step over him and sure enough, he slips away a bit. "I'll do that," he murmurs, turning into mine Direction. The voice shows the tiredness and that he was apparently closer to sleep than I thought. But I'm not done talking yet. After all, if I'm going to put up with him in my bed, there should be a few rules.

"We divide the lying surface in two halves." This here," I stroke the soft surface and indicate where about half is, "is the limit."

Of course Zaret is already lying on my side and I smack my hand against his knee. He snorts in amusement, but actually pulls away. And that gives me courage to clarify more things. "No touching." Even though it's dark, I stretch out my index finger and lie down too. "Not even a light touch. I don't care if you're asleep, I don't want skin contact. So keep your pencils to you ." And as I speak, I can almost feel Zaret grinning broadly. His overall charisma shows that he finds my little lecture more amusing than taking it seriously. But since there are no objections, I now turn my back to him and breathe a sigh of relief. It could actually be something like that. until the time where a finger slips under my covers and brushes my back. I immediately stiffen and turn to Zaret immediately. He laughs softly and I can't help but shake my head in complete disbelief. "Was there anything unclear about what you just said?"

"No no. It's all very logical." The amusement still resonates in his voice and he stretches again slightly. "A bit exaggerated, but you made the whole thing understandable."

He's joking. Very obviously. That can hardly be serious? God, can't he just say thank you. After all, he just nested here. But now that I'm wrapped in a pleasant warmth, I only make an annoyed sound and want to let it be. I shouldn't give in to his provocation. Then he will definitely give up. And so I turn my back on him again. Actually I would like to lie on the other side, but a painful throbbing prevents it.

Probably bruised ribs or something. Actually, I expect him to touch me again immediately and show me what he thinks of my rules. But nothing like that happens. Zaret just stays where he is. And so I can relax a bit and close my eyes. And while the fog slowly thickens, a rustling sounds. Immediately my alarm bells go off and I want to move, but half asleep holds me tight. Don't let me act immediately. So Zaret can slip under the covers and wrap an arm around me. Press me tightly against him. And then his lips hover over my ear. "But you know, I really don't believe in any regulations and that's not going to change here."

And finally I can grumble quietly and want to free myself from his grip, but he only tightens his arm around me and I gasp softly. My bruises are screaming from the pressure applied, and as I struggle not to lose my composure completely, Zaret buries his face in my hair and grunts with satisfaction.

"It's much more comfortable that way," he whispers softly, and hot breath hits my scalp. Seems to really want to burn me. And not only that. Zaret grabs my neck and squeezes lightly. The warning is obvious. I should hold still , otherwise he will make me stop moving. And so I stop kicking my feet like mad and can only close my eyes in resignation. Did I really think that he would adapt to my demands?

"That's good," he whispers and the muffled voice shows that he just wants to sleep. Still, I can't help but grimace in disgust. But my hand is still around my neck and I have no choice all I can do is endure his closeness as he provocatively presses his pelvis against my butt. It's immediately apparent to me that he wants to remind me who has the upper hand here. And that elicits a soft whimper from me. And while I always more stiff, Zaret blows a kiss on the crook of my neck.

"You decide how to proceed from here." And with that, my last resistance is crumbling. Let him have some of my blanket. snuggle up to me Show me that even in my room he rules. And so I nod myself slightly while his lips twist into a grin. "Very wise decision."