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Her insides fluttered with desire, and her skin grew warm at the huskiness of his voice. She rolled her hips over his, craving more friction against her aching center.
But Arkimedes held her tight, leaving her unable to move. Then he nipped at her neck and licked up the column of her throat until he was breathing against her ear. “Tell me.”
“Ark,” she whimpered. She needed more contact, but her words seemed to scramble each time she tried to find them. “I want you to touch me everywhere,” she managed eventually.
“And?”
“I want you to make love to me…”
The moment she spoke the words, he slid inside her, kissing her hungrily.
Nava moved on top of him and found a steady pace while hanging onto his shoulders. She rocked against his body, until the water was splashing from the tub and his moans mixed with hers.
Her skin glowed as her magic soared through her veins. She was full to the brim, and pleasure ran through her body, making her toes curl. Goose bumps rushed over her skin as Arkimedes feathered his lips over her clavicle and up her neck and chin. The tension built, spiraling within her until she was about to burst, hovering right there on the edge.
She toppled over, her insides tightening around him as ecstasy pulsed through her. Arkimedes kissed her through it, lifting his hips from the tub’s bottom and slamming into her with growing desperation. His movements grew erratic as he chased his own release, then he grunted, digging his fingers into her hips as he pushed himself deeper inside her.
For a long moment, they clung to one another, their ragged breaths easing slowly. Nava allowed herself to drift on the water until she could lay her head over his heart.
Now that they were separate beings once more, she felt empty—craving to be close and intimate again. But her mind was stuck between heated thoughts of repeating what had just happened and the weight of worry distracting her from her state of bliss.
The Crows were on their tail. The king was probably tracking them, and the Zorren were still wreaking havoc, assisted by an undying bastard. It seemed like the trifecta of trouble was intent on their ruin.
While they’d been at the safe house, for however short a period of time, at least they’d had a plan. Even if that plan was to find a solution. But now…
“What are we going to do, Ark?” Nava lifted her chin off his chest, studying the gentle flutter of his lashes as he closed his eyes.
He let his head fall against the edge of the tub, revealing the thick column of his neck as he swallowed. His hand drew lazy circles over the skin of her hip, and for a while, she thought he wouldn’t answer.
“Be more specific,” he said.
“Devon is poisoned and seems more ill with each passing hour. Then we have the issue with the emissary and the Zorren…”
“I don’t want to talk about this right now.” Arkimedes kept up his gentle caress.
Guilt swirled in her stomach, and she pressed her cheek against his chest, closing her eyes. If only she could push all her worries away. “Sorry. I just feel like we need to keep one step ahead of whatever is coming for us.”
“We rarely get a moment of privacy where I can have you to myself, in peace.” He sighed. “Right now, I want to trap you in this room where we don’t have to worry about anything at all.”
“Forget I brought anything up.”
“Too late.” He huffed a laugh and shifted, forcing her to sit up as well. The water had cooled down since she’d climbed into the tub, and unlike other washrooms, this one didn’t have a stove to maintain the water temperature. “I’ve witnessed just one other person poisoned by the Vulcan, and the symptoms weren’t as severe as Devon’s.”
“Why do you think it’s different this time?”
“I don’t know, Bee,” he admitted and rubbed a hand over his face. “But whatever he asked hurt him badly. Or maybe he didn’t let go of it in time.”
“So tomorrow Leela will get us more healing potions. But do we need to find a healer?” She frowned. It didn’t seem advisable if they wanted to remain hidden. “If only I could remember how to make a potion, I could sort this myself.”
“You can relearn how to once things have settled.”
She met his gaze, and hope blossomed. Perhaps she had given up on her old knowledge too fast. Why let the horrors of her circumstances defeat her? Why allow the God of Shadows to win when she could relearn what he’d taken from her? Sure, it wouldn’t be her father’s teachings, but she could regain that part of herself. In time.
Water dripped off Arkimedes’s body as he stood and climbed from the tub, reaching for one of the fluffy towels Leela had set out for them on a wooden stool off to the side. Then he stilled, as if something had spooked him.
“Ark?”
“What if Aristaeus knows how to kill an immortal?” He turned to Nava, his eyes widening. “He’s a creature of the gods. We lost access to the Vulcan and the archives, but we have a Beekeeper, and we can ask him things we don’t know.”
