It wasn’t deep, so I kept my movements shallow, aware of the bottom and every corner of this pool.
I surfaced several meters away from Nyx, yet it felt like I’d come up right next to her. Her open interest warmed the air around me, filling my lungs with her seductive scent and drawing me back to where she sat in the corner.
Like a siren,I mused, swimming toward her.Only, she doesn’t need to sing to seize my attention.
Her irises swirled with hypnotic desire as I grabbed the marbled edges on either side of her head, my body only a few inches from hers now. “You tempt my control, Goddess.”
“Do I?” she replied, her eyes searching mine. “It’s not intentional.”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t sure I believed that. “Is seduction one of your godly gifts?”
She considered for a moment, her hands lifting from the water to swirl golden magic in the air beside us.
“I think power can be naturally seductive in nature,” she whispered, the strand of shimmering energy dancing along my arm and leaving a hum behind in its wake. “I’m not sure if that’s a gift or just a fact of life.”
“Perhaps both,” I told her.
“Perhaps both,” she echoed with a soft nod. “I find your power seductive, which is interesting because you and Kaspian are very similar, yet I don’t want to taste him. I only want to taste you.”
“That’s the fated-mate bond.”
“Yet we rejected it,” she mused. “So perhaps it’s simplyyou, King of Vampires.”
My gaze fell to her alluring mouth, the concaves of her full lips teasing the final vestiges of my control.
“Perhaps it’s us,” I said softly. “Regardless of the reason, I want you. But the monarchs of my world are not going to let me have you.” Not like this, anyway.
Her fingertips skimmed my arm as she trailed a path up to my shoulder. “They want you to kill me.” Not a question, but a statement.
“Yes and no. They fear what they don’t understand, but there are other gods and goddesses who live freely in this world. Which tells me we have a chance to make this work.”
“You want to make this work?” she asked, her fingers drifting up into my hair.
“I want to find a way for you to have the option to stay,” I admitted. “And my reason for doing so is purely selfish.”
“Is it?” Her nails combed through my damp hair, all the way to my nape. “Tell me your reason.”
“I think that should be obvious, Goddess.” My words were a whisper in the air, my lips nearly tasting hers.
“Tell me anyway.” There was a slight quiver in her voice, a subtle sound that revealed her aroused state.
Not that I needed the verbal confirmation.
I couldsmellher interest, the predator inside me growling in approval at having baited and cornered its desired prey.
But I couldn’t have her yet. Not like this. Not when everything hung so tenuously in the balance.
I ran my nose along her cheekbone, inhaling her addictive fragrance as I went, and pressed my lips to her ear. “I want you, Nyx. But I won’t indulge in this craving until we’ve determined a path forward.”
I lowered my mouth to her throbbing pulse, the sensual beat an invitation my fangs longed to accept.
But I pulled away instead and stepped beneath the waterfall, needing to clear my head.
Nyx joined me, her palm skating along my abdomen as she pushed me back into the wall behind the flowing water. I opened my eyes to stare down at her, my hands finding her hips to take control of her movements.
I’d intended to push her away.
Only to end up pulling her closer as her breasts met my chest.
