“Besides, I think you forget that I am their king,” he rumbled, dropping his hand to my neck, “and therefore, you are their queen.”
My mouth was suddenly dry, but I forced out the words rolling around in my mind, “Until you divorce me.”
The moment was shattered, and his hand dropped as if my skin burned him.
“Get in the water, wench,” he murmured. “I’ll wait nearby but give you your privacy.”
His footsteps echoed until they slowly faded away and I could no longer see him. Feeling crestfallen, I stepped closer to the pools as I considered the odd crossroads Theo and I seemed to find ourselves constantly at, in regards to our marriage and the undeniable draw that we clearly both felt. I could deny it all I wanted, but that didn’t make our draw any less true.
After it had finally clicked in my brain that he wasn’t my enemy, I was beginning to see that all the reasons we clashed so much were because of our similarities. We were both too stubborn for our own good, guarded, and didn’t want to bow to anyone.
I mulled that over as I stripped free from my restrictive clothing, shivering as I quickly made my way down to the rocky, natural steps that led into the spring. My eyes searched the area, curious as to where Theo was waiting and wondering if he was truly giving me privacy or if he was watching me still.
My nipples pebbled at the thought of him seeing me, but the feeling was also accompanied by a hefty dose of uncertainty. Would he even like my body if he was watching?
A hiss came from me as my foot met the water, and I jerked it back. I wasn’t sure if the water was truly that scalding, or if it was the severe cold biting at my extremities. Slowly, I allowed myself to adjust and waded into the water inch by inch until my hair pooled around my shoulders, floating around me like inky tendrils in the warm water.
My muscles loosened as I glided through the water and a soft moan came from me at the relief I felt. The remainder of the chill I’d been feeling on my nose and cheeks began to fade as the steam billowed around me. I dropped my head back, letting therest of my hair soak before running my hands through it. There was a silky softness to it, and I wondered what minerals were present in the springs.
As I allowed myself to truly look around, I noticed the most subtle, light-blue streaks etched into the ceiling. They seemed to pulsate with energy and my mouth fell open in wonder. Was this the ley line, visible to the eye?
As my feet landed back on the smooth rock bottom, I scanned the depths of the water, looking for more evidence of the magic, considering Theo told me it ran through the springs. But as I looked around, I caught the briefest glint of silver scales and Theo’s dragon eye in a shadowed recess.
He’d been watching me, openly.
I found it didn’t actually bother me at all that he’d broken his word to give me my privacy.
Was it possible that neither of us actually found the other disgusting after all?
Chapter Seventeen
THEO
Fuck,my little wench was really testing my restraint. More so, she was testing the hold I had on my dragon. The line between my logical human brain and the feral need of the animal within me was becoming precariously thin with Siyana in my life.
I hated to admit just how quickly she’d infiltrated my mind, especially when I had to accept that she never chose this life for herself. I’d forced her to be by my side, and that would never equate to finding my true mate.
My taloned hands curled into fists, ripping into my skin in a desperate attempt to ground myself with the pain. I wanted to give into the pleasure that threatened to drag me under from the sight of the supple curves of her body glistening in the water.
Perhaps I was taking advantage of knowing she had deplorable vision within the cave, unlike myself. Curiosity had won over to see what she was doing, though, and as I saw her body floating within the gently bubbling water, I’d attempted to avert my gaze. For all of five seconds.
I shouldn’t have stared for as long as I had, but the swell of her breasts and tanned nipples pointing toward the ceiling had been too tantalizing to ignore. I’d told her I’d remain near, and she knew of my excellent sight.
Had she truly taken me at my word to give her privacy? Perhaps it made me a brute to disregard the promise, but then again, I’d already told her I was her brute.
As her body suddenly shifted and was submerged as she stood, her head snapped in the exact direction I’d come to sulk in, wondering if she’d go home and marry this Brenson she seemed so fond of when I dissolved our marriage contract.
I slammed my eyes closed, knowing there was no way I could contain my dragon from sparking the magic that danced within my eye, giving away my position in the depths of shadows. The beast was here to stay, at least until I could find a way to release this pent-up energy rolling through me like a midwinter storm.
Hopefully she would glance away, considering whatever drew her eye a fluke, and I could resume my perusal.
A few minutes passed before I dared to open my human eye. Instantly, my hardened cock–that I had tried to calm down with a few deep breathing exercises in the last few minutes–was back and harder than I’d ever experienced. A groan escaped me at the sight that awaited my hungry eyes.
Her hands cupped her breasts as water droplets rolled down the swell of them. My mouth went suddenly dry as her fingers tightened around her nipples and twisted them between her fingertips. Her eyes remained trained on the exact spot I still occupied. Slowly, she waded back until she bumped against the rocky steps normally used to exit the water. Instead of turning and walking out, she dropped her hands and slowly lowered herself to lay back against them, lifting her feet to rest on the lowest step.
I swore she winked as she spread those sinfully long legs and watched me from between them.
Was she…I shook my head, trying to clear the thought. No, she wasn’t doing this for me.Right?
