The water teases past my breasts as I stagger to a stand. Inhaling deep, I dunk below the surface, dropping through water that grows progressively warmer.
Darker.
It’s only when my bum hits the ground that I open my mouth andscream, releasing a stream of bubbles that assault me on their rush to freedom.
I kick off the stone, darting to the surface and drawing deep, not even bothering to open my eyes before I sink and punch out another scream.
The process is repeated over and over until all the pressure dissipates and I’m listless, suspended, uncaring whether I float to the surface or not.
Strong hands shackle my upper arms and yank me free of the water’s grip, forcing me to stand straight before my back is whacked by the flat of a palm.
“Breathe ...”
I draw a raspy breath and fold forward, resting my forehead on a shoulder that’s more rock than flesh. I suck on Rhordyn’s scent as I’m drifted back against a wall, pressed between man and stone, each equally unyielding.
But it’sRhordynI’m leaning against. Drawing from. Using like I do my tonic.
Dammit.
I always end up seeking comfort from him when I’m at my most vulnerable, and it never does me any favors.
Cursing myself, I tip my head back and suck a ragged breath, cracking my eyes open.
What I see has my lungs flattening.
Rhordyn’s eyes, usually metallic plates that bounce light, areabsorbingme. His brow is pinched the slightest bit, and there’s something about his mouth that makes it look far less dispassionate than normal.
The concern in his eyes is unfamiliar. I’ve never seen anything but the hardness he wears—his impenetrable boundary.
He’s like that locked door opposite the entrance of Stony Stem. Like The Den and The Keep.
Just something else I want to crack open and explore, though I’ve never been given as much as a peek through the keyhole.
Until now.
Our warring chests collide with every draw of breath; mine bound and clothed, his covered by a thin, black shirt that’s clinging to him like a glove. He’s taking me in as if he’s trying to see past a mask that isn’t there.
I’m an open book, and that’s where our power balance is so very off.
I give too much away, what with how I shiver every time his voice cuts through the air. With the way his closeness snags my breath, and how he makes me feel like I’m safe and protected in the boundary of his castle grounds.
It has nothing to do with the castle, and everything to do withhim.
“I’m okay,” I whisper, instantly realizing my mistake.
The words were too soft, too placating, stiffening Rhordyn’s aura like a sheet of ice the moment they left my lips.
Clearing his throat, he casts his gaze to the ceiling. After a few drawn-out breaths, he drops his chin and looks at me through the eyes of that ice-cold mask I’m far too familiar with.
Gone.
Suddenly, looking at him is painful.
I roll my head to the side, veering from the sight.
Four sconces cast the room in a soft, golden glow, illuminating chiseled walls that plunge into thesinglelarge spring ...
There’s nowhere to walk around the edges—nothing but a stairway that rises from the water, filling the chamber’s entirety. Even the roof is lower, those mineral fangs much closer to piercing the water’s surface than they are in the room I’m used to bathing in.
