Once I get back from the wedding, I need to make that my top priority. Jace, Kane, and Damien can handle the creatures and military. Finding the lost island again is my responsibility.
As the updates carry on, I notice the strain on Reign’s face. She likes to be in the know, but hearing the details of everything takes its toll on her. Her empathy runs deep, and she carries the weight of the war on her shoulders. It’s one of the things we have in common, I suppose. Our relentless need to burden ourselves with the pressure to save everyone. The only difference is, I’m the king. It’s my duty, not hers.
After the meeting ends, Damien is caught up in conversation with Jace and Kane, so I use the opportunity to steal Reign away. When we reappear next to the hourglass shaped pool, I’m thankful no one else is around. Of course, I could clear the room in a matter of seconds, but it’s not something I like to do. I’d rather my people feel comfortable with me around.
“What are we doing here?” she asks, leaning over to look at the sky-blue water.
“The council meeting was intense. I thought you could use a break from all the talk of impending doom.”
“A break would be nice,” she agrees.
A second later she begins slipping off her shoes. Once she starts unbuttoning her pants, I quickly turn around.
“You don’t have to look away. I mean, unless you need to.”
I should. I should stay turned around with my eyes trained on the stone wall several feet away from me instead of trailing up her legs. But of course, the discipline I have in every other aspect of my life ceases to exist when I’m around her.
I turn around to find her standing in her underwear that only covers half of her perfectly curved ass and a tight, white camisole that will surely become see-through the moment she enters the water.
I expect her to jump into the pool and wait for me to join her but instead she walks over to me and slowly begins lifting my shirt up. Once it gets hard for her to reach, I take over and pull it over my head. Her touch is so electrifying that it sends an intense shiver down my spine.
She continues, running her fingertips down my chest and intently traces each one of my abs as she makes her way to my buckle. She looks up at me as she slips the leather through the metal ring. As soon as her fingers start on the button of my pants, I have to stop her hands with mine.
“Too much?” she asks, pulling away.
I rest my forehead on hers and sigh. “It’s all too much with you.”
“I’m sorry,” she says quietly like she regrets the last sixty seconds.
“Don’t be,” I tell her, tilting her chin up with my finger. “I’d rather be tortured by you than loved by anyone else.”
Her expression is hard to read. I decide things have gotten too serious and swoop her up in my arms.
“What are you doing?” she giggles in that childlike way that makes the darkest parts of me light up.
“Let me know how the water feels.”
“Wait—”
It’s too late. I’m already tossing her into the steady pool of water before she can tell me not to. By the time she comes back up for air, I’m already jumping in after her. When I run my hands down my face and open my eyes, I’m instantly hit with a wave of water.
“That’s for throwing me in,” she teases with a proud grin.
I shake my wet hair near her face, and she squeals.
“That’s for wearing a white top.” She looks down, and it’s like she’s just now realizing how much of her I can see. She crosses her arms over her chest, but I pull them away. “I want to see you.”
Her nipples seem to harden at my confession and hundreds of water droplets begin floating around us.
“Whoa,” she says, tapping a few with her finger. “Is this because…” She looks down at the top that is clinging to her perky breasts.
“Accessing my power helps me… stay relaxed in other areas.”
Her face goes beet red, and she dips under the water to hide it. I release the hold on my magic and the two of us swim circles around each other, discussing anything but us and war. It feels comfortable and natural. I never knew that having a foundation of friendship could make such a difference in a relationship. I never had that with Elizabeth. Our love was surface level and we were naïve. Nothing like what I experience with Reign.
“I didn’t know Zaro was with anyone,” she says as she floats on her back.
“I knew, but I respected his choice to keep that part of his life private. It’s easier to keep someone you love safe if no one knows about them.”
