Page 11 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

I claw at the beast, fighting to plant my feet, but the stones roll under me. I’m weightless. Spinning. Drowning.

Panic floods my senses. My thoughts fracture.

Then the weight of the creature disappears.

A steel arm wraps around my waist and jerks me upright with neck-snapping strength.

My head breaks the surface.

Air!

I choke and cough, hacking the stream water from my lungs. I blink to clear the stinging from my eyes just in time to see the terrifying creature scamper into the underbrush on the riverbank.

“Were you trying to drown?”

That voice… Deep. Controlled. Infuriating.

My heart slams against my ribs, and my magic goes haywire, slithering through my veins, pressing against my skin.

I twist. Rian’s silver eyes ensnare mine. He’s drenched, clothes plastered to his body. The dark, soaked fabric outlines every taut, sculpted line of his chest and arms. His hair, normally tousled yet regal, drips onto his cheekbones, making him look less like a prince and more like some ancient, wild god pulled straight from the stream itself.

His arm is still locked around my waist, his body hot against mine. Too hot. The heat radiates through the chilled water that bites at my skin.

Realization slams into me.

I’m naked.

I gasp and shift to cover myself, but the motion only presses me closer against him.

My breasts flatten against the hard muscles of his forearm. His gaze flickers down once, and silver light flares in his eyes like lightning striking metal.

The shadows on my arms whirl and spin, dancing with joy to be in the proximity of their master.

Their master…

The fire within me dwindles to embers.

“Let me go,” I demand, voice trembling.

His eyes flare bright, then he releases me.

“Ah!” I fall back into the water.

My feet slide out from under me.

“For fuck’s sake!” Rian’s hands find my waist, and he hauls me up. “Can’t you swim?”

“Of course I can,” I cough out with a glare.

“Yeah?” He scoffs and shifts, lowering me until my feet find the streambed. “Prove it.”

Once I get my legs under me, he lets go. I tuck my arms over my breasts and drop into the water so only my shoulders are exposed.

My body is caught between two extremes: the frigid bite of the water and the molten heat lingering where his hands touched my skin.

Rian stands in the waist-deep water, his expression unreadable.

“You can go now,” I mutter.