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“It’s good news that Fitzgerald may be able to find something to break the orb,” I say. “At least between him and Maranda, we have a backup plan. We can’t stay together forever, after all.”
“No. You’d ruin my sex life.”
Ryder grins and spins me around, so my back is up against him. He places one hand on my ribcage and one across the front of my hips as we sashay to the music. We’re cheek-to-cheek, and I breathe in his rum-leather scent. My ass presses up against him and I can feel his dick harden against me. Without conscious thought, I reach one of my hands around and pull him closer, grinding against him. He lets out a low groan.
“Would I really?” I whisper.
The tempo changes and he spins me so we’re face-to-face again. I can still feel his hardness through his jeans, but now it’s bumping up against me in a very sensitive place. My breath catches in my chest as we move together, perfectly in sync. Ryder slides his hands down my body, grazing over the curves of my ass, cupping the lower half of my cheeks so that his fingers are inches from my sex. It clenches with desire and heat shoots through my body.
The music fades, but Ryder holds onto me until the last moment. Fitzgerald approaches us again and lets out a low chuckle. “Ryder, you scoundrel, you’re making everyone very jealous. I’m really beginning to doubt your protestations about not being head-over-heels for this fine witch here.”
“That’s just how lust demons dance,” Ryder says with a cavalier smile.
He seems completely unaffected, which grates on my nerves as I try to slow the pounding of my heart from our sizzling dance.
“And we’ll be out of your hair momentarily,” he adds. “Ven needs to rest after some impressive spell work earlier.”
“Enjoy the guesthouse,” Fitzgerald says with a very conspicuous wink. “You absolutely must try the hot springs off the back deck.”
We say goodnight and Ryder leads the way. I try to banish the heat running through my veins as we wind through another section of the gardens. Ryder is doing it again—from hot and heavy to acting like nothing happened. It’s driving me insane.
The guest house is at the back of the complex, an almost entirely glass building with quartz tile flooring, a huge platform bed set with sumptuous gray silk, and, as Fitzgerald promised, a large back deck with steps down to one of the natural hot springs that bubbles up throughout the property.
“Want to take a dip?” Ryder asks as we head inside.
“Aren’t you the one who was saying how badly I need rest?” I arch a brow.
“Well, you have to wash off anyway. We’ve been running around in the hot sun all day. Plus, these waters will relax your muscles like nothing else. Trust me.”
The water does look tempting. After a moment’s debate, I nod. “Okay. But only for a few minutes.”
We head out to the back deck. The hot spring is about a dozen feet across, surrounded by smooth black rocks and tall, spiky plants that let off a fragrance similar to sage. I make Ryder turn around while I strip off my dress. He rolls his eyes but complies, then takes off his own clothes and lowers himself onto the nearest rock ledge. But he goes just a bit too far away, and the back of our orb crashes into me and shoves me forward.
Ryder catches me as I go flying toward the water. I land in a half-straddle over his naked lap, his hands right below my breasts.
“You did that on purpose!” I gasp.
He rolls his eyes again. “Don’t be ridiculous, Ven. It was an accident.”
The water is hot, but not unpleasantly so, and curls of steam wrap around us. I shimmy to try to regain my balance, but just end up slipping on the rocks more. My thighs slide even further down around Ryder’s waist.
“Now who’s doing things on purpose?” he asks with a grin.
“Excuse me?”
“If you want to have sex, just ask. We’ve been over this. I’m not opposed.” He shrugs.
My voice goes up several octaves. “Not opposed? Oh, that’s the way to a girl’s heart. What a compliment.”
“I’m not after your heart. I think I’ve made that quite clear.” He smiles, but there’s an edge to his tone.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” I finally manage to slide off of Ryder’s groin and settle myself next to him. “But, as far as who’s chasing who, you’re the one who kissed me, remember?”
“That was just blowing off steam.” He looks over at me, his teal eyes glowing with a spark of magic. “And you weren’t exactly complaining.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I mean, your tongue was kind of invading my mouth.”
“Honestly, Ven. Just admit it.” He leans toward me, his thigh brushing against mine. “You want me. You made a big deal of resisting me when we first met, but you don’t need to keep up the act anymore.”
