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I could feelyellow eyes on me from the very second that I stripped off my filthy clothing, leaving it in a pile on the bank, but I pretended to ignore it. Pretended that Bael’s gaze didn’t heat my skin, despite the chilly water, and that I was not aware of every splash and movement as he drew closer.
I waded in up to my waist, goosebumps rising on my arms, my nipples pebbling, before I finally worked up the nerve to dunk my entire body under the surface.
I gasped, coming up quickly—the water was icy, far too cold for swimming, and it felt only marginally warmer once I was entirely submerged, and I could not decide if it was preferable to linger under the water or above it.
Could there be a giant serpent beneath the water or some terrible, carnivorous leeches within the silt at the bottom? Possibly.
Probably, even, but I didn’t care.
There was nothing I needed more than to be clean. Clean of the soot and ash. Of the stray cinders that had burned into my hair and stung my skin. Of the blood splattering my face and coating my hands.
I was considering wading back out again when I heard a splash behind me, and suddenly, the cold water suddenly felt far warmer, the radiating heat of Bael’s skin and the pounding of my adrenaline warming me all over. I turned this time, no longer willing to play coy unless we were moving to dry land. My breath caught in my throat.
Bael moved toward me, slow, prowling. Those dangerous predatory eyes watched me hungrily, letting me know without words there would be no room for escape once this started. No going back.
He stood in front of me for a moment before dipping to submerge entirely in the water. When he came back up, pink rivulets ran down his golden skin, making his bright blonde curls turn to dark ochre spirals. I had the oddest desire to lean forward and lick one of the pink trails from his cheekbone, his neck, lower…
“I wish I could say I’d missed you these last few days, little monster, but I don’t remember you not being there.”
My chest squeezed slightly. “Oh. That’s no matter.”
“To be clear,” he said, stepping closer. “Lately, I dream of little but you, so I do believe it got a bit jumbled. I could have sworn you were there.”
My breath caught, my pulse racing all the faster. At least I was not alone in my dreams, then. “I wanted to come back…I asked. I tried, but—”
“It’s alright.” He chuckled and ran one thumb over the bite on my neck. “I daresay there will be many more occasions when Scion needs you more than I do. Not that you would not always be wanted.”
A shiver traveled over me when he touched the still-tender spot on my throat. “That was an accident. There was this drug, and—”
He cut me off, pressing his lips to the same spot on my neck in a kiss that seared me to the core. “Don’t overthink everything, little monster. Some things are merely instinct.”
I shivered. “How can you be so calm about this?”
I wanted to say,“How can you be so calm about this when I am losing my mind?”but I did not.
“Truthfully, I’m not sure. I’d like to assume that’s a good sign because if I try to think too hard about most anyone else touching you…” His eyes flashed dangerously, and he did not have to elaborate. The bodies on the floor of the hallway sprung, unbidden, to my mind.
“Most anyone?” I asked.
He pressed his forehead to mine. “Most. Speaking in absolutes is for mortals and demi-Fae, little monster. Who knows what might happen tomorrow.”
He pressed another kiss to my neck. “If I am jealous of anything, it’s that I haven’t gotten a chance to give you one of these myself.”
“Then do it,” I said, sounding entirely unlike myself.
“Not right now. I want to wait.”
“Why?”
“Because.” His lip curled, and he gave me an almost devilish smirk. “It has been long enough since we shared blood that I do not believe I could use your magic anymore.”
“Do not try!” I exclaimed, panicked.
He laughed. “No…I don’t think I’ll be trying that again for quite some time. At least not until you’ve mastered it.”
I wanted to ask another question about that but didn’t get the chance as he moved his lips to mine, kissing me first gently, then harder as I snaked my arms around his neck. I was all too aware that we were both entirely nude, and while either one of us had been before, never both at once.
