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My head was foggy, and my eyes burned. “A bath sounds good.”
Jude kissed my forehead, and Nico touched my cheek before Soren took me to his room. It was set up for comfort with what looked like billion-thread-count sheets and plush furnishings made for relaxing. “I’m going to run the bath. Can you get undressed by yourself?”
“You’re staying with me?” I asked as he deposited me like a package on one of the marble countertops in his bathroom. The coolness of the stone against my sizzling skin made me gasp but eased some of my fever immediately. The thought of Soren staying with me only revved up the heat inside and out. He would see me naked and, although the thought was appealing, I certainly didn’t want it to be this way.
“Yes. We can’t have you fainting in the bath and drowning, can we?”
Drowning sounded like the most horrible of ways to go, especially since I felt like I hadn’t really lived fully yet.
I cleared my throat. “I suppose not.”
He bent to turn on the water, testing the temperature with his hands several times. I watched him intently, soaking up all this alone time while trying to battle my body. He was a force of nature all on his own. He rolled up his sleeves before testing the water, and every muscle in his forearm rippled as he did. There was something about the way Soren moved, a grace about him that made me think he would be calm in battle, slow to move but striking his target with precision and perfection.
His cyan eyes met mine, and he nodded, telling me wordlessly that the water was at the right temperature. I slid from the counter as butterflies bundled in my stomach. I kicked off my shoes and then reached for the hem of my dress, pulling the whole damned thing over my head before I completely lost my nerve. I stood there before him, naked and shivering in place, not because of my fever or the temperature of the room but because I was bared to him, fully.
“You are gorgeous,” he murmured, fists balled on his hips.
I swallowed against the onslaught of emotion. “Can I get in now?”
Soren nodded and took my hand to help me in. The cool water almost burned my skin as lava met ice even though I was sure the water wasn’t so cold, it was simply me.
He grabbed a small stool from the corner of the bathroom and sat next to the bathtub. He kept his eyes from roaming, but I wanted them to roam. I wanted his gaze all over me, searching me, seeing me, drowning in this time we had together.
I instantly felt better and told him so, but he insisted I stay in the tub longer. My breaths became a bit labored and despite feeling relieved for a moment, a wave of instability hit me all at once, and I closed my eyes and gripped his hand. “I’m getting dizzy, Soren.”
He tightened his hold and cursed under his breath. “Scoot up. I’m getting in with you.”
“What?” I asked as loud as I could, but it all came out as more of a whimper.
“I’ve already seen you naked. Now, scoot up.”
In seconds, he released my grip and stripped off all his clothes. I wished I felt better. If I did, I would’ve opened my eyes and taken in the act of him undressing like he had done to me. Damn this fever and whatever was happening inside me.
“Here we go,” he said as he stepped into the tub. The water rose from a level that was right at my breasts to almost to my chin in an instant. His hands, warm and strong, tugged on my hips, bringing me to sit in his lap and rest against him, my back to his chest. “Just keep your eyes closed and focus on your breath.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and I did as he asked. My concentration on my breath only lasted seconds. How could I possibly focus on anything while sitting in the lap of my future mate, naked, vulnerable in the best way possible.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me,” I breathed out, on the verge of crying. I hated being sick.
He moved. His hot breaths fanned over my neck and my face from behind. “It’s going to be okay, Freya. I swear I won’t let anything happen to you. This will all pass. Just relax.”
“We’re naked in a bathtub, and you want me to relax? Fat chance.”
His chuckle gently moved us in the water. “I feel this way twenty-four hours a day, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart? That was a new thing.
“Is that right?” I asked and, despite my fever and the energy the heat was draining from me, I turned around to face him, opening my eyes.
“Yes. Don’t you know how absolutely irresistible you are?”
I shrugged and, despite wanting to have this conversation with him, I lay against his chest, tucking my face into the crook of his neck.
“You, Freya, have captured me. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and he splayed his hands along my back. He began to talk and his voice was like a lullaby. He talked about researching the mountain and shallowly delved into some of his childhood. Eventually, I dozed off, trying to listen to him but failing. His voice must’ve been gifted to him by the god of sleep.
I was aware of being moved around, out of the water and dried off. I was set in his bed and drifted back to sleep before I could protest or invite him to sleep beside me.
