He lifted his leg free and flicked water at her. “It is good, yes?”
Callie laughed, flinching as she raised her hands to ward off his attack. “Jerk. So I take it it’s safe?”
Urkot nodded.
She squealed and swiftly yanked at the ties of her top. Once she’d shrugged that off, she shoved down her skirt, and Urkot’s gaze was immediately drawn to her rounded ass and that tattoo.
Spank me, she said it read.
His fingers twitched. Gods, but he wanted to obey that little command…
Callie swung a leg over the side of the pool and tentatively lowered her foot into the water. She let out a small, pleased hum and stepped in fully.
“Oh, fuck yes,” she said as she sank into the water. Reclining, she leaned back against the stone rim of the pool and closed her eyes. “This feels sooo goooood.”
Urkot’s gaze settled on her breasts, which bobbed gently in the water, their dark brown nipples just peeking over the surface. He clenched his jaw and absently tapped a foreleg on the floor, grinding it into the stone as desire rekindled within him, flooding him with heat entirely separate from that of the hot springs.
How did Rekosh and Ketahn ever accomplish anything while their mates were around? How did either of them resist this overwhelming need to mate, this driving instinct? Urkot wasn’t sure how he’d restrained himself as much as he had already.
Because neither his exhaustion nor the constant danger had dulled his want at all. Every time he looked upon her, every time they touched even slightly for the briefest instant, every time he smelled her or spoke to her, he wanted to mate with her.
At this rate, he would have permanent indentations across his slit from his claspers pressing down so hard to keep his stem contained.
Callie opened her eyes and turned her face toward him with a grin that displayed those adorable dimples. “Are you going to just stand there or are you going to join me?”
Protector, grant me strength.
“You know I cannot stay away,” Urkot said as pleasantly as he could manage, hoping he did not betray that inner struggle. After removing his belt and pouch and setting them beside Callie’s belongings, he stepped into the pool and lowered himself beside her, releasing a trill as the warmth enveloped him. Even with the water covering much of his body, it could not compare to the heat within him.
Despite his raging desire, the water was enjoyable, soothing the many aches in his body.
Well, all of them but one.
“Feels good, huh?” she asked.
“It does,” he replied, stretching out his forelegs and adjusting the others to allow himself to sink deeper into the water.
Callie sighed and closed her eyes. “I can almost imagine we’re back in Kaldarak. Back in the temple.”
“We will get back in small time. And then we will stay in the temple as long as you wish, until we areproonee.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think you getproonee.”
“We will still stay as long as you wish.”
Another type of warmth spread through his chest as her lips curved into a smile.
Comfortable silence stretched between them, interrupted only by gentle drips from elsewhere in the cavern. And though Urkot had to remain alert for any sign of approaching spiritstriders, he felt far more relaxed than he had in a long, long while.
“You know,” she said, gazing at the ceiling, “it’s pretty in here. I mean, if I ignore the fact that all those squiggling glowing things are worms, it’s like staring up at the stars. I can almost forget that we’re stuck in a cave and pretend we’re in some magical hideaway.”
He turned his attention upward. All those worms and their glistening threads truly did resemble the starry night sky, and their reflections upon the water’s surface made it appear as though he and Callie were lounging in a pool of stars.
“I’m glad I’m here with you, Urkot.”
Urkot returned his eyes to Callie to find her looking at him, her expression soft and her gaze gleaming brighter than any star could ever match. He folded his forelegs in the water before him and placed his hands atop them. “I wish I could have shielded you from all this, Callie.”
She drew in a deep breath and released it with the words, “I know.” Tilting her head, she bent a leg, knee poking out of the water, and ran her hand over it and down her thigh. “But even if you couldn’t shield me from it, you are shielding me through it.”
