His arms tightened again. “I don’t know. She has disappeared. I have my men looking for her. But she knew about the flooding mechanism, and I think she would rather see Troas destroyed if she can’t rule it.”
I had only thought her power hungry. I had never imagined that she was this evil. “She was desperate and didn’t see a way to win, so she wanted to make sure that everyone else lost.”
“And she very nearly succeeded. She almost took you from me.”
Now I was the one wrapping my arms around his neck tighter. “You really can put me down. I can walk.”
“What did I tell you about my stamina?”
That it was extensive. My stomach fluttered at the idea that I might soon get to test it.
And while my first seduction attempt had been successful in the past, my second had not, and it felt like everything had changed. Now that we had admitted our love, it was different and I was a bit out of my element.
We stayed silent as he continued his ascent up the stairs.
My heart began to beat louder with every step that we took. He didn’t know what the goddess had told me, and I was trying to think of the best way to share the good news with him.
When we reached our room, he took me inside and then finally put me down. He locked our bedroom door. “You should take a bath,” he said.
The idea of voluntarily getting into another body of water ... a shiver passed through me. “I don’t want to go into the water alone. Will you come and help me?”
He looked slightly confused but nodded. “Yes.”
We walked hand in hand into the washroom. He stood in front of me and undid my belt, letting it fall. He then took my tunic, lifting it clear of my body.
And then he averted his gaze.
Which was both sweet and silly. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before. I was about to say as much, but then I saw the muscle flicker in his jaw, the tension in his arms. He was trying to restrain himself.
Not sure of what to do, I took off my sword sheath and undergarments and then slid into the pool, sitting on the ledge and letting out a deep sigh.
“Were you hoping I would scrub your back?” he asked.
I leaned forward and looked at him over my shoulder. “It only seems fair since I did it for you.”
He sat on the edge of the pool, his legs in the water behind me. The sponge made contact with my back and he rubbed it in slow circles. I sighed again, feeling relaxed.
He finished and moved his hand away. Then I heard him filling a pitcher with water, which he poured over my head. He worked soap into my hair, his fingers reflexively moving across my scalp, and it was the most luxurious thing I had ever felt. He was so tender, so gentle, so loving.
Then he rinsed me off and I felt him stand up.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “I wanted all of you in the water with me.”
He did exactly as I asked, joining me while fully clothed.
I let out a little laugh. “You have your tunic on.”
Xander agreed with me. “I do.”
“Why?”
“Safer.” The one word was his only explanation.
This was not what I’d had in mind. I moved over to put my arms around his neck. Wanting his fingers on my skin.
But he didn’t touch me.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
