“This feels so good I could cry.”
He lets out a chuckle, shaking his head.
“What areyouthinking?”
“I’m thinking if you ever try to leave me again for the afterlife, I’ll lose my mind.”
Oh.
“I was just trying to keep you all safe.” My voice is a feeble murmur as I stare at the blue tile lining the bath. He reaches out a steady hand and tilts my chin up.
“I don’t care why you did it. Just tell me that it will never happen again.”
I nod and swallow, reaching for the bar of soap on the ledge. It slips out of my grasp, hovering in the air.
“Say it. Say it will never happen again.”
“It will never happen again.”
I watch him force a swallow and drop his eyes to the tile.
“I missed you,” he says. The candid admission leaves me stunned. “I thought you were dead.”
“Nah. Got at least eight more lives in me.”
Twin rings of golden light flicker up, full of regret and reckless hope. A gentle breeze sweeps my hair to the side as the bar of soap drifts behind me, brushing over my shoulders in small circular motions. Jace watches, his molten stare intense as he uses his affinity on me. I let my eyes close, feeling those invisible hands roam over every inch of my body, massaging the tension from my shoulders, neck, and calves.
One degree of separation is all that stands between his physical hands on me. But this is toeing the line.
The soap continues to do his bidding, disappearing below the surface to clean my legs. It inches higher and higher on my thighs. I hold my breath, my body clenching in anticipation, wondering if he’ll dare to go further.
“I’ll let you do the rest.”
His raspy voice makes my eyelids flutter open. He’s holding the bar of soap out to me, his gaze ravenous, chasing my heart into a sprint.
I reach for it but he’s not done teasing me. He grins, pulling his arm back. I lurch forward, water sluicing over the edge of the bath and soaking his pants. For that brief moment, we share breath. Then he surrenders and I retreat back to the water with the soap. He tracks my hand as it dips beneath the surface.
“Close your eyes,” I whisper. He does and I can hear his heart beating so loudly. Or maybe it’s my own. I don’t know.
“You can open them.”
“All clean?”
I nod as he twists to pick up a towel.
“When was the last time you had a bath?” I ask.
He laughs, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t remember.”
He looks so good in the low light with the mist swirling around him like this. So?—
Nope. No. We are not going there.
He’s still engaged and that isn’t changing. I need to establish some boundaries. Being alone with him is not wise. Being alone andnakedwith him is even more not wise.
Not when I’m fantasizing about dragging him into this water with me and devouring him.
He leans down. “You’re thinking dirty thoughts, aren’t you?”
