She looks hesitantly up at him, and without warning, her leather dress and jacket transform into the sheer gown she wore last night in their heartlanding.
Whistling wind. Her boots drop from his hand, and he stares at her. Takes her in as she stands there bathed in moonlight and little else.
“Is that clear enough?” she whispers.
His tongue sits heavy in his mouth as he struggles to find words.
She fidgets with the sheer fabric at her waist as she gazes down at her hands. How vulnerable she looks. And so absolutely stunning his chest aches.
“Your hand is on fire,” she whispers.
He curses under his breath as he shakes it off and eyes the water before his gaze returns almost magnetically to her.
“Arisanna,” he somehow manages. “You are—”
“Really nervous.” She laughs lightly and glances up at him before looking away.
“Breathtaking,” he finishes. And it’s true. He can barely breathe. “Come in the water with me. Please.”
“There’s so much sand. I don’t know if we should—”
“I don’t care where this leads. You can’t stand there like that and not let me touch you. At least, I hope that’s not your plan.”
Once his words come, they flow from him in a torrent, and she stares at him.
“Come in the water with me,” he says again, and after the briefest hesitation, she nods.
He holds out his hands, wishing away his own leathers as he draws her toward the silvery pool in his small clothes.
The water is chilly, and she gasps when her feet hit it.
“Forgive me,” he whispers as he cocoons her in warm air. “It’s the desert. I thought it would be warm.”
“So did I.”
He lets one of her hands go as he hovers his palm over the water, giving release to the heat filling him.
“You are amazing,” she whispers.
“Try it now.”
She dips one delicate foot in the water without gasping this time.
“Better?” he asks.
“Yes, but...” She looks up at him as if trying to muster the courage to keep going.
“You can tell me anything.”
“I think I’m so used to caring for everyone else that it’s hard to focus on what I want sometimes.”
As if he hasn’t already realized that about her.
“Is it too warm or not warm enough?” he asks.
“It’s fine. I just...”
He nuzzles her ear. “Tell me what you want so I can make you happy. Please.”
