I pushed them off, leaving me completely naked in front of Gus, who gaped as I slowly made my way through the water, ignoring the horrors that hid underneath, stopping only when I reached him.
I was about to ask what one did in a lake when a splash of water hit me straight in the face, startling me. Gus’ carefree laughter was enough to break through my moment of confusion.
“What did you do that for?” I scowled at him.
Gus offered me a shy smile in return. “For fun. Hal and I always did it,” he shrugged, a wistful edge to his voice.
At the mention of Hal’s name, something happened inside me. A strange sort of jealousy I rarely felt, because I never had a reason to be jealous. But I was of this Hal person whom Gus clearly cared for. Tentatively, I splashed the water, expecting some sea serpent to jump at me and devour me whole.
“You have to do it a lot harder than that, Little Omega.” Gus carded his massive paw through the water, raising another wavethat hit me in my chest. I momentarily lost my breath, but it wasn’t from the impact of the water.Little Omega.
“I amnotlittle!” I quipped, then slapped the water, splashing it all over Gus’ chest, not even reaching his handsome face, like I’d intended.
“You are little, but I like that about you.” He sent another wave my way. “Now catch me if you can, Omega!” he laughed, then dove under the water, disappearing from my view.
Catching my breath, I looked around, but before I could move in any direction, something grabbed my ankle.
I screamed in horror.
Then Gus broke through the surface of the water, and his face appeared in front of me as he hugged me into his chest, laughter rippling through his large body. It was so infectious, it immediately spread to mine, and before I knew it, I was laughing too. Damn him!
“I thought you were a sea monster!” I accused, still laughing.
“No monster would dare take you on,” he chuckled, still hugging me close. “You’re very fierce. You’re the king.Myking.”
And yes, I doubted a sea monster would be the death of me. More likely, it would be this huge alpha who kept saying things that did unexpected stuff to my insides.
I wanted to stay in his arms forever, his scent a heavenly mix of cedar and sweat as he made me forget about my royal responsibilities. All I could think about was the two of us in this lake, with Gus’ strong arms wrapped around me. I’d never felt freer.
“Ready?” His voice held a teasing sort of promise.
“For what?”
“To fly.” A wide grin spread across his face, and then, I was airborne and catapulted back through the water. The bastard threw me! The scream erupting from my lungs was anythingbut regal or graceful, but I couldn’t stop it. Then, the water swallowed me up.
Kicking through the water, I resurfaced and sputtered as I glared at him. “Oh, this means war!” I yelled and swam over to him as we both giggled with laughter. Gus tried to escape my wrath by swimming further into the deep end, but I followed him, splashing water after him as I continued to laugh until my throat ached.
He dove under again, and when he grabbed me under the water this time, I welcomed his touch. His strong hands grabbed my ass cheeks as his face broke the surface, smiling widely at me. I focused on his lips. How wet they were. How full. Leaning in, I closed my eyes—
“Your Majesty!” The appalled tone in Clive’s voice was enough to break the momentary spell.
I glared back toward the bank, seeing all four of my advisors staring in what appeared to be horror at me bathing in the lake.
“What?!” I yelled back, my anger rising. I was finally having fun!
“You cannot just go out on your own, Your Majesty!” Brennan argued. “It is not appropriate!”
“Appropriate!?” I shouted. “You’re the ones watching the king bathe!” That had them murmuring amongst themselves, so I added, “And my rule regarding Alpha Gus still remains! You aren’t exempt from that!”
“Just please return to shore, Your Majesty!” Jerold pleaded, covering his eyes. “Your heat is closing in, and we fear for your safety should it happen outside the palace walls!”
“Fine,” I sighed. “But we aren’t leaving the water untilallprying eyes have left us.”
They nodded and disappeared through the trees, taking my good mood with them.
“Stop pouting,” Elias laughed. “It’s beneath you.”
Glaring at him, I resumed my work as I read through the many bills that needed paying while, yes, pouting. I was allowed to sulk. By the time Gus and I had gotten dressed and reached the roses, my advisors swiftly pulled me away with the subtle demand that I rinse the dirty lake water off me.
