The curse went so still I hoped it had expired. Though I might as well, considering the divine sight before me.
Through my eyes, the beast watched as she stood in the moonlight, her uncovered skin shimmering like liquid silver everywhere it touched her. I’d imagined this countless times, in vivid detail, but seeing her bare still left me breathless. She was perfection. Like a statue made by a grandmaster come to life.
The part of me worn down by fear and guilt still didn’t know what to do with the trust she was showing. My fingers tightened around the bar of soap until it warped. The river murmured beside us, urging me to move, but I stood rooted, drinking in every detail. If I could memorize the moment, I could keep it from slipping away, have it with me forever.
The curse whispered its demands—claim, bind,keep—but beneath that was something softer, a pull that was all my own. She was here, whole, and looking at me like I was worth walking into the cold water for. Like I was a man, not the monster I carried.
That look was the most dangerous thing of all. That look had undone kings before they’d even stepped onto the battlefield. It held hope. It held the kind of belief you could build a life around. Nothing could destroy me faster than seeing that belief fade from her eyes.
“Emrys?“ she asked, her voice wavering slightly, betraying the confidence she’d just shown. She began to cover her breasts with her arms.
My fault.
I couldn’t bear to see this queen of a woman question herself. To keep her waiting a moment longer was a crime.
In three strides, I was by her side again—close enough to feel the heat radiating off her bare skin but still too afraid to touch. A single silent gasp escaped her at how quickly I’d moved. I was a trembling mess, barely holding myself together.
“Isca…” My heart was beating faster than any war drum. “There’s never been a moment I haven’t wanted you. I simply…” I laughed, a ragged, nervous sound. “Cannot believe that a creature as low as me is able to look uponyou.”
A look of grim determination settled across her face. The faint tremor of her fingertips told me she was holding herself still for my sake. “Not this again… I’m not perfect, Emrys.”
I wanted to reach out, to pull her to me, to feel every inch of her soft skin, but that was dangerous. “Isca, if I touch you now, stopping will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
It came out as a warning, but it was a prayer for all the things I lacked and all the things I wanted. How could I do anything less than worship her?
For a heartbeat, the only sound was the river.
Then she stepped forward, closing the last inch between us. Her bare breasts pressed into my chainmail-covered chest in a silent answer that devastated me.
I stopped breathing as I battled the monster for control. It wanted to pin her down right there on that rocky bank and take her until she was covered,filledwith my scent.
ButIwanted so much more. Isca had become my reason for living beyond surviving for the sake of my kingdom. My own hunger was quieter, deeper. I wanted her laughter safe in Tir Darreth. I wanted to walk through the castle corridors and smell lavender on the air.
I wanted todeserveher.
Her hands moved up and down my back in a caress. That small movement pushed life back into me. I fought to breathe, acutely aware of each gasp, hoping she wouldn’t see my struggle. I still hadn’t dared wrap my arms around her bare back. It was too tempting.
“First we have to get you washed,” she said, still scalding me through my chainmail. “Then it’s my turn to touch you.”
I had never been more certain in my life—and my lung had been pierced by a sword—that I wouldperishthe moment she touched me in the way she was suggesting. I started to shake my head, but Isca was having none of it.
“You’ve already denied me that pleasuretwice,” she argued, her voice soft but firm. “Will you make this a third?” Now she was teasing.
It was a miracle I remained upright as my entire being threatened to fall apart. I couldn’t put her in danger. If I failed to keep my magic in check… It wasn’t worth the risk…
But as I looked down again, she was peering up at me through long eyelashes. One eyebrow raised in clear challenge. If she could be so bold, maybe I’d retreated too deep into the shadows of my fear.
And as I met her eyes, I knew, as I truly always had, that I couldn’t deny her anything. I didn’t even try to conceal my groan as I turned my face to the heavens, begging for restraint. I wanted nothing more than to drop to my knees and take one pert pink bud into my mouth then the other, and trail kisses all the way down until I heard her moan.
I was daydreaming when her next words almost broke me. “Your bath, my touching. Yes?”
Vivid images of what could be danced across my thoughts.
Cursed gods. I wouldexplode.
The plan to save her from it was solidifying in my mind with each passing moment. When I inevitably lost control, I would jump through the mists of magic to get far enough away from her before being completely consumed by my own fire.
In the present, all I could manage was a nod. Some of the rocks lining the banks were sharp and shifting, difficult to see in the dark. So I scooped her up and carried her into the water.
