“You’re staring.” Fenn’s chuckle dripped with amusement, eyes smoldering with roguish delight as he caught her gaze wandering lower. “Not that I mind.”
Heat bloomed high in Serenna’s ears as she wrenched her attention away again, suddenly fascinated by the swaying palms on the bank. Tiny blue birds flitted around the fronds, their songs threading through the air in warbling notes.
“Don’t tell me you’re shy now,” Fenn all but crooned, knowing exactly the effect he had on her—no thanks to the bond. He started wading closer, each step languid and unhurried.
Serenna gathered her courage to meet Fenn’s stare, pointedly ignoring the warmth kindling low in her belly. But no heat could burn away the cold truth creeping into the back of her mind—the fact that she’d spent the previous night with the prince.
“We should probably scout the perimeter,” she suggested before Fenn got carried away any further. Or beforeshedid.
“Lykor would be so proud,” Fenn drawled, stopping just in front of her. His claws traced the damp leather at her shoulders—a lingering touch so casual that it shouldn’t have made her shiver.
But it did.
“I mean…” Serenna cleared her throat as Fenn unbuckled a clasp, flicking it free. “This oasis might serve as a good resting point. Or even a base of operations to portal back to.”
“You want to discuss strategy?” Fenn huffed a quiet laugh. “You do realize this is the first time we’ve been alone—truly alone—since that first night together?” Eyes flaring, he tilted his head, waiting.
Serenna’s cheeks flamed as molten memories of them in the volcano’s heart rushed back, her pulse speeding up. “Have you been counting the days?”
Fenn’s mouth curled at the edges as he sent a piece of her armor flying toward the bank. “Obviously.” Leaning down, his breath grazed her skin a moment before his teeth tugged at her earlobe. “I’ve never known a slower torture.”
A broken gasp escaped from Serenna’s lips before she could catch it. She willed herself to step back, to resist instead of giving in so easily. It wasn’t Fenn’s fault, but she shouldn’t want this—not when it had been the prince’s mouth on her last night.
She lifted a hand, not to pull him closer, but to stop him. She at least needed to tell him. But when her lips parted, no sound came—only a sharp inhale as he dragged his fangs down her throat, stealing the confession before it could form.
Serenna’s knees weakened instantly, hands splaying against Fenn’s chest as he nibbled her neck while deftly unfastening her trousers. Her thoughts splintered as his fingers tightened against her bared waist, claiming her in this moment where no one could intrude.
He grinned while he watched her wrestle with her words, his satisfaction a charged storm before he crouched in the water, palms gliding down her thighs and calves. His talons curledlightly around her before he lifted each of her legs, dragging off her boots.
“So cooperative all of a sudden,” Fenn said as he peeled her clothes away, every one of his movements unraveling her thread by thread.
He rose, his attention never straying from her eyes, never drifting elsewhere. Without sparing her shed garments a second glance, he ignited a burst of Essence, sending her boots and pants flying toward the shore.
Fenn skimmed a single talon over the remaining cloth binding her breasts, lingering just long enough to send a spark of heat shuddering down her spine. Eyes igniting, he grazed the sensitive peaks as he slowly freed her from the last of the linen.
“You know…” he mused, sending the material to join the rest. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’relettingme have my fun.”
Stripped bare, Serenna’s breath came shallow, her skin prickling under the heat of his gaze. “Fenn—”
“What?” he interrupted, tracing the curve of her spine. He curled a claw around the base of her neck, fingers tangling in her damp hair. “Are you convinced or are you still inclined to go scouting?”
“Scouting,” Serenna whispered. But even to her own ears, it was a feeble lie. Hardly persuasive.
Fenn snorted. With a slow tug, he tilted her head back, angling her face toward his—not a demand, but an invitation. “It seems like you’re more concerned with touching me.”
She was. Her greedy hands were already running over the planes of his chest, her body yielding without hesitation. She was pressed against him, aching for more. Heat licked her skin and pooled between her thighs, every fiber burning beneath his gaze.
Fenn’s mouth hovered over hers. Not a kiss, but a brush of warmth—a promise that left her wanting more. When she didn’t move as he edged closer, his lips quirked. “Curious.”
“I think…” Serenna released a soft whimper as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, his fangs scraping across her throat.
Fenn’s smirk deepened against her skin. “Say it.”
Serenna’s heart slammed against her ribs. She couldn’t deny it—she wanted this. “I think you’ve swayed me,” she admitted, the words a breathless rush.
A low, satisfied laugh rumbled through Fenn’s lips—knowing and indulgent. The deep sound curled through every part of her, threading heat along every nerve he hadn’t yet claimed.
But even as his mouth swept along the hollow of her throat, even as her body arched into his, something inside Serenna recoiled—at herself. A lingering shame burrowed into the shadows of her mind, twisting her heart. She couldn’t be with Fenn, not when…
