Because some small part of me is tempted by him.
And not just physically.
Whilst we started this relationship in enmity, he doesn’t flinch at my outspoken nature or murderous tendencies. Indeed, he seems to find it amusing. I’ve never met a man who wasn’t affronted by my strong will.
I told myself I never cared. Nothing mattered except getting Aylin back, but the easy way in which we’ve fallen in together makes me realize that some small part of me doesn’t want to be alone anymore. I’ve spent so long focusing only on Aylin that everything else fell by the wayside.
I have nothing in my life beyond my quest.
It’s a stunning realization.
And I want more. I want this quest to end. I don’t just want to find Aylin. I want to find myself too, to try and reconnect with the girl I once was.
“Zyla?”
I’ve been silent for too long, and it shows when I have to clear my throat to speak. “Will you turn around if I bathe?”
Bael must sense some part of my inner conflict. His stare seeks to see right through me, as if I’m some mystery to be solved. “As you wish.”
I release a breath. Hecannotbe the Beast. Can he?
My gaze strays to my pack, where the well water is stashed. There’s only one way to find out.
“There are clothes,” he says, tilting his head toward a small chest of drawers and the small pile of clothes on top of it, as if he’s oblivious of the direction my thoughts run. He turns the tap off, and steam curls off the bath. “Teanna had them sent up once she saw the state of your shirt.”
“They provide clothes too?”
“Most brides are in some state of disarray when they arrive here.”
“I’ll bet.” I sift through the pile. A silky nightgown slithers off the top, pooling at my feet. It’s barely long enough to cover my ass. I hold it up, shooting him a dubious look that says a thousand words.
“We’re in the Labyrinth,” he counters, though his eyes linger on the silk.
“And everything in here is catered toward the men and their pleasures. The clothes. The food, no doubt. The bath.”
“You don’t have to wear the clothes. You don’t have to bathe.”
“But I do have to use the whips, correct?”
“Are you trying to pick an argument with me?” He looks like he wants to say something, then clearly thinks better of it. “Andif you think the whips are purely for a man’s pleasure, then you know little about the darker edge of desire.”
“I know enough.” I was in the knight’s prized cage for nearly a year as they prepared me for the sacrifice, and I learned more than I needed to about their hypocritical behavior. A tribute must be chaste and pure, but the girls soon learned to be careful even in the parts of the keep where they should be safe. Never travel alone. Never look a knight directly in the eye. Even the slightest hint of defiance could be seen as a sign that a tribute was impure of heart and therefore prey for the taking.
“That’s not desire.”
“No? Then what is?” I shoot back.
Instantly, I know I’ve made a mistake.
Bael saunters toward me like some sleek panther on the prowl. He’s tucked his wet hair behind his ears, and his eyes blaze with hunger. The cloak is gone and every inch of him is wet, the linen tunic clinging to his chest and abdominals, sleek with rain. Some part of me yearns to touch him. To brush my knuckles against his abdomen and feel the ripple of solid muscle. It feels like he towers over me in this moment, and for some strange reason the thought makes my thighs slick.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, brushing a lock of hair back off my shoulder, “if that is all you have known. Among my people, females are cherished. Protected.Theirneeds met. A male who leaves his female unsatisfied is not worthy of her.”
A shiver runs down my spine. I’ve been groped before—haven’t we all?—but there’s something about the way he can brush his fingers against my skin and elicit a response that shocks me. He’s barely touching me. But every inch of my body tightens, from the hard buds of my nipples to the clench of my womb.
I close my eyes. The kiss in the Labyrinth lingers between us like a ghost, and every inch of me trembles. I’m in so much trouble.
Because now Iknowwhat his mouth tastes like.
