Calix began to drop his things, his sword hitting the ground, followed by his belt—but then he was taking off his jacket, and my mouth went dry as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. My eyes immediately roved over all the bare skin on display.
Perfection.
Muscles covered in miles of gorgeous pale skin covered in tattoos I’d only caught glimpses of before. The cut of his abs grabbed my attention, and I swallowed hard as I looked over each ridge and muscle, until I reached the trail of silvery white hair leading down to his pants, and I could feel saliva fill my mouth as I took in the defined V of his hips, pressing my thighs together in an attempt to quench the rising ache.
I tore my eyes away, but only succeeded in bringing them higher up, to defined, bulging biceps I wanted nothing more than to grip as he covered my body with his own. Shaking my head, I focused on his tattoos instead, iridescent black and purple ink, forming dragon scales that covered his chest andfollowed across to those gripable biceps. His forearms had bands of silver circling them, made up of runes I couldn’t decipher, and on the side of his neck the phases of the moon were inked in a circle, with the full moon in the center of them. Inside the full moon was a rune of some sort, and I’d seen the same tattoo on many of the warriors in the training yard.
Calix turned around, and I got an eyeful of his gloriously broad shoulders that led to a muscular back and flowed down to a narrow waist I wanted to wrap my legs around. But then I spotted the tattoo on his back. No—notjusta tattoo. In the middle of his upper back was an upside-down crescent moon, with stars falling from underneath the curve, and the rays of the sun inked on the top of the moon’s curve. Even though he’d clearly expanded the design, with the aurora of the night sky dancing across his shoulders—the mark stood out as different.
For two reasons, both of which felt like a punch to the gut, making my heart physically hurt.
Reason one: That was the illuminated black ink unique to soul marks. A physical reminder that Calix was not for me to drool over, that he belonged to some Fae, one likely from another kingdom where they treat humans like cattle, considering he hadn’t found her yet and they’d mentioned her upset over slavery helped Calix see the light. I hated that it sounded like she might actually be decent, at least in that respect.
Reason two: That tattoo, hissoul mark, was the exact same design as my necklace, down to the number of stars and rays of the sun. My parents had found that necklace, clearly dropped by a noble, and it was made of star opal, a gem native only to Day and Night Kingdoms.
How in Tartarus did I end up with a necklace depicting Calix’s soul mark—was this world truly so cruel? The gods? Was it something his soulmate had made and lost, or was it just a common design for those among the southern kingdoms?
Either way, I was glad I stuffed my necklace in my bag when we left Dusk, and he hadn’t seen it. I obviously couldn’t wear my necklace around him, not when things were so intense between us. Wearing a reminder of his soulmate around my neck would just be—too much.
An item I’d found so precious and loved so deeply, the only thing I had from my parents aside from an ugly knife, and now it was ruined.
Calix was about to take off his pants, and as much as I wanted to see what was about to be revealed, his mark was a sobering wake up call.
“What are you doing?” I forced out, my voice strangled. He twisted his head back to look at me, a smirk playing on his lips.
“You can’t swim with your clothes on.” Calix countered, raising a brow as he pushed those pants down and—Old Go—or I suppose, Nox? Either way. Thatass—what I wouldn’t give to sink my fingernails into it as he pounded into me… Muscular and thick, I could bounce a coin off that thing. I quickly looked away as he turned. He should know better than to tease me. If I saw his cock—my restraint might just snap completely.
His sultry chuckle echoed, followed by the sound of splashing water.
“It’s safe to look!” He called out, and I peeked an eye open, breathing a sigh of relief, or maybe disappointment, when I realized the dark waters completely concealed anything below the surface.
“Come on in! The water’s perfect.” He smiled seductively at me, and I steeled myself, cursing internally.
“That water is from the Otherworld, what if it does something to humans?” I hedged, peering into the water suspiciously, but Calix just laughed.
“Plenty of humans have come here, and they’ve never had any problems.” He raised a brow, lazy amusement on his face as hisarms moved back and forth in the water, my eyes dropping to the flex of his muscles as he did.
I sighed, going to remove my top. But as I began pulling it up, I noticed his eyes were glued to me. I cleared my throat and raised a brow at him.
“What?” Calix smiled innocently. “You watched me, it’s only fair.” I glared at him, but decided this might be the perfect chance to turn the tables on him. He had known I was watching and deliberately put on a show for me, and now only smug amusement filled him in the aftermath.
Two could play that game.
I pulled my top over my head, revealing my bustier, or what passed for one in Night. It was a Fae creation I loved that had no straps and nothing around the back or sides, able to hold my breasts up with only minimal material covering the front that pushed my breasts up perfectly—even if it barely covered my nipples, leaving plenty of space for cleavage to be shown off. Magic definitely had its uses. I began to shimmy out of my cloud leather leggings, making sure my ass swung side to side as I revealed my panties, a lace material with a brief triangle in the front and a brief strip that settled between my ass cheeks all that accounted for the back.
Calix watched me with a hungry, almost feral, look in his eyes. His hands squeezed into fists repeatedly, like he was trying to stop himself from reaching forward and grabbing me.
I smirked as I sashayed into the water, I certainly wasn’t getting completely naked with him—that seemed like a recipe for disaster. My bra and panties may be a brief barrier, but it was one I needed. The water was warm and strange, feeling almost like a hug around my body, as if the water conformed like a cocoon. I looked up and found Calix still watching me, and knew I needed to distract us both.
“So how does this whole water from the Otherworld thing work? I know what you said, but shouldn’t it be impossible for anything from the Otherworld to be in our world?” I prompted him, my thoughts on his doublespeak from earlier still circling. I was too curious, especially knowing this pool of it existed here as well.
The entire area was beautiful beyond measure, feeling like I stepped into another world. One somehow even more miraculous than the rest of the kingdom I now lived in. But I didn’t understandhowit was here.
I finally dragged my eyes away from the falling stars I’d been focused on and found Calix looking at me intently, enough that I knew he was deliberating telling me something.
“What are you hiding?” I narrowed my eyes at him, and he sighed deeply, tossing his head backwards and closing his eyes, cursing softly.
“The knowledge isn’t something I’m supposed to share. Only a few people know of it.” Calix confessed, and I tilted my head to the side as he lifted his head back up, lavender eyes finding me immediately.
