“Uh-huh.”
He climbed out and leaned back on his elbows, breathing heavily, all damp and sexy with his leather vest clinging to his torso and water streaming down his face and neck.
“Come on out,” he said.
“No way,” I replied.No way was I giving him an eyeful of my wet boobs with nipples that were currently standing at attention, admiring how good he looked soaking wet.
A fluffy, rainbow-colored towel landed in his lap.I glanced up at the shore, where a tatted up phoenix stood behind Krishna, mouth pinched, dark eyes practically screaming disapproval.
“You do realize that none of you can regenerate, right?”he said in a strangled voice.
I darted a glance in Asmoday’s direction.He shrugged and handed me the towel.“River has issues.Doesn’t like people putting themselves in danger unnecessarily.”
Honestly?I could appreciate that take.
I basically rolled out of the water and into the cocoon of the towel, doing my damndest to keep all the important bits hidden from prying eyes.
“Are you okay?”Asmoday asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
“I’m fine.”I tucked the end of the towel into my cleavage and lay there on the grass, waiting for my fin to dry so it would revert to my human form.
“Did it help?”
“Getting attacked by a kraken?”
He chuckled.“Taking a swim.Until you were attacked.Did you feel better, at least for a minute?”
I shifted my gaze to the side.How did he know?
“I get it,” he said.“I’m the same way.”He nodded at what looked like a small park that I’d missed behind the row of scrubby trees.With its green grass and bright, colorful flowers, wood and wrought iron park benches surrounding a gently burbling fountain, the space was a sweet and cozy oasis among all these bleached buildings and the brown landscape outside of town.
“I like to hang out over there sometimes.To de-stress.”
“I gotta get back,” the phoenix called out.“I have an appointment coming in.Your little friend here is shaking like a leaf, and I only brought one towel.”
With that, the phoenix turned away from us and meandered back to Main Street.
Asmoday stood and scooped the shivering wolf into his arms.“I need to get him back to his place so he can dry off and shift in private and put some clothes on.”
I noted the pile of shredded material on the damp ground, which I presumed had once been Krishna’s clothing.
“Right.”I didn’t want to appreciate his consideration for others, and yet, of course, I did.
“You aren’t going to…?”
He glanced at the flat, unassuming circle of land in the middle of the moat.I sensed a whole lot of magic here, but nothing overtly nefarious.Nothing that screamed Daddy Dearest.
And I’d had my fill of run-ins with kraken.
“No,” I finally confirmed.
“Good.”With a nod, he strode away, Krishna in his arms.
I lay there, letting the sun do its thing, repeating that brief conversation in my head.
And I hated myself for liking the fact that we had something in common.
ChapterNine
