“Sure. Thank you.” I went into the bathroom and shut the door. Sighing, I leaned back against it for a moment to still my racing heart. “Calm down, it's just Arach.”
The mini rainforest that was the bathroom reminded me of Blue's bathroom, from back when he had kidnapped me. What was it with men abducting me? I frowned at the grass that led up to a black rock tub set in the floor. Plants grew everywhere, even on the ceiling. But that wasn't all that surprising in Crith-Fuinn. I passed a mirror nestled among flowering vines on my left and noted the basin beneath it, formed of a massive, waxy leaf. No, this was beyond Blue's bathroom. This was what Blue's bathroom dreamed of being.
After finding a branch among the greenery, I removed my clothing and hung it there. I should have taken a bath with it on. The dress could have used a good washing too. But I wasn't sure if it would dry in time for dinner. So, I stepped down into the tub, the surface polished but retaining some roughness thanks to all the holes in the rock. Then I had to find the taps.
The glint of gold gave them away and there was soon water pouring out of the faucet. I wasn't sure how to turn on the shower, if there even was one, so I sat down and bathed in the tub. The soap was easier to find than the taps, set out on a bed of moss beside the tub's rim.
A few minutes later, I was sighing in bliss, the hot water loosening my muscles and making my dragon happy. I soaped up and rinsed off before draining the water and filling the bathtub anew to wash my hair. I had just come up from rinsing when the bathroom door opened.
I didn't bother trying to hide my nudity. This was Arach, and I had already decided to sleep with him. I just brushed back my wet hair and lifted a brow while I once again tried to keep my heartbeat in check. Arach grinned wickedly and came forward, leaving the door open since he had his hands full with two glasses of wine. He openly ogled me as he set a glass down beside the tub.
“May I join you?” he asked.
“Shouldn't you have asked that before you opened the door?” I shot back.
“Should I have?”
I chuckled and took the wine. “Well, this isn't like the magma basin beneath Aithinne, but it'll do. Go ahead. Strip. I know you want to.”
“Magma basin . . .” he trailed off as he stared at me. Then he whispered, “You really are mine.”
“You'll need to pretend you don't know me when we meet next.”
Arach set his glass down beside mine, then undressed. “Perhaps you should tell me what I did when we met so I know not to differ from it.”
I watched as his sleek body was revealed, all the dips and curves and hard planes I loved. Licking my lips, I waited for Arach to undo his pants. He held his thumbs hooked in the waistband, ready to push them down but didn't move them. Crimson scales erupted up the sides of his belly. I followed them up to meet his searing stare.
“Did you hear me, A Thaisce?” Arach's voice dropped into low, sexy dragon territory.
“I heard you.”
“And?”
“You kidnapped me from the Castle of Eight, right out of my guest room, and took me to Aithinne. There, you wooed me dragon style, then set the Wild Hunt on me in the morning.”
He froze. “I did what?”
“You told me to run and set the Wild Hunt loose,” I repeated. “You chased me down the Road of Neutrality to the End of the Road. It wasn't until you caught me there, at the Great Tree, that you finally recognized what I was.”
“It took me that long to sense that you were a Dragon-Sidhe?”
“To be fair, my feyness had only just awakened.” I shrugged.
“Then what did I do?”
“I can't tell you anymore. Just remember to take me from the Castle of Eight and hunt me. That should be enough.” Nope, I couldn't tell him about Odin riding at the head of the Norse version of the Wild Hunt to burst through the tracing point of the Great Tree and save me.
Arach stepped out of his boots, then pushed his pants down. I forgot all about the Wild Hunt. All versions of it. I could barely remember my name when faced with my stunning, naked husband. Or non-husband. Oh, this was kind of naughty. I was about to be with a man who wasn't really my husband. And yet I didn't have to feel guilty because he would be my husband. I sat up, making room for him in the bathtub.
Arach smirked as he climbed in, probably congratulating himself on winning my favor right after I told him I'd be hard to win. Little did he know, I was going to sleep with him despite his attitude. For the better good. Not because of his charisma and certainly not because of his charm.
As Arach lowered himself into the hot water, I spread my legs, propping my feet on the tub's rim to either side of him. Arach made a wounded sound in his throat, his stare coasting over my breasts and down, into the clear water to the curls between my thighs.
“I love your lush body,” Arach said as he leaned back to appreciate the view.
I was a little shocked that he didn't pounce immediately, but then I saw what he was doing—stroking himself as he looked his fill. I licked my lips and lowered a hand to my sex. Arach's lips jerked back, baring his teeth and the water around his middle sloshed more violently.
“I can see your pink flesh,” he growled. “Smell your arousal.”
