It pained him to say these things because he did not know how hisluxivawould react.Would she shun him now, dismiss him because he’d been with so many others before her?Would she be wary of him and shy away from his touch?
“She implied that you would try to seduce me,” Sessela murmured softly.“And I have to admit that it seems you’re trying to.”
Rixavox muscles twitched under her gaze.She didn’t understand.She didn’t know what she was to him, whathewas to her.Humans didn’t have Instincts, so of course she wouldn’t feel the intensity of their connection as deeply as he did, at least at first.
What she didn’t understand was that even if he was trying to ‘seduce’ her as she accused, it was because she was his fated mate, because she made him burn with just one innocent look, because he could not shake her scent, her touch, her voice from his mind.What she didn’t understand was that there would be no others for him, ever again.He would never touch another female in his life span and—if she chose to stay with him, to stay on Luxiria and bond her life with his—there would be no other males for her either.
His past was hurting him in his courtship, it seemed.Sessela assumed that this was normal to him, that he chased any female that caught his eye.Once, it had been true.
“Know this, female, if nothing else…” he started slowly.“You hold all the control over me.I do nothing unless you wish it.If you tell me to stop touching you when you are near me, then I will do it.If you tell me to stop teasing you, then I will do it.If you tell me to stop wanting you, I simply cannot, but know that I would try to hide it as best as I was able until I have returned you safely to the Golden City.”
Sessela was staring at him with her mouth slightly open.Her brow furrowed slightly, but then it smoothed.
He let his words hang in the silence of theRillirax, let her process them at her own pace.They were words that needed to be said.He’d made it fairly obvious that he wanted her, which she’d pointed out.He’d never been a subtle male about his wants and desires.But if those needs and desires made her uneasy, he would do anything he could to make her comfortable again.
They were the only words to be said.He couldn’t tell her that he hadn’t been with another female in the past lunar cycle because it would be a lie.He couldn’t tell her that she was his fated mate, either, or else it might frighten her away.
Rixavox watched as she wet her lips with her pink tongue.Beneath the surface of the water, he could just make out the shape of her breasts before he flickered his gaze back to her eyes, trying to read his confusing, tantalizing female.
Her voice was husky and soft when she spoke.
“I don’t want you to stop any of those things.”
He felt her words sizzle straight to his cock.
Unrecognizable emotion swelled in his chest, but before he had a chance to react, she pushed away from the ledge of the pool and swam to the middle.
Rixavox watched with bated breath as hisluxivaclosed her eyes and fully submerged herself in the waters of theRillirax.
THIRTEEN
Under the surface of the water, Cecelia let everything go.
She opened her eyes and saw mostly darkness, except for thin shafts of moonlight piercing the surface.Her dark hair swirled around her and she smiled, wondering what in the world had possessed her to say those words to Rixavox.
But she knew.It was this place.It was how it made her feel like herself for the first time in a long time, before the cancer, before the problems with her father, before she’d lost confidence in herself.
Those words had felt good.Looking at him, wanting him, talking to him felt good.More than good.Right.
The water of theRilliraxflowed over her like little fingertips gliding over her skin.It was such a strange feeling, but one that felt oddly soothing.She felt the water absorb everything she gave it…her hope, her fear, her lust, her strength.And then she felt the water give it all back to her, except it was changed.The emotions felt fuller, purer, enriched with power.
She swore she could hear the water whisper to her.But her lungs began to burn and she kicked her legs to resurface.She drew in air at the top, drops running down her forehead to caress her cheeks and lips, and she felt Rixavox’s gaze on her, always on her.
“I think I’m ready to go,” she said, her voice a small whisper that the water carried over to him.She felt calm, light.Instinctively, she knew theRilliraxcould do no more for her that night.
She’d never been particularly religious, but even this place could convince her that there was something or someone powerful there, watching over Rixavox’s people.She understood why he had taken her there.
Rixavox stood from his seated position and her heart stuttered in her chest.Her lust was slowly transforming into need.He was a handsome male, strong and masculine.She spied his hardened cock in his pants, which he’d tried to hide from her earlier.He must’ve thought she was blind to miss it.
The thick ropes of muscles in his thighs bulged when he bent to recover the tunic she’d dropped to the ground, a few paces away.He was quiet as he set it down next to the edge of the pool and then turned his back, giving her the privacy she’d asked for earlier.
Cecelia bit back a smile and used the rocks to help leverage herself out of the pool.The water slid from her body, dripping down onto the edge.For a moment, she stood, completely nude, eyeing Rixavox’s back.She watched the rise and fall of his shoulders with every hurried breath he took and a part of her ached to tell him to turn around.A part of her wanted to see what a male like him would do.Would he be rough?Gentle?Or somewhere in between?
She shivered, her nipples pebbling though the air inside the cavern was humid and warm.Slowly, she crouched to pick up her light shirt and she slipped it over her head, smoothing it into place.
Ringing out her wet hair, Cecelia said, “Okay, I’m decent.”
Rixavox whipped around quickly, as if heneededto see her and couldn’t bear another second staring at the wall.Warmth collected in her stomach.She liked his reaction a little too much.
