Cruxan closed his eyes, already feeling the weight of his responsibilities resettle on his shoulders. Ithadbeen a nice reprieve with hisluxiva. Wonderful.
He had never felthappierthan when he was with her.
He swallowed at that realization, feeling it punch him in the gut.
“I did not tell Vaxa’an that you are still here,” Lihvan said quietly next. “He believes you are journeying toOtalaas we speak.”
He blew out a breath.
“You must leave soon. Tomorrow,” Lihvan said. “Or else he will know.”
“I know,” Cruxan said, feeling dread weigh heavy in his chest. Because he knew there was a chance hisluxivawould not come with him.
Lihvan tilted his head to the side, studying him. “I assume you will take your female with you.”
Cruxan held his gaze. “We have not discussed it yet.”
Lihvan’s brows raised. “Then you best discuss it soon.”
“I know,” Cruxan growled, already feeling the weight of that conversation.
And he couldn’t help but wonder…would this be their last night together?
Chapter Thirty
“Cruxan,” she said, laughing, a little breathless as she felt him dip his hands underneath the furs, stroking over her flesh. “You make the absoluteworstmodel, you know that?”
“Or the best,” he growled in her ear, nipping at her sensitive flesh.
She pushed his chest and he fell back onto the furs he’d brought to the hot spring with them. They had it spread out on the soft sand of the shore to keep the granules from sticking to their skin. They’d already taken a nice, long soak inside and Crystal felt pleasantly warm and flushed, despite the nip in the air.
She was naked underneath the heavy fur cloak that Cruxan had draped over her shoulders, but he remained unclothed, lounging back on the blanket, seemingly unaffected by the chill. And certain parts of him weredefinitelyunaffected by the chill too.
Crystal swallowed, her eyes running over his hardened cock, before her gaze dropped down to his likeness, sketched out clumsily on her tablet. She feared she’d never be a good enough artist to capture him the way she wanted to, to capture him the way she saw him.
But she’d been trying to for the better part of the last hour. If only he would stop trying to distract her.
“Now hush and stay still,” she told him, trying to keep her voice strict, or else he would sense her amusement and he’d be even more relentless.
He exhaled but did as she requested, seemingly content to simply watch her. She felt those blue eyes on her like a touch and she squirmed a little as she continued to work on her drawing, deepening the lines she’d sketched out over his shoulders, deepening the muscles present there.
She didn’t know how long she worked on her drawing, but eventually, she took a rest when her hand began to cramp up and set her tablet aside.
Drawing her knees up to her chest, she hugged them and rested her chin on top, watching Cruxan watch her.
“I think you like looking at me, female,” he murmured, his lips quirking up into an arrogant smirk.
She valiantly tried to hide her smile and just narrowly succeeded. “You’re full of it.”
But yes, shedidlike looking at him.
He grinned and he reached out to trace across her toes, which were peeking out from underneath the fur cloak.
Her breath hitched. Just the barest touch from him and it sent her reeling. How did he have that kind of control over her body?
Her gaze couldn’t help but trace down him, as if to prove his words right. Her mouth went a little dry at the obvious masculinity of him, at his constant arousal, at the absolutely wicked look in his gaze.
When her eyes ran over his hardened cock, her tongue darted out and swiped over her bottom lip, wetting it. Though he’d been generous in giving her pleasure, he had yet to allow her to touchhim.
