Her hand gripped my wrist when my fingers parted her folds, when I teased the small bud of her clit. Her cheeks were flushed, and in her eyes, I saw…curiosity. Mingled with wariness.
I drew my hand away but stayed where I was. Her eyes dragged down my chest—to the piercings through my nipples, to my tensed abdomen, to my cock head bobbing at the surface of the rising water.
When her eyes returned to mine, that curiosity had only grown.
“I suppose you do like variety,” she murmured.
For a moment, I had no idea what she was talking about. Then I remembered. Her odd comment about my “harem” in Grymia and my responding flippant words.
“For the last damn time,” I murmured, my tone slightly exasperated, “I don’t have a harem of lovers just waiting at my beck and call.”
Amaia lifted a shoulder, as if the words didn’t have any effect on her. But I saw right through it. “If you say so.”
My gaze dipped to her lips, full enough that they looked perpetually in a pout.
“Now that we’re both calmer,” I started, guiding the conversation away from any mentions oflovers, “we can talk.”
Her expression sobered, and she pressed a hand to my chest, right in the center between my pectorals. I thought it was because she was about to push me away, but then her expression flickered and she kept it there, feeling my heat radiate into her palm. The steadiness of my heartbeat.
“It’s still…agitated,” she finally said, settling on that word. “I…I’m sorry about earlier. My emotions felt so heightened, so volatile. It feels like it’s feeding on them and it’s hungry. What if it never stops?”
I cupped her face, rubbing my thumb along the top of hercheekbone, and her breath hitched. Her eyelids fluttered closed, a shuddered sigh falling from her lips as she gave in, accepting the warmth of my touch, my only intent to bring her a sense of comfort. I could feel her magic still sparking, little zaps across my flesh, and I sent a small river of my own to help soothe it.
“Better?” I asked.
“Yes,” she murmured, her shoulders sagging. When her eyes opened, her pupils were dilated. “Thank you.”
“It’s not uncommon, what you felt,” I told her. “Karag who exhibit heartstone magic are placed with tutors from a young age, regardless of class or status in the territories. To help control it. I’m honestly shocked you haven’t felt it uncontrolled before now. Which means you do have some restraint over it.”
She absorbed my words like she was a sponge. “You speak about it like it’s a separate entity. Like it’s different from me.”
“In many ways, it is. Depends on the individual, I suppose,” I replied. “And each individual learns to control their magic in different ways, using different methods. You said you envision a doorway, that you imagine walking through it or crossing some invisible threshold. That’s a technique some tutors utilize, or so I’ve heard. Like manifestation. You learned to do it yourself, which is impressive.”
“You had a tutor to help you?” she asked.
My lips lifted in a wry smile. “Not quite.”
But I didn’t offer up anything else, not wanting to delve into my history with Kamora right then. I’d learned much from her…but at what cost?
“My instruction was…different, as yours will likely be with me,” I finished.
Sex would complicate matters, as it always did. But I didn’t think I had the strength and discipline to stay away now that I’d been offered a taste.
There was the danger of a bond, to add to that. Amaia hadn’t known what she’d been doing, had only done what had probablyfelt good at the time. But even I had recognized how perilously close we’d come to bonding our magic.
Kamora was the only other female with heartstone magic I’d had sex with…but she’d used hers as a weapon against me during it. Amaia had used it like an embrace, one I wanted to sink into and never leave. That was even more dangerous, in my opinion. There had never been a bonding risk with Kamora.
“Still, I’m not surprised if there are unfortunate flare-ups of your magic, especially given the events of late,” I finished, steering back to a more unpleasant conversation. “You were angry with me. I was angry with you. Let’s start there.”
Her jaw tightened, but she took a steadying breath as she shifted on the stone ledge.
“Can I have some soap, please?” she asked pointedly, making my lips quirk.
“Certainly,” I said, releasing her cheek, sensing her small flinch when I had to retreat before wading to the opposite end of the bathing pool, where I kept a small jar of lathering granules. I poured some out into her palm when I returned, taking a seat on the ledge when she stood.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched as she scrubbed herself clean, erasing all evidence that I’d left on her skin…or between her legs. The heat of the water started to loosen my muscles and I felt more relaxed than I had all week.
“Don’t lock me away again,” she finally said, the words calm and even, so unlike the spitting fury I’d spied in her eyes when her temper had been bright and hot. “If you need me to stay out of sight, fine. But keeping me confined…I won’t allow it again.”
