Gods, the water and heat feel so wonderful.
Alexus sets his wine aside and pushes through the water to get to me. He takes my hand and helps me deeper into the pool. With one arm wrapped around my waist, he takes over my work, unthreading the laces quite a bit faster.
“I like taking your clothes off anyway,” he whispers.
Those green eyes sparkle under the torchlight, watching me as I rest my hands on his shoulders. The moment he tosses the stays aside, I inhale a deep breath and sigh, reveling in the freedom of being naked and the bliss of the healing heat.
He drifts his hands over my breasts, then lowers them to my hips. “Much better, I imagine.”
“You have no idea,” I sign.
I kiss him then, pressing against him, my soft to his hard. I sense his magick stirring, the night coming alive around us, the thrill of his power rising with his desire, that honey and sandalwood scent mingling with fire smoke and winter jasmine.
Starlights flicker to life around us as he lifts me up so that my legs wrap around his waist. He wasn’t lying before. He’s stiff as stone between my legs, and yet I can’t have him.
Releasing a groan, he draws away from the kiss and rests his forehead against mine. “All right. Let’s talk, okay?”
I nod.
“I don’t yet know how long we’re going to be here, but I swear on all that is holy in this world, unless we manage to secure passage to Itunnan tomorrow, I will oblige your every desire while here. But for now, I think we both understand that we must be careful. I’ll speak with Yaz tonight. She’s a former apothecary and still provides services for people who need her. That’s why the gardens here are so extensive. If anyone has birthbane or something similar, or might know how to get it, it will be her.”
I exhale a long breath and nod again. That would be splendid.
“Secondly.” He brushes yet another kiss across my mouth. “There are other ways to find relief, and I can’t wait to share each one with you. But first…”
He sets me on my feet and swims to the ledge. While his back is turned, I duck under the water, soaking myself thoroughly, basking in the heat that loosens every muscle. When I break the surface, Alexus sits on the stone slab with the cruet of purple liquid in hand, water sluicing down his muscled body.
He curls a finger, and in a voice I cannot resist says, “Come here.”
His starlights follow as I swim to him. With an arm around my waist, he lifts me onto the slab, nestling me between his legs.
“Tilt your head back.”
When I do, something cool pours onto my crown, and the scent of lavender fills the air. Alexus sets the cruet aside and slides his strong fingers into my hair. With firm motions, he massages the liquid into my scalp, creating a light lather.
My body goes limp, and my eyes roll back. With every soft scrape of his fingertips, I relax more and more. This is bliss. It’s also arousing. My breasts grow heavier, my breathing comes faster, and my nipples peak in the night air.
I grip Alexus’s thighs as he scrubs. This might not be as good as an orgasm, but it’s pretty fucking close.
He chuckles in my ear. “Are you all right?”
Shivering, I shake my head and sign where he can see. “So good.”
The hair on his chest tickles my back as he leans down and kisses my shoulder. “I can do even better.” He drifts his soapy hands over my breasts. “Rinse and let me show you.”
First, I face him and return the favor, washing his midnight-dark hair. I even work the lather through his slightly longer beard.
He closes his eyes and sighs, beads of water pearling on his feathery lashes, a devilish smile at play on his lips. “This is making my dick hard again.”
A laugh shakes through me. I love how comfortable we’ve become, even though we’ve shared no intimacy for weeks now, and how wonderful a simple bath can be when shared with the right person.
Hands still buried in his hair, I kiss him, gently dragging my teeth over his bottom lip, then I fall back into the water. Sinking down, I drag my fingers through my hair over and over and scrub my face too. Alexus joins me, and we swim together for a little while, exploring the deeper waters inside the cave, the algae-covered rocks on the cave floor. It’s magickal. Our bodies wind around each other like remnants of silk cast to the sea, every movement smooth and languid.
We break the surface for air and swim toward the shallower entry until the water is chest deep. Alexus feeds me more fruit, a kind I’ve never tasted, white and pink and delicious. When he pushes the fruit past my lips, I suck on his fingertip. His eyes darken, gaze fixated as I clasp his hand and take his finger deeper before slowly dragging my mouth from his skin.
“Gods’ death, don’t tease me like that,” he says, his voice suddenly ragged. “I dream about doing many, many things to that mouth.”
“I know,” I sign. “I have seen.”
