Seth frowned at me. “I don’t want to talk about any of that.”
“But—”
“Every moment since we’ve met has been doom and gloom. Can we just . . . forget, for a night?”
“ . . . Okay,” I breathed.
Water trickled down the far wall, the only sound to break the silence. My thoughts whirled, but I couldn’t grasp any of them.
“Princess . . .” Seth said softly.
Sniffling, I slid to his side and leaned against his shoulder. Wrapping an arm around me, he pulled me against his chest, laying his other hand on the back of my neck.
We sat like that for a while. Sleep threatened to take me, with both the warmth of the water and his body enveloping me.
“I don’t . . .” Seth started. “I don’t deserve to ask forgiveness.”
“No, probably not,” I agreed, closing my eyes.
“There’s not enough time left for me to make it up to you. But I can spend every day we have left trying.” He brushed the bottom of my chin, lifting my eyes to meet his. “Whatever you need. Whatever you want, ask it of me.”
I chuckled. “A nap would be nice.”
“I’m being serious, Aethra.”
Taken aback by the severity in his voice, I stared at him blankly before blurting out the words nestled in my heart. “Please don’t leave me again.”
His emotions flooded the room. I’d torn a hole in his heart with my words.
Cupping my cheek, he rested his forehead against mine. “That’s all you want? You have a prince—agod—willing to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness, and that’s all you want?”
“You’re a shitty god, Seth. What could you possibly give me?”
Laughing, he kissed the top of my head and pulled me back to him. Nestling beneath his chin, I closed my eyes.
One night. That’s all we had before we could no longer afford to forget.
My thoughts drifted to the first kiss we’d shared on the boat, to the day in the training yard. Lifting my heavy eyelids, I reached for his mind. No walls guarded his thoughts—they flowed to me freely.
Seth dwelt on the same memories. His gaze drifted down to my body before flicking back up. He kept telling himself he didn’t deserve me.
It struck me then that I didn’t want to hold a grudge until the day we died. Pressing my uninjured hand to his chest, I leaned back.
Our gazes met, but neither of us spoke. An unusual softness touched his features, and he reached out before retracting his hand.
Entranced, I traced a hand along his cheekbone and down his sharp jaw, landing on the collarbone where black lines of his tattoos brushed his skin. Thoughts of betrayal and lies faded, and I recalled all the reasons I’d fallen in love with him.
‘You’re okay, princess. I’ve got you.’
Seth grabbed a fistful of my hair and pressed his lips againstmine. My teeth grazed his lips in my fervency to have him, parting his mouth and intertwining my tongue with his.
His hand ran down my back, following the curve of my hips, before slipping around to my inner thigh. Shivers ran through my body. I pulled myself into his lap, melting into his touch.
Seth’s eyes flew open when his hand brushed clothing instead of skin. Releasing a growl of frustration, he grabbed the clasp of my breast band and ripped it off.
Dropping his eyes to my chest, he slowly traced the shape of my breasts. Sparks bristled wherever he touched me. Whimpering, I grabbed his neck and pulled his lips back to mine.
He cupped both my breasts and released a soft chuckle. “I can’t believe you’ve never groped me before.”
