She managed a nod. How could one small touch turn her insides to mush?
Then he was striding away, and even after the darkness had swallowed him up, she still stared after him.
With an armload of small branches,Zayn made his way back to the waterhole. Attached to his belt was a large lizard-type creature. He admitted to himself that he was glad Ria had brought the scanner. It could tell them if the ugly reptile was edible. His stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly. He really hoped it was. It had given him a merry chase before he’d managed to catch the damn thing.
Stepping out of the trees, he instantly scanned for Ria.
He didn’t see her anywhere.
His heart gave a hard thump. He moved closer to the pool.
And spotted a pile of discarded clothes. Then he heard a splash of water.
He froze.
As she rose out of the water, the branches dropped from Zayn’s arms and smacked against his boots. Her wet skin glistened in the moonlight, and maybe he should have thought of poetic descriptions of goddesses but he was no poet, and instead he thought she looked like a she-devil. Come to tempt him and bring all the dark fantasies stewing in his head to life.
Her breasts were round and high, her nipples tightened to hard points. As she flowed out of the water, he noted the way her waist nipped inward before it flared out again to full hips. Her legs were long and toned, all of her firm muscle. And lord help him, there was no hair between her legs, just bare, bare skin.
His mouth was dry and he couldn’t move. He didn’t want to move. Except maybe to storm into the water and yank her into his arms.
Suddenly, she lifted her gaze and stilled.
She didn’t hurry to cover herself or drop back into the water. She just watched him. After a long humming minute, she made her way out of the water. As she got closer, he reckoned she couldn’t miss the raging erection straining against the zipper of his jeans.
“I started washing my wound and decided I may as well wash all over.”
He swallowed, not letting his gaze drop from her eyes. “Isn’t it cold?”
“No. It’s not hot but also not cold. The spring must retain some heat from wherever it comes from underground.”
He needed to touch her. Might die if he didn’t. He touched her temple and studied the now-clean wound. “Not as bad as it looked now the blood’s gone.”
“It’s fine.”
He brushed a finger through the damp strands of her hair now plastered to her head. “It’ll scar if it isn’t healed soon.”
“Not my first scar and probably not my last.”
As she said it, his gaze now drifted down. He saw a thick ridge of scar tissue on her shoulder. He let his fingers drift over it.
“A Crossfire gambler on Vegas III stabbed me with a shard of broken glass.”
He spied another scar on her toned bicep. A starburst that could only have come from a projectile weapon. He remembered Vik had a similar one on her arm from a mission into the Wolff Nebula. Even though scars could be removed, she’d kept it as a badge of honor. “And this one?”
Ria’s brow wrinkled. “I’m not sure. I don’t remember. I have so many I’ve lost track.”
“You could get them removed.”
Her chin lowered. “That’s not the assassin way. And besides, they don’t bother me. They’re a reminder of what I’ve survived.”
He tipped her chin up. “They don’t bother me either. I like a woman whose life shows on her skin. You’re a beautiful woman, Ria.”
“No one’s called me beautiful before.”
Unable to stop himself, he let his hand drift lower and cup the full weight of her breast. Her lips parted and he felt the slight tremor through her body.
“There’s more to beauty than the rail-thin actresses on the holovids. There’s strength and determination. A body honed to perfect fitness. The way a woman moves that body.” He flicked a thumb over one taut nipple. “The way a woman trembles under a man’s touch. That’s true beauty.”
