She flexes each arm, stretches her neck, and wriggles her legs. Fucking maddening as she rocks against me.
Time to let her go before I whisk her out of the water, press her to the rocks, and give her the crash her body will soon crave.
I was reckless in keeping her alive the way I did.
All songs have consequences.
She will need release, one way or another.
Before I can give in to my impulses, she murmurs against my neck. “I’d like to test my legs now.”
To fully immerse her, I had to kneel in the water. She only has to slide her legs away from my hips and place her feet onthe smooth surface below, and she’ll be able to stand on her own.
“You don’t need to ask permission,” I whisper, fighting to remain monotone.
She pulls back a little, eyebrows arched. “Your grip on me demands that I do.”
I forget my strength.
With more reluctance than I anticipated, I open my arms.
Her thigh muscles clench as she pulls herself away from me, the strands of her faded, black hair first swirling in the water and then clinging to her shoulders as she sets her feet down, clearly visible through the liquid, and rises slowly upward.
Water rushes down her chest but only so far as her midriff, since the pond reaches that height on her.
Droplets fall as she inhales again, sparkling across the Lethian silver covering her breasts.
I remain kneeling opposite her, unmoving, while a slow, hesitant smile grows on her lips.
She looks as if she’s about to speak, but then she shivers.
With a shudder and a quick exclamation of “Cold,” she immerses herself again. “Brrr.”
I bite back my chuckle. Then rise up into a standing position, completely oblivious to the cold. Actually, it’s a relief after the heat.
I’m fully aware that I’m looming over her. “You can’t stay in here forever.”
She gives me a defiant glare.
And pushes toward the waterfall, a clear message that she will only swim away from me if I dare try to snatch her from the warmth.
She’s a strong swimmer, making it to the rockwall in a single sweep. She lived next to the ocean. I suspect she really could evade me if she wants to.
She plants her left palm against the rock, fingertips once again peeking above the surface, water from the fall spraying around her hand.
I imagine she’ll use the rock as leverage to move quickly again if I eventwitchtoward her.
With a shrug, I turn my back on her, avoiding the cocoon at the edge of the pond as I hoist myself out of the water.
My clothing is waterlogged, clinging to my tall frame, and my hair drips down my back.
I give a shiver of my own, but not from discomfort.
My power streams across my body from my head to my toes, a controlled flow freezing every droplet of liquid on my skin and on my clothing, covering myself in a frosty sheen of ice. Gentle enough that it doesn’t destroy my clothing.
Giving a sharp shake, I shatter the ice, shedding powdery snow around me.
It nearly works.
