“I ate a dead man. I killed him, then ate him.”
He snorts and slaps his hand over his mouth. My eyes narrow on him as he can’t contain it.
“It’s not fucking funny, Kyzen.”
He clears his throat the best he can. “It’s not. Not at all. I swear I’m not laughing about that. It just shocked me. You said it so casually I thought I was hearing you wrong.”
Another chuckle falls from his chest, and he coughs, shaking his head as though he’s mentally telling himself to stop.
That shit both pisses me off and has me fighting back a smile.
This is the most I’ve seen of his normal self, and I don’t want it to slip away again. The version of him in the Judgment Rings was…scary.
Not in the sense that I was scared of him. It was a startling realization that if he were to give in to the dark, deadly, voided part of himself that he obviously keeps shoved far, far down, I wouldn’t have this man standing before me.
I give him a small smile as I lather my hands and wash my hair. I don’t glance down at the color of the water until I know it’s going to be clear. He doesn’t speak the whole time I wash, just watches. His body leans against the shower walls without a care in the realm that he’s getting drenched.
I turn to cut the water off, then squeal when I’m lifted off my feet once again. “What are you doing?”
“You’re going to relax for a little while,” he declares, strolling out of the shower and directly over to my own little hot spring.
I contemplate arguing, but the steam rolling off the top looks so inviting. A sigh slips through my lips as he settles me in and lays a kiss to my now clean forehead.
My eyes devour every inch of him as he tugs his shirt over his head and unbuttons his pants in front of my bathroom closet. I’m shameless in the way I watch his muscles ripple with every movement.
I couldn’t care less how red my face is when he clears his throat and wraps a towel around his waist without taking his boxers off. I meet his hungry eyes with a smirk.
“Tease.”
He laughs, but the sound is blocked out by the rhythmic knocking at the door. We look at one another. “Amick.”
My jaw drops and my eyes widen when not only him but Creed and Riven pile into my bathroom as well.
“Oh, not fair. How did you get a hot spring in your bathroom?” Riven asks as he kicks off his shoes and grabs the hem of his shirt.
For the Valories.
With clothes on, they all appear around the same size. Clothes off…
I’ve mapped Kyzen’s body out with my eyes and hands. His delicious physique is built with a solid chest, defined lines, and arms that look ready to wield a sword for hours. Given the performance I saw today, that’s probably exactly how they got their shape.
Riven, on the other hand…I’m pretty sure a plaster was laid over his torso and used as the mold for armor. The grooves in his abs are deep and flow into a V-cut that’s even deeper. Each movement he makes as he slides his pants off his legs has his muscles flexing, showing off all that restrained power.
“I told you, you could come in here and talk with us. Not interrupt her soak.” Amick’s voice slaps me back to reality.
“What are you doing?”
Riven’s foot pauses midair, inches away from gliding into my bath. “Ah, come on, you’re not gonna let me get in?”
“Let you get in the bath with me?”
“Mini hot spring, but obviously.”
I catch myself before my eyes drift down the entire length of his boxers. “You know I’m naked, right?”
His lips curve into a mischievous smile. “I’ll keep to my side. Cross my heart and hope to die at your feet.”
There’s no hiding the hitching of my breath as he lets his foot slip into the water slowly. Once he realizes I’m not going to say no, he throws himself the rest of the way in, creating waves that first slap me in the face, then slink away.
