He’s silent, but there’s nothing uncertain in him. He leads me down from the heights until we reach the main terrace. Rythar said he’d never let me fall.
The problem is, I’m starting to think I’m already falling.
CHAPTER 21
“JUNGLE TOXINS”
ELENA – RYTHAR’S FORTRESS IN THE GREEN REACH
We re-enterthe fortress from a terrace access. He sweeps me inside his bedroom. Our bedroom. The air inside is heady with the spice blend of the Reach. Or maybe we’ve brought it in with us. It’s the same bed, sheets, and furs, the same echo of his body stretched out beside me. Only now a new memory lingers. It’s his mouth, his hands, the way he held me in the canopy until I forgot everything but the taste of him.
The door shuts silently.
I hover, unsure. He leans back against the closed door, arms folded across his chest, watching me.
“You should bathe,” he says. It’s just short of an order.
“Why?” I ask suspiciously.
He tilts his head, his eyes narrowing. “Jungle toxins. Your soft skin holds it longer than Xythean skin. The water heals.” He moves off the door, eyes on me as he crosses the room.
“You’re kidding.”
He runs his fingers lightly down my arm. One side of his mouth curls up, just a hint of a smile as he takes my fingers in his. “Do you want to take the chance, or do you want to bathe?”
I square my shoulders, narrowing my eyes. “With you?”
His mouth twitches. “I will join you. To be sure you do it right.”
I open my mouth to argue, but the words wither. My cheeks burn. I will myself to not look away.
He’s already moving. He gestures toward the bathing chamber that adjoins his room. It was like heaven in there last time, alone. The heat, the steam, the way the water eased everything away.
I walk through the door to the bathing chamber. The shelves are loaded with clean towels. The pool in the center still invites me, water still spilling in from the carved beast’s mouth.
Rythar follows me in, standing at the threshold.
I hug myself. “This isn’t going to be a thing,” I mutter. “You watching me. You in here…” I trail off as he strips off his shirt, abs rolling.
I force my eyes up, but it’s too late. I’ve already imagined touching the ridges, how the skin slides over the muscle.
He kicks off his boots, then pulls off his pants. He’s unapologetically hard.
My mouth goes dry. I try to keep my face neutral, but I know my pulse gives me away. I’m not moving to take my clothes off, and he’s completely naked.
“Are you shy?” His voice is soft, teasing. “Did you have private baths on New Terra?”
I grit my teeth. “We didn’t—No, it wasn’t like that. It was just… efficient.”
He steps closer, the muscles of his thigh flexing as he kneels at the pool’s edge. “This is also efficient,” he says. “But it will not be quick.”
On New Terra, quick was the point. Quick meant done, meant you could go back to being a person instead of a function. Nobody ever chose slow on purpose. My hands shake as I peel away my clothes. I brace myself for his scrutiny, but Rythardoesn’t leer. He just watches, steady and careful, like he’s studying an artifact.
I step into the water. The sting fades fast, replaced by a rush of heat so heavy my vision swims. My knees buckle on the submerged step and I pitch sideways, hands grabbing at nothing. Rythar slides in behind me and catches me. One arm hooks under my ribs, the other hand holds my stomach. He rights me against his chest, my back to the solid wall of him, and holds me there while my legs sort themselves out.
"The water does that," he says behind my ear. His breath stirs my hair. "When you enter too fast."
"You could have mentioned that before I got in."
