Page 115 of Plug and Claim

He looked magnificent, with water droplets running down his muscled body. She watched him towel himself off with wary eyes. Something didn’t quite add up.

“Is he mistreating you?” Victoria probed.

Kira hesitated, unable to locate the source of her uneasiness, except that she was sure it had nothing to do with Nathaniel. Was he mistreating her? “No,” she said firmly, “He isn’t.” She rose to her feet.

“Where are you going?” Victoria asked.

“I’m going for a swim.”

Victoria turned onto her back, shielding her eyes from the sun. “Have fun. Remember, my door is always open. If you’re ever concerned or feeling unsafe, you can come talk to me. Nathaniel might be our prince, but I’m not afraid to give him a piece of my mind.”

“Thanks.”

Kira stood at the edge of the rock ledge, contemplating the dive into the deep pool below. She could feel the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin, and gentle waves murmured as they washed the shore. She shut her eyes to absorb it all. When she opened them, she caught sight of Nathaniel as he approached from the shoreline.

“Will you dive?”

“Maybe,” she replied, still eyeing the water below. It was crystal clear, and despite the depth, she could see the sandy bottom.

“Nervous?”

Kira gave her shoulder a small shrug. She was a good swimmer, but she’d never dived before.

Nathaniel climbed up the steep face of the rock with ease and stood beside her.

“You could just pin-drop,” he suggested.

“No, I want to dive properly.”

He smiled. “Like this,” he said, showing her how to hold her arms, his touch gentle as he made corrections.

Kira emulated the posture, her muscles tensed and ready to propel her forward. But she hesitated as fear gripped her.

She was wary of the drop, of the rush of sensations that would follow as she fell, and her body felt more numb with each second she delayed. She liked having both feet—or, preferably, all four paws—on the ground. Not that she wasn’t used to taking risks; scaling a treacherous mountain climb or leaping across a narrow ravine? No problem in either human or wolf form. But willingly plummeting vertically down…? Crazy.

“You’re overthinking it,” Nathaniel whispered, his breath warm as it tickled her ear. “Just do it.”

Kira laughed shakily. “Is that an order?”

He kissed her cheek, a soft brush of his lips. “Yes, pet. That’s an order.”

Something clicked in her mind. Instantly, Nathaniel’s order simplified everything, and with the possibility of backing out no longer on the table, her mind grew focused. It wasn’t that she was no longer afraid—she was—but her fear wasn’t relevant. Instead, there was no choice, and that was surprisingly liberating.

She leapt from the rock, and for a fleeting, terrifying second, she was airborne, her veins surging with exhilaration.

She plunged through the surface, her body enveloped in warm, refreshing water. The underwater world was blurry, the surface above sparkling like magic as sunlight filtered down. Down here, it was peaceful. For several long seconds, she allowed herself to float, her hair swirling around her. The pressure built in her lungs, and she kicked back up, breaking the surface just as Nathaniel dived, plunging through the surface a few feet from her and splashing her with water.

A few seconds later, he emerged, his wet hair covering his face. It made the vampire who had seemed so menacing look adorable, and she giggled as she swam closer and pushed his sopping wet fringe out of his face.

“I did it,” she whispered.

“You certainly did,” he smiled, his expression more alive and carefree than she’d ever seen him. “Well done. Such a clever girl.”

Kira flipped him off, but she grinned happily, wishing he would smile like this more. Suddenly, the gentle swell caused her to drift closer, and she became aware of the small space between them. She licked her lips nervously and tasted salt. What would Nathaniel’s lips taste like? It would take so little to close that space between them and find out.

“Want to dive again?” she asked instead.

He nodded slowly. “Whatever you want, Kira.”