Page 83 of Ocean of Silver

I sat down first, sinking into the steaming water. I leaned my back against the cold tile, stifling a wince as it met with my wounds. But that was secondary to this moment, to what she was overcoming.

The tub was massive. Large enough to accommodate multiple people. Scotlind could have sat anywhere, but she sat down on my lap, high enough to carefully avoid the deep cut on my thigh. Despite any lingering pain, I instantly hardened against her as her soft skin pressed into me under the water. She gasped as I throbbed over her center but didn’t back away.

Her hands slid their way up my abdomen, dragging the water with them until she cupped my cheeks.

My breath hitched, and I stilled. Slowly, she bent down and pressed her lips against mine. It was featherlight, barely a touch, and not nearly enough.

I was about to kiss her back, to wrap my hands around her and tell her that I was hers and she was mine when she suddenly stood and leapt out of the water. For a brief moment, I was worried it was all too much. I thought the bath was too overwhelming for her. But she smiled softly as she looked down at me. “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded because I honestly couldn’t find words right now. I watched as she lightly hopped out of the tub, leaving water marks on my bathroom floor. I hated that I knew they would dry. I wanted them to remain there forever, so I could remember everywhere she walked, so I could soak in this moment and never forget a second of it.

She started rummaging through my cabinets as I leaned back to watch, not really having the energy to do much else, except enjoy the hell out of the view.

“Ah-ha,” she said, and the excitement in her voice was music to my ears. Seeing her happy and safe was all I ever wanted. My cock throbbed as she went up on her tiptoes and pulled something off the top shelf. I was too focused on her ass to notice what she grabbed.

She walked back toward the tub—toward me—with a bunch of fresh linen in her arms. I arched a brow, and she halted, biting her lip and pulling it into her mouth. I wanted her kissing me again. I wanted to taste her and devour her. I was so fucking thankful that I never kissed her on the lips during the celebratory dinner, and that the first time we did was this moment. Without an audience. Without being forced. She kissed me willingly, and I wanted her to never stop.

“I was going to wash you. Get the blood off. Is that alright?”

I nodded, completely mesmerized as I watched her climb back into the water. “You can wash me,” I murmured as I leaned forward and grabbed her hips, “as long as I get to wash every inch of you after.” I pulled her down onto me, stifling a groan as my thigh throbbed and the water meeting my back stung again. I sucked down the pain, forcing it out of my mind because right now, regardless of what had just happened, regardless of what else the King had planned… I was the luckiest Advenian alive.

THIRTY-FOUR

SCOTLIND

My hand was shakingas I reached for a cloth and dipped it into the water. Tezya was so still. I didn’t even think he was breathing as I brought the wet material up to his face. He wasn’t that bloody from the waist up—just his hands, forearms, and where I had touched him.

I gently cupped the back of his neck as I traced over his scar, my own eyes straying to his mouth. A bead of water fell over his lips as they parted, and I tried to not think about wanting to lick it off.

“Are you okay?” he asked when I finally started cleaning his hands. Blood was so matted onto them that it took fifteen cloths just to clean one arm.

I nodded. I knew he wasn’t asking about what had just happened. None of us were okay after that. He meant me being in the bath. I let out a ragged breath. I didn’t think about my surroundings much. I was too focused on him, too focused on the task at hand.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered again because it wasn’t enough. The last twenty-eight hours shouldn’t have happened.

“I’m not,” he said as he picked up my hand where he had cut my palm. He kissed it, his lips lingering on my skin, making me crave more.

“How can you say that?”

“It was worth it to have those extra weeks with you.” He let out a breath. “I promise it won’t last. I promise I’ll fix things. I just need time, and I’m so fucking sorry for asking that of you.”

The silence that followed was rippling. He was still holding my hand, but neither of us moved. I knew things would change. He hinted that the King would want to use me for my power on him. I just didn’t know how, and I was too scared to find out right now. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to think about that yet. I just wanted to have this moment with him.

My other hand still held the bloodied cloth even though his arm was now clean. I dropped it, leaning forward to bring his fingers into my mouth one at a time.

He cursed under his breath as he shifted beneath me, and I couldn’t hold back my smile.

“I’m also not sorry it happened,” he groaned, “because if I wasn’t in pain right now, I don’t think I’d have any self control with you.”

His finger came out of my mouth with a pop as I stared wide-eyed at him. I went to open my mouth and then closed it again, having no idea what to say. Part of me had butterflies stirring in my stomach, wanting to ask him exactly what he’d do to me. Part of me wanted that. Wanted him to lose control, to have his way with me without an audience, without being forced, but simply because he wanted to. Because I wanted to.

But another part of me kept focusing on his first statement. He was in pain. I was so fucking mad for him, for everything he, Arcane, and Dovelyn had to deal with growing up with that monster. “I hate him, Tezya,” I finally said. “I hate your father so much.”

Tezya stared at me for a moment, the silver shining through his blue eyes. Then, he wrapped his hands around my neck and pulled my lips to his. “Me too, Rumor,” he breathed into my mouth before he kissed me.

* * *

I couldn’t sleep.I had to see Tezya again. I had to make sure that he was okay. I lasted one hour pacing my bedroom before I found myself walking back to his chambers. After the bath, we sat on his bed for what seemed like hours, neither of us bothering to get dressed. We held each other for warmth as our bodies slowly dried. I could have manipulated the water off of us and dried us right away, but I chose not to. I felt my powers slowly rebuilding once Tezya had removed the Alluse shackles, but I didn’t want the moment to end. Once the water was gone, once every remnant of that bath had evaporated, our time together would be over. I kept thinking about how he said the King would keep us apart now. How our training was over. I didn’t know what any of that meant or where that left me, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to be with Tezya, to soak in this moment with him. So I stared at his skin until his markings faded.

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