Page 41 of Magic's Rise

A growl rises in his chest. “Because it will be cold.”

Tris, who had changed while I was in the bathroom, sweeps forward to swaddle me in a terrycloth bathrobe that itches with too much starch and drags on the floor. “Humor the growly wolf.”

I throw my hands into the air. “People run around naked all the time in Hartford Cove! What happened to the nude form is natural?”

Haut’s growls deepen.

“Okay, enough of that imagery.” Tris grabs one of the room keys and hustles me toward the door. “We’ll be back in an hour.”

The carpet chafes against my bare feet, and I belatedly realize we left our shoes in the hotel room, but there’s no turning back now. Not when adventure is afoot.

We ride the elevator back down to the ground floor, then follow the sign and the sting of chlorine at the back. A piece of paper on the door announces that the pool closes at ten o’clock, so we have a little time to enjoy a soak before heading back.

The sight of the glowing blue water makes me shiver in the autumn chill, and we bypass it to head for the steaming hot tub tucked into one corner. A wrought-iron fence separates the area from the woods behind the hotel, offering their guests privacy, and since we’re the only ones out here, that means we have the whole place to ourselves.

My feet turn to blocks of ice on the short trek across the cement, but Tris stops me from jumping straight in. “Start with sitting at the edge and dip your feet in. Sometimes it takes a minute to adjust to the temperature.”

Shrugging out of my robe, I set it on a nearby lounge chair while Tris fusses with some knobs on the other side of the hot tub, and bubbles roar to life from the jets in the sides.

Eager to warm up, I sit on the cold ground and dunk my feet in. Boiling water burns my skin, and I yank them back out with a yelp.

“See?” Tris sits next to me and drops his legs in without flinching. “That’s why I warned you to take it slow.”

I bite my bottom lip as I test the water again. The first attempt burned off the icy chill from the surrounding cement, so the heat isn’t so bad this time. Slowly, I lower my legs farther into the water, the bubbles tickling my toes.

With a grin, Tris slides fully in, submerging to his shoulders with a hiss. “Burns so good.”

He floats nearer and runs his wet palms over my knees, spreading water over my legs. His hands dip back beneath the bubbles before moving higher up my thighs, and sparks of blue dance where our skin connects.

In the reflection of the lights from the hot tub, his eyes shimmer gold as he gazes up at me. “Come join me, my spark.”

Breath held, I slide into Tris’s waiting embrace, the bubbles surrounding me and melting away the ache left in my body by the long car ride.

Tris guides me onto a small ledge, his hips between my knees. “What do you think of your first hot tub experience?”

Pulse skipping into a faster rhythm, I lean forward. “Burns so good.”

“I knew you’d love it.” Our mouths come together, his burning hot where the autumn chill still clings to mine.

My ankles hook around his waist, and I scoot to the edge of the bench to be closer to him, to feel his skin. Bubbles tickle my sides and slip under my skimpy bathing suit to do fun things between my legs.

Tris smiles against my lips and cups my ass to support my weight as he shifts us to the side, bringing the jet into direct contact with my center.

A gasp escapes me at the sensation of the jet on my sensitive folds, the scrap of fabric that covers my entrance no match for the hot surge.

Tris’s hips rock, his hard cock massaging my clit.

Head dipping, he trails kisses down my throat. “I’ve wanted to be inside you since the toy store.”

A moan slips past my lips, and my eyes close as my head tilts to give him better access.

His grip on my ass shifts, his fingers slipping beneath the elastic bands around my legs to brush my center. “God, you’re so hot. Imagining fucking you right now, with these bubbles…”

With a gasp, my eyes flutter open, my unfocused gaze moving across the pool as Tris dips lower, kissing his way down my chest.

Then something moves in the shadows, and everything comes into sharp relief.

A man stands on the other side of the fence, staring straight at us.

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