Page 8 of King of Moon and Claws

Steam hovered around her nipples, the curve of her breasts looking soft and bountiful even from a distance. Bastian imagined them fitting perfectly in the palms of his hands like two ripe melons.

The king didn’t want to seem like an unwanted voyeur, so he stepped out of the shadows brazenly. Elora didn’t immediately notice him due to her eyes being closed, lost in the reverie of the hot, tranquil waters.

Bastian cleared his throat and spoke.

“Elora.”

Her eyes shot open with alarm. She tried to cover herself by sinking deeper into the water, bashful by mere instinct. But Bastian was relieved she did not ask him to leave.

“No need to worry. I can stay on this side if you don’t mind me joining you.”

He had taken a step forward, holding up a hand. Elora ceased panicking and slowly returned to her original serene state, leaning against the walls of the spring.

Bastian noticed her breathing had increased, her lovely chest rising and falling out of the water. She nodded and dipped her hands into the water. She then combed her fingers through her golden hair, as blasé as she could.

“That’s fine. I didn’t see you there. I was caught up in this amazing spring.”

The king smiled, then dropped his robe. He hoped her eyes would study him the way he wished. But alas, she had politely turned away, running her fingers through her shiny locks once more.

Bastian stepped into the spring slowly, quickly surrounding his body with an intense heat. It soothed his muscles and nerves as he submerged completely, then settled his back against the wall. Elora was about six feet from him on the opposite side, her eyes averted until the water swallowed up his nakedness.

He sighed, and Elora gazed up at him. He was struck for a moment by her sheer beauty, the tired, bruise-colored bags beneath her eyes, and the gaunt bend of her jawline taking nothing from her natural aura. A constellation of freckles scattered over her cheeks, chin, and forehead like sandy stars, and a cascade of blonde hair drew him in with a sharp curiosity.

“I have a few questions I’d like to ask you,” Bastian said. “If you feel up to it, that is?”

Elora did not miss a beat, her expression returning to that of the soft mellowness in which he’d first encountered her within the hot springs.

“I do feel up to it. That guest room helped. The food, the clothing, the bed. This is also really helpful.”

Her voice had a silky quality, but that didn’t mean it was void of strength. His wolf sensed it too.

“How did you come to be Vasilis’s prisoner?”

“His men came out of nowhere. I was living my life, and they simply took me away. Not sure how long ago.”

“Where do you live in the Wildwoods?” he asked.

Elora shook her head, her lips thinning.

“I’m not from here. Possibly another planet based on how things look around here.”

Bastian’s brow pushed down. “Another planet?”

She shook her head. “Never mind. I’m just babbling. I’m just a human trying to make a living.”

“You cannot be merely human,” he protested, running his hands through his hair. “You and I spoke. I am not able to do that with regular humans. Usually, only shifters.”

Elora smiled. It was disarming.

“I have been able to talk to animals since I was a kid. I didn’t think it was anything special until Vasilis kidnapped me and told me of his plan.”

“His plan?”

Her lips continued to thin until they’d gone pale white. She mused at the aquamarine water.

“He said he wanted my help in controlling an army. An army of shifters, I suppose, along with animals. I’m sure he had sinister intentions.”

Guilt quivered through him, having thrust her so roughly into the traumatic past. He moved toward her in the spring, his chest emerging while ripples of water dripped down his body.

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