Page 50 of Calling of the Crown

“Shh,” Rune said, leaning down and pressing his forehead to mine.

I inhaled deeply, trying to shove down the rising panic. I closed my eyes and focused on Rune’s touch, the beat of his heart, and the even breaths he took. There was no need to get worked up over the few who were against us. I was still hopeful that I could help them see the good in resolving things. With more time and opportunity to see Land Fae, they’d come around.

“You’ve had a long day,” Rune said.

I let out a humorless laugh. “We both have.”

Rune pulled back to look me over. He slipped the circlet off my head and set it on the fireplace mantle. His large hands gently pulled at the pins holding my blonde and blue hair up, and he ran his fingers through the long waves as they fell around my shoulders and down my back. He placed a hand on my hip and dragged it over my abdomen as he walked around me, pressing firmly into my back. My insides tightened with heat as he brushed my hair away from my neck to fall over one shoulder.

He leaned in to place an electrifying kiss onto my throat before whispering, “Why don’t I help you undress? You can take a nice, relaxing bath, and maybe there will be something even better waiting for you when you’re done.”

I sucked in a breath and swallowed hard. He was already unlacing my dress in the back, and images of roaming hands, bare flesh, and honey eyes had my toes curling in my heels. Clearing my throat, I said, “That sounds nice.”

Rune finished undoing the dress, and the blue gown slipped over my curves until it pooled at my feet. Rune gave me his hand to help me step out of the mess of fabric and my heels. Suddenly, I stood there completely bare with only my blue-tipped curls shielding my body. Rune’s gaze didn’t miss an inch of my skin as he looked his fill, and I squirmed beneath his alluring gaze. It felt like a whisper of a caress, and my wet core begged for more.

He had other plans.

Smiling at me, he said, “Go ahead and go soak. I’m trying to be a thoughtful gentleman, but if you keep standing here looking like that, I’m not going to be able to resist fucking you until you see stars.”

The obscene sentence only made me hotter for him, and I trailed my hands up his firm chest. My voice dropped low as I whispered, “That’s fine with me.”

He groaned, and his hard cock twitched where it pressed into my stomach. He leaned down, and as soon as his lips closed over mine, hunger stormed my senses. I shoved my hands into his hair and tugged him against me as I deepened the kiss, exploring his tongue with my own. His grip lifted me into his arms until my legs wrapped around his waist, with my hands still firmly in his hair and on the back of his neck. I was vaguely aware that we were moving, but I was far too focused on the sexy Fox pressed into me to notice where we were going.

That is, until I was abruptly set down into the steaming waters of the clawfoot tub. I gasped, looking at the porcelain tub then up at a snickering Rune.

“Soak,” he ordered. “Relax. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“But—”

He was already gone, jogging out the way we’d come.

I puffed my lips in a pout, but my disappointment quickly melted away with the call of the water pulling at me. I sank further into the warmth of the water until it touched my chin, and my eyes slipped closed with the sense of calm seeping into my bones. The water was like my very own Xanax.

Smiling at the clear pool, I twirled a finger beneath the water and watched as a line of water no bigger than a 12-inch strand of yarn rose out of the bath and began to spin in the air above me. It floated higher and higher, and as it twirled, I clenched my fist. The spiral suddenly crystalized until it became a solid piece of ice suspended in the air.

I’d gotten better at controlling the element, and it didn’t require near as much mental strain as it used to. With little effort in envisioning what exactly I wanted, the water just seemed to know. I took that as a sign that our relationship was strengthening.

I sat up straighter in the tub and beckoned the ice to crack and melt back into the pool. As soon as it disappeared, the bathroom door cracked back open, and Rune came in. He shut the door behind him, and my heart stuttered when I saw the renewed desire in his eyes. His gaze traced what flesh he could see from his vantage point, and his cock twitched in his pants.

“Is the water warm enough?” he asked as he stalked over to the tub, his voice rougher than normal.

“It’s fine.”

Rune knelt behind me at the head of the tub. I glanced over my shoulder at him, and he flashed me his canines in a seductive smirk. “Want some help washing up?”

“If you’re offering,” I answered.

He nodded. “Can you wet your hair for me?”

Instead of dipping under the water, I looked back at the full tub and called the water to me. It rose from the pool and cascaded over my head like a gentle waterfall.

Rune chuckled. “That’s one way to do it.” He grabbed the bottle of coconut and sea salt scented shampoo and gently lathered my hair. My eyes slipped closed as he massaged the liquid into my scalp and through my strands.

“Feel good?” he asked.

“Mmm,” was all I managed to say. I was too lost in the soothing sensation of his hands, which was quickly making a mess of my thoughts and ability to speak.

When he was done, he had me rinse the shampoo in the same way I’d wet my hair, and he moved on to washing my body. He lathered the soap in his palms and coasted them along my shoulders, down my arms, and over my back. He leaned in close as his arms pinned me against the back of the tub so he could reach around me to slide his fingers down my cleavage, under my breasts, and over my puckered nipples. I bit my lip as he cupped each breast for only a moment before moving lower to run his hands along my stomach. The water suddenly thrashed against the sides of the tub as Rune’s fingers came dangerously close to the place where I was growing desperate to be touched.

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