Page 50 of Soul Fated

He exhaled. "Thanks. That's helpful." Without another word, Kael turned back to the river and walked in.

My eyes widened. "How deep does it get?"

"Not deep enough for you to worry."

I clung to him, watching like a crazy person for any hazards under the surface. If a rock or log popped up, I wouldn't be able to dodge it. "Why do we need to cross this? Couldn't we have talked on the other side?"

"Is that why you're here? To talk?"

I swallowed hard. I didn't know why I was there exactly. Only that it felt like I needed to be. "Yes."

"Talk about what?"

About Lana overhearing your phone conversation. About who you really are and what you want. About this thing between us that I can't stop thinking about. "About what happened this morning."

He grunted as his foot hit a rock. "You did well."

"You gave good instructions."

Kael lifted me higher in his arms as we hit the center of the river. The water barely brushed my butt, and I shivered. He met my eyes. "Good chat."

I shot him a look, but couldn't think of anything else to say as he crossed the final stretch of water and set me down on the bank on the other side.

"Thank you." I rubbed my arms. Even dry, the chill in the air was seeping through my skin.

"You're welcome." He stood in front of me a second longer, his chest and stomach wet and covered in goose flesh, then walked past me up the bank.

I followed, not bothering to ask where we were going. He would either tell me or he wouldn't, but we both knew I was going to follow. Unless there was another frozen river to cross. Despite the cold, my body felt glorious. I took in every tree branch, every late blooming wildflower, every new tree sprouting from the forest floor. I'd missed this. All of it. For nearly a month I'd been stuck in my house staring at a computer screen.

The world was beautiful. And I'd been missing it.

I gritted my teeth to keep the burn in my eyes from turning into tears, but wasn't successful. Tears pooled against my lower eyelids, and I blinked, trying to clear them before Kael turned around.

Then his hand was on my elbow. "Slow down."

I stumbled back and looked at the ground. I'd almost walked right off a ledge. The drop wasn't far, but the rocks were jagged. I quickly wiped my cheeks. "What is this place?"

Kael watched me a moment before clearing his throat. "Hot spring. I found it as a pup." He walked along the edge and dropped into the small semicircular pool.

It wasn't large, and wasn't deep enough to submerge without crunching up, but the water was crystal clear. A vent at the bottom sent ripples through the water, bubbling at the surface.

I bit my lower lip. "This makes me think of that movie."

"Which one?"

"I can't remember the name, but people were skinny dipping in a hot spring and then magma superheated the earth beneath them and they boiled to death."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. It's a good thing wolves run hotter than humans." He dropped lower and leaned back against a rock, closing his eyes. "Water's nice. Not boiling."

I rolled my eyes and crouched, slipping in next to him. I exhaled as the sudden heat made my skin tingle, then turned and rested my arms on the rocks, letting my body float. Steam curled around me, sticking to my exposed skin.

I jerked my foot back when something brushed against it.

"Sorry." Kael opened his eyes.

I turned to look at him. "Who were you talking to? When you were on the phone earlier."

His eyes widened a fraction. He straightened in the water. "Were you listening?"

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