Page 25 of Their Chosen

I had known he was in shape, but I hadn't quite expected him to be so cut. Not that I was complaining. I could watch those muscles dance under his skin all day long, but I didn't want to look like a weirdo.

He kicked off his shoes, and then his hands reached for his zipper. I swallowed and turned my back to him despite how badly I wanted to watch. I shivered slightly at the thought of finding out what exactly was in his pants and what it would feel like sliding inside me. I heard him laugh softly at my response, then felt a warm breath next to my ear. “Don't tell me you've never seen a man in his underwear?”

“What?! No. I mean, I have; I just didn't want to presume.” My cheeks flared in embarrassment at my awkwardness. Trust me, I was no saint.

He laughed at me again, this time from a little further away. “Don't worry, Killer, your innocence is intact, and everything is covered.” His voice seemed to come from further away. I turned around to see him walking into the water. “You going to join me?” he asked as the water came up to his hips, and he turned around to face me.

“Of course. I just wasn't sure...” I trailed off. “I've never had to bathe in a stream before, so this is all new,” I said by way of a weak explanation, even if it was the truth.

Instead of letting myself think too much more about it, I pulled off my own shirt, left my sports bra on, and then pulled my leggings and shoes off. Standing in my bra and boy shorts, I grabbed my toiletries and made my way to the bank. Setting my stuff down, I grabbed my shampoo first and walked into the water. I inhaled sharply as my toes hit the cold water. “Why didn't you warn me it was so cold?”

Laughing at me as I continued into the water, he replied, “I didn't want to scare you off completely.” I shook my head at him and then gasped as the cold water hit the burns on my inner thighs. “What's wrong?” he asked me. Apparently, I hadn't hidden the grimace of pain quickly enough.

“It's nothing, really,” I said, trying to brush off his concerns. He eyed me, not buying a word but not pushing me either.

He went back to soaping himself up, so I dunked myself under the water before I could wuss out, wetting my hair before popping back up. I shampooed my hair, trying my best to ignore the eye candy in front of me. Just a couple of steps would bring me within touching distance, and it was all too tempting.

I dunked myself again to rinse the soap from my hair. When I was done, my teeth were starting to chatter from the cold. Baer rinsed himself off, water running in rivulets down his body. I stood there for longer than intended, mesmerized by the trail which led down to his waistband. I licked my lips and then caught myself glancing at his face.

He was smirking at me, knowing full well I’d been checking him out. I blushed again and glanced at the shore. I didn't want to get out only to come back here. Thankfully, Baer was now done washing and was wading back to shore. “Can I use your soap?” I asked hopefully.

“Sure.” He sauntered right up next to me, stopping in front of me so close that if I took a deep breath, my breasts would touch his chest, small as they were. Granted, my nipples could cut glass right about now, and it wasn’t just from the cold water.

He held out the bar of soap to me, and I took it, our fingers brushing. My core clenched at the modest contact, electricity zinging through me. “Thanks. Can you take my shampoo back?” I held the bottle out to him. “It's too cold to keep going back and forth. I just want to be done.”

“Not a problem.” He smirked and then licked his lips while eyeing mine. I was torn between hoping he would kiss me and hoping he wouldn't. As if he knew, he took the bottle from me and then turned to walk past me, brushing my shoulder with his as he did so. “Don't take too much longer, Killer. Your lips are turning blue.”

Of course, he hadn't wanted to kiss me, he was just noticing how cold I was. I wanted to palm my forehead in embarrassment, but I was still holding his soap. Keeping my back to him, I washed my body as quickly as possible, rinsing even more quickly before rushing to the shore as fast as I could. My arms wrapped around myself and rubbed, trying to warm up. It wasn't until I got back to my rock that I realized I’d forgotten a towel. “Shit,” I cursed, not sure how to dry off now.

“What?” Baer asked as he pulled on a new pair of pants. These weren’t jeans but, instead, looked like worn leather and hugged his legs closely.

“I forgot a towel.” I barely kept a whine from my voice.

“Ah. I can help with that.”

“You can?” I asked hopefully, thinking he'd brought an extra towel for me. I eyed him, noticing his hair was completely dry already. Guys were lucky like that, not having to deal with sopping wet, long hair which took forever to dry without a blow dryer.

“Yup.” He strolled toward me, still in his pants and without a shirt, both hands empty. I eyed him warily but curious, trying to keep my teeth from chattering.

He drew up next to me again and then raised his hands. Before I could react, a strong warm breeze caressed my skin, and I couldn't keep myself from moaning at the pleasure, my shivering halted. The breeze picked up, harshly blowing into my face, forcing me to close my eyes against the pressure as my hair whipped back.

Abruptly the wind stopped, and I opened my eyes to find I was now completely dry. “Did you just do that?” I asked incredulously. He nodded at me, trying to gauge my reaction. “How?” I asked.

“It wasn't hard. Almost everyone from spring has control of the air. It's one of the first things we learn.” He smiled as I gaped at him. He spoke as if it was as easy as tying his shoes.

“Can I do that?” I asked eagerly, hoping I might be able to do the same.

He shrugged. “Maybe. It really depends on where you're from, which determines what magic you can use. Although, as a Chosen, you'll be able to draw magic from all your consorts when you find them. That connection will allow you to use the magic from every season.”

My smile dipped as I realized I had no clue which season I was from. Mom hadn’t told me before, and I didn't know to ask. For the first time, I truly wanted to find out what I was capable of as a fae.

I started to get dressed, deciding to change my underwear in my tent instead of out in the open and in front of Baer, not needing that temptation in my life right now. I pulled my dry hair from the collar of my shirt. “I want to learn. Can you teach me?” I asked him hopefully, looking up at his now fully dressed form.

“Sure, but let's head back to camp first before they send people out to search for us.” He laughed before walking in that direction.

“Of course,” I replied, eager to get back and to try my hand at magic.

Chapter Twelve: Lennox

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