Page 16 of Revenge of the Forgotten

She wasn’t shy and didn’t shatter under his gaze like most women did in his presence. She stood as tall as her short frame would allow, her dark brown hair flowing past her shoulder blades. The setting sun illuminated her skin in purples and pinks, making her look every bit of the goddess Bridger believed her to be.

He licked his lips, hungry to get a taste—ready to relieve himself of the ache he’d been feeling since he’d laid eyes on Vega almost a full year ago. The muscles in his face twitched as a crooked smile spread across his lips. “What are you waiting for?” he bellowed, splashing water around him with open palms.

“It’s cold!” she cried, shuddering when she stepped into water up to her ankles.

“C’mon, scaredy cat! Don’t let me have all the fun!” Bridger fell backwards, plummeting beneath the water. When he surfaced, he shook his head and ran his hand down his face to clear it of excess water to find Vega had only taken a few steps further. “My little kitten afraid of some water?”

Her brows furrowed. “Oh, I’ll show you scared!” The water splashed around her as Vega plunged herself into the chilled, crystal-clear water.

Vega stopped ahead of him, barely able to touch the bottom as Bridger swam further out with a lazy backstroke, keeping his eyes locked on her. “Give me your best.”

The calm breeze turned into roaring winds, stirring up the lake’s once calm surface. Dark clouds loomed in the distance, rolling in with cracks of thunder until they were directly overhead. Fat raindrops started to fall from the sky, stinging Bridger’s face. The water churned, but the waves avoided Vega. The wind she controlled pushed them away, redirecting them to the shore with a crash.

Bridger blinked, astonishment lighting up his eyes from the middle of the lake while he continued treading water. He threw his invisible shield up, his power allowing the water in his circle to calm and protecting him from the wild waves of Vega’s storm.

He’d never seen anyone like her—no one had.

She put on a show for him, lightning spidering across the sky with booms of thunder echoing off the mountains in the distance. If their parents didn’t already know where they’d run off to, they did now.

Vega’s smile lit up, her voice traveling through the wind. “Who’s scared now?” When she winked at him, her storm started to die down, nothing left but a bit of rain and waves crashing across the lake’s shore.

Bridger let his shield fall and swam until his feet touched the bottom, moving to close the distance between them. His chest was exposed, compared to Vega, where only the tops of her shoulders were flirting with the waterline.

Vega’s chest swelled with an intake of air as he stepped against her. Bridger’s fingers danced up her arms, skimming her skin and turning the tips of his fingers into individual infernos from the pulse of the electricity flowing underneath Vega’s skin.

Her piercing eyes followed his hands like an artist admiring their greatest masterpiece.

Gently, Bridger placed his fingers under her chin and tilted it up to meet his gaze. “The only thing I’m scared of is returning to a life without you in it.” How had he ever felt whole before meeting Vega? Why had they kept their relationship purely platonic since meeting when their chemistry burned hotter than the embers of a fire?

“Then make a move,” Vega said with a breath, her voice a light caress.

His hands slid behind her head, tangling in her wet hair as the rain she created dulled to a steady drip. Bridger wasted no time pressing his lips to hers, starting off slow until they found their rhythm.

Vega’s arms snaked around his neck, and she hiked herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

Bridger moved his hands to hold her tightly, squeezing roughly at the handfuls of her ass he now had a grip on. He moved his mouth from her lips, trailing kisses down the delicate skin of her neck to her chest, where he licked water droplets off.

He devoured every inch he could, getting the taste he’d been so desperately craving.

Vega drove her hips forward, grinding against Bridger’s growing arousal. He groaned a primal sound from deep inside his chest.

Bridger inhaled the scent of her skin. Hydrangeas—honey and sweet vanilla. “You’re going to be my undoing, Vega Caelum.” His breath was hot on her neck as he licked from her collarbone to the edge of her jaw. He put his lips to her ear. “I have to have you. Let me show you what I’ve been wanting to do to you since the day we met.”

Vega gave him permission with one single nod, followed by a whimpered, “Bridger, please.”

But Bridger barely heard her words before he carried her out of the water with fervent speed.

Their lips met again as he laid her back against the warm, damp grass. He balanced his weight above her with one arm, the other pulling her out of what little clothing she had on.

He took a moment to take in the view—and it wasn’t the far off snow-capped mountains wrapping around the capital city of Stella. “Gods, you’re so fucking beautiful,” Bridger panted.

Vega curled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling his mouth to hers in a wild kiss that set every nerve ending in Bridger’s body ablaze. She let him take control, turning to putty in his hands.

“Bridger,” she moaned against his lips. “Bridger,” she said again. “Bridger.” A third time. “Bridger,” a voice said, but this time it wasn’t hers, and he was no longer lying on the bank in Aeris, making love to Vega Caelum.

Bridger shot out of bed, coming face to face with Meyer Ignis, his best friend and the general of his army.

The blanket draped over his waist tripped him, tangling between his legs until he fell to the floor. He landed with a crash—not a graceful maneuver expected from a powerful war commander, let alone the most powerful warrior in all of Tolevarre. He groaned, pulling himself up to his elbows while his eyes adjusted to the darkness of his room.

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