Page 53 of A Surrender Of Hope

“And you never will,” I say sadly. “This is the life of Versipellis. The magic that flows through our veins and keeps our lands alive. There were two other caves that held magic. One belonging to the Drakaisis Kingdom ruled by Inanis, the other at the center of The Dream Walkers Kingdom. Both were destroyed in the Dark Wars. Both races are almost extinct; their people are lost to our world. Only fragments of their kingdoms are left in existence.”

“That’s terrible,” she whispers, letting go of my hand and moving to the water's edge, crouching down and dipping the tip of her finger into the water. “It's warm!” she exclaims, her excited eyes dancing over the lake, looking at the magical orbs and then the waterfall before looking back at me.

“Not warm. A bath is warm, but it's not frigid the way most lakes are in North America. But it is perfect for swimming,” I say with a wink, pulling my shirt over my head as I toe my shoes off.

“Swim?! We can swim in this? I feel like that would break some kind of rule. It's so beautiful and… sacred,” she muses, standing up, her eyes following my every move as I tug the rest of my clothes off. I move slowly, loving how her pupils dilate, her eyes raking over me as I strip off. I make sure to flex my arms and abs, making quick work of shucking my pants off while watching her breath quicken.

“No rules against swimming. You just have to be careful coming down here because dad likes to sneak mom down, and they also like to…swim,” I grimace and shake my head, trying to dislodge the childhood trauma of catching my parents skinny dipping in the lake.

“Oh shit!” Meyer laughs, her hand pressing to her mouth when I fake a scowl at her.

“It’s not funny, Lemon Drop. Dad doesn't have a shred of modesty. Mom at least stayed in the water when they saw us come in here. Dad chased us off naked.” I fake a shiver, making her laugh even more as I shove down my boxers and wink at her. “So, are you coming in, or do I have to swim alone?”

“I’m coming in,” she grins, kicking off the tiny blue slippers on her feet and turning around, her back facing me. “But I need you to help me out of this. Valen had to do them up,” she explains as I eye the tiny jewel buttons that run down the length of her gown, then look at my thick fingers.

“Right. I can do that,” I mutter, wrinkling my nose as I step behind her and undo the buttons slowly… like really slowly. I grab one, then curse as I try and get it to move through the little loop it's hooked on and growl under my breath when it takes four more tries to get it undone. “We might be here for a moment,” I admit, glaring at the button in front of me. “Why are they so small?”

“Just undo the first few ones on the top. I might be able to shimmy it over my head,” she instructs, and I nod in agreement. After another five minutes, I finally get enough buttons undone that I can pull the gown over Meyer’s head without ripping the fabric. “Ow. You’re pulling my hair,” she grumbles, batting at my hands as she untangles the few strands stuck in the buttons.

“Shit, sorry,” I tell her as she finally gets free from the gown and turns toward me. I can feel my eyes widen, and I curse, bringing the fabric of her dress down to my crotch when mycock immediately jerks awake at the sight of the tiny, white lace underwear set she’s wearing.

I promised myself that coming to the caverns was only for Meyer. That we would swim and cuddle. Possibly even kiss a little, but that I would keep my dick to myself. She’s already been ravished by Nox, who knows how many times, and apparently had a threesome with both Nox and Valen. What Meyer needs is a shoulder to lean on, not another horny guy trying to fuck her in a magical lake. But this little white lace number she has going on has me thinking with the wrong head.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, turning toward me.

“Why are you so pretty?” I complain, pretending to glare at her as I keep her dress pressed to my cock while I try to convince it to go down.

“Uh, what?” she frowns, looking at me like I’m crazy, then looking to where I hold her dress in front of my crotch. “Oh!” she laughs as she reaches behind her and unclasps her bra, letting it fall off her shoulders and making my mouth water as her breasts come into view.

“You're a tease,” I groan, then immediately yank her dress away from my dick when it kicks, my balls aching. I don't want to get pre-come on the silk. Valen would kick my ass.

“Are you kidding me? You just gave the world’s hottest strip show, and you’re calling me a tease when we had to yank my dress up and over my head, making a mess of my hair while we were at it?” She quickly shimmies out of her lace panties, and I nod.

“Yep.” I agree, then shove my aching need to be deep inside her down and hold out my hand to her. “Let's swim.” She slaps her hand in mine and surprises me as she rushes toward the water, dragging me with her until we laugh and are waist-deep in the lukewarm lake. Magic curls around us, and I tug her close and press my lips to hers.

“Come on. Let’s get deeper.” I frown when Meyer shakes her head, looks over my shoulder, and shrugs.

“I can’t swim. Well, not very well. I can keep afloat, but…” she trails off, and I nod.

“Perfect. I was trying to come up with an excuse to keep you in my arms the entire time,” I admit, kissing her again as I scoop her up into my arms and encourage her legs to wrap around my waist. “Now I don’t have to.”

“Oh shit! Okay, just don't drop me,” she says nervously, her arms tightening around my neck so much I almost can’t breathe.

“I’ve got you, Lemon Drop. I’ll never let you go,” I whisper into her ear, placing several kisses up and down her neck as I swim us deeper into the water.

“I can’t decide if that's romantic… or creepy,” she muses. I grin, relaxing in the water, letting it soothe all the tension in my body. I hope my relaxed state will help Meyer calm down a little, and I pray to the Gods that there will be no more surprises for her in the near future. Meyer is strong, but I don't like having her this stressed.

“Oh, creepy, for sure. I’m going to stalk your cute ass for the rest of our days,” I reply, making her giggle, her arms softening as she rests her head on my shoulder.

“Thank you… for this. It's exactly what I needed.”

“Good,” I murmur, keeping an arm wrapped around her. I bring the other to cup the back of her neck, cradling her close as we float peacefully in the lake, secluded in our own perfect bubble. She hums, and I can feel the rest of her relax, her breathing turning deep after a few moments and I sigh in content bliss, the girl I love in my arms, back at home and in my favorite place in the world.

I keep us there, relaxing without saying anything. Our silence is comfortable and almost healing as we let the natural magic move around us. When my fingers start to wrinkle, I slowly bringus closer to the lake's edge until the tips of my toes touch the lake's bottom.

“Lemon Drop?” I whisper, letting my fingertips dust over her cheeks. “You awake, babe?” Her eyelids flutter slightly, and she gives me a little grunt in response. “I’m going to take us back to my rooms. Alright?” I hold her tight, moving up the gradual incline of the lake before pausing and sinking back into the water as a rock skitters across the cavern’s floor in the distance.

A growl lodges in my throat, but I smother it the moment Jesthren comes into view. He has a pensive look on his face as he kicks a small chunk of opal across the floor. His eyes immediately snap to mine when I shift in the water, and he freezes, his eyes darting from me to where Meyer is curled against my chest, fast asleep.

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