Page 25 of The Other Side of the Mirror

After days of travel and grueling workouts, the calm water tugged at me. Ignoring Bash, I jogged to the shore, pulling my shirt over my head in a quick motion. I felt a tingle of awareness on my back and knew Bash was watching me undress, but I reached back to undo my sports bra anyway. He made a noise in his throat that sounded like a muffled curse, and I looked over my shoulder at him.

“You coming?”

He let out a gruntedhumphand turned away as I finished undressing.

“I would never have guessed fae were so skittish about nudity,” I teased, as I yanked off the remainder of my clothing and walked into the lake. The rocks at the bottom were smooth enough not to cut my bare feet, worn down from the ebb of the water. Though the lake was cool, it wasn’t so cold that my body had to fight to adjust, its shimmering bright turquoise too beautiful to be real. Before I could second guess the choice, I dunked entirely under the surface of the water, then pushed off the bottom of the lake so I shot forward, enjoying the freedom of the weightlessness, the tranquility of the muffled sound.

When I came up for air, I immediately spun around at a nearby splash. Bash’s clothes were now on the shore next to mine, though based on the expanding ripples, he had jumped in from the deeper side of the lake. I let out a yelp when he surfaced, his normally bright auburn locks dark and dripping as they fell into his eyes. His face sparkled with drops of water that clung to his eyelashes and the scruff on his jawline.

He swam toward me, then a splash my way broke the tension. My returning splash got him directly between the eyes, and I found myself laughing aloud as he spluttered, water sparkling on his face and chest.

When he smiled at me, there was a sharp curl low in my stomach. Then he dunked under the lake, water stirring around him as he resurfaced, trickling down the defined lines of his torso. A half-grin tugged at his mouth as he drifted forward.

“And here I thought you weren’t going to join me,” I breathed, trying for a bravado that didn’t quite make it.

He waded closer, and I felt a flush stain my cheeks as I remembered our similar states of undress—somehow having forgotten in the heat of our splash battle. I could see the muscles of his broad shoulders flex as he swam, his freckles there so numerous they merged in a sea of bronzed orange. Teasing or not,Iwas raised in the human world, where nudity was hardly the norm. Especially with the opposite sex.

“Oh, I’m not one to avoid a challenge,” Bash said with a near decadent drawl. But it also seemed for show, his eyes a little too wide. “Besides, after that training session, I wasn’t about to dissuade you from a bath.”

I splashed a wave of water at him and caught his unadulterated grin before he dunked under the surface again. When he emerged, he was even closer than before. Something in my belly went loose then tight at the droplets of water tracing a path down his chest, eddying into the lines of his muscles—each one begging my fingers to follow. Water pooled on the tips of his auburn hair before dripping down the harsh lines of his face.

Suddenly, I became very aware of Bash’s stare. I could feel it lingering on my bare skin, pausing at my breasts that were barely covered by the lapping water. Trailing down the lines of my body underneath the surface…

I should stop things now, before they could go any further. But I made no move to back away, despite knowing this could only end in disaster. Instead, I found myself saying in a sultry tone I had never heard come from my mouth, “I wasn’t about to dissuade you from joining me.”

Bash lifted his hand slowly, as if under a spell, tucking a wet strand of hair behind my ear. Then he went still—like his own action had taken him by surprise. The intimacy of it left me breathless. I caught his hand before he could move away, studying it intently to avoid what lurked behind that two-toned gaze.

A pattern caught my eye, and I focused on it. The freckles on his left hand formed an almost perfect Orion’s belt and the constellation around it. Bash barely seemed to breathe as I traced it with one finger, pausing at each dark freckle—where Rigel would be, its brightest star, and Betelgeuse, the dying red giant. His breathing hitched as I finished outlining the distinctive hourglass-shaped asterism, connecting each freckle with a now trembling finger.

“What—” A too loud swallow. “What are you…”

I smiled down at the stars on his hand. “There’s Orion’s bow, and the sword hanging from his belt.”

Maybe it was nonsense to him, even though the stars had been familiar last night as we laid by each other. But when I looked up, those blue and green eyes were moving wildly like something life-altering had occurred.

There was a strange magic in the air. As if this lake was under an enchantment and being in it had frozen time itself. Our faces were dangerously close, and I could feel his breath against my lips. I waited for him to pull away, but he just looked at me—stared right into me, the way he always did. Absently, I chewed on my bottom lip, and his lashes brushed his cheeks as hooded eyes followed the movement. When they met mine again, they were almost vicious in their intensity. Like he wanted to be the one biting down on that lip instead.

Suddenly overwhelmed, I tried to take a step back but slipped on a too smooth rock. Bash had his arms around me in a flash, pulling me to him protectively before I had a chance to fall.

“Thank you,” I said breathlessly, my face hot.

Bash’s hard, toned body pressed against my softer curves. One hand dropped to my hip as he stared into my eyes—that swirling storm hypnotizing. My breasts were peaked against his chest, and that square, bristled jaw tightened. I took an unsteady breath as I felt the unmistakable hardness of his need between us.

What are you doing? You shouldn’t…He’s taking you to your soulmate.

But I couldn’t listen to that voice telling me this was wrong, not when being in his arms felt like everything was finally right. There was something here that felt real, unlike some mystic bond with a prince I had never even met. And my every instinct rebelled against thinking about anyone else but him in this moment.

Bash leaned closer, and my heart beat madly with anticipation at the intensity that quivered between us. I parted my lips in a silent invitation, and Bash let out a soft groan.

When his mouth brushed softly against mine, it undid me entirely.

Then I was kissing him back ravenously, unable to get enough of his lips, the way his body moved to eliminate any space left between us. My fingers tangled in his hair, tugging him deeper. I sighed into his mouth at the perfect feeling of his lips, his tongue stroking mine in a way that told me he knew exactly what he was doing. My legs wrapped around his hips as if of their own accord. Bash bit down on my lower lip, drawing a gasp from me as my hands raked down the firm muscles of his back.

Then he pulled away, breathing harshly. There was a war of emotion on his face, those dual-toned eyes stormy. But as I saw his obvious regret solidify, my legs slipped from his waist, and I found my feet under me…though his hands lingered on my hips in a familiar, intimate way that made me ache.

His face hardened, and I watched as his walls went up. The water suddenly felt cold. Without looking me in the eye, he gently pushed me away, backing up slowly. His hands curled into fists, his lips a firm line.

“We should go,” he said bleakly. I watched in silence as he shoved his fingers into his hair. “This…can’t happen. You are promised to the prince. And it’s the only way—” He broke off abruptly, his throat bobbing.

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