Page 124 of Gift from the Nexus

On the deeper side of the water, there’s a large rock formation that provides shade and seats, and it’s covered in vines, different kinds of ivy, and whatever other greenery Tillman’s added overthe years. He likes to fuss at me for jumping off the top of it, but I told him he made it resemble a cliff too much not to.

He’s spent time slowly smoothing out the rock so there’re no jagged pieces, and he hasn’t admitted it, but I know it’s ’cause that one time I sliced my foot open pretty bad. I’ve been trying to convince him to work on making a waterfall coming out of it, but he says it’s not necessary. Blah, blah, blah. He just doesn’t want to make me one.

I smirk, watching her as she slowly runs her fingers through the crystal-clear water, mesmerized by the colorful rocks on the bottom. Depending on the position of the sun, sometimes their sparkle shifts from sapphire blue to emerald green. Other times it looks like diamonds have just been spread across the whole pool floor.

The temperature is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, and with the end of spring coming and summer fast approaching, this is going to be the perfect spot for her to laze around when we get our downtime.

“You ready, little wanderer?” I ask with a huge smile.

“You’re going to carry me, right?” she counters, now looking a little panicked.

“Of course. I won’t let you go until you’re ready for me too.”

At her nervous nod, I grip her around her waist and lift her the rest of the way in. She instantly tightens her legs around me and her arms pretty much put me in a chokehold.

“I’ve got you,” I swear as I wade us through the water.

“It’s ridiculous I can shift into a dragon, but a damn pool is about to be my undoing,” she grumbles, loosening her tight hold merely.

“It’s not ridiculous at all. I choked on one of those pastries Gaster makes that you and Oakly like so much once when I was like sixteen. The guys thought I was kidding, so they ignored me. Their uncle walked in and realized I was really choking, sohe used his air element to suck it out of my throat and I haven’t eaten one since.”

“What? Is that why you always turn me down when I offer one?” She slings herself back to look at me and I scramble to catch her, making sure she doesn’t slip through my hands and into the water.

“Yep. I know I could chew the whole damn thing now and not choke or could use my own element to get it down, but I haven’t tried,” I tell her.

Now that I say it out loud, it sounds silly as shit.

“Tell you what, little wanderer, you can feed me one tomorrow morning.”

“No, Draken, you don’t have to try one just to make me feel better.”

“It’s not to make you feel better. I mean, that’s a plus if it does, but I don’t want to keep depriving myself from something that I used to love from a fear of something that happened years ago,” I tell her honestly. Fuck, I used to eat so many of those things Gaster would have to double up his batches just because of me.

I was daydreaming so hard about how fucking good those pastries used to be, I didn’t realize Willow was staring right at me. The little twinkle in her eye and small tilt to her lip make my heart thud wildly in my chest. I love when she looks at me like she’s about to devour me.

“What, little wanderer?”

“You know you’re amazing, right?” I don’t really know what to say to that, so instead, I attack her mouth. I let my tongue talk for me.

“Let’s get you swimming,” I murmur in her mind, not willing to break our kiss just yet.

I walk us around the pool like we’re on a dance floor, flowing her weightless body through the water, and continue to kiss her until she relaxes more. She stays clinging to me for the next fewminutes and as soon as our lips break apart, her whole attitude does a rapid one-eighty.

One minute, she’s unsure. The next, she’s saying fuck it and dunking herself under the water. It all happens so fast and she’s out of my damn hands quicker than I realize what she’s doing. To be honest, I freeze, uncertain of what to do, so then I panic and just snatch her back out of the water.

“Come on, dragon, swim with me,” she says as she breaks the surface laughing, laying her hands across the stampede that’s currently my heartbeat.

Before long, she starts doing back strokes across the pool like she was made for the water. We haven’t ever talked about it in depth, but I have a feeling she used to love swimming, and what that cocksucker did to her that night really ruined what was once a favorite activity of hers.

It doesn’t take much more after that and she’s doing laps like a fish. Keeping pace with me easily. Honestly, I’m a lazy shit when it comes to my fitness compared to the rest, so it wouldn’t shock me if she could keep this up far longer than I could.

“Can I ask you something?” she asks, launching herself at me.

I catch her easily and now that she’s comfortable, I don’t hold her in a death grip. My hands find their way to her ass while my body pins her to the side of the pool.

“You know you can ask me anything, little wanderer, so either what you want to ask is going to upset me or upset yourself.”

“You know me too well, Draken,” she says, shaking her head. “Do you get mad at me when my visions surprise us or change up basically the entire plan? Or I guess what I’m really trying to ask is, do you get mad at me for having to lie to all of you because of something I’ve seen?”

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