Page 37 of Bound in Flames

Stepping into the bath, I let out a soft moan of appreciation as the water’s heat eased the ache in my muscles. The cloudy water covered my breasts as I let myself sink deeper. I was painfully aware of the fact I was completely naked inches from Dex, and my core clenched at the thought of him joining me in the tub, my nipples pebbling in response to my inappropriate thoughts.

Dex began to move quietly around the room, adding more logs to the fire, then tinkering with a jeweled box above the mantle. The soft glow of the flames made the space feel like a sanctuary where the chaos of my thoughts were allowed to drift. Feeling at peace, I allowed myself to simply exist. No magic, no responsibilities—just the soothing caress of the water against my skin. The world felt miles away.

Even without looking, I could sense Dex, his energy filling the room. My heart beat a little faster. There was a heaviness between us now, not just from our growing connection, but from something deeper, something primal driven by the bond between us.

My eyes fluttered open and found him standing beside the tub, watching me with a quiet intensity. His eyes were heavy, hungrily tracing the lines of my exposed collarbone and neck. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, but I didn’t look away.The way he looked at me was thrilling and drove my body wild. The attraction between us had been simmering for days. Now, in the quiet warmth of this moment, it felt as if we were on the edge of something neither of us could stop.

I shifted in the tub, the water rippling around the swell of my breasts. His breath hitched almost imperceptibly, but I caught it, and it sent a spark of electricity through me. I wondered if he was thinking about what had happened in the river. I certainly couldn’t stop thinking about it. The way his touch had lit a fire inside me, and how my body had responded to him so instinctively. I was desperate for more, addicted to the blistering heat he had set free on my body.

Kneeling beside the tub, Dex gently pushed a wayward curl from my face. His touch was soft, almost reverent, but there was a heat in his gaze that made my pulse quicken. For a moment, he said nothing, his gaze hungry as it roamed over me. His hand dipped into the water, fingers brushing over mine. “Cleo, I need to explain something important.”

His thumb began tracing circles on the back of my hand. “In orc culture, a mate isn’t just someone you care for. It’s a bond that goes deeper. Deeper than anything I’ve ever known. It’s a connection that can’t be broken, not by time, not by war, not by anything.” His voice trembled as he spoke, the weight of his words sinking into the space between us.

I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening. “Okay. What are you trying to say?”

He held my gaze, his eyes intense. “I’m saying that you're my mate, Cleo. Not just by fate, but by choice. By everything I am.” He paused, and his hand lifted from his side, revealing a delicate gold chain bracelet, ornate and shimmering with rough cut gems. A fine loop extended from the chain, designed to slip over my middle finger, linking the bracelet to the wrist with anelegant drape of gold. “This is a symbol of that bond. Of my promise to you.”

My breath caught as he took my hand, sliding my finger through the loop before fastening the chain around my wrist. The stones on the bracelet glimmered in the firelight, each facet reflecting the warmth of the room.

“These stones are sacred in our culture. Strength, loyalty, and the power of the earth itself. They belonged to my mother, passed down to my sister before I took the Chieftain trials. This bracelet is a vow that our bond is as unbreakable as the fiercest of storms. You are mine to cherish and protect, and you are now part of the Kenryr line.”

I stared at the bracelet, its significance washing over me as his words settled around my heart. Their weight was both comforting and powerful, as if binding me to him, not unlike the jewelry now encircling my wrist. I was touched, and my emotions were building until tears threatened to spill over. “Dex, it’s beautiful. I don’t even know what to say.”

His thumb brushed a tear from my cheek. “Say you accept it, you formally accept me as your mate.”

I leaned forward, pressed my forehead against his, my heart swelling with emotion. “I feel it, Dex. I accept you as my mate, and I will be honored to wear it every day.”

We stared at each other for a long time, the silence thick with unspoken emotions. The world outside the room seemed to disappear, and all that mattered was this. The mate bond between us, the warmth of his touch, the intensity of his gaze. The safety this connection.

Resting his hand on my cheek, his thumb traced the line of my jaw, and I felt the flames of desire roar back to life. My breath caught, the air between us charged with something almost dangerous. Every nerve in my body was alight with anticipation,waiting for him to close the distance between us, to bridge the gap that had been growing narrower with every passing day.

But then, as if sensing the tension between us had reached its breaking point, Dex pulled away and cleared his throat.

“Can I help you bathe?”

“Please,” I whispered, desperate for his touch in a way that was downright embarrassing.

Reaching for a cloth, he dipped it into the warm water, wringing it out with deliberate movements. I swallowed hard as he pressed it to my collarbone. The rough fabric gliding down my skin in a slow path that made my skin buzz.

The cloth trailing lower, over the curve of my breasts, down the swell of my hips. My breath hitched, my head falling back, shifting to offer him more skin to explore as his touch moved with an agonizing patience over my body. The glide of the cloth over my thighs had me parting my legs, and a soft moan slipped past my lips before I could stop it. My pulse thundered in my ears as Dex's nose brushed the exposed column of my throat, his breath hot and ragged against my skin.

His hand moved slowly, dragging the cloth down my calves and back up, grazing over my core in a way that was almost innocent, but left me aching. My body trembled beneath his ministrations, my fingers gripping the edge of the tub. When he traced back up over my pebbled nipples to reach my collarbone once more, I whimpered and chased his touch. His grip on the cloth tightened, and the groan that rumbled deep in his chest sent heat racing to my core.

His lips grazed my neck, tusks scraping against my sensitive skin with a delicious burn that made my toes curl. I whimpered louder, desperate to feel his mouth trail my needy body, following the path the washcloth had just taken. As the cloth passed back down over my left breast, my back arched up into his touch.

“I want you,” I whispered.

Chuckling darkly against my throat, he nibbled at my pulse point, dragging his sharp teeth roughly on the skin before soothing it with his tongue. He pulled back with a pained groan and I could see the struggle etched into every line of his face. “Not like this,” he said, his voice thick with restraint. “You need rest.”

I could have sobbed as he back, the ache inside me only deepening. I knew he wasn’t rejecting me; he was holding himself back, for both our sakes. And somehow, that made me want him even more.Gods, I was desperate for him.

Dex exhaled sharply, brushing a damp strand of hair from my face, his touch lingering just a moment longer than necessary. “Relax, Cleo. I've got you.”

I leaned back into the water, my body still thrumming with want. Dex stayed close, his watchful gaze never leaving mine, his restraint both a comfort and a torment. And as the fire crackled softly in the hearth, I knew one thing for certain. I was his, and I wouldn’t be able to wait much longer for the moment he finally claimed me.

The warmthof the fire still lingered on my skin as I woke, the soft bed of furs beneath me feeling like a distant dream after the hard earth I’d grown used to during our journey. The scent of woodsmoke and herbs filled the room, and for a brief moment, I forgot where I was. But as I blinked sleep from my eyes and sat up, the reality of the stone walls around me and the echo of distant voices reminded me that I was far from the world I had known.

I pulled the furs tighter around me, feeling a strange mix of comfort and unease. The weight of the prophecy was still fresh in my mind—the shaman with hair of fire—and the memory of the orcs’ voices rising in unison as they recited the ancient verse sent a shiver down my spine. The orcs believed in me, believed I was the one to restore balance, to lead them back to their ancestral lands. But the enormity of it all still felt impossible, like a dream I couldn’t wake from.

---