Page 97 of Omega Sanctuary

I sighed. My head was still pounding, but the closer to the salty air we got, the better I felt. The weight of trying—and failing miserably—to measure up dropped away.

"That's better?" Asano cocked his head. Behind him, the waves crashed onto the beach, and my entire body froze.

He was like a dream. "Much better," I said, looking at him.

"Always room for improvement." He winked at me, and then slowly took his shirt off.

I stopped to watch. He made it part strip tease, part unconscious seduction. Like he was flirting with me, but didn't really understand how beautiful he was. His abs were flat and corded, his body lean and muscled. His shoulders were well rounded, his golden skin made brighter in the sunlight.

On his shoulder, where the thick part of his shoulder met his collarbone, was a bite mark.

I sucked in a breath. "You're bonded?"

Confusion, hurt, regret, it all spiraled through me. He was already spoken for.

He would never be mine. I hadn't asked him what he wanted, but clearly it was just going to be a fling for him.

"Yes?" He frowned, confusion written all over his face. "I thought you knew."

I didn't know why he thought that, but I didn't want to push.

He stepped forward, hands outstretched. "I'm not jerking you around, Zara. I want...more. I want you."

Some of the ice in my chest thawed, but my heart was still beating too fast. "I shouldn't have assumed...what you wanted."

"I don't ask flings to come spend the day at the beach with me." He wrinkled his nose and looked so put out, I laughed.

He grinned. "What? It's too hard to make small talk all day long. Had my fill of that at the Sanctuary."

"Okay." I forced myself to breathe normally. I could do this. I was a well-adjusted person, even if all of my hormones were going crazy. Yesterday I'd cried because the sea looked so beautiful.

"Can we just...be ourselves?" I stepped closer to him. "I just want to be Zara. And you can be Asano. And we don't have to worry about designations or society or any of that."

His face grew softer. "I like that."

"Good," I said, walking past him. "Because we're going to have the best day at the beach ever."

"Challenge accepted."

It maybe wasn't the best day ever, due to my aching body, but it was easily in the top five. We swam, we ate the food Asano packed, and we splashed each other. It felt like being a kid again, just having fun. Asano flirted and stole little touches, but even that felt like something we could do on our own terms.

Toward the end of the day we headed to a small pocket of water near a rocky outcropping, and sat in a pool created by the flow of water. It was warm and felt like being hugged by a cloud. I slid under his arm and curled against him.

He dropped a kiss onto the top of my head, and I sighed.

I'd missed touch more than I realized. Valens had sated some of my need, but since he was gone, it felt like a void inside me.

I'd talked to him a few more times in the mirror glass, warning him about Yvenna, but I don't think it was going well.

"This is going to sound really forward, but my house is really calm and spacious if you ever want to spend time together in a quiet environment."

I snuggled into his shoulder. "That sounds really nice. Between training, classes, and these stupid galas, I'm drained."

"I do some painting. The conservatory has really nice lighting. You could come over and read or..."

I almost said bake, but I couldn't bake in a conservatory. "Reading is good."

"That sounds good." His voice was thick, and he sounded sleepy too.

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