Page 40 of Magic Claimed
I knew the argument wasn’t worth it. He was big and strong, and I was still recovering from Esoti’s latest round. His mouth pursed in a good-natured smirk I wanted to wipe off his handsome face. “Mates should be comfortable around each other naked. I am.”
At the mention of naked flesh, it was as though my eyes disconnected from any sort of will power I had. My gaze roamed across acres of taut, glistening flesh. Eike was the shortest of the three, but was still a good half head taller than me, which put my line of sight in front of his well-defined pecs.
My gaze slid down the centre valley of his torso and over the dips and curves of his abs, and then lower to that part of him he hadn’t bothered to hide at all. I sucked in a sharp breath. His shaft stood thick and proud. His blunt cock tip nestled in front of his belly button. A vein throbbed along the underside, from his heavy sac to the head, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. I found myself reaching for him, my fingertips tingling before I realized what I was doing. I forced my hand to my side.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I don’t think we’ll make it to magic lessons,” Eike rasped.
I gulped, at last finding the strength to lift my face to his. The good-natured smirk was there, but his gaze was heated and serious and I knew he held on by a thread. Suddenly I didn’t feel so bold. The fog in my head lifted enough for me to realize this man could take me, and there was nothing I could do about it. That what he’d done to me in the tub had been restrained if his angry erection was anything to go by.
If we had sex, the bond would strengthen. And I would be stuck with them.
Unsure, any bravado I had in me sunk through my feet. My shoulders rounded and I lifted my arm about my breasts, unsure. A knuckle beneath my chin had me lifting my gaze back to his. “We will never do anything you don’t want to do or are not ready for, Serafine. No matter how ready we are for you. Do you understand?”
His gaze was level. I saw and felt the honesty in his depths. It helped to ease my discomfort, although a healthy dose of it still weighed in my stomach, along with a simmering attraction I found hard to ignore.
I tried to put the perfection of his body from my mind along with the heat that still fizzed through my veins as Eike continued to gently dry my body and my hair until it floated down my back in long, shining waves. He bundled me up in another nearly dry towel and led me back into the bedroom. I stumbled to a stop as I came face to face with Jarom, who stood stock-still in the middle of the room, staring at me, and there was no denying the heat in his eyes or the massive bulge in his pants.
Chapter Twenty-One
I froze as Jarom thrust something at me. My hands trembled so hard keeping the towel around me, I lacked the strength to take it from him. Eike huffed, taking the cloth from Jarom. He let it open with a flick of his wrists, revealing a gorgeous robe of deep crimson velvet edged with the whitest fur. I’d only seen Drisella wear this type of luxury.
“Come, Serafine. Take off the towel. This will keep you warm,” Eike said.
Heat infused my cheeks at Jarom’s unwavering stare. He hadn’t spoken a word and yet I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to, given the tense lines of his shoulders and stormy look on his face.
I turned away from Jarom so that my back was towards him, hiding my face. I took a breath and let the towel fall to the floor. Cool air rushed across my body before I was swathed in the warm material when Eike placed it on my shoulders. I put my arms into the sleeves and drew it tightly around me. It was so soft it sat like a cloud over my skin.
The robe was big enough for me to wrap it nearly twice around me and I tied the sash with a rough jerk, making sure the knot was secure before turning back to Eike and Jarom. Eike knelt before me. I frowned, wondering what he was doing, when he lifted my ankle and slid my foot into a soft slipper of matching velvet. He helped me into the second slipper.
I lifted my feet, trying them out. The thick wool inside felt like I was stepping on clouds. “They’re so soft. I can’t believe my feet are so warm! I don’t know how I’m going to go back to bare feet when I have to return to Esoti.” I looked up to see Jarom’s lip curl and my wonder at the luxury dissipated. I hadn’t realized I’d smiled until it fell from my face.
Truth be told, I got used to the cold stone floors of the castle a long time ago, but he didn’t have to know that. Not that I expected him to care.
There was a knock at the door and Anise stepped inside. She smiled at me, her beautiful face lighting. “You look lovely, Serafine. Are you ready for your first lesson?”
“She will eat first,” Jarom growled.
I was hungry, as though they hadn’t stuffed a whole bowl of stew inside me last night, but Jarom wouldn’t tell me what to do. “We don’t have time to waste. The sooner we start, the better.”
I swept past Jarom, finding it hard to walk in such softness, but was pleased when I didn’t end up on my face as I brushed past him.
Anise’s gaze slid from Jarom to me. “As you wish. I’ll have some food brought to the office.”
I followed Anise down a corridor panelled with a dark brown, warm wood, lit with dancing flames behind ornate wall-lanterns. I was more than aware of Jarom prowling behind me as we left Eike to dress. It was then I remembered that Eike had been buck naked when Anise had come into the room and she had barely noticed his nudity.
Maybe she’d seen him naked before. Maybe they were lovers, and were completely comfortable with each other, and now I was the thorn coming between them. Jealousy rose swift and hard, making my stomach tighten.
I didn’t know why I cared so much. They could continue to be lovers long after I left, if it pleased them. Yet still, the jealousy swirled harder, making me feel nauseous.
The smile fell from her face. “Serafine! You’re ill!”
Arms came about me and the next moment Jarom had me cradled against his chest. We rushed along the corridor and into the familiar office I’d been in only days before. Alerick was behind the massive desk, and as we crashed into the room, he stood so fast his chair fell behind him. “What’s wrong?”
Jarom set me on the couch like I was made of glass. I scooted away from him the first chance I had, making sure the slit in my robe didn’t ride up and give everyone an eyeful. “Nothing is wrong.”
“Then why did you feel sick?” Jarom demanded as a vein throbbed at his temple. Gods, how did the man go from cold to hot so quickly.
I wasn’t about to tell them it was my wayward thoughts that had made me jealous of something that I didn’t know was true or not. Not to mention I had no businessbeingjealous. “I’m not sick. Nothing is wrong. Jarom jumped to conclusions. Again.”
