Page 154 of Deadwood
His gaze caught on mine as he turned back to the spring. “We’ve happened upon a couple in the caves, but we don’t go near them for obvious reasons. Between earthquakes and the risky magic buried deep in the earth, it’d be too dangerous.”
“Well, thank you for bringing me to one of the safe ones, I suppose.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, his voice teasing.
“What makes the water this color?” I asked, though I think I knew the answer.
“Minerals. The spring is far enough away from any major pockets that it won’t hurt us, but the crystals hold raw magic that sometimes leaks into the water, mixing with the minerals and changing the water different shades. It’s why we call it the Rainbow Spring.”
I nodded my response, speechless by the idea that this naturally existed, sitting here undisturbed.
He jumped down from the horse, then set both hands on my waist before I could attempt to swing my leg over and lifted me down himself. He removed his hold on me, and my stomach dipped at the craving to have them back.
With our focus now on the calm body of water in front of us, I said, “So how do we do this, exactly?”
“We undress, then get in,” he explained, as if that didn’t include us getting naked or dipping into a pool of magic.
He must’ve sensed my hesitation because he said, “Come on, Princess. Not like we haven’t seen every inch of each other already.” His fingers gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged it up over his head.
Instantly, my cheeks heated. When he noticed the color of my skin matching that of the pink water, a smirk pulled at the side of his mouth.
“I don’t bite,” he added.
“How do you know I don’t?” I asked.
He tossed his shirt in the plush grass behind us, and his bare chest brushed my shoulder, sending tingles down my arm. “Because if you did, you would have already.”
“Maybe I’m waiting to strike.”
He leaned a little closer, his breath smelling of mint and something faintly fruity. “Then take aim, Princess. I’ve been waiting for you.”
A breath of a second later, he shucked his pants off completely, underwear and all, and dove into the spring. I jumped back as water sprayed up at me. Rather than the cold I expected, the droplets were warm as they coasted down my skin to the soil beneath me.
The horse, completely unbothered by us, stepped back up into the grassy meadow and began grazing.
Bowen emerged from the water, wiping his dark hair out of his face. The sight of him wet and knowingly naked below the surface heated my core. He was so painstakingly beautiful in this moment, everything I remembered from our moment in the shower, and fuck, I wanted to wrap myself up in him and never leave.
He sent a smile up at me, and I tried to hide my own, shaking my head with the effort. I tried to shove the utter need for him away with no success. Getting in this spring with him was dangerous, if any other time we were alone together was proof of that. So why was sinking into the warm water with him so enticing? Like an addiction I wanted to form, but had never had a taste of before.
With his eyes glued to mine, he swam backwards until his back hit the wall of crystals behind him. Blues and golds glistened over his tanned skin like a painting, and I wanted to capture the sight forever to keep a sliver of the life I could’ve had with him inked into my memory.
He didn’t encourage me further as I stood there, staring at him as if I could find some sort of confidence in his gaze. It wasn’t that I was nervous to bare no clothes in front of him, but more so the idea of us being alone in the water, with nothing to do but explore each other. That night in the shower had been for a reason, and right now, this was purely for pleasure.
And I was stupid to be robbing myself of it.
I yanked my blouse off, and my breasts were on full display as I bent to pull down my pants. Once those and my shoes were off, I straightened, watching as Bowen drank me in from across the spring. He looked parched, like not even all the water in this spring could sate him of his sudden dehydration.
Slowly, I dipped my toes in. The water was just as warm as it was when it had splashed me, if not more so. Finding the smooth stone bottom, I submerged both my feet, walking toward him. After a few steps, the water was up past my breasts, the waves gently rippling against my skin as I waded forward.
I stopped mere inches from Bowen, staring up at him as he towered over me, despite the spring being somewhat deep. My eyes fell to the tattoos covering every inch of bare skin on his chest and stomach, weaving around the tops of his shoulders and down his arms.
“Are they from stealing?” I asked, bringing a finger up to trail over the one cresting his right peck.
“They are,” he replied, his voice lower, huskier than usual. “Does that scare you?”
I shook my head, finding his eyes again. “I believe people can do bad things for the right reasons.”
“And you assume my reasons are justified when you don’t know what they are?”
