Page 113 of A Bride for the Winter King
Being in love certainly won’t allow for a lot of time to rule, but the eerie, joyful excitement for all that’s to come melts my insides. I’m not used to waking up with an unquenched thirst for life.
Lori pecks my lips and untangles herself from my grasp. “I need a shower.”
“Can I come with?” I ask with a mischievous smile.
She pauses on her way to the adjoining room, as though my offer caught her off guard. “I guess.”
Shaking off the urge to tease her about her less-than-enthused response, I switch on the light in the royal suite’s bathroom. Even though I never use it, Sara had the whole place renovated in recent years, and the new marble rainfall shower is big enough for the both of us.
I thread deeper into the room to grab fresh towels and a bar of soap, placing them on the counter next to the shower while Lori figures out the functions of the different knobs and handles controlling the shower heads.
Steam quickly fills the room, fogging the large glass doors, and I step in next to her. My wife’s body is perfect, but wet and glistening, it’s damn near maddening, and my morning hard-on swells and throbs at the sight.
I move to stand behind her, admiring the view. “We should get you clean, my queen. I humbly offer my services.”
Hot water sprays my face as I hold the soap underneath the jet for it to foam before slowly dragging it across her breasts and stomach before dipping lower to the place between her thighs.
She remains strangely stoic, and I hesitate. Maybe what I mistook for a sleepy answer earlier was actually her way of saying she’d rather be alone.
The soap slips from my grip, but I leave it on the floor and gather her hair to one side, nuzzling her neck. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
A sudden, violent wave of magic freezes the entire shower from floor to ceiling. We both tilt our heads up to examine the frozen shower head, the plumbing iced through.
“I-I just need a breather. I’m still adjusting to all this ice…” she stammers.
“Of course.”
I’m all for giving her some space if she needs it, but I can’t resist the urge to steal a kiss before I go. I slip my tongue inside her mouth with a low hum, savoring the moment.
She pushes me away with both hands, and my bare, wet feet scramble for traction on the marble. I brace myself against the wall of the large shower to stop my fall.
“Elio!” she shouts, clearly spooked by what just happened.
A pang of guilt shrinks my chest as I shake off the surprise and clear my throat. She did ask for space, and I crossed that line by kissing her anyway. “I’m sorry?—”
“She’s here.”
The intense flash of fear and panic written in the gap between her lips sends my heart into a frenzy. I yearn to rush forward, itching to reach for her, but I force myself to stay back, keeping my arms close to my sides. “Lori, what’s happening?”
Her lids close, and when they snap open again, a jolt of electricity runs down her body. Her muscles tighten and relax in uneven spasms. “I don’t know what happened. I feel fine now,” she croaks, but her body tells a different story.
I’ve seen that haggard, disoriented look before. I’d just never thought it would happen to Lori, too. And so soon after the wedding…
I hiss. “The curse is already working its way through you.”
She gives me a decisive slice of the head. “Not the curse.”
“What then?”
“It’s I-Iris.” Lori shakes as she raises her index and middle finger to her chest, and the small, trivial movement reeks of pain and agony.
Ice spreads in my chest, the name enough to kill what’s left of my libido and send tingles of warning up my spine. “Iris?”
“Yes.”
Her shoulders hunch, and the ice she mistakenly summoned melts all at once. The broken pipe above our heads erupts with hot water, the spray hitting us hard and interrupting our conversation. Steam clouds the shower and mingles with our startled gasps.
I turn off the main knob and rub the water off my face. “Here. Let’s get you dry and figure this out.” I wrap a towel around her shivering frame and gently guide her to sit on the cushioned bench in front of the vanity, kneeling in front of her.
