Page 33 of Waves
Teasing was one thing. Our few hate-filled kisses another. But alone, in my bedroom together? I wasn’t ready for any more with Watkins. Not yet. We’d come to a truce, but we hadn’t come that far. As much as the lusty side of my brain wanted me to stand between his thighs and then drag my nails down his chest, marking the skin red before I yanked him into a kiss, there were more important issues to weigh.
Like the fact that my first thought upon seeing him was that I’d been betrayed. My first emotion was distrust.
As if he sensed the change in my mood, Watkins sighed and clasped his hands together, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his thighs. “Well, there went the mood.”
I gave a single shoulder shrug. “Sorry.”
He shook his head. “No. It’s better, probably. I lose my head a bit around you sometimes.”
"Same." I admitted as a burning blush crept over my cheeks. “Is that why you wanted breakfast?” I repeated my question as I made my way to my dressing table and sat down on the stool.
“You didn’t even acknowledge me last night,” Watkins stated, the words flat and pinched. His face was glazed with the blue tones of the glacier light, which obscured some of his expression, but it almost seemed like he was…
“Jealous?” I asked, breathy, a little disbelieving.
His shrug was far too careless to be sincere and something inside my throat gave a giddy little leap. I was sorely tempted to make fun of him, but I was also highly aware that our trust was as thin as a strand of seaweed. So, instead, I chose to try to build that tenuous confidence.
“I’m sorry. What was your costume?” I scanned my memory but couldn’t recall seeing him. That was unusual. The shark shifter nearly always drew my eyes.
“I was a giant sea sponge.”
Picturing him in a puffy, oversized outfit that resembled a potato, I started to chuckle.
There was no way that this sinfully attractive man had dressed up in an outfit like that, but I did appreciate a fun lie. “What were you really?”
“I was!” He was a bit too indignant to be believable. But damn, his pout was adorable.
“Doubtful. I couldn’t have overlooked a giant pillow. I’d have been required to try it out.”
His solemn expression cracked into a smile. “Fine. You caught me. I was a dumb skeletal shark just like eighty others out there. But I always wanted to be a sea sponge. They get all the girls.”
Silly grins crossed both our faces at his bold-faced lie, and we sat there, staring at one another like a pair of fools for a moment.
If only it was always like this. If only it had been like this from the start.
Of course, a knock at my door interrupted us, because real life had to come barging in.
Luckily, this time real life just meant Gita, who started talking a mile a minute once she was through the door.
“Oh, my word, I think you might be right, Majesty! Humberto was just the most charming—” Her girlish blush turned into a red stain of horror that ran all the way down herneck as she cut herself off and gave a hasty bow, sinking in the water a few inches in mortification when she realized I wasn’t alone. “I. Am. So. Sorry.”
Immediately, I set out to put her at ease. “Gita, don’t be sorry. We were just talking.” I worked to ignore the curious stare that Watkins was giving me after her mention of Humberto. “Instead of getting me ready just now, do you think someone can scrounge us up a little bit of breakfast?”
Her nods came in rapid-fire succession as her tail deftly swiveled her back to the doorway. “Yes. Yes. I’ll go do that. Sorry.”
She was through the door before I could say thank you and the thump when she closed it made the water tremble.
“Care to explain why a competitor is charming your maid? And why you’re okay with that?” Watkins propped his hands up on the mattress behind him.
I shrugged. “I’m pretty certain she’s the reason he didn’t withdraw yet. But I wanted to nudge it along and make sure before I suggest he bow out.”
The shark shifter’s brows lifted as he considered this. “Matchmaking away your contestants. That’s a strategy I’d never have thought of.”
“Just wait until I toss my castle mage your way,” I teased.
“The fewer teeth a woman has, the better,” he threw back with a wink.
Our laughter braided together and for a second, I wondered if Watkins and I might be on a path toward true friendship. Toward something more. But his next words dashed all my hopes.
