Page 70 of Obsidian Dream
TALIK
The water was surprisinglywarmer than Talik had expected.
Siltier as well.He kicked his legs out.His uniform had not been designed for swimming, and they clung to him, restricting his movements.His boots, steel-toed, were heavy and cumbersome.Stretching out his arms, he tried to loosen his clothes by untucking his shirt.He couldn’t do anything about the boots.Just grin and bear the extra weight.
He focused on the murky water, so dark it looked black, but it smelled like fresh running water and was clean despite the color.The water had never scared him, had always felt like a second home, especially when he had nowhere to go as a youth.Wading deeper, he continued the downward trajectory.Below him, bioluminescent lights twinkled.He wasn’t entirely sure what it was—flora or fauna—and wasn’t curious enough to find out.The pale-blue light in black water reminded him of the night sky.He swam slowly, careful not to disturb the silt or anything else that had decided it was trying to find its way out of the catacombs.
Khalida stood on the edge, the water at her waist, with a stubborn expression on her face.Her hair glowed like a beacon in the crystal light; the silver was the perfect palette to highlight the twinkling lights.Khalida looked uncomfortable, her eyes wider than normal, but somehow, she hadn’t quite lost the aristocratic stare she always defaulted to when she was somewhere she didn’t want to be.The two swords were strapped to her back, and she still wore the backpack that carried the artifact.Her shoulders were proudly held up high, as if she was about to go into battle.He knew exactly how much concentration and energy it took.The growing panic surrounding her was palpable, but with each passing second, it was settling.Khalida would hate that anyone would notice it, but he knew how deep-seated her terror of water was.As someone who had grown up in a village near the coast, he had never quite fathomed how someone could fear it as much as she did.
There wasn’t much he could do, but he could distract her.She had an unhealthy relationship with competition, but it suited him because he had a borderline obsession with seeing how the cards would fall.And he loved to win just as much as she did.
He looked at the ceiling.There was more debris falling now.They were small pieces of rock and sandstone, but not small enough to fill him with an assurance that the ceiling would hold up for much longer.“A little wager?”
“Like to be on a losing streak, do you?”
He slowly swam back to Khalida, standing just out of reach.“I believe we are even.”
Khalida looked him over.And for a moment, he forgot where they were as his aching body came alive.
“And what do you propose?”Her voice was thick, edged with a hint of dread.But there was a layer of curiosity.
“First one across wins.”It was simple—but it would get Khalida moving.There was one thing Khalida hated more than anything, and that was losing to him.And he was going to use it to his advantage.“I win, and the prize is a kiss of my choosing.”
Khalida took a step closer to him, close enough that he could feel her body warmth, and all good intentions—if he’d had any—for his bet went out the window as he forgot about his injury and why they were there.She raised herself on her tiptoes, her mouth grazing his cheek.This close, the scent of her desire was hard to miss.A hint of peonies...it was intoxicating.It made him want to push her up against the wall, strip her, and then hear her beg for more.
He stifled a groan.
“I want your Lamborghini.”
Talik blinked, not sure he had heard correctly.“My car.”
“Your favorite car,” Khalida slowly said as she took a step back, hands on her hips.“The one that is cherry red and goes really, really fast.Unless you think you are going to lose?”
“How do you know it is my favorite car?”He had already lost a bet to Sypha and owed them a car.And now Khalida was asking for one.
“You aren’t the only one with access to a spy network.Every guest that attended the Jimourt had a designated dossier,” Khalida answered.“Knowledge is power.”
It was a phrase that had been drummed into him when he had lived in Egypt.“If you wanted to keep tabs on me, all you had to do was call.”
Khalida hit him on the chest.
The jolt was enough to knock the wind out of him.“You don’t like cars.”
“I might.”Khalida tightened the straps of her backpack.“Deal?”
He closed his eyes, ignoring the twitch of his cock and her audacity.“Deal.”
She smiled.
And it was just like the first time she’d smiled at him—it hit him like a freight train.He was already too far gone.
Fuck.
***
KHALIDA
Khalida pushed throughthe water, her lungs burning as all thoughts centered on beating Talik.
