Page 94 of Cruel Tides

That is, until Leander flashed me a grin laced with merman charm, doing his best to rival the view. “Care to watch the sunrise with me?”

My feet had me moving toward the couch even before my mind had decided on my answer. Then his bare shoulders came into view, and I paused. “You’re not wearing a shirt?” My eyes narrowed. Why wasn’t that surprising? “You’re not naked, are you?”

Readying my lecture, I made quick steps toward him. “You know Barren has a thing for cleanliness. He wouldn’t want your bare ass all over his couch.”

Leander stretched his legs out as I came around the front of the couch. “Oh,” I said, staring down at his bare ankles, puzzled. He was wearing pajama pants. The ill-fitting ones I’d given him months ago, turquoise and black.

“Disappointed?” Leander laughed, leisurely rolling his head along the back of the couch like he was really enjoying getting under my skin. His eyes were as clear as the ocean water outside.

“No.Not at all.” I shot him a glare before settling on the unoccupied cushion on the other end of the couch. “It’s just that I know how itchy those pants are. It’s hard to believe anyone would choose to wear them on purpose.”

Leander shrugged, pulling his legs back in and causing them to hike up even higher over his calves.Ridiculous. “I don’t have a lot of clothes,” he said simply. “But even if I did, I’d still wear these.” Back to that charming smirk of his. He slid closer, throwing a well-toned arm over the back of my side of the couch. “They make me think of you.”

“Nice to know I’m synonymous with something that makes you itchy.” Regrettably, my comeback lost some of its bite about halfway through when the warmth of his arm wrapped around my shoulders.

Behind us, the door connecting the bathroom to the main room opened, and I wasn’t sure whether to jump up or dive in between the cushions.

“Whoa,” Kai gasped. He zoomed past us in a blur, almost pressing his face against the window. “Look at that sky,” he said, a hand brushing through his wet spikes of hair, flinging droplets on the glass. “The water… it’samazing.”

“It’s great, isn’t it?” I said, scooting out from under Leander’s shadow now that it wasn’t just the two of us. I was quickly running out of room, but I wasn’t against sitting on the armrest if I had to.

“Did Barren ever tell you about this view, Lee?” I asked casually, though I kept my eyes on Kai’s back. His hair looked a few shades darker when wet, and his fresh button-down clung to the back of his shoulder blades where he hadn’t completely dried off from his shower.

Did these guys just not care about comfort, or what?

“Which view are you referring to, beautiful?” Leander’s voice, smooth and calming like a melody, filled my ear. Before I could turn to him on my own, a finger came under my chin, tilting me in his direction. Ice-blue eyes glittered with mischief. “Well?”

“Uh…” My brain blanked, completely stalling over the question.

The corner of Leander’s eyes crinkled with amusement, showing off that cute freckle of his. “You were staring at Kai.” As he spoke, his hand brushed back the weight of my braid off my shoulder. “Or were you talking about the sunrise?”

It was hard to think while his hand lingered next to my neck, and when his thumb traced along the ridge of my ear, I decided to rise to his challenge.

I licked my lips. “So what if I was talking about Kai?”

As I turned to look at Kai, unexpectedly, Leander leaned with me. He pulled me close, capturing my lips in a kiss.

I should have seen it coming. Leander’s possessiveness. But here it was, and I wasn’t ready for it. That first brush of skin left me momentarily breathless, and my head buzzed as he deepened the kiss. His arms cradled around me, pulling me off the edge of the couch and into his embrace.

When he finally let up, Leander’s breathing was ragged. “You’ll have plenty of time to look at him,” he rasped and—okay, I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. But when his tongue returned, sweeping back over mine, my eyelids fluttered shut, and I found I wasn’t looking at anything at all.

“I hope Laverne’s having fun,” Kai’s cheerful voice said from… somewhere. With Leander all around me, the entire room seemed off-kilter. “Do you think she’ll remember which—” All the excitement seemed to knock out of him at once, a punch to the gut I felt as well. “—Oh.”

What the heck was I doing?

My heart raced with adrenaline as I pried off Leander. “S’wait!” I gasped out, a jumbled mixture ofsorryandwait,as soon as my lips were free.

In front of me, a look of smug satisfaction came over Leander’s face. Like he was proud that his lips had caused my brain to melt.Damn pretty boy.

Kai was right beside us, yet he didn’t seem to care about him at all. But then again, why had I expected him to? He was Prince Leander, after all.

With his hand on the back of my neck, Leander drew me in for another kiss.

“Whoa, wait!” I slipped a hand up between us, effectively blocking his lips. “We can’t do this.” Even if Ididwant it.

A chuckle vibrated against my skin as he gave my palm a kiss. Looking at me from above my hand, lust sat heavy in his eyes.

He backed away, lowering my hand. His full lips parted in a way that made my lust-melted mind practically scream for me to kiss them. “Why not? Kai doesn’t mind.”

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