The risk I’d taken was calculated.
I felt at ease in my own body, that was true enough. I was proud of it. And I was all too happy to put Kieran’s handiwork on display, revealing every little bruise and bitemark he’d left scattered across my skin.Hecertainly seemed to be enjoying the view as I lifted up my skirts, exposing myself to the elements.
A lazy, self-satisfied smirk had curled across Kieran’s mouth as he tucked both hands behind his head, watching me in weighted silence as I stripped down to my nethers. His glacial gaze was wolfish and hungry, but also slow and methodical…like he was savoring every second. Like he wanted to take his godsdamned time before eating me alive.
I also knew there was no chance in Helthat Kier would have taken me out, whispering such sweet and salacious nothings in my ear, offering promises of delayed gratification if he hadn’t fully intended on making good. Nor would he have brought me here, deep into the secluded depths of the Wyldwoods, if there was even aremotepossibility we might be interrupted.
Because if I had learned anything new about him over these last few days of blissful isolation—other than his inhuman levels of stamina—it was that Kieran Vistarii had a vicious little possessive streak in his blood…And I liked it. Good fucking gods, I liked it.
Do youreallythink I’d let anybody else see this pretty little cunt of yours in broad daylight?
No, he most certainly would not. I knew it. I felt it in my bones as he watched me strip, maintaining fierce eye contact as each article of clothing fell by the wayside. Kieran didn’t even need to put his hands on me to lay claim to my body—the intensity of his darkening gaze alone left me feeling like it was his and his alone.Histo view,histo possess,histo own and touch and torment and…perhaps even protect.
This is mine…Do you really think I’d ever willingly share this?
Those earlier-spoken words still echoed in my mind, for more than one reason.
And so it wasn’t really much of a risk at all, was it? Getting naked on the beach, indulging in the warmth and freedom of the afternoon sun, standing bare before a man who looked at me like I was Source-blessed. I couldn’t say I’d done anything like this before, but my insecurities were nowhere to be found, lost to the wind alongside my hesitations, my anxieties. If this was a risk, it certainly paled in comparison to every other reckless act and rule we’d broken as of late, but I didn’t care about that, either.
I didn’t care about much of anything right now, save for getting Kieran’s hands back on me.
Back where they belonged.
And I had grown tired of waiting.
“Well?” I demanded. “Are you going to come swim with me, or not?”
“Oh, is that what we’re doing now?” Kieran teased. His tone might’ve remained casual, but the way he palmed his stiffening cock above his pants was anything but.
“That’s what I’m doing,” I informed him. “But feel free to stay over there and play with yourself if that’s what you’d prefer, Captain.”
I tossed my hair over one shoulder and began to drift toward the shore, where small waves were lapping gently over the fine sand, pebbles, and crushed shells beneath my feet. I shivered with pleasure upon dipping my toes in, discovering the waters to be even warmer than the breeze.
“I’d much rather haveyouplay with me,” Kieran drawled behind my back.
The tip of my tongue ran across my lower lip, glossing it with anticipation as I glanced over my shoulder with lust-laden, half-lidded eyes.
“So come play,” I murmured.
I only turned to face him again once I’d made my first descent into the lake, wandering in about chest-deep, almost fully submerged in the pleasant, crystalline waters. I found myself briefly distracted by the sensation of it all—the Water aether so lively and effervescent that I had to concentrate to pull my Resonance back, to resist the urge to play with the currents.
Gods, I missed swimming.
When I glanced back up at Kieran, I was pleased to find the man was finally on his feet—shucking off his belt, pants, and tunic like his godsdamned life depended on it.
That’s more like it.
It was only the warmth of the lake that kept me from shivering once Kieran was finally naked. His sun-bronzed, muscular frame was luminous, almost glimmering in the golden afternoon light as he took several slinking steps toward me. Greedily, I drank him in, lapping at the strange, jagged scriptthat crawled up one side of his neck, sipping on every little nick and scar marring the otherwise flawless and lean muscle that corded his arms, his chest, his torso. And there, beneath the cut of his pelvic lines and that thin, teasing trail of dark hair…standing proud between two sleek and formidable thighs, was that perfect fucking cock.
Abyss take me.
“Whatcha staring at, Little Conduit?” Kieran purred, tilting his head to one side as his legs cut through the cerulean waterfront with ease. He was only a few feet away from me now, and every step forward felt predatory, scattering my pulse.
“What you told me not to stare at this morning.”
“Ah. You’re not very good at following instructions, are you?”
“I can be,” I replied, still staring. A gleaming drop of precum had formed, beading at the thickened head, only to be washed away as his hips sank beneath the surface. “Under the right circumstances.”