A knock came about an hour after I returned to my chambers. Unsure who it could be, I cracked open the door first and then swung it wider when I saw the young mortal.
I stepped aside, allowing him entry. “Hello, Paxton.”
He made his way into the chamber, favoring his right leg over his left. A curtain of blond hair fell forward as he bowed. “His Highness asked that I see if you were in need of fresh water for a bath.”
“I have the water that was brought in this morning,” I told him.
He investigated the bathing chamber, immediately spotting the full, unused tub. “The water has to be freezing by now.”
Probably, but it wasn’t like I planned to soak in it. “It’ll be fine.” “It’s no trouble.” He’d already turned, making his way into the hall.
He was faster than I expected him to be. I hurried after him. “It really isn’t—”
“I’ll get His Highness.” Paxton headed straight for the door next to mine. “He’ll fix it right up for you.”
“You really don’t have to do that—” “It’s no problem.”
“I understand, but—”
“He’ll take care of it. You’ll see.”
Nyktos’s door opened before Paxton could even knock on it. The Primal stepped out into the hall, and all coherent thought sort of abandoned me.
His damp hair was free, brushing his shoulders, and that piece I’d cut with the sword kissed the curve of his right cheek. He wore no shirt. Beads of water lingered on the hard, lean lines of his chest and stomach. His soft leather pants clung indecently to his lean hips as if he barely allowed his body time enough to dry from the bath before pulling them on. He hadn’t even fastened them.
“What’s going on out here?” Nyktos asked.
“I was doing as you asked, Your Highness, seeing if she would like water to bathe, but she said she’d use what was brought in this morning.”
Nyktos said something, but I wasn’t exactly sure as I was really engrossed in the swirl of tattooed drops that traveled along the sides of his waist and inner hips, disappearing—“Sera.”
Blinking, I lifted my gaze to his. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?” There was that warmth in his eyes again, turning them a molten silver.
“Perhaps if you stopped ogling me for five seconds, you’d hear me.” “I’m not ogling you,” I muttered, blinking.
Paxton frowned. “What does ogling mean?”
“To look at someone amorously,” Nyktos answered. “And rather impertinently.” He paused, his eyes meeting mine. “As if they have no control over where their eyes stray.”
The boy grinned before ducking his chin. “Yeah, that’s totally what you were doing.”
I turned to Paxton. “You don’t know what ogling means, but you know what amorously and impertinently are?”
“Pax is well familiar with all the various phrasings of impertinent,” Nyktos said, and the boy’s skin crinkled at his eyes as his grin grew. “You didn’t use the water brought in this morning?”
“Not really, but I—”
“The water has to be freezing by now.”
Paxton threw up his arms. “That’s what I said.”
Walking forward, Nyktos dropped his hand to the top of Paxton’s head as he passed, ruffling the boy’s floppy strands of hair. The gesture was…it was kind of sweet. “I’ll heat it up.”
“That’s not necessary,” I repeated to no avail as Nyktos brushed past me and entered the bedchamber. Wait a second… “How are you going to heat the water?”
“Magic,” he tossed out in a light tone that I hadn’t heard from him in far too long.
“Really?” I replied dryly, ignoring whatever silliness my heart and mind were engaged in. “You can use eather to heat water?”
“He’s a Primal god,” Paxton said, sounding incredibly exasperated for someone his age. “There’s nothing he can’t do.”
“That’s not entirely true.” Nyktos glanced at the bed, a slight frown pulling at his lips. “There are many things I can’t do.”
“Name one,” Paxton challenged.
“Getting my soon-to-be Consort to follow instructions would be one of them.”
Paxton giggled as my eyes narrowed on the center of the spiraling ink scrawled across his back. I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s going to get even harder for you now.”
“As if it would have gotten easier.” Nyktos stopped at the entrance to the bathing chamber.
I inched forward, followed by Paxton. I wouldn’t admit it, but I was curious to see just how Nyktos would warm the water.
However, much like I did every time I entered the space, Nyktos just stood there. The breadth of his shoulders tightened. He looked over his shoulder, first at the made bed and then me.
“Are you heating the water with your mind?”
“He has to actually touch it.” Paxton shook his head as if I’d suggested something ridiculous. “I don’t know what he’s doing.”
“Well, then, that makes two of us,” I said.
Nyktos closed the doors and faced us, drawing his lower lip between his teeth, showing just a hint of fang. “Pax, why don’t you go see if Nektas has returned?”
“Will he have Jadis with him?” the boy asked, his chin jerking up and eyes aglow with excitement.
“He should. And I’m sure he could use your help keeping her entertained.”
“Awesome.” Pax wheeled around and shuffled toward the door. He stopped suddenly, hastily bowing at the waist. “Good day, Your Highnesses.”
“Bye,” I murmured, thoroughly confused by…well, just about everything.
“He’s not really going to be of any help to Nektas,” Nyktos said after Pax had disappeared into the hall. “He’s just going to join Jadis in whatever trouble she gets herself into, and then together, they will likely terrorize Reaver.”
I turned to Nyktos, discovering that he’d moved closer in that silent way of his. A long moment passed as he studied me. The silence and the
intensity of his stare got to me. I cleared my throat. “Did you…finish training with your guards?” I asked, which was an asinine question since he was standing in front of me.
“I did.” His gaze finally left mine. “Wait here. This will take a couple of minutes, but I will be back.”
I nodded, and it was only when he walked out my doors that I wondered why he hadn’t used the door that adjoined our chambers.
Then I remembered. The door was obviously locked from his side, remaining only unlocked when he saw fit. Then again, if he could truly heat water with his fingers and had a warhorse living in his cuff, he could probably unlock the door with a thought.
Sighing, I returned to the chaise and sat. A little achy from handling the sword, I closed my eyes. I had no idea how much time passed, but it was more than a few minutes when the adjoining door opened, startling me.
Nyktos stood there, all softness gone from his features. The now- familiar hardness had settled into the set of his jaw, and his eyes had cooled. He hadn’t even looked that cold—that detached—when I’d cut his arm or held the dagger to his throat only an hour or so ago. “Come.” He held the door open. “I have something for you.”
“Uh…” I rose slowly, peering into the darkness of his private quarters. “You sure about that?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t.” He waited. “Are you coming?”
Too curious for my own good, I got my legs moving and quietly followed him into his chambers and past the unmade bed. He went to where I knew his bathing chamber was located and pushed open the door to the softly lit space.
“You want to show me your bathing chamber?” My steps slowed. “Not exactly,” he replied, looking back at me. “You can come closer.” The stone floors were cool against my bare feet as I crept forward,
feeling out of sorts as I stopped beside him. I had only caught a glimpse of this space before, when he had been standing at the vanity cleaning up the blood from when the dakkais attacked. There was another door straight across, but I had no idea what it led to. The space was like everything else about him—bare except for a few bottles lined up neatly on a shelf above the vanity and the—
My eyes went wide. I’d only seen a hint of the tub before, but now I saw that it was at least three times the size of the one in my bathing chamber, with a wide enough ledge to sit upon. Big enough for several people. Maybe even a small draken. Made sense. Nyktos was a large man, but the tub was…
It was full of steaming water and frothy bubbles, and my chest constricted. It had nothing to do with breathing. This was what had taken him so long.
“Baines said that he didn’t think you were making use of the bath in your chambers,” he stated, and I felt my skin start to warm. “It should’ve occurred to me that bathing in the chamber where you were attacked would be less than appealing.”
“I haven’t—” Whatever lie I had been about to tell got caught on the knot forming in my throat. I stared at the wisps of steam rising from the tub, my eyes blurring.
“You will be safe here,” Nyktos told me, his tone softening, and a faint shudder rolled through me. “I will make sure of it.”
I couldn’t speak. Not yet. My mouth was clamped shut so tightly that my jaw was beginning to ache. This was…this was an incredibly thoughtful gesture. I wiped my suddenly damp palms against my hips. It was too thoughtful.
“Sera?”
I inhaled deeply through my nose. “You didn’t have to do this.” “Yes, I did.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I…I don’t deserve this.”
“Everyone deserves fresh water to bathe themselves in, and to do so in peace.”
“I don’t deserve this from you,” I corrected.
Nyktos stiffened beside me. I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. But I felt the tension coursing through his body. “What you didn’t deserve was to be strangled in your bathing chamber.”
“I agree with that, but—”
“You must be covered in a fine layer of dirt from being out there in the courtyard. I’m sure you want to bathe. It’s simply a bath,” he said, but it wasn’t simply anything. “One you’re more than welcome to use at your discretion.”
My head swung toward him. “This wasn’t something I asked for.”
“I know.” He didn’t look at me as he said, “There are soaps on the stool that you can use. And the towels are here.” He gestured to the rack against the wall. “The other door is locked. No one can enter from there. Take your time. I’ll be waiting in the bedchamber.”
Nyktos didn’t linger. He stepped out of the bathing chamber, closed the door behind him, and left me there, hands trembling slightly. I turned back to the tub, unsure what to make of this—of anything.
This was an act of kindness. I shouldn’t be surprised, because despite whatever issues we might have had with one another, Nyktos was a kind man. He was thoughtful. I knew that, but this unexpected act frayed me at the seams and made that crack in my chest feel even more unstable. I felt as if I were one breath from unraveling. And that was the last thing I needed.
Besides, I really did want a bath. There likely was a fine layer of dirt covering me, and the hasty cleanups had left me feeling a little gross.
Unsheathing the dagger, I placed it on the ledge and then shimmied out of the gown. My chest immediately appreciated the freedom. I winced as I shrugged off my undergarments, seeing pink indentations in the flesh of my breasts from where the seams of the bodice had been too tight. Leaving the clothing and undergarments in a somewhat neat ball, I touched the sudsy water. Hot. Perfect. I stepped into the water and then sank into it. There was only a faint sting from the cut on my waist as the heat seeped into my tense muscles and the knots all along my back. Strands of my hair spread out over the water as my shoulders slipped under the surface. I stretched my legs out and didn’t even reach the other side.
This tub was deliciously obscene.
Letting myself slide under the surface, I stayed there. I just existed, neither here nor there. I floated, holding my breath until my lungs burned and tiny bursts of light appeared behind my closed lids. Then I resurfaced, dragging in deep breaths of air as I blinked the water from my lashes.
Glancing at the closed door, I scooted across the floor of the tub, sending the bubbles into a frenzy and stirring up the scent of peppermint. I refused to think about the fact that Nyktos had thought to add that to the water since he didn’t strike me as the type to enjoy bubble baths.
Grabbing one of the bottles, I quickly scrubbed the soap through my hair while also ignoring the fact that he’d even thought to leave two
pitchers of clean, warm water by the tub. I also didn’t think about how he’d washed my hair upon my arrival in the Shadowlands. Nor did I think about how he’d helped dry me off afterwards.
Once my hair was free of soap, I had no reason to linger, but the water was still wonderfully warm, and the size of the tub reminded me a little of my lake. My heart twisted as I pushed myself into the corner of the tub, letting my head rest against the ledge as I stared at the small window and the gray sky beyond.
What allowed me to relax wasn’t that the tub or room was different. I knew that. It was who waited just outside the door. I knew I was safe.
I didn’t mean for my eyes to drift shut or to be lulled into sleep.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but that was what I did.
The sound of my name and a featherlight touch to my brow woke me, much as it had the evening before. My eyes fluttered open.
Nyktos sat on the ledge of the tub, the hair I’d cut falling forward, grazing his cheek and the curve of his jaw. He’d donned a loose black shirt but had left it untucked and unbuttoned.
The dagger remained where I’d left it, now beside his thigh. “I think…” I cleared my throat. “I think I fell asleep.”
Nyktos said nothing for a long moment, and I glanced down to confirm what I already suspected. Most of the bubbles had evaporated, leaving only patches of weak foam scattered throughout the tub. I was acutely conscious that nearly all of me was visible to him. “The water must be cold by now.”
“A little.” I forced a swallow. “Can you really heat water with a touch?”
He nodded. “It’s not really magic. It’s eather responding to my will.” That sounded like magic to me. “I bet that comes in handy.”
“It can.” A moment passed, and then he dipped a hand into the water.
My pulse skittered as a faint glow appeared around his fingers, muted by the suds. The water swirled gently, forming tiny whirlpools. A strange sensation hit me, a tingling along my stomach, legs—and between them. My breath caught as the water warmed—as I warmed.
“Better?” Nyktos asked.
“Yes,” I whispered as the tingling sensation eased. “That was…a unique experience.”
“Very,” he murmured, his bright-eyed gaze traveling over my face so intensely it felt like a physical touch. His stare lowered over the slope of my throat, lingering on the faint bruise left there, and then to where my shoulders broke the surface before moving lower still. The tips of my breasts tightened under his heavy stare, and the muscles low in my stomach followed suit. His gaze drifted farther, over my hand resting against my navel and then to the space between my parted thighs. Heat flooded my veins as a sharp, twisting pulse darted through me.
Nyktos’s gaze shot up. The aura behind his eyes was bright as wisps of eather seeped out.
My heart kicked against my ribs. “I think you’re the one doing the
ogling now.”
Thick lashes lowered, shielding his eyes, but I felt his gaze. It had returned to where the tips of my breasts were just below the surface of the water. “You do know you don’t have to allow me to look upon such unmentionable places.”
“I know.”
One side of his lip curled up. “And yet you continue to allow it.”
The spark of irritation further flamed the fire in my blood. “I do. What do you think that means? That I’m trying to seduce you, Nyktos?”
His eyes rose to mine again. The strands of essence churned slowly. “Is that a serious question? Everything you do is seductive.”
“You are the one who said you would await me and then chose to enter the chamber where I was bathing,” I reminded him. “And yet you think I’m trying to seduce you?”
The knuckles of the hand on the rim of the tub turned white.
“How long did you sit there and look upon me while I was unaware?” I pushed away from the corner of the tub, sitting up. Water dipped below the swell of my breasts. “Better yet, how was I trying to seduce you when you came into my bedchamber uninvited and watched me pleasure myself? Then touched me?”
Every part of him went still. His chest. His features. The eather in his eyes.
I smirked. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was I not supposed to bring that up again? Forget that you watched me, wishing it was your fingers instead of mine inside me? Or were you wishing it was your cock?”
The air became electrified, filling with power as his eyes locked onto mine. That should’ve been a warning, but I was angry—with him for behaving as if his response to me was my fault, and with myself because that ache was there, throbbing and wanting.
“The thing is, Nyktos.” I rose, stirring what remained of the suds. Water coursed down my stomach, running over my hips and between my thighs. “My want of you isn’t something I can’t control. It’s a choice. I have the courage to admit that, and you don’t. Now, if you will excuse me
—”
“No.” Nyktos’s hands landed on my hips, stopping me. He stared up at me, his eyes swirling, burning spheres. “You are not excused.”
