Page 40 of Tower of Tempest
I laughed as they walked away, then took a deep breath and walked up the stairs.
I finally cameto the third floor and walked to the third door on the right, just like Leoni had instructed. The wide wooden door stood before me, and I inserted my key in the lock, but the door swung open.
That was odd. Maybe the servants had forgotten to lock it. All thoughts of the unlocked door quickly vanished. My breath caught in my throat. Floor-to-ceiling windows filled the entire opposite wall—not windows, I realized as I squinted. Doors that slid open and led to a huge balcony. And the view. I walked toward the glass doors, eyes fixed on the sweeping skyline that stretched beyond the jagged green cliffs, that dark blue ocean far below.
I turned to take a closer look at the room with its white-tiled floors, a crackling fire in the hearth, and high-vaulted ceilings. I had an urge to jump onto the four-poster bed. Blue and silver pillows piled on the mattress, and a fluffy wool comforter covered it, but before I could take a step toward it, scents of jasmine and lavender wafted through the air, beckoning me to the bath chamber.
I could just imagine that warm water right now, sinking into it and letting it rush over my skin. I quickly disrobed, goose bumps prickling along my arms as I tiptoed across the chilled floor and into the bathroom.
The first thing I noticed were the shelves of lotions and bath salts, luxuries Gran and I could rarely afford. The second thing I noticed was the massive silver tub, already full of steaming water—and a naked man.
I shrieked and covered my eyes, stumbling, feet slipping on the slick floor as I lurched forward and stumbled straight into the tub—right on top of Prince Lochlan.
I was so shocked I couldn’t move, couldn’t form words. My naked body pressed into his, every single part of me melded to him. His chest was firm under my hands, his body so solid, so strong. His skin was slick, and his... oh, spirits below... his hard length pushed into my thigh, growing stiff. I might have been sheltered, but I’d read enough anatomy—and romance—books, knew about that part of a man and what it was used for. I gulped, my gaze slowly trailing up his chest to his face, his gaze as hard as the rest of him.
“I have to say,” he said, voice low, “this is one of the more inventive ways a woman has tried to see me naked.”
Heat gathered between my legs, a pressure building inside my core. His hard length twitched, and he swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing while his gaze devoured me. It would be so easy to slide myself on top of him, to rock back and forth and get that release my body so badly wanted all of a sudden, despite the fact that I’d never done any of this before.
His hands skimmed my back, so heavy and warm. We were practically fused together, yet I wanted to be closer, to mold myself to him.
“Are you here for the reason I think you’re here for?” His face was pinched like he was in pain from this interaction. “Because a naked woman is on top of me in the tub. A beautiful naked woman, and my self-control is dangerously close to snapping.”
A naked woman. Not me. Just a woman. Because I could be any woman in this situation, and this was how he’d react. This was what he did. He’d probably had sex with countless women in tubs all across Arathia. I would just be another number.
Blood and skies, what was I doing? I came back to myself, trying topush myself off of him but instead I slammed into him again, our bodies slipping against each other, the friction making me gasp as his hard length slid against my thigh. He groaned, and a squeak escaped me as I finally managed to scramble off of him and out of the tub. His gaze lapped up every inch of me while I grappled for one of the towels and wrapped it around myself.
“What in the bloody waters just happened?” Prince Lochlan asked, chest heaving.
“I thought this was my room,” I said weakly.
“You can just say you wanted to see me naked.”
“I. Didn’t.”
Water droplets hung from his hair and clung to the sharp angles of his face, making him look every bit the playboy prince that all the women of Arathia obsessed over.
His gaze dipped to the swell of my breasts, now hidden underneath the towel. Just minutes ago they’d been pushing into his chest, nipples hard. I looked down. Still hard.
I gripped the towel tighter around me. “I truly did think this was my room. Third floor. Third door on the right,” I repeated Leoni’s instructions.
His eyes squeezed shut for a moment as understanding finally hit him. Then he swept his arms wide, resting them on the sides of the tub. “This isn’t the third floor, Poppy.”
“W-what?” I asked. “But I counted, I?—”
“It’s the second floor. You counted wrong.”
“How?” I racked my brain.
“Well, the first floor starts on the floor above the ground floor, where the restaurant is?”
My face flushed, and I suddenly felt very, very stupid. I covered my face with my hands. This was what happened when you’d spent your entire life locked in a tower.
Water sloshed as the prince leaned forward and rested his muscular arms on the edge of the tub. “It’s okay.” He grinned. “You can stay if you want.”
I grabbed a cloth and threw it at him, and he moved back to the other side of the tub, laughing.
“I have no interest in being naked in a tub with you.” Still, I didn’tmove, then my gaze landed on his chest, two faint blue lines stretching the length of his neck.
