Page 25 of The Ocean's Heart
She’s ready fast—boots on, hair up in a knot, a few sips of water and a seed and nut bar, and we’re on our way.
I’m impressed.
She talks for a while, asking about the island that will be gifted to her people, about its soil and its topography. About the town that was built there. I answer as best I can, but truth be told, I’m too captivated by the cadence of her voice. There is a sultry undertone to it that teases the male in me.
She falls silent as the terrain gets rougher, focusing on the path, or lack thereof.
She’s fast and nimble on her feet, and we make good time over the rocky land. The pass narrows and widens at intervals, rising and dipping, but she doesn’t beg to stop and rest, keeping up easily as I forge the path ahead, searching for any hazards.
It irks me that I find myself stealing glances at her. I tell myself that here, surrounded by brush and stone, there isn’t much to look at, and Princess Thalia makes for interesting scenery, and so I ogle where I can. The curve of her cheek, the arch of her brow, the swell of her breasts and her ass. That ass…it had felt good beneath my hand, firm yet pliant, and the sounds she’d made…
My cock stiffens, and I clench my teeth. She is not mine to covet. I must relieve myself of these thoughts.
She slips, and I grab her arm. It’s enough to steady her, but I pull her against me regardless, hungry for the feel of her in my arms. She doesn’t resist, clinging to me and breathing hard. I inhale her sweet scent, and it leaves me dizzy.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.” Her gaze flickers across my face, a caress I want to lean into.
And tides save me, the way she looks at me with her wide green eyes makes me want to push her up against the rock face and plunder her mouth with my tongue, and maybe other places too, like the hot wet place between her thighs. I wonder what she’d taste like.
“Vaarin?”
Frack, my name on her lips…I release her and stride ahead, suddenly irritated with this whole thing. “Hurry. Daylight is wasting. We have a good few hours till we reach out next rest stop.”
ChapterFourteen
THALIA
Vaarin wants me. I saw it in his eyes and felt it in the way he held me. My little fake stumble had allowed me to get close and personal. Fuck, he smelled good. Lickably good. Falling asleep last night had been no easy feat with all that taut muscle pressed against me and his delicious aroma surrounding me, but I had.
I’d slept deep and unfettered, and for a moment when I’d woken, I’d been happy, and then the reality of my situation had set in.
Bryony was dead, and I was walking to my own execution, and so what if I distracted myself with heavenly biceps, and yes, Vaarin was over a hundred solar revolutions old, but he looked damn fine, and if I was honest, I’d always had a thing for older men so?—
A gust of icy wind sliced at my face. I cursed and adjusted the scarf Vaarin had given me to cover more of my face.
“The storm is coming in fast,” Vaarin said. “Maybe an hour before it hits.”
“How much farther to shelter?”
“About the same.” He grabbed my hand. “This way.” He took us off the path and into a crevice that I’d missed, barely wide enough for him to squeeze through. It brought us out onto a wide, clear path nestled between two rocks, but the road ahead was a dead end.
“No…” Vaarin rushed forward, pressing at the boulders that blocked our way. “Curse the tides.”
“What do we do now? Is there another route?”
He turned to me, jaw flexing. “Yes, but it is vastly more dangerous than this one.”
“So far today, this lethal isle has been kind to us. Maybe our luck will hold.”
The smile he gave me was one you’d give a clueless fool, and my spine stiffened. “What? You believe I can’t protect myself?”
“Oh, I have no doubt you have skill with a sword, but the creatures you will be forced to battle aren’t flesh and blood.” He led us back through the crevice, and I followed, eager to know more.
“Then what are they?”
“Ice wraiths. They appear with the storm, so if we hurry, we may succeed in avoiding them altogether.”
We came back out on the narrow path. “And what if we can’t avoid them?”
