“I did something good?” I felt stupid asking these questions, but I could barely believe it.
“Yeah, Rocks, you did something good,” Yael murmured, his hands tightening on my face, drawing my lips up to his.
The kiss was strong, completely capturing my attention. Within a fraction of a click, I had forgotten that there were other people in the room. My legs had found their way around his waist, my hands threading into his hair. Yael groaned, pulling his mouth back from mine.
Somewhere in the room, there was an awkward cough. It sounded like Cyrus. This was followed by a few barked commands, and then the room was blissfully silent. Yael stood then, bringing me with him, my legs still around his waist. Our lips clashed again, our tongues tangling together. “I’m so sorry I hurt you,” I said against his mouth. “I feel terrible.”
His rumble of laughter sent intense vibrations down my body. “It was nothing, Willa-toy.”
Sparkling water came into view then, and just as I was about to ask what he was doing, he walked us into the pool, warm water washing across my legs.
“We’re going swimming?” I blinked up at him, excitement wrapping around my emotions.
He laughed again. It felt like both of us were a little too euphoric in that moment. The healing had clearly done more than just repair his skin.
“This is the bathing area, the water has healing minerals and properties, and it’s cleaned and filtered constantly.”
He was holding me in waist-deep water; I struggled to get down. When I was standing—the water almost to my shoulders—I took a proper look around.
“This is a bathing area?” I asked drily. “It’s twenty times the size of those baths you have in your marble god box on Topia.”
Yael just nodded, his eyes mesmerising in the low light of the room. On top of the huge mineral bath, there were statues in all four corners. They looked almost like baby gods, with wings, and musical instruments. The water was aqua in colour, the dimly illuminated lanterns mixing with the steam rising from the surface gave it a very ethereal look.
“It’s so pretty in here,” I mused, turning in a circle, my hands gliding across the surface of the water.
Yael looked around as well. “I figured we could both use some healing properties right about now.”
My focus was immediately back on him, my hands already reaching for his arm. “Are you not healed properly?” I asked in a rush.
He twisted his arm so that he could take my hand in his. “I’m fine. I was worried that you might be feeling the aftereffects of healing. It takes a lot of energy.”
Weird. I didn’t feel tired at all. If anything, I was amped up. Swishing my arms in the water again, I grimaced as my sodden shirt caught on Yael. Both of us were fully dressed, and wet clothes were the most annoying thing ever.
“Do you mind?” I asked Yael, half joking as I struggled to get Siret’s Trickery clothes off. Asshole always tricked me into the tightest outfits.
The right corner of Yael’s lips quirked up and it took every ounce of my self control not to kiss him. He didn’t answer me: he just reached forward and untangled my arms, helping me out of my shirt and pants. His hands were wrapped around my back, holding me up, and when my shirt was finally off, I realised how close we were pressed. Tilting my head back, I parted my lips and breathed him in. Yael and I had been together, but … also not really. I ached at how beautiful he was, his hair darkened by the water. His eyes locked on me with intensity.
I reached for his shirt, which was plastered across his hard body, and slowly lifted it. He was so much taller than me that I only had to bend a little to press my lips to the sliver of stomach that I had revealed. As I pushed his shirt further up, I followed the movement with more kisses. My lips pressing to every rigid line of his abs and chest.
“Willa.” There was a rough quality to his voice. He threaded his hands through my hair, holding me close to him.
I responded by opening my mouth a little wider and using my tongue to explore him. The water which beaded across his skin had an odd taste to it, almost like there were herbs in it, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
By the time his shirt was pulled up and over his shoulders and head, I could barely keep my legs from collapsing under me. My body thrummed with need. It was stronger than ever. Undead sex was the freaking best.
Yael groaned above me, and I pulled my lips away from his body to meet his gaze. “Don’t say undead sex.”
“Sorry, it’s hard to remember all the rules when I start undressing you.”
His hand cupped my chin, tilting my head back even further. His hold was firm, almost rough, and I was getting the feeling that Yael liked to be in control. My body twitched at the thought. At his firm hand. His lips came down on mine with force, his hands spanning across my breasts. His palms covered my bra completely. As his thumbs brushed across my nipples, I almost lost it. My body was wound up tight. The sex with Siret had only started the need. I was starting to think it wouldn’t be sated until I was with all five of them.
“Stop. Thinking.”
His command had my mind going completely blank, as though my body had been designed to obey him. At least during moments like this. I pressed myself closer, needing to feel more of him. In response, he ran his hands down my sides, stroking my skin before sliding them under me and lifting me out of the water. My legs went around his waist, and he moved so that he could lay me back on the angled entrance to the bath. As Yael settled between my legs, water covering our lower halves, my body arched up to meet his. I wanted to cry at the fact that he was still wearing pants.
“Take them off,” I ordered.
He silenced me with a single finger over my lips. “I make the rules here, Willa-toy.”
My centre clenched, my legs moving involuntarily.
He lifted himself up, his powerful arms holding his body above mine, his eyes running across the length of me. “You need to get naked. Right now.”
At his command, my hands started moving. “Are you Persuading me?” My voice was so breathless it would have almost been embarrassing. Except I was too turned on to really care.
Yael shook his head once. “No powers, this is just you and me.”
A low heady sensation was already building deep in my body. My hands scrambled to remove my underwear, and I revelled in the feel of the water across my naked skin. Clothes were stupid. It was a fact. Yael, who was still between my legs, shifted his weight back so that he was resting on his knees. That freed up his hands, so he could run them along my body. Heat followed his every movement, as though his touch shot sparks through me.
“Don’t move, Willa. If you move, I will stop,” he warned me, and then he put his hands under my butt and lifted me up so that most of my body was out of the water. He leaned over and pressed his lips to my chest.
“How come you were so compliant when I was with Rome?” I gasped out, not sure who this guy was. Yael had always been competitive, and really, I should have expected this side of him to come out—but I hadn’t experienced it before now.
His voice was low and muffled. “You needed gentle and healing that night, and that wasn’t just about you and me. This, here, now … this is just us.”
I gasped again as his tongue and lips worked their magic across my skin. He teased and drew out every ounce of pleasure from my body. Whenever I wiggled against him, unable to help myself, he drew away. Eventually I learned that if I wanted the pleasure to continue, I needed to stay very still. The control was driving me crazier than I ever expected.
When his tongue reached my centre, I knew there was no way I could stop myself from moving, and as Yael slid one finger inside of me, followed by another, his gaze lifted to meet mine. I begged him with my eyes to release me from his order.
“You can move now,” he told me, staring up along my body. Watching me while I fell apart under his command.