ELRETH

She hung back when they went outside to swim. The early Autumn afternoon was just hot enough to make a swim sound good, but she knew the mountain-fed water would be freezing. She wasn't excited about that first shock of cold.

But she was looking forward to watching Aaryn.

His words from when they'd arrived kept echoing in her head.

"…My favorite part of a swim, is that moment when I've walked in until I'm up to my thighs. It's a little cold, so my skin is prickling, and I know it's not going to stop feeling cold until I'm completely under… so I take a breath and slip all the way in, letting the water ripple against me… all of me…"

They'd walked out of the cave naked, and even though she was self-conscious in such bright light, she also wanted to be here with him, like this, so alone and… unashamed. So she'd forced herself not to think about anyone on the mountain above them, or anyone who might have followed, and just let herself enjoy watching her mate as he prepared to dive into the cold river.

She'd hung back, making excuses about warming up in the sun first, so she could watch him.

Aaryn strode across the clearing, utterly confident in his skin—his burnished skin, lighter on his thighs and buttocks that didn't get as much sun, but the rest of him a warm, light brown in contrast with his silver hair.

She admired the lines of his calves and thighs as he passed her, walking easily into the water until it went over his knees. Then he paused.

Elreth bit her lip.

His back rippled as he swung his long arms back and forth, preparing himself to take the plunge. She loved watching his body, so different to her own—broader, stronger, his muscles even more defined. She loved the line down his spine leading to the crack between his buttocks. She loved the rounded strength of his shoulders, the way they flexed, and the sharp planes of his shoulder-blades pressing out from under his skin when he moved.

Her mouth went dry following the lines of muscle down the back of his thighs, and the sharp rounds of his calves… then she giggled as he braced to drive and his butt clenched.

That was something she'd never seen before.

Then he dove into the water, a strong, graceful arch, disappearing below the surface, then coming up, flicking the hair out of his face and shoving out a breath with a shocked "whoa!" from the cold.

"Come on in!" he called to her a moment later, treading water in the deeper hole of the riverbank.

"I don't know," she said. "It looks pretty chilly."

"I'll warm you up."

She snorted, walking to the edge of the water and only in to her ankles.

It was freezing.

Elreth danced back, holding herself like she was cold, though the rest of her body was fine. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope." She'd always been pathetic about cold water. She'd get in eventually, but he would tease her until she did. Growing up she'd mostly avoided swimming with her friends because they usually swam naked. She'd always been horrified that someone would see how… red she was. Or she'd wear a tunic to cover herself—which only made her friends laugh and tease her.

But here, now, with Aaryn, she wanted to get in. Visions of the bathing pools swam in her head and she wanted to enjoy the water with him at a time when there was no rush, no meeting to get to, no responsibility. She couldn't think of anything better—except maybe snuggling into the furs together on a cold night.

But that meant she had to put her big-girl pants on and get past the shock of the cold.

She was still standing on the edge of the water, trying to talk herself into it, when the sound of water displaced roughly caught her attention and she looked up to see Aaryn standing up, halfway up the bank.

Her mouth went dry.

She hadn't been lying earlier when she told him that her favorite part of the water—now that she knew what to look for—was watching him stand up and watching the water sluice down his body, rippling over his ripples, and finding the lines and hollows to follow down. She wanted to ask him to duck under, then stand again just so she could watch it.

She also wanted to get in there and follows those lines herself with her hands.

"I love it when you look at me like that," Aaryn growled, prowling towards her. "I love seeing your body prickle like that. You're giving me all my best gifts in one day, El. All the things I've dreamed about…" he trailed off and kept walking towards her, the water splashing around his legs.

Elreth's eyes followed a trickle from his collarbone, all the way down his chest, to his stomach, where it disappeared somehow in the ridges of his abdomen. She swallowed hard. Aaryn growled and was suddenly rushing towards her.

Catching the look of heat and mischief on his face, she shrieked and turned to run, but he was too quick, grabbing her up in his arms and swinging her off her feet, cradling her to his chest as he turned back to the river.

"No! Aaryn! No! It's too cold!"

"I told you, I'll keep you warm!" he said as he carried her to the edge of the water.

"No! It's a shock, it'll stop me breathing!"

"Then I'll give you mouth-to-mouth," he chuckled.

"Aaryn!"

"I love you, El. And I especially love it when you're really cold and your nipples stand up, so forgive me, but we're doing this."

"I—wait! NO!" But he'd already jogged into the water, splashing it everywhere so it pattered on her skin like hail. She shrieked again and Aaryn—now thigh-deep again—tensed like he was going to throw her, but then he froze.

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