ELRETH

Elreth returned to the cave after lunch for a nap. It was going to be a late night—the feasts always went into the early hours of morning, and because it would be in Aaryn's honor, she couldn't leave early.

She just prayed he'd be able to spend the night with her that night. It had been difficult being apart. She understood why—would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed—but she kept feeling like she was scrambling to find him in this sea of conflict, learning, and decisions.

She wanted to celebrate him tonight, no matter how the people reacted. And if that meant taking him back to the cave for another visit to the bathing pools, she was all about that.

Speaking of which, as she pulled the door into the cave open, she realized that she didn't just need a nap, she needed to wash. She would sleep better if she was clean.

There was something freeing about having the cave all to herself. As she walked through the living area, she decided to go straight to the bathing pools. She would wash and soak for a little while, then sleep, then get herself ready for the feast tonight.

Her mother was going to loan her a dress. She rarely wore them, and she was excited to see what Aaryn would think. She hoped his eyes would light up the way they had that first day, when they'd almost mated. Of course, it would only make it harder to wait if they did.

Perhaps she should wear a burlap sack and call it a day.

She swung through the door into the bathing pools and began unbuttoning her blouse, then her leathers. She hurried a little. The water called to her. She loved the feel of it on her skin even when it wasn't joined by Aaryn's hands. She'd always loved it.

But as she turned to lay her folded clothes on the bench at the side of the cave, she realized she hadn't picked up a towel.

Growling at herself for a fool, she stomped back into the cave, to the large cupboard in the little alcove before the branch into the bedroom.

She'd grabbed one of the thick towels and closed the door and was just turning back to the door into the bathing pools when a deep voice said behind her, "Elreth?"

She gasped and whirled, clutching the towel to cover herself… to find Aaryn standing in the short hall that led to the bed chamber, his mouth open and eyes wide.

"What are you doing here?" she gasped.

"Eadhye said I needed to leave Mom to her for a while… what are…" His throat bobbed and his eyes scanned down her body. "What are you doing?"

"I was going to bathe," she said a little breathlessly.

Aaryn's eyes had lit up in just that way she wanted. It made something coil low in her belly.

"Did you want to join me?" she blurted.

Aaryn began to stalk toward her, his eyes alight, head nodding. "Yes, very much," he said, in a voice so deep it seemed to come from the rock beneath them.

She was supposed to turn and walk to the bathing pools cavern, she knew. But she was caught in his gaze like a hare under the eyes of the wolf.

When he reached her, he didn't hesitate. He fisted the towel and pulled it away from her, and when she squawked with embarrassment, he just growled, his hands at her waist, and buried his nose in her collarbone, inhaling deeply.

"Oh, I have missed you, El," he groaned.

Unnerved that he would just stand there and stare at her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "I've missed you too," she breathed.

For a moment they just held each other, breathing the same air.

"This is… unexpected," he murmured eventually.

Elreth snorted. "You're telling me. What's going on? How did you end up here?"

He pulled his head up to meet her eyes and combed his hands through her hair, clawing her scalp with his fingers in a way that made goosebumps shiver all the way down her back. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I'm here for at least a week, if you'll have me," he said quietly.

Elreth's eyes flew open, hope, excitement, and nerves leaping in her chest. "Yes! Of course! But… what about your mom?"

He sighed heavily but his eyes scanned down to her bare chest. Pulling his hands out of her hair, he brought them up to her neck to trail his fingers down her throat, along her collarbones, then down…

Elreth had to swallow and force herself to focus. His touch tingled on her skin and made her head spin. "Aaryn…"

"Yes?" His voice was a bare husk.

"What about your Mom?"

He had leaned slightly to one side to allow his fingertips to pull down over the peak of one breast, and he grunted when her nipple stood up under his touch.

Elreth was stunned by how easily he could light her body from the inside with simple touches that made fizzing, hot and cold sensations on her skin.

He lifted the hand back to her collarbones and his eyes were there, fixed, to watch himself do it again, but she caught his wrist and tipped her head, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"Aaryn?"

He blinked.

She waited, but wasn't sure he remembered the question. Until he finally said, "El, the whole thing with my mother sucks right now. But she's safe. Can we… can we not talk about that right now?"

"Are you okay?" she murmured.

He shook his head. "But being close to you makes me feel better," he whispered and dropped his eyes to where she had held his wrist in her fist. "Please let me touch you."

Stomach fizzing, she nodded and let go of him. "Only if you promise to take your clothes off so I'm not naked by myself."

Aaryn guffawed. "Deal," he said and reached back to grasp his shirt from behind his neck.

Elreth's mouth went dry as he tugged it up and over his head, then tossed it aside, his hair ruffled and scattering over his eyes.

He reached for the buttons on his leathers, but she grabbed his wrists again. "Let me," she said and bit her lip at her own boldness.

Aaryn's eyes flared, but he shook his head. "Not if we aren't going to give in, El. I need… I need you to let me do this part so I can not lose my mind. But I tell you what," he said, when she pretended to pout. "The night we walk the Flames, I demand that you undress me from head to toe."

Then he leaned in and kissed her, one hand cupping her jaw.

She leaned into the kiss and let her hands rake down his muscular back, following the trail of his spine, that rounded divot, all the way down to the waistband of his leathers.

"I can't wait," she whispered as he kissed his way down her neck, to the hollow of her throat.

"For which part?" he graveled against her skin.

"For the part where I know every time I walk in here that you're going to be here, too," she said, tipping her head back to give him better access. "For the part where we don't have to stop… or wait."

"Me either, El. Me either."

"I love you, Aaryn."

"I love you too, babe."