The pool was not too big, but it had a small stream feeding it. There was no outlet, so she thought that perhaps the water flowed somewhere underground. Her glance went to the shattered rocks on the side and small blades of grass jutting out of them, especially where the sunrays fell.

"This is beautiful," she said, feeling his hot breath on her face.

"Do you know where this pool gets its water from?" he asked, as he touched her nape and brushed it. Anastasia's breath hitched as her heart pounded against her ribcage. It had been so long she went without his intimate touch that right now with his brushing his finger over the fabric of her shirt made her stomach flutter with butterflies.

Ileus didn't walk in front of her to open her buttons; he simply used his claw to slice the fabric of the shirt from behind and then pulled it out. As he brushed his fingers on her naked skin, she felt tingly. "From the streams outside."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and buried his face in her neck. Against her skin, he said, "No, it comes all the way from Ulfric."

"And what is that?" she asked as she closed her eyes in anticipation.

"That's a place where the Lykae clan goes to marry. It is sacred for them. There is a lake over there, which flows under the ground and feeds pools like these in various places. Whenever the Yardraks are called by Brantley to Ulfric, they follow these streams to reach there." He kissed her on the mark and then clawed her skirt. It pooled on her ankles. "You need a good bath, love," he said.

Cool breeze touched her skin. He removed his clothes behind her and tossed them in a heap. He held her hand and then stepped in the pool carefully leading her inside so that she wouldn't slip.

She shivered at the first touch of cool water and stopped. It had been long since she had taken a proper bath and even though she shivered, she wanted to submerge herself in the water.

"Is it cold?" he asked.

She shook her head and then stepped in further. Ileus ran his fingers over the surface of the water and whispered, "Razo gretta..." Small bubbles emanated from the ground and traveled all the way up heating the water around her.

A smile tugged her lips up. Her husband was a wizard and now nothing could limit his magic. She eased her way in and felt the warm water rippling and bubbling around her. She loved the feeling and saw how gray pain quickly dissolved in it. She was in the water up to her breasts when Ileus left her hand. She chuckled as she walked to the side and reclined against it. The water was now covering her breasts. The aroma of wild flowers mixed with lush forest scent filled the cavern. She rested her head on the edge and looked up. Closing her eyes, all she wanted to feel was warm water. She could feel the small bubbles of water removing the gray pain from her body. The feeling was heady and when she opened her eyes, they were heavy lidded. Ileus was standing right in front of her. He was staring at her hungrily, greedily. Without saying a word, he moved forward and before he could touch her, she ducked inside. She remained submerged in the water for a while and when she was out, the gray pain of her skin was gone and so was the color of her hair. She smoothed her hair back and parted her lips to breathe when she surfaced.

"I guess you are liking it," he said in a throaty voice.

"I am loving it." She extended her hand and touched his chest. "I have never been inside a pool like this and haven't taken a good bath in two weeks." She sighed as a pang of gloom seeped into her mind when she thought about what happened in Zor'gan. She lowered her gaze and found that the paint was slowly settling on the floor.

"Don't be sad, princess," he said as he took a step closer to her.

Her gaze went to his broad shoulders and then his square jaw that was already set in a hard line. She flushed as their eyes locked and heat pooled in her belly. She lowered her eyes beneath the surface of water and she looked at the bulge that was swelling. Her breath became shallow when her eyes raked over his abs and then those tantalizing muscles of his hips. And she knew that they both wanted each other, madly so. "How did you find me? I mean why would you come to this beautiful place in order to find me?"

He stepped forward and crowded her by caging her. He placed his hands on either side of her and leaned forward. When he was merely a breath away from her, he canted his head and said, "I used to come to these caverns to travel in time to find you. There is a lot of energy involved in traveling through time. I had to create that energy and it would often be so high that it could suck the world with me inside the portals I created. These caverns were the safest bet. No one knew when I travelled and didn't disturb the portals when I came back."

"I missed you, Al," she said in a low voice as she craned her neck to look into his eyes. She wanted his hands on her and she wanted to get rid of all the tension that had built in her body.

And then his lips crashed on hers. "Gods, I missed you too," he said. His body was taut with tension and need. His hands coiled in her golden hair and he yanked her head back. His other hand trailed to her breasts and he cupped them and squeezed them hard till she cried in his mouth. He wasn't kissing her, he was devouring her.