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As the tub filled, she pushed at the fabric covering her shoulders but then stopped. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen every inch of her bare skin, but a nervous twinge in her gut made her turn. It had been weeks since they bared it all in the ruins and explored each other’s bodies for the first time. “Do you think we are safe here?”

Thane’s eyes pinned on her revealed shoulder. The heat in his stare made her heart beat faster. “For now. Even if she betrayed us, Tenebris couldn’t get enough soldiers here tonight to deal with us.”

“Can she and her brother be trusted?”

He looked toward the small window that let in a ray of sunshine. “I don’t trust anyone anymore.” His throat bobbed. “Not after what Aldrich did.”

She felt sick about Aldrich’s betrayal, and she wasn’t nearly as close to him as Thane. How disgusted he must be was a whole other level. She closed the distance between them and placed a gentle hand on his scruffy cheek. “You can trust me.”

A half smile lifted his cheek, and he kissed her palm. “I do.” He pointed behind her. “Your bath is going to spill over soon.”

She whirled around and dashed across the floor to turn the water off. A few lagging drops of water splashed into the full tub. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Thane watching her and her heart raced. They were very much alone, and the heat of his gaze intensified. Her thoughts trailed to his hands gliding over her body, to his lips pressing to intimate parts. He’d brought her pleasure she’d never known before, and she craved that again.

She didn’t know why she was more nervous about being with him at this moment than the first time. Maybe it was because a great deal transpired between then and now. Their newfound relationship was still fresh when they’d been torn apart. She’d only begun to discover who Thane was and what his touch did to her.

He stood and stretched his arms overhead. “Your gnome has been awfully quiet,” he said, filling in the tense silence. “I almost forgot she was with us.” He tugged at the strings holding his cloak on and gently set it on the bed. He smirked, moving a fold of fabric aside. “She’s asleep. I swear the creature wouldn’t wake even through a hurricane.”

Layala half smiled until his bright-green eyes found hers, and the muscles in his jaw rippled. After they stared for a moment, Layala’s heart began to thunder. She couldn’t feel his emotions through the mate bond anymore, but it didn’t make the room any less charged with longing. Almost like a tension line went taut between them. Warmth and desire pooled in her core trailing lower. Maker above, he was beautiful.

There was something intimate simply in the way he stared. “Do you want me to leave you alone to bathe?” he asked quietly, never breaking eye contact. She knew that wasn’t what he wanted. She smelt the sweet tinge of his arousal in the air, and heard his desire in his rapid heartbeat. Even his pupils dilated with his excitement. The fact that she knew he craved her too made her want him all the more.

She swallowed down the nervous lump in her throat, feeling breathless. “I’d much rather you stayed… and bathed with me.”

He smiled, and prowled toward her. “I hoped you’d say that.”

Chapter16

Layala’s breath caught as his calloused hands slid under the collar of her dress, and he lightly kissed the hollow of her neck. She closed her eyes and bumps slithered across her skin.

“Would you like assistance with removing this?”he asked.

Breathless, she nodded.

He pushed one side of the fabric off her shoulder, then the other and the dress cascaded down her body into a pool around her feet, leaving her in a pair of undergarments that barely covered her behind and tied at her hips. His thumbs hooked around those too. “And these?”

Layala bit her lip and then smiled. “Help yourself, my king.”

He slowly lowered into a crouch, his warm breath moved over her exposed breasts and then he bit the fabric, tugging her underwear down over her hip. She groaned as his nose grazed her sensitive skin. “Thane,” she almost pleaded until the fabric of her underwear fell to her ankles. Any ounce of resistance shattered, and she may as well have melted in his arms. How did he know exactly what to do to make her desire him all the more?

He stood and took a small step back. His breath quickened as his heavy-lidded eyes drank her in. They roamed over her breasts and down her stomach to her thighs. “Maker, Layala, you’re beautiful. And the way you say my name, that alone can make me come undone.”

Always thinking of her first, he took her hand and guided her into the tub. She stepped in and slowly sank into the steaming water. Sucking in a breath she dipped under and scrubbed at her scalp. It felt itchy and gross, and the hot water soothed. She blew out her breath and let the bubbles rise to the surface before she followed them up. After wiping water from her face, her vision focused on Thane stepping out of his boots. His belt jingled as he loosed the buckle, letting his pants drop to reveal his long, muscular legs.Nice ass, she thought, biting her lower lip.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, a sly smile on his lips. “Enjoying the show?”

“Immensely.” She didn’t know if it was the water temperature making her hotter or the sight of him, but her cheeks suddenly felt like bright embers. “And I’d enjoy it more if you turned around and came closer.”

He was at the edge of the large metal tub in a breath, eyes sparkling with curiosity and laced with seduction. She rose to her feet; water rushed down her body, splashing quietly into the tub. A low growl of need escaped him as his gaze greedily roamed over her, and he reached toward her hips.

She smacked his hand away. “You got to have your fun undressing me. Now let me have mine.”

He chuckled. “Fine.”

Arching her eyebrow, she gripped the bottom of his tunic, letting her fingers brush his skin as she slowly raised it upward. His breathing became deeper and his smile less play and more carnal. He lifted his arms, and she slipped the dark fabric over his head and tossed it away. Unable to stop herself, she slid her fingers over his round muscular shoulders, and across his collarbone.

“So you can touch me but I can’t touch you? Tease,” he purred.

“Shhh,” she said and pressed her fingertip to his lips. Maker above, he was perfect; his form as powerful and corded with muscle as before. She continued her inspection, dragging her hands down his chest, admiring every inch of his perfect skin until… “Holy Maker above, that scar. Thane.” Even after all those cuts and stabs from within that cage in Calladira he didn’t have a mark, but the dragon’s claw left him torn.