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“Am I forbidden to look at my mate?” A shiver ran down Valda’s spine the second Maris connected her eyes with hers. The intensity her gaze carried played with her control.

Valda didn’t want to be overbearing or imprudent, but Maris was calling for her, and she was more than willing to answer her call. Pushing herself off the edge of the tub, Valda’s hands slipped to grasp Maris’s waist. The skin there molded under her strong grip. Maris let out a tiny breath, her lips parting slightly, and Valda could feel how she needed her, but as always, Maris tried to hold on to her self-control.

“You know what?” Valda asked, her warm breath trailing over Maris’s ear.

“What is it?” Maris answered, her hands now on Valda’s shoulders as if it would be enough to stop her if she wanted to take what she wanted.

“I find it absolutely delectable the way your skin looks underneath my hands.”

Maris whimpered, and it spurred something inside Valda, making her bolder. Her hand moved to cup Maris’s bottom. Valda’s eyes trailed down as she saw the curve of Maris’s ass despite the water’s murkiness.

“Do you want me to take care of your anxiousness, Seashell?” Valda asked, knowing the answer would be an effusive ‘yes,’ yet she loved to hear Maris beg for her to take her. She loved listening to her voice break as she demanded to have her, taste her. Her lover’s hooded gaze was hazy with want, and Valda knew she was already addicted to seeing her delicious expression.

As Maris opened her mouth to answer, there was a loud and obnoxious knock on the chamber door.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Valda bellowed, releasing her lover’s body to slam her open palm on the rim of the tub. With an angry snarl, Valda pushed herself up, water sluicing deliciously down her now clean skin. “Whoever it is will get an earful. I’ve had it with disrespect in this place.”

Valda walked out of the washroom, ignoring Maris’s scolding call, pleading with her to put something on. Valda didn’t listen, and she closed the bathroom door behind her before slamming open the one dividing the bed chamber from the rest of the cottage.

Valda had never been embarrassed by her body. In fact, she was rather proud of her marked and scarred skin. They were trophies to her, showing off all the battles she had won. Why hide it?

Eyphah stood on the other side of the door, gaping, her eyes wandering from Valda’s face down to her chest and mound, and then back up. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard and took a step back, a tinge of pink on her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Valda’s upper lip twitched as she looked down at the woman before her. “Eyphah Hurley.” Valda’s voice reverberated. She recognized the woman.

Eyphah was an attractive woman, and unmistakably Sealian with her blue hair, undercut and all. She wasn’t as feminine as Maris, and she wasn’t as tall as Valda. As she studied Eyphah closely, she decided if it came to a fight, she would win in a heartbeat. Valda scoffed and turned away before grabbing her bag and pulling out a silk, long sleeve blouse, and buttoned slacks.

“Where is Maris?”

Valda let out a warning growl as she dressed before her. “What do you need?”

“I need to talk to my queen.”

“The one you called a whore?” Valda slipped her arms inside the shirt before tugging it over her head. As she turned her gaze back to Eyphah, she caught the embarrassment in her blush. “She was taking a much-need rest as I was.” As she finished getting dressed, Valda sauntered over to Eyphah, her muscular arms dangling by her side standing face-to-face with her.

“You can see…” Eyphah said, almost a question.

Valda nodded, her head canting as she leaned closer. “I have been given the miracle of sight. I would love to explain it, but it is too long, and I want you out of here quickly, and there is something much more important you should know.” Valda waited until Eyphah’s gaze fell on her again before she talked. “Maris, the one you called whore, your queen, is my mate.”

Eyphah’s lips twitched, and Valda caught the fire in the woman’s eyes before she added, “If you ever insult your queen, my queen, again, I won’t be as lenient as she was. I will not just slap you across the face like she did, Hurley.” She leaned closer. “I will pull your spine right out of your body and set it in the square for everyone to see what happens when you disrespect my mate.”

Eyphah flexed her jaw, her eyes shooting down to the wooden floor.

“Understood?” Valda asked, and after a couple of silent seconds, Eyphah nodded.

Suddenly, the door to the washroom burst open, and a very wet, very disheveled Maris walked out with only a large towel covering her breasts down to her mid-thigh.

“How dare you lock me up in there?” Maris snarled, her anger directed to Valda, unaware that Eyphah was in the room with them, yet. When Valda stepped aside, and she saw the other Sealian, Maris’s face drained of color. “Eyphah!”

“Forgive the intrusion,” Eyphah said, her gaze jumping from Valda to Maris.

“Remind me to kill our guards when we get back,” Valda muttered before Maris slapped her arm.

“What? They are clearly useless.”

Eyphah cleared her throat. “Maris, I was worried you had forgotten that you were to address your people.”

“It’s early,” Valda refuted.