Page 163 of A Fate in Flames

An approving growl rumbled in his chest.He released my jaw only to seize my hand, yanking me up from the bed.

He dragged me toward the bathing chamber, my feet barely even touching the floor.

As we stepped inside, the air transformed.

The great stone basin erupted into motion, water churning as if stirred by invisible hands.Responding to him, just like everything else.Mist rose in spirals around our ankles, climbing our legs with ghostly fingers, warm and alive with magic.

“Get in,” he commanded, releasing my hand.

I stepped into the scalding heat, sinking until it lapped at my collarbone.Dalkhan followed, the basin rising as he settled behind me.His powerful legs bracketed mine, his arms snaking around my waist to pull me flush against his chest.

He reached for the soft cloth hanging on the basin’s edge, dipping it into the steaming water before dragging it across my shoulders.His other hand gathered my hair, twisting it aside to expose my neck to his mouth.His lips found the sensitive spot behind my ear, smiling against my skin.

I melted into him.

He swept the cloth over my shoulders—over the curve of my breasts, lingering just enough to make me tense up.

“Relax,” he murmured.“I won’t have you breaking before I’ve had my fill of you.”

I shuddered, sinking further against the steady rise and fall of his chest.He was burning, his body heat seeping into my very bones.The ever-present hum of power beneath his skin made the water dance around us.

His hands wandered lower, drawing idle circles on my stomach before dipping beneath the surface.My breath hitched as his fingers brushed over my already too sensitive flesh.

“If I come one more time, I might actually die,” I mumbled, my voice weak with exhaustion.

Dalkhan chuckled as his hand returned to my throat, pulling my head back against his shoulder.

“You’ll take what I give you.”His teeth scraped against my neck.“I’m not finished.”

A bolt of desire shot straight into me.Even spent and quivering, his words ignited something deep inside me.

“I will never tire of you,” he said.“I could take you a thousand times and still hunger for more.”His lips blazed a trail down to my shoulder.“And I will.”

“And I will never tire of you,” I admitted.

“Good,” he murmured.“Because I’m not letting you go.You’re staying in my bed.”

A strange feeling settled in my stomach.I wanted to stay—to remain trapped in his warmth, but the rational part of my mind whispered names I had almost forgotten.

Theo and Tavrik would worry—would wonder where I’d vanished to.

Dalkhan’s fingers tightened on my throat, as if he could feel my mind wander beyond this room.Beyond him.

“I already spoke to Jasila,” he said casually.“She will tell your friends that you are safe.”

I twisted in his arms, water sloshing violently as I turned to face him, my brows drawn together.

“When did you tell her?I never saw you leave.”

A wicked grin spread across his lips, sharp and smug.

“As I feasted on you for the fourth time.”His voice dropped lower.“I knew I wasn’t done with you, so I spoke to her mind.”

My eyes widened.He had done it so effortlessly—spoken into another’s mind while his body had been buried inside mine.

I had been too lost in him to even notice.

His power was limitless, and he had used it to ensure I stayed.