Page 19 of A Legacy of Stars (The Lost God Legacies)

19

TEDDY

T he sunshine glaring through the intense spray from the waterfall next to the Temple of Desiree created the illusion of rainbows cascading over the white marble roof. Teddy closed his eyes and let it wash over his face, happy for the refreshment after the hot journey. His clothes were plastered to his skin. He’d happily plunge into the clear pool beneath the falls if he was certain he’d be able to stand, but he made a point not to go into an unknown body of water in front of people, lest they realize he didn’t know how to swim.

Stella walked a few paces ahead of him, shoving pins into her hair, most of which had come loose of its haphazard updo on the swift ride. He could begrudge Stella McKay many things, but she was an exceptional rider. He’d expected to have to prod her along due to her lack of training, but she pushed the pace the entire way.

That settled some of his concerns, but what nagged him was the way she’d hesitated last night and had nearly gotten herself killed. There were no marks from the fight left on Stella’s body thanks to her goddess blood. But he could read her disquiet in how jumpy she was. The moment she dismounted, she’d nearly leaped right back up on the horse when a mouse scurried by her boot .

During the fight, he’d watched her out of the corner of his eye, but she’d had everything in hand until she had to deal the killing blow. All her fear and desperation hit him so fast.

What bothered him more was how unnerved he was by her hesitation—by the wild fear that had gripped him in the split second he thought he might be too late to save her. Gods knew what the next challenge would bring. If Stella couldn’t handle blood on her hands, that made the need to break their bond even more important.

Standing outside of the imposing white temple walls, he felt suddenly hesitant. Without the bond, she would be on her own with her inability to do what was required to survive the competition. If she couldn’t kill an assassin, she wouldn’t be able to kill a competitor. He’d been right in his assessment of her. She was too soft for this.

“I think we should work together in the next challenge,” he said as they walked up the dirt pathway to the temple entrance.

Stella turned to look at him, removing the final pin from her dark curls. “What if it’s a challenge that pits us against each other?”

“Must you fight me every step of the way? I’m just thinking about last night and your?—”

“Dress? Quick wit? Legendary card-playing?”

Teddy rubbed a hand over his face. “Your inability to kill that assassin.”

“I don’t lack the ability. I just needed another second,” Stella said. “You saved me the effort.”

Teddy pushed past her. The lush ferns bracketing the trail brushed over his boots as he stepped toward the front doors and the waiting priestess.

He’d expected to feel a pang of grief at the sight of the intricate gilded design on the doors that Grace had liked so much. But he felt more determined than anything else.

The priestess outside of the temple, clad in pale pink robes and a flower crown, held up a hand as they approached. “State your purpose, please.”

“I need to speak to my—” Stella stopped to correct herself. “We’d like to speak with Goddess Desiree urgently. ”

The priestess eyed them as if she’d never seen them before, even though she’d checked them both into the temple ceremony just a few days ago.

It felt like a lifetime ago now. How foolish Teddy was, thinking that he’d be paired with Grace when she’d been trying to break up with him. It was a relief to finally be putting this whole thing behind him. This was just one task checked off of his exhaustive list, but it would allow him to have his focus back so he could win the Gauntlet Games.

Winning was still the priority. He’d given up too much already. Even if he couldn’t marry Grace, he still wanted the right to choose his partner in the future. He hadn’t realized that envisioning his entire future intertwined with Grace’s meant he’d have no vision for himself alone. Now he was at a loss for most of it, but he knew his chance at happiness would rely at least in part on not being forced into a political marriage.

The priestess stared blankly at Stella as she flipped through the thick guest book. “Let me check. What are your names?”

Stella sighed, exasperated. “Stella Selene McKay and Theodore Davide Savero.”

The priestess paged through the book with excruciating slowness. Finally, she found their page and held it open for them to sign. “You have to sign here and acknowledge that you understand the rules?—”

Stella huffed and signed the book. “Yes, yes. We know the rules. We just did this a few days ago.” She signed her name in the book sloppily and passed the pencil to Teddy.

He leaned over the book to read what they were signing.

“Teddy, come on.” She tugged on his arm. “You must be joking. Has anyone ever told you that there’s not a right way to do every single thing? Let’s just go get this over with.”

“Didn’t you learn your lesson last time?” Teddy asked, arching a brow.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

Teddy scanned the page. “What does this say here? ”

The priestess leaned over and squinted at the place where Teddy’s finger rested. “That you accept the outcome.”

“So it’s the same as last time?”

Stella laughed. “It’s not like it could get worse, Teddy. It’s all up from here. Now, if your curiosity is satisfied, can we please go? I’m so sweaty and I need a bath. I just want to eat something and cool down.”

Teddy hesitated a moment before signing the book. The priestess waved them inside.

As soon as they stepped into the entryway, the energy of the hall felt different. It wasn’t just the lack of people gathered for the moon bonding ceremonies; it was a quiet hum that stirred in Teddy’s chest as he entered the space, like the bond knew it was returning to its source.

A beautiful priestess greeted them. “Welcome back, Your Highness. Lady McKay. We are happy to host you, though surprised to see you so quick to return. Are you eager to affirm your bond?”

Teddy opened his mouth to speak but closed it when he saw the disgust on Stella’s face at the mere suggestion.

“Could you try to look less horrified?” he grumbled.

“Not really, no.” Stella turned her gaze back to the priestess. “No, we are here to speak with my—with the goddess—if she’s in residence today, of course.”

The priestess’s full lips lifted into a smile. “Of course. We are happy to host you and she is here, though she’s in private company at the moment. Perhaps you would prefer to help yourselves to some dinner and freshen up in our suites.”

“Yes, please,” Stella said.

“Perfect. You’ll find soaps and oils in the baskets by the cooling springs just outside of your suites. You may help yourself to any of them. We will send clothes to your rooms,” the priestess said as she shepherded them down the hallway away from the entrance.

“But we have our own clothes,” Teddy said.

The priestess smiled at him indulgently. “I’m certain you do, Your Grace, but for private audiences, the goddess prefers her subjects wear clothing of her choosing and she is quite particular. She won’t take an audience without it.”

Teddy wanted to argue that they hadn’t done that the night of the moon ceremony, but he kept his mouth shut. This was a goddess flexing her power for the sake of doing so.

He followed the priestess and Stella down the white marble hallway, past tall vases full of bright pink roses and pale peonies.

The priestess guided Stella and Teddy into suites beside each other.

“We will drop off refreshments momentarily,” the priestess said.

Then, the door closed behind Teddy and he was finally, blessedly alone. The room was small but beautiful, appointed with cream linens on a large bed, a pitcher of water with sliced lemons in it on the nightstand beside a vase full of a dozen pale pink roses. Orange early evening sunlight poured in through the sliding glass doors that led out to a stone patio and a private bath.

Teddy peeled off his clothes, dropped them in a pile, and immediately walked outside and descended into the bathing pool. He was so eager for the relief of the cool water that he didn’t even test to see how deep it was. He crossed the pool, heading straight for the small trickling waterfall on the far end of the alcove, letting the water pour over his head.

The relief was instant as it rinsed away the sweat and dust from the road, leaving Teddy feeling refreshed.

Something moving between the large leafy foliage to his left made him jump.

The bond in his chest hummed to life. Stella .

Their suites were right beside each other, so of course their bathing pools would be too.

She caught his eye and offered a completely unselfconscious salute.

Water slid down her neck, along her collarbones, disappearing between the upper swells of her breasts. The large leaves between the two pools were just high enough to block her chest. He was grateful for the greenery between them, though some small part of him loathed it. He needed the bond gone and that irrational interested possessiveness with it. Stella McKay was not his, and he didn’t want her to be.

She hummed softly as she lathered her hair.

Teddy tried not to look, but even as he busied himself choosing a soap, his gaze relentlessly slid back to her. Just the bond , he chided himself. The pull to her was undeniable.

She plunged under the water to rinse. Then, she popped up and poured some sort of conditioner into her hair, working her fingers through it thoroughly.

Teddy tried not to watch her every movement, but she kept humming and drawing his attention.

She plunged under again and rinsed her hair. Finally, she surfaced and poured some sort of oil into her hands. She ran it through her waist-length hair and the scent of something soft and floral hit Teddy.

Stella loosely twisted the wet curls up on top of her head and pinned them into place. Then she descended on the plate of fruit and cheeses the priestesses had left her as if she hadn’t eaten in days.

From his current angle, he could only see her from the collarbones up, but if he walked closer, he would see everything. She smiled at him as she bit into a slice of melon. Juice dripped down her chin and onto her chest before slipping out of sight. Teddy imagined licking it off. How would she react? Just thinking about it sent a surge of heat through his body.

He chided himself for thinking something so lewd about a woman he barely tolerated.

Stella lifted a cherry and her tongue darted out as she pulled the fruit from the stem. “Gods, that’s good.” She moaned obscenely and the bond in Teddy’s chest flared to life.

“Must you eat so loudly?”

He closed his eyes, scrubbing his hair to try to drown out the sound of her so thoroughly enjoying her meal. But with his eyes closed, all he could see was juice dripping onto her chest, and all he could imagine was wiping that smirk from her face by licking her clean. He’d give her something to moan about.

Teddy fisted his hands. That thought was entirely unwelcome.

He ducked below the water to rinse his hair and block out her groaning. Normally, the thought of going underwater in something other than a bathtub would be terrifying to him, but the intrusive thoughts sparking through his mind were more frightening.

The water muted everything, and the tightness in his chest released. He blinked his eyes open and pushed back up to the surface. Stella sighed and all the blood in Teddy’s body rushed south. He took another breath and dunked himself again.

This time, he looked at the light rippling over the perfectly clear water and the stone floor of the pool. He tried to calm the heat pounding through his veins.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t explored things with Grace. They had a great time in bed, but he’d never been that riveted simply by the sounds she made. The stupid heart bond was destroying him. Why had he ever thought it was a good idea to be this connected to anyone? It was ruining his self-control entirely and making him fantasize about truly insane things.

Teddy pushed back up to the surface and drew in a few gasping breaths. As he slid his hand over his head to squeeze the excess water from his hair, he hazarded a glance at Stella. She was eating some type of cream-filled pastry.

She took a bite and the white cream spilled onto her hand. Teddy was riveted. She held his gaze as she lifted her fingers to her lips and sucked each one clean. His cock twitched as she swirled her tongue around them and watched his every reaction. Despite the cool water, his whole body was on fire. He was helpless to the pull of her.

“Hungry, Your Grace?” Her voice was so sultry. “I didn’t think you had a taste for sweets.”

Clastor’s fucking sword . Teddy dunked himself again, trying to regain even the smallest semblance of control. He turned, studying the patterns of light on the rocks that divided the two pools, only realizing for the first time that it was less of a wall and more of an arch, designed so lovers could visit each other, he supposed.

That was when he saw her ass. He gasped and water rushed into his mouth. He pushed back up to the surface, coughing and sputtering water.

When he finally got control of himself, Stella had flattened the leaves between the pools. She leaned into the wall, her breasts just below the edge of the stone. Seeing her like that, all he could imagine was being behind her with her firm ass pressing against him. He needed to dunk himself again, but if he went under now, he’d be looking directly at her pussy.

His cock was painfully hard, and he’d done more sweating than cooling down.

“Are you well?” she asked, her eyes full of both curiosity and lust.

He held perfectly still as her gaze raked over him. Her cheeks pinked as her eyes traveled over his abs, then lower. This close to the wall, she could see everything through the perfectly clear water.

Teddy had always been a bit vain—not in the same way Jalen was, but he spent hours training. He liked the mixture of shock and interest on Stella’s face.

“My eyes are up here, princess ,” he said.

Her gaze shot to his and her cheeks flushed bright red. She liked the nickname just fine when Fionn used it. Teddy was thrilled to ruin it for her.

Stella crossed her arms and stood to her full height. “Just surprised to see so many muscles on a man whose most practiced exercise seems to be judging other people. I’m shocked you can find the time for anything else.”

Teddy smirked. “Happy I could impress you.”

He fought to keep his gaze on her face and failed. Her hair was still pinned on top of her head, but water dripped from the ends of several loose tendrils along her neck, over her crossed arms, and down the lines of her firm stomach. Her figure was lithe, not quite imbued with a warrior’s strength, but she was clearly a woman who trained regularly. Teddy stopped following the droplets’ descent at the water’s edge. He would not look any lower.

Lust warmed the bond in his chest. Did she like that he was interested?

“Much as I appreciate your gawking, I was hoping you’d give me some peace,” he said slowly.

Stella kicked her lower lip into a pout. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I disturbing you? Is the prince used to bathing alone in exclusive fancy washrooms?”

Teddy scowled at her. “No. I just find your incessant moaning very irritating.”

Stella smiled wickedly. “Oh?”

She was doing it on purpose, trying to wield the power she had over him like some kind of game.

It had been too long since he’d had sex. Teddy wasn’t opposed to a casual fling, but he also wasn’t the type of man to go long stretches without intimacy.

The past few weeks had given him little alone time. From traveling to Olney to being dodged by Grace during the festival until now, he had been so busy and exhausted every day that he’d hardly had time for self-gratification.

He regretted that now, with a beautiful, wet, naked woman in front of him trying to drive him out of his mind.

“It’s just this place,” she said softly, her face somber. “It’s just the energy of the temple and Aunt Desiree. It makes things feel a certain way. I used to notice when she visited. It feels lovely and compelling, but you don’t need to worry. It’s not permanent.”

Of course—the goddess was doing this on purpose. She was probably trying to force them to spend more time together.

“She’s probably watching us from a temple window somewhere.”

“You don’t think she was actually busy?” Teddy asked.

Stella shrugged. “I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s a fair guess. She’s known to be quite nosey—always getting involved where she isn’t needed.”

She turned back toward her room and climbed out of the pool slowly, as if making sure she had purchase on each mossy rock before continuing. That slowness granted Teddy a long look at her backside.

“Your Grace, I can feel you staring at my ass,” she said without turning around. She wrapped a linen towel around her waist and grabbed a second one to dry her hair.

“It’s a nice ass,” Teddy said.

“Nice?” She scoffed. “ Nice ? Nice is how you describe a new type of tea or an afternoon stroll.”

Teddy couldn’t fight a smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, my lady . Allow me to adjust my compliments to your requirements. You have a legendary ass. The bards should write songs about it, the likes of which would be sung in pubs for years to come, so all in the two kingdoms can forever bask in the glory of it.”

She grinned at him over her shoulder. She was still topless, facing away from him, with the towel wrapped around her waist. Water dripped from the curls atop her head, trailing down her smooth back to the dimples at the base of her spine.

She smirked. “And to think you were horrified at how inappropriate it was to bathe next to each other and now you’re openly gawking.”

Teddy ignored the jab, his gaze catching on the edges of a shiny scar on her side. He could only see the barest hint of it, but he felt angry that she’d been permanently marked while trying to win a contest for a man who didn’t appreciate her.

She noticed his assessment and tugged the towel higher protectively.

Teddy looked away, feeling chastened. He shouldn’t have been looking at her at all, but it was a reflex. He had only seen one woman naked for the past few years and it was simply curiosity that made him look.

But Stella probably felt ashamed of the mark. It was bad enough sharing this forced intimacy with each other—Teddy had no right to her pain.

So he turned and let her retreat without a word spoken.