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Mia wondered why they were landing until Ilmari burst through the thicket of trees after the much larger Tiber and saw the gorgeous hot spring surrounded by a haven of green.

Even with it being so cold, the trees and plants surrounding it were lush and thick.

A small waterfall added to the picturesque slice of perfection.

She slid off Ilmari and turned around to give Tiber privacy to change into clothing but then she heard a splash and looked back to find him backstroking through the water.

And sweet flying dragons… She turned around so she wouldn’t get caught staring.

“Come on in, the water feels great,” he called out.

Ilmari trotted away, then took to the air, likely to hunt for food if she had to guess.

“Turn around and I’ll get in,” she finally said.

The air was already warmer in this little oasis, a stark difference from how chilled she’d been up in the air.

“I’m turning.”

She checked to make sure, then stripped down to nothing, piled her hair on top of her head and hurried into the water. She yelped at the rush of heat, but savored it as she dug her toes into the silty bottom. “Don’t turn around,” she said even though he hadn’t given any indication he would.

Nope, he still had his very broad, muscular back to her and oh…

he had a lot of scars. Nicks and what had to have been deep gouges at one point to remain as scars.

She knew how fast supernaturals healed so…

She realized she was close enough to touch him—and had been planning to run her finger over one of his scars.

Maybe he needed to tell her to turn around at this point.

“I’m right behind you,” she said. “Just letting you know so I don’t startle you.”

He let out a bark of laughter and turned. “I heard you coming, but thank you for the warning.” His gaze flicked down for a fraction of a moment to where she was holding her arm over her breasts.

The water here was much clearer than the spring in his bathroom and she was very aware of just how much he could see considering how bright the sun still was.

He had no self-consciousness about anyone seeing him naked.

But she did. “Were you getting tired?” she asked.

“Not that I mind, it’s nice to have a break. ”

“Not me, but I thought Ilmari might. He’s still young to make a trip like this.” He paused. “And I figured you could use one too. Besides, this spring is good luck.”

She ducked a little lower in the shallow water even though he was still at waist level.

He might be okay with all this nudity, but she didn’t think she’d ever be so blasé about it.

As an artist she loved the human form and had no problem painting nudity but…

nope, she was never going to be okay just strutting around in the buff.

She used the mention of Ilmari to turn around and feign looking for him. “You think he’ll be okay?”

“Of course, he’s just gone hunting.”

Sighing in pleasure, she ducked down all the way to her neck. “This place is amazing. I can’t believe it even exists. I didn’t even see it from the air.”

“It’s a little secret for those in the know.

” He grinned, much more relaxed than he’d been back at his place this morning.

His amber-gold gaze sparkled in the sunlight, his dark hair slicked back and a little longer than normal now that it was wet.

It hit the bottom of his ears and she found herself wondering what it would be like to run her fingers through his thick hair while… well, while they did a lot of things.

She’d been so frustrated with him for insisting on coming with her but now that they were here, she was glad he was the one taking her and not a random guide. “So are there any animals in here I should worry about?” Mia looked around the clear blue-green waters and didn’t see anything.

“Oh yeah, but they’ll keep their distance since I’m in here.”

“What?” She moved closer to him, the water splashing around her. “Are they like biting… You’re messing with me!”

When he just laughed, she splashed him—and he laughed even harder.

“You’re so easy.”

She found herself laughing with him, surprised at this change in him. He was so… relaxed. So different than the sort of scary general back in Nova. She thought about commenting on it but decided against it because she didn’t want to ruin the moment of whatever this was.

At the sound of a large rustling from the trees, she froze.

Tiber quickly swam to the edge and then walked out in the direction of the noises. Too afraid to turn away in case it was some random beast come to attack, she stared after him (and tried not to focus on his gorgeous ass).

“It’s fine, just Ilmari,” Tiber called out from behind the trees moments later. “I’m going to help him clean his hunt.”

“Okay,” she called out, then fell back into the water. Disappointment slid through her that she’d be alone, but she eventually stretched out on her back, enjoying the feel of the sun bathing her in even more warmth. She hadn’t planned to get her hair wet but didn’t care at this point.

Combined with the water, this was better than a spa day or a beach day.

She wasn’t sure how long she floated in the water, but when a shadow fell over her, she opened her eyes.

And found Tiber staring down the length of her body, heat in his gaze.

But just as quickly he turned away.

She scrambled to her feet, covering her breasts as she stood in the waist-high water, though he was fully facing away from her.

“I called your name but you must not have heard me,” he rasped out, every line in his back pulled taut.

She imagined what it would be like to have the right to touch him, to caress him, to trace all the hard lines and striations of not just his back, but everywhere.

The waterfall rumbled close by, likely the reason why she hadn’t heard him. “Ah, sorry.”

“I just wanted to let you know if you want to eat, drink and take care of anything else, I’d like to leave in the next ten minutes. I want to make sure we make it to our camp by dark.”

“I’ll get dried off and eat a little,” she said, wondering what he would do if she moved in behind him, wrapped her arms around him—pressed her breasts against his back. Reject her? Or turn around and take over?

A small ache pulsed between her legs at the mere thought of what he might do and she tried her best to shut it down. They had a few more hours of travel and despite a few heated looks from him she wasn’t under any illusion that they were in the same league.

He was a warrior dragon revered in this realm and even though she was a guest of the queen, she knew her place. She was just a human visiting for now.