Page 97 of Crave Me

Kaspian nodded. “Excellent.” He stood and grabbed the bag of metal fragments on Vesperus’s desk. “I’ll debrief Nolan and Slater when they arrive.”

I arched a brow.Before, during, or after your nap?I wondered.

“Thank you,” Vesperus said. “Let me know how it goes.”

“I will.” Kaspian angled his head toward the door. “Let’s go, lovers.”

Cara popped up and blew him a kiss that Larus immediately caught in the air. “No.”

Kaspian chuckled, winking at the flirty fae female, and led them from Vesperus’s office.

I waited for the door to close before saying, “Your leaders are not well versed in subtlety.”

Vesperus laughed and pushed away from his desk to walk around it. “They’re usually much better at it. But they clearly know that you and I need to discuss a few things. And I don’t think they saw value in hiding that knowledge.”

“So why not just say, ‘Let’s give Vesperus and his new mate a few private moments to talk about their future’? Instead of claiming a need for a ‘nap.’?”

Vesperus leaned against the edge of his desk and stretched out his legs to cross them at the ankles. “Not everyone is as forthcoming as you are, Nyx.”

“A forthcoming approach is practical in most situations, King.”

“I agree.” His silver irises were normal again, but his pupils dilated as he ran his gaze over me. “Do you want to have this chat upstairs on the roof? Or here in my office?”

I glanced at the windows, noting the setting sun. “That is a very easy decision, King.” I stood and pulled my sweater over my head, then kicked off my boots and bent to remove my socks.

“You’re making me want to stay in my office,” he deadpanned.

My lips curled. “You sure about that?” I phased up to the roof to continue disrobing.

He appeared a few seconds later with my boots and sweater in his hands. Rather than comment on his miraculous ability to borrow my shadowing, he simply set my shoes on the ground and folded my sweater onto a nearby bench.

“So you can phase now,” I said conversationally.

“Apparently,” he murmured. “Very useful trick. How far can I go?”

“Typically, it’s about what you can envision more than distance,” I told him as I finished removing my pants. “But the longer the phase, the more energy it requires.”

He nodded as he began unbuttoning his dress shirt, his skin glimmering like mine. “Do you think this ability is linked to our connection or your blood?”

I considered it from the steps of his pool. “Perhaps both. But your irises don’t resemble eclipses right now, like they usually do after drinking from me. So this could be a result of our mate bond.”

“Eclipses?” he repeated, his undershirt joining his dress shirt on the bench.

“Your eyes resemble a total solar eclipse after you bite me.” I smiled. “They’re quite beautiful to behold.”

“I could say the same about you,” he returned, his gaze on my breasts.

“Your body has already provided me with the compliment,” I told him, looking pointedly at his groin.

He didn’t shy away from it, instead choosing to remove his trousers and boxers to give me a better view. But then he turned to fold the items like everything else before bending to pick up my discarded pants to add them to the pile.

“So prim and proper,” I teased.

“My mother would be proud of that comment.” He straightened and started toward me, his gorgeous body on full display. “Are you planning to stand here or join me in the water?” he asked, passing me on the stairs.

I admired the view for another moment before following him into the hot pool. “I’m starting to think water is our thing,” I confided.

I supposed it could be considered appropriate, given my control over the tides. Although, that was more related to my relationship with the moon than the actual ocean.