Page 62 of Rebellious Royals

So did the fact that her eyes were a little too low as well.

"Is this..." She had to swallow to keep going. "...okay?"

Catching her hand, I pulled her under the water. "I said I'll share," I whispered, pulling her up against me.

Skin to skin. There was nothing separating us but water, and the moment our bodies touched, those glacial eyes of hers jumped up to find mine. A smile was on my mouth, but it was soft. Pleased. Relieved.

"I'm not scared to make a fool of myself in front of you anymore," I told her, cupping her face.

Her hand found my waist, sliding lower to caress the curve of my hip. "Shut up and kiss me, Rain."

Then she leaned in. My back found the glass wall, and her body held me there as her mouth took control of mine. We kissed so hard. Gone was the habit of stealing one here and there when we could. No, this was more wild.

This was the wild pixie I'd first met. The girl who made demands, and I was willing to give her anything she asked for.

My hands roamed, but hers weren't any better. The heat and humidity was quickly turning the air thick and foggy, but that felt perfect. For months now, I'd been waiting to cross the line with her. Where we stopped didn't matter. All I cared about was that this woman wanted me.

Aspen Fox was a queen. She was magical and powerful. None of that was why I was so deeply in love with her. It was those moments when she let me see her vulnerability that had convinced me this was right. It was the way everything about her became perfect - even her flaws.

Only little gasps and heavy breaths interrupted the constant fall of water. We didn't talk. No, we'd done enough of that. This time, we touched, tentatively exploring slick skin and damp hair. I tangled my fingers in her short locks, holding her mouth to mine, and her fingers gripped me harder.

But when my lips slid down her neck, she breathed, "I was supposed to make sure you're ok."

"Very ok," I whispered, tilting her face down so I could claim her mouth again.

"Hey," she begged, catching my neck to keep me from kissing her again. Her touch was soft and not a refusal. Just a request for me to listen. "I love you, Rain le Fae. You, not what you are, whoyou will be, or any of that. I love the girl who stepped into my world and looked at it with awe, not terror."

"And I love the girl who was just a little bit wild," I said. "The one who made sure I had a chance. The one who uses plants to express what she feels, even though her magic is supposed to be the cold kind. The beautiful woman who is not only my friend, but also makes my heart race with nothing more than a smile."

"And this," she teased, leaning in playfully, "is why humans are so dangerous to our kind. Poets, all of you!"'

"Oh? I thought fae were the ones with the silvered tongues," I tossed back.

So she stuck hers out at me. "Does it look silver?"

"I meant eloquent!" I said even as I pushed her back enough for the water to soak her hair. "Not literal silver."

She leaned her head back, finally soaking it all the way through. "Rain, did Hawke actually hurt you? I know Wilder says it doesn't hurt, but something happened in the gym, and I haven't gotten all the details yet."

"Hawke used too much magic," I explained. "He was showing me what I could do. Demonstrating, I mean. See, Keir and Wilder were pushing him - "

"Keir saw Wilder getting his ass kicked," she said with a mischievous little giggle. "He couldn't help himself!"

"Hero complex," I agreed. "But yeah, Hawke was low, I wasn't, so I offered it. But I guess feeding on me is bad? Weird? I'm not sure."

"Powerful," she corrected. "That's what Wilder told Torian on the way back. So his wings came all the way out? And Pascal saw?"

I nodded. "He also swore he wouldn't share Hawke's secrets without permission, or something close to that."

Her entire body relaxed. "Ok, good." Then she reached for the shampoo.

I passed her mine. "Did I make a mistake? I don't know, fueling him up, or by staring at Hawke's wings?"

She poured a dollop of shampoo into her hand and began to work it onto her hair. "I don't know. He's weird about them."

"But they're gorgeous!"

Which made her giggle again. "They just look like bird wings."