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K ai groaned as she woke to the sound of running water.

She couldn’t move. Aodh had worn out every muscle in her body.

She was sore from having sex with Aodh so many times, in so many ways.

The man was insatiable. Hell, she wasn’t sure if she was getting off on his lust or inspired by his heightened desire, but her body had been just as turned on.

Every time they finished, after a short breather, she needed him again.

The second time they’d had sex, he’d still been inside of her from the first session.

They had not even altered their position.

She’d remained draped over Aodh. He’d slanted his mouth against hers and kissed her as his big hands cupped her ass.

Firmly, he held her in place as he slowly thrust in and out of her tender sex, her walls slick from her desire and his seed, until they ended in a sea of quivering groans and cries.

Over the days, she didn’t simply get the pleasure of his impressive thick, hard, long length sliding into her repeatedly, but she learned to relish the comfort of his touch. Which was good because it seemed Aodh liked touching her.

Even when they weren’t having sex, which wasn’t often over the last few days, he caressed her arms, thighs, and breasts. He even drew invisible designs over her, the soft flesh of her belly and full hips. His constant touch caused warmth to radiate around her heart.

She warned herself not to get too attached to Aodh. Yes, she agreed to be in his bed and have sex with him, but she would leave when the time was right.

However, while she was here, she’d enjoy it.

What she was used to on the other side of the wall were men who would settle for a woman with well-defined curves as she had because the law encouraged those in the Dispatch to help build the population, but those men still desired thinner women.

Funny, because most people in their district, like Morlie, had a slender form because meals were minimal.

Even those doing better than most, with jobs in the Consumer providence, kept their meals small to conserve.

Kai was built like her mother, and even half-starved, her wide hips and thick thighs weren’t going anywhere.

Heat infused Kai’s body before she heard his voice. In the last few days, she’d learned to understand the signs.

“I’ve run a bath for you.”

She peered up beyond the covers and looked up, up, up at the large man who stood beside the bed. “I know I need one. But I’m unsure I can get my body to take me a step.”

Aodh chuckled. A sexy sound rumbled from somewhere deep. “Oh, little flame, you will become used to my attentions.”

“Doubtful,” she grumbled as she shoved the blankets away with trembling weak arms. She wasn’t even sure when the covers had wound up on her.

Over the last few days, she hadn’t needed anything to keep her warm.

Even the fire was banked in the hearths.

But Aodh radiated heat from someplace inside him.

The man was a walking furnace. “I think you tried to kill me.”

“Through sex. Not possible.” His eyes twinkled with small, lilac flames.

Humor. In their time together, she’d deciphered a few of the flames or ribbons of colors that traveled through Aodh’s markings.

Most of the time, the blaze winked and flickered deep in the center of his pupils, but when the emotion was intense, it also showed in the markings.

Markings, Kai had discovered, covered every inch of Aodh’s body but his abdomen to his cock.

The dark markings even looped around and over his

firm, toned buttocks. Through the days, she had enjoyed watching Aodh walk away to see the play of the designs along his backside.

Her body shook like a weak, newborn lamb when she tried to push herself up.

Before she knew what was happening, Aodh scooped her into his arms.

“Oh!” Shocked, she curled toward him as she gripped his shoulders. “I was joking. I am capable of walking, you know.”

Aodh lifted his eyebrow as he turned and left the bed.

She frowned at his expression. Before they’d had sex, she would have felt self-conscious about being naked in a man’s arms, having them see her curvy, bare form.

But none of those feelings rose for her around Aodh.

She realized once she’d experienced this man’s touch, kisses, licks, and him burying himself deep inside of her repeatedly that nudity didn’t faze her.

Nor could she deny how her body was responding to him. It was because no longer was there any mystery about the satisfaction Aodh could provide or how much pleasure she derived from everything he did. His smell and touch made her body ache with need, regardless of her tenderness.

But how can I still want him like this?

“I prepared a bath for you.” He crossed the floor toward the bathroom.

“You didn’t have to do that. I am more than capable of taking care of myself.” She heard the rush of the water in the tub. Her body shivered with excitement. After the days she’d spent in bed with Aodh, with only a quick cleansing here and there, she looked forward to bathing—a long soak.

“I’ll take care of you. Always.” The rough tone of his voice brokered no argument.

She kept her tongue. No one, in years, had cared for her. It had been up to her to tend to whatever she and her sister needed.

With ease, Aodh kneeled and set her into the massive tub.

She sighed as her body became submerged in the rapidly hot water.

The heat of the water was just tolerable, but the cold water coming in from the tap was making it more bearable by the second.

The water was more than halfway up her body.

Feeling the warmth of it was already saturating her overworked muscles.

She moaned and hissed as she rested back, her body still not keen on much movement.

“Take your time.” He glided a hand over her knee, bent above the water, and trailed it under the surface over the top of her thigh.

Licking her lips, she swallowed another moan, even as her back arched. This response is insane. “Aodh...”

He smiled and locked his hungry gaze on her while his fingers stroked at the center of her thigh.

She wasn’t sure whether she was asking him to stop or to keep going.

“I know, little flame. Your smell and touch are just as intense for me.” He stroked her wet skin one more time before pulling his hand away.

She bit off the whimper.

“What about you? Aren’t you going to join me?” She gazed at the water as she waved her hands around underneath.

“I already had a shower while you slept.” Aodh shook his head. “As much as I crave getting in there with you, sadly, I have things other than you that need my attention.”

She blushed. Sinking lower, she let the water flow over her body and cover the taut tips of her breasts. “Run along then. I’ll be fine.”

Tilting his head, he held her gaze for a moment. His bright turquoise-opal eyes seemed unconcerned with her words. He turned off the water and picked up one of the three jars on the tray.

She noticed all the jars were refilled. It had to be Tana’s work.

“You are more than familiar with the soap and moisturizer.” He held up the powder jar. “But this—”

“I don’t think I need any of that.” She frowned at the substance. “I don’t like the reaction my body has to it.”

“It’s because you used too much.” Dipping three of his large fingers into the mouth of the container, he collected some between his fingers. “Right now, I know you’re sore and tender in many places. This will help, you will see. You only need a pinch of it.”

“A pinch?” she questioned, watching him sprinkle the dust around the water’s surface. She expected him to go in and get more, but he placed it back on the tray instead. “Why would Ninki pour in all of it?”

“Ninki?” Aodh’s voice rumbled, the name coming out in a stern tone.

Kai had spent enough hours and days with him, hearing him slip in and out of his dragon tongue to pick up on his repeating of the woman’s name. She hadn’t intended to break her vow about saying the woman’s name in the room. “Yes.”

“Why was she here?” Aodh’s hands gripped the side of the tub.

The way his fingers flexed, Kai was sure if the tub weren’t made of stone, Aodh would have crumbled it to dust.

“Um...I don’t know. She came in shortly after you left.

She heated my bath for me and helped me locate some things.

” Kai eyed him. Is he upset because his lover and I have met?

She knew from occasional arguments in the Dispatch over relationships that men did not like to share.

In the district, with the law offering money to those who had children, some women procreated with multiple men.

“Hm,” he let out a short growl. “I will address this.”

She watched him rise. The sexual tension in the room was now significantly reduced.

“I would like to see my sister. It has been days.” Guilt squeezed her heart as she sat up and grabbed a washcloth from the towels on a small stool beside the tub. “What if she has taken a turn for the worst?”

“She has not.” Aodh stared down at her. “Liekki would’ve informed us.”

“You had someone watching out for her?” That knowledge shocked Kai.

He leaned down, placing his face before hers as he balanced his weight on his hands at the tub’s edge. “Yes. But I also checked on her before coming to you.”

This man continued to knock her back on her ass. Her mind went blank.

“I told you, Kai. You are mine. I will take care of everything that concerns you. Trust me.” He shifted forward and kissed her.

A deep, hot kiss. Aodh’s tongue darted inside her mouth once, twice, three times.

She captured it and sucked long and hard. The need that had simmered low in her belly was again at a swollen, pulsing ache. She squeezed her thighs as her sex began to throb. This time, she could not blame her response on the effects of the powder. He’d only put in a little bit.

Aodh pulled away. His own need was evident in his gaze. “I will return.”