Page 34

E mily

I blink up at him. A surprise? Here? I glance around the cave in confusion. My whole body aches, but curiosity edges out the exhaustion, and I push myself to my feet.

At the back of the chamber, partially hidden behind a massive boulder, is a narrow passageway I hadn’t noticed before. The opening looks more like a shadow than an actual path, with the moss on the walls giving off only the faintest glow here.

Vrok steps into it without hesitation, ducking beneath a low outcropping of rock, and I follow close behind. The ceiling is just high enough that he doesn’t have to bend over, but it still makes me feel like the stone walls are pressing in on all sides.

The narrow tunnel forces us to walk single file, and with Vrok ahead of me, his broad frame blocks most of my view.

There’s less moss here than in the outer chamber, and what little light there is paints him in shifting splashes of silvery blue.

My gaze roves over his shoulders, watching the thick cords of muscle ripple beneath his skin as he moves.

His back is hypnotic. The way it flexes and the slow sway of his hips with every step he takes. I probably shouldn’t be staring at him like this, and yet, I can’t pull my gaze away.

He glances back every so often to check on me, and each time those silver eyes catch the faint light, my breath hitches. A low, simmering warmth settles in the center of my chest.

I wonder what he’d do if I leaned in and licked him right there? Just a single, slow swipe of my tongue along the dip of his spine. Would he freeze? Growl in that way that makes my knees go weak? Grab me and pin me to the wall?

A flush rises beneath my skin at the thought.

I force my gaze to the rock wall beside me, but it doesn’t help.

Not with the way the temperature in the tunnel seems to be rising with every step we take as we move deeper.

My shirt sticks to my back and the stale air deep in the cave takes on a faintly metallic tang.

We walk for what feels like forever as we move deeper into the cave.

Only the soft scrape of our boots and the occasional drip of water break the quiet.

Just when I start to wonder if the tunnel will ever end, we round a bend and the passage widens.

A flickering green and blue glow spills out ahead of us, outlining Vrok’s silhouette like some mythical warrior pulled from a fantasy novel.

The stone walls curve into graceful arches, sweeping high above our heads.

I slow my steps and glance up. The ceiling stretches higher and higher. And then, we step into another chamber, and my breath catches in my throat.

Towering walls stretch up toward a domed ceiling where thick stalactites hang like jagged stone icicles, glittering faintly in the glow.

Stalagmites rise from the floor like petrified spires, some of them fused with the formations above into massive stone columns.

Clusters of translucent crystals jut from the rock at odd angles, reflecting the light and scattering it across the walls like starlight.

Nestled in the center of the cavern is a shimmering pool of water.

Its surface ripples gently, fed by a natural spring that bubbles unseen beneath it.

Steam rises from the water in long, curling tendrils, drifting lazily upward.

The glow I saw comes from algae that clings to the walls of the pool and the rocks, throwing off a bright otherworldly light that illuminates the space.

The whole space feels almost sacred in its beauty.

The heat and humidity press in from all sides, wrapping around me like a heavy blanket.

My clothes cling to my skin in all the wrong places.

Or maybe the right ones. My pulse hasn’t slowed down since the tunnel.

If anything, the sight of this secret, magical place only seems to intensify the tension coiling low in my belly and the warmth growing steadily in my chest.

I step closer, drawn by the sheer beauty of the space. “It’s a hot spring. How did you know it was here?”

Vrok’s gaze doesn’t leave me. “I caught the scent. Hot springs are common in some tribes’ territories, but to find one inside a cache cave…” He trails off, his eyes scanning the cavern before returning to me. “It’s rare.”

I kneel beside the water and dip my fingers in. Heat licks at my skin, sending a pleasant tingle up my arm. The water is clear, revealing the smooth, algae-covered bottom glowing beneath the surface.

“I thought the warmth might ease your sore muscles.” His voice comes out rough and low.

It’s more than that, though. He saw I was hurting and tired, and he knew I was too stubborn to admit it. He cared enough to bring me here just to give me a little relief.

My throat tightens. “I… thank you. It’s perfect,” I manage.

Vrok doesn’t say anything. When I glance up, he’s watching me, and the golden flecks in his eyes are already expanding, overtaking the silver. The steam swirls around us, thickening the tension between us until it’s almost electric.

I swallow hard. My fingers are still submerged in the water, and the contrast between the heat from the water and the intensity pouring off his gaze is enough to send a shiver of desire straight through me.

Then, he pulls his gaze from mine and takes a step back.

“I’ll wait in the tunnel and give you privacy,” he says before turning away.

The offer startles me, not because I expected him to strip down and dive in without blinking, but because of the way he says it. Soft, almost careful. Like he’s trying not to cross a line he’s not even sure I’ve drawn.

There’s been tension simmering between us all day, like the low heat in a barbeque pit. It’s a slow and steady fire that’s still hot enough to burn me up from the inside. But neither of us has acted on it. Not after finding out Lily was taken by the Tussoll and the Pugj. It just didn’t seem right.

And truthfully, I’m scared to want more. Last night was amazing, but there can’t be a future for us. My chest tightens at that thought. After this, after we rescue Lily, I won’t see him again. I’ll go back to pretending I’m okay, and he’ll disappear into the jungle.

That’s how this ends, isn’t it?

It’s probably better that way. It’ll make it easier to forget what it felt like, even for just a little while, to be wanted and to feel like I’m truly alive. Like I’m more than just a shadow trying to make it through another day.

Because it’s not like I get to keep good things. They get taken away.

That was the pattern I learned as a kid.

Every time Mama and I found something that made us smile, my father would destroy it.

Like the time we found that old show we liked.

We curled up on the couch together like things might be normal for once, and he shattered the TV during one of his rages.

Just like that, that little bit of happiness was gone.

Somewhere along the way I stopped reaching, and I started telling myself it was easier not to want anything in the first place.

Because if you don’t let the good things in, you don’t have to go through heartbreak when they’re ripped away.

Like Lily. She snuck under my defenses and just look what happened to her.

And yet, there’s a small part of me, buried deep inside, that still hopes. That part has spent so long waiting for happiness to show up and stay. Waiting for someone to love me just because I’m me.

And now here he is. This gruff warrior who looks at me like he doesn’t see all my hang-ups. He looks at me like I matter. Like he sees some version of me I’m struggling to believe is real. And that feels dangerous in a way that has nothing to do with dinosaurs or enemies lurking in the jungle.

I’m tired of letting fear make all the decisions, and I’m tired of letting a man who’s been dead and in the ground for eighteen years control me. I’ve waited so long for the pain to stop, and all it’s gotten me is more heartache. So, maybe this? Right here and right now is all I get.

And if it is? Then, I’m damn well going to take it. I’m not going to pull back or brace myself for the worst. I’m not going to tell myself I don’t deserve this. I’m going to let go and enjoy it. Even if it’s just for one more night.

I draw in a shaky breath and meet his eyes. “I want you to stay.”

His gaze searches mine. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

His expression shifts, just slightly, but it’s enough that I can almost feel that ever-present control that he keeps so tightly wrapped around his emotions crack at the edges.

The glow from the algae dances across the angles of his face, catching the expanding gold in his eyes.

My pulse picks up as I rise slowly to my feet, not breaking eye contact with him.

A reckless heat surges through me. Maybe it’s the steam or maybe it’s the way he’s suddenly looking at me, like he wants to devour me whole. Either way, a boldness I don’t recognize in myself takes over.

I kick off my boots before I slide my hands to the hem of my shirt and pull it over my head in one smooth motion before tossing it aside. Then, I hook a finger under my bra strap and tug it off with a little flourish before letting it fly.

It lands on his shoulder.

Vrok doesn't move. He doesn’t even blink. He just stares, his eyes locked on my bare breasts.

But I’m not through. Not by a long shot.

I hook my thumbs into the waistband of my skirt and push it down my hips in a soft rustle. It pools at my feet, leaving me in nothing but the scrap of cloth that passes for underwear on this world.

And still, Vrok doesn’t move an inch. He’s so still, I’m starting to second-guess myself, but then my gaze lands on the twitching bulge beneath his loincloth.

Heat flares low in my belly, remembering how thick and full he felt inside me.

Confidence surges through me, and I smile as I shimmy out of my underwear.