Page 109 of The Gathering

He gave her a quick kiss on her nose, his eyes opening, as he whispered, “Maybe I never mean to,” before hugging her tighter and falling back to sleep.

The sounds of the bathwater pumping an hour later made Nyssa groan. For a moment, she thought it was Willow in her room, and she started to say something about it being too early.

The bed moved, hands pushing into the mattress, and lips pressed to her neck.

Nadir.

His nose tickled her ear, and she laughed when he squeezed her waist. “Commander, it is early,” she moaned. “I’m not entirely sure I’m awake enough for this.”

“I missed giving you a bath last night,” he muttered in her hair.

“I am perfectly capable of bathing myself,” she groaned into him.

“Princess, I don’t even think you can make it to the tub,” he teased.

Nyssa sprawled out in a huff, giving him her best playful glare, and Nadir grinned. He grabbed her by her ankles, yanked her down the bed, and grabbed her up in his arms before she could protest again. A yelp left her, feet kicking, but he kissed her hard, and she surrendered into his embrace.

“Sit on my face, Princess,” he said as she straddled over his waist, the water lapping at her breasts.

“What—here?” she asked, confused.

He smiled wickedly up at her. “Yes.”

“But… we’re in a tub. You’ll drown,” she argued.

He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles lightly. “I can breathe underwater,” he said. “So I won’t drown… But if I were to drown beneath your beautiful body, I’d die a happy man.”

She almost laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

His hands wrapped around her ass, and he squeezed her flesh. “On my face, Princess. No hovering. Sit like a good girl and hug the edge of this tub. It’s my last hour with you. I want the taste of you to linger on my tongue as I leave.”

She wondered if one could die from pleasure.

Nadir was dangerous. All-consuming. He made her feel things she didn’t know were possible. She was sure once their guests left that she would sleep for a week. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to make it down to the gates without him carrying her.

She came on his face, and when he came up above the water finally, his laugh filled her ears, and she swallowed his laugh with her lips on his.

He wrapped her up in one of her robes upon their rising from the bath, gathering a towel around his own waist. Nyssa went to the wardrobe to find a dress. She was just turning around when she saw him flip his head over and wrap his own hair in a towel to dry it. His hair was long, about halfway down his back, but he wrapped it up quickly before she could truly appreciate it.

“Wait—“ she said, stepping forward. “I want to see your hair down.”

Nadir laughed. “No.”

“What—why not?”

Except he was already wrapping it up at the back of his head, and she pouted.

“Don’t give me those lips,” he teased.

“But—“

He shook his head, grinning, and he wrapped her up in his arms before she could say anything else, his lips pressing to hers. Nyssa pushed on his shoulders.

“You cannot get out of things by kissing me,” she told him.

“Princess, I’d rather not leave you today terrified by seeing my hair.”

Her heart hurt at the mention of his leaving, though she didn’t know why, and she felt her laughter drain. He must have felt it too. His eyes softened with his grasp. For a moment, he let his forehead rest against hers, his fingers creasing her hips.