Page 71 of Unveil

“Ready to get rid of me so soon, baby?”

She rolls her lips between her teeth, eyes seeing too much before finally murmuring, “Don’t call me baby.”

Then she slips beneath the water.

“The hell I won’t,” I mutter to the ripples she leaves behind.

I’ve seen the way she shivers at my nicknames for her,thatone most of all. There’s no way I’m stopping when it’s the one button I know works every time I want her to feelsomethingfor me. At this point, with the slow, unenthusiastic jabs she’s trying to throw my way, her rebellion and spite seem more like phantom limbs she thinks she’s supposed to keep using against a man she’s supposed to keep hating.

She surfaces with a breath, no longer facing me, and her voice is back to that devil-may-care tone.

“Well, if you’re gonna hold me hostage in the wilderness, the least you can do is teach me which type of clay fits best into my seven-step skincare routine.”

My jaw goes slack at that.

She’s back to unserious Luna, but she didn’t shut me down. Fuck, I’ll take the win.

I stare as she slicks her wet hair back, strands now darkened to a deep plum. They tease her sexy skull tattoo on her upper back, spilling water over the ink and down her spine as she stands tall enough for me to see the beginning of her pert little ass.

The tempting nymph is daring me to look now.

But a flash of white at the edge of the lake catches my eye, and I straighten.

Before I can stop myself, I slip silently into the water, sinking deeper as I make my way to Luna. She tenses as I slowly cover her mouth with one hand while my other arm wraps around her slippery, naked waist. But she doesn’t fight me as I pull her against my chest, trusting me.

Fuck. That feels good.

I lower my mouth to her ear and whisper, “Hold your breath, little bird.”

She inhales through her nose as I dip us both farther into the water.

“And don’t… make… a sound.”

“Don’t… make… a sound.”

My heart skips as we sink deeper, right up to my nose, then takes off into a sprint.

What are we hiding from? What’s out there?

I’m terrified, but I listen, holding my breath and trying to ignore the spark of need unfurling low in my belly, heat drawn from Orion’s warm chest against my back. It’s the same confusing, intoxicating sensation I felt when he chased me through the woods.

His nearly naked body presses into mine, slippery against me, but every muscle is hard as stone, coiled to strike. Tension pulls taut between us, and I go languid in his strong, determined embrace, ready to move however he needs me to.

He turns us slowly. Confusion prickles my mind when his arm slips from my waist and breaks the water’s surface, pointing toward something white at the edge of the lake.

My cheek brushes his massive bicep as I squint.

It’s…

Oh my God. It’s aswan.

His hand tightens over my mouth, anticipating my gasp, stifling it. Then his scruff-roughened cheek rounds in a smile against my temple as his grip softens and his arm returns around my waist.

The swan is big, much larger than I imagined the bird would be. I slump against Orion’s chest, watching in awe as the bird preens its pristine white feathers and glides along the water.

Orion raises us so my chin skims the water’s surface. His lips brush my ear, and I will myself not to shiver.

“I’ve never seen them this close,” he whispers warmly, his words light and gentle. “My cousins on the coast say they come around this time of year. Maybe they are stopping here to rest.”