Chapter 45

I flip over in Damion's arms so my the front of my body is pressed into his and fuse my lips to his.

Damion freezes for only a moment before suddenly leaning forward to kiss me back, twining his lips with mine. My heated, water slick skin slides against his. Beneath me, Damion's breath hitches as his fingers thread through the damp strands of my white hair.

Gone is the surprised, heated exploration that had fueled our last kiss. All that's left now is desperate wanting. This kiss is all heat. Pure and scorching.

There's a few days worth of scruff along his jawline from the days of hard riding he'd spent to get me here, without taking time to stop for rest or breaks. I scrape my fingers through it as my tongue plays against the seam of his lips enjoying the pained pleasure of the scrape of sharp stubble against my sensitive flushed cheeks and chin.

The slick hot hardness I've tried and failed to ignore earlier, that's now pressed into my lower belly, twitches.

Any lingering vestiges of my control snap. My legs curl up until my thighs are wrapped around his waist. My center slides across the steely hardness of his straining cock as my fingers drift over the scratchy line of his jaw. My hands continue their exploration up over his skin until they bury into the smooth dark strands of his hair. The steaming heat from the waterfall has it curling along the nape of his neck. It's as soft as I'd imagined it would feel, and I let my self relish the simple luxury of it.

I tug on the strands as my fingers wind their way through until they bump into the base of the horns near the crown of his head. Curiosity and wanting roll through me in equal measure at the feel of smooth hardness there and I wrap my fingers along them, getting a better feel of them. A rough groan scrapes up his throat. That deep rumbling echoes through his lips and slips past my own and the coiled band of heat inside me tightens.

His strong palm comes up against my cheek and between one ragged breath and the next he's tugging my face back until our lips part, breaking the kiss. He only pulls back far enough that I can still feel his breath against my now swollen lips, pausing only a few inches away, both of us breathing hard.

When I open my eyes, I find him staring back at me. But instead of seeing his eyes their usual black, the color is now a scorching crimson shade that's nearly overtaken by his blown out pupils.

Beautiful. He's so fucking beautiful. All I can do is stare at him, dazed.

"If we don't stop now," he says on a ragged breath, "we're going to desecrate the elves sacred pool."

"Might be worth it," I admit breathily back against his lips.

He lets out a choked laugh that sounds almost pained.

He gently tugs at my legs where they've twined around his waist and I let him. I expect him to flip me around in his arms so my back to being pressed against his front again as it had been before. He doesn't, though. Instead, his muscled arms wrap around my back pressing my soft, rounded chest into his lean muscled one.

I settle into him, resting my face into the crook of his neck as we continue struggling to catch our breaths.

"Where did everyone go?" I ask, melting further into him, "The elders that were here with us in the tunnel I mean?"

He clears his throat, adjusting his hold on me, "For the elves, re-connecting to the power source is a sacred thing. It leaves the elf vulnerable for a short time, so it's common practice to give those reconnecting space and privacy. They left you alone as a sign of respect."

I tilt my head up, angling so that I can look into the dark depths of his eyes. I can feel a blush heating and tinging my usually pale cheeks a heated shade of pink. "Thank you. For staying with me I mean," I say, "I hope you being here doesn't strain things between your people and the elves too much"

I'd hate to be the reason behind any bad feelings between his people and their alliance. I remember his words from back in the tunnel when he'd demanded to come with me and beneath the appreciation I feel for what he did, I also feel a twinge of worry for what that might mean for him.

He meets my worried gaze with an unruffled, easy look of his own, "I told you before that I won't leave you. I'd never send you anywhere that I can't follow." He says it so matter-of-factly. Like his words don't send me reeling. Seeing the way that he's following through on the promises that he's made me. Like it doesn't make my throat tighten and send hot fluttery feelings through my stomach up through my chest where my heartbeat stutters over itself.

"You don't have to worry about the shifter's relationship with the elves," he says, "They've known plenty of volatile shifters throughout their lifetimes, so I don't believe a single demand on my part is going to even faze them."

His eyes flash that beautiful shade of deep gold again and I struggle to remember how to form words. I'm saved from any sort of babbling I would do by the crunch of footsteps picking their way up the cobblestone path. I force my eyes up from where they've been glued to the Shifter King, attempting to pull myself away from where I'm pressed to his chest to something a little more appropriate. Though I realize it's a futile attempt considering I'm completely naked.

A willowy elf woman approaches, and with averted eyes, she holds a pile of fabric clutched in her arms, "I'm afraid it's time to come out for today, Liliana. We don't want to overload your system with too much magic at one time. Elder Aelrie is waiting for you in the preparation area with some fresh clothes."

I drop my eyes back to Damion and find him watching the elf woman with a dark assessing gaze as if searching for any sort of danger or threat she may pose to me. Finally deciding that she's not an immediate threat, his eyes drop down to me and nods encouragingly.

"I won't be far," he says, "I'll wait outside until you're done."

The elf woman takes a hesitant step toward us, eyes still averted she holds out a bundle of fabric-a towel. She sets the other towel she brought off to the side on a dry-looking boulder.

I drag myself away from the warmth of Damion's body and stand on tender, stiff legs. For once, though, the tug of muscles aches in a *good* way. My muscles hold me easily as I step out of the water and into the waiting towel the elf is holding out for me.

"Thank you," I say, wrapping the soft fabric around me.

"Of course," she smiles, "I'll leave this towel here for you, your majesty," she says to Damion and he murmurs a low thanks to her.

I force myself to keep my eyes forward and not turn back to Damion to watch him emerge from the water behind us like an embarrassingly large part of myself wants to. Instead I snuggle into the warm towel and follow the female elf where she leads me up the path.