Entwined (16 page)

“Just relax,” she said near his ear, obviously misreading his reaction. But yeah, like he was going to correct her now? Not a chance. The blood was already pounding in his veins and that tingling in his groin felt way too good to ignore.

“That’s better,” she said softly. “I don’t know why males have to be such babies when they’re hurt.”

He closed his eyes, rested his head back against her shoulder and told himself this wasn’t sexual. It was…medicinal. Yeah, that was it…

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he muttered. Her hands rubbed up and down his arms, and that tingle grew with every brush of skin against fabric.

“It is,” she answered. “I’m just trying to help you here.”

Suddenly, he could think of a number of ways she could help. And they all started with her hands rubbing those sinful circles on his naked flesh, not the blanket covering his skin.

When he realized where his thoughts were headed, his eyes popped open and he tried to refocus. But he didn’t move away from her body. Couldn’t. “Where is ‘here,’ anyway?”

“Somewhere in the Cascade mountain range. I’m not sure exactly where. Titus brought me here. After he hid you in that cave, he went back to Argolea to get me.”

“How did we get in this cave? It looks different from before.”

“You remember that?” When he nodded, she sighed and lifted her left leg so her knee was pointing toward the ceiling. The motion eased him further into the warmth of her
body, distracting him from his question. “That was this same cave, just nearer the opening. It was too cold, though. A storm’s moved in and I was worried about infection and keeping you warm.”

Oh, man. She felt so good. Too damn good. He cleared his throat. “How…how far in are we?”

“About a hundred yards or so, I’d guess. I thought you’d be warm enough this far in, which is why I didn’t have a blanket on you earlier. These mountains are volcanic and there’s geothermal activity underground.”

For the first time he realized there was no breeze blowing through this cave, and though he was cold, the air wasn’t nearly as chilly as the interior of a cave in the middle of the mountains should be. “That’s why the air isn’t frigid.”

“Yes. And because the hot springs are heating it.”

“Hot springs?”

She nodded and pointed to the right, into the dark. “There are at least four pools over there. We lucked out because there’s no way we could have built a fire in here.”

And that explained her short-sleeved shirt and the fact he thought he’d seen a drop of perspiration on her brow earlier.

They sat like that a few minutes in silence, and he could feel his body warming from the heat of hers pressed against his. That tingling continued to grow little by little with every stroke of her fingers against his arms and chest.

Jeez, of all the healers Titus could have gone to for help, he had to bring her. Her skills were rare, but there were other healers in the city of Tiyrns who could have been just as helpful. Though none were as closely linked to the king and the Argonauts as she was.

Warmth gathered in his chest under the motion of her fingers. Reflexively, he quivered, and she pulled him tighter, again misreading his body’s reaction. If he were smart he’d pull away right now. He wasn’t going to die—he knew that for sure now—and whether she wanted to believe it or not, he didn’t need her. Not to save him, at least. But he did want
her. As her hand slid over his chest, brushing the rough fabric of the blanket against his nipple and sending sparks of desire shooting to his groin, he knew he wanted her more than he had during the king’s little exam. More than he had that first night in the castle, more than he could ever remember wanting anything in his long-ass life.

Which was wrong, wasn’t it? He was binding himself to Isadora, and Callia…she was still betrothed to that SOB Loukas, though he had no idea why they hadn’t finalized the union yet. It was wrong to be thinking about sex with her now, especially here, when she was simply being a Good Samaritan.

Her hands brushed over his chest again, the fabric tweaking his other nipple, and he drew in a sharp breath. Her hand stilled, and at his back he felt her heartbeat kick up. He waited, unsure what to say or do. Then she brushed her fingers over his nipple again, almost as if she were experimenting with his reaction to see what he would do next.

And either that was totally twisted and sick or…or it meant some part of her was as turned on as he was right this minute.

Whoa. Wait. That’s wrong too, isn’t it?

Questions, options, answers he wasn’t sure he was ready for pinged around in his brain. But no matter what he told himself, it didn’t feel wrong. Right now it felt…pretty damn right.

You can’t do this. End it before it begins. She’s not yours.

But technically she was his, wasn’t she? Regardless of how they felt about each other deep down, she was still his soul mate. And they had a physical connection he’d never experienced with anyone else. He knew she felt it too by her shallow breathing and the increased pulse at his back. The question was, what was he going to do about it?

His mind spun with possibilities too wicked to put into words. She lifted the other leg so he sank deeper into the vee between her thighs. Heat gathered there, pressing against
his lower back, shooting erotic flames from her body to his until blood pooled hard in his groin.

He closed his eyes, tried to slow his breathing. It had always been like this with her. This instant arousal whenever she was close. Would it be so horrible to act on it here and now? Once he was bound to Isadora, that was it. Her forever and no one else. He intended to live up to his vows, which meant once the ceremony was complete he’d never again have the opportunity to feel Callia’s body pressed up against his like this, never again get to marvel at the softness of his soul mate’s skin sliding against his or taste the sweetness of her on his tongue.

And oh, yeah, he could still remember that honey-sweet taste sliding down his throat…

His eyes popped open. Screw remembering. He could have that now. She was here. He was hard. And judging from the way she continued to rub his chest and arms, she wanted him too.

One night. No strings. He was strong enough for sex, that he knew for sure. His cock jerked as erotic images of the two of them together flashed in his brain. His erection grew even harder. He sucked in a breath even as a little voice deep inside cautioned,
You’re playing with fire.

Her hands stilled against his chest. “Are you still cold?”

His throat was so thick he couldn’t answer. No, he was hot. Burning, just for her.

She lifted her hand, ran it across his brow. “Your skin is clammy.
Skata
.”

She pushed him up quickly and slid out from beneath him before he could protest. And he was just opening his mouth to tell her he was fine and convince her to come back when he caught sight of what she was doing.

She gripped the bottom of her T-shirt and tugged it up, revealing the nearly sheer cami underneath. He sucked in a breath and held it while she yanked the T-shirt up and over her head as she had in his fantasy, then tossed it on the
ground. She toed off her shoes and quickly reached for the button on her pants.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Holy Hades, was that his voice? He sounded like he had when he’d first come to, all wasted to hell and back. Belatedly he realized he was braced on his elbows, watching her with rapt attention. Like a man starved. Unable to look away if his life depended on it.

“I’m taking you into the hot spring,” she said matter-of-factly as she popped the button on her jeans and pushed them down her long, luscious legs. And oh, shit. If he thought he’d been hard before, he was seriously mistaken. His cock
throbbed
.

“Callia—”

“We have to get you warmed up
now
,” she said firmly. The fabric hit the ground around her ankles, and then she was wiggling out of the jeans, kicking them to the side and standing over him wearing only the cami and panties that made his mouth water, looking like a sex goddess come to offer herself as a sacrifice.

There she was. His soul mate. Practically naked and his for the taking. He’d have to be a fool to refuse her now.

She eased down, wrapped both her bare arms around his chest and eased him up to sitting. And the scent of her…it broke through his last defense.

“Come with me, Zander. This will feel good. I promise.”

He had no doubt about that. What little blood was left in his limbs shot right into his cock as she helped him to his feet. And with it, every protest he’d ever had where she was concerned slipped right out of his head.

Callia hauled Zander to his feet. He swayed, but she caught him and managed to brace her feet on the rocks to keep them both from going down. Didn’t need her help? Bullshit.

“Hold on to me,” she said. She wrapped her arms up under his and around his back, supporting his weight. And holy cow, he weighed a lot.

He perched his palms on her shoulders. “I got it.” But he didn’t. Not even close.

She shifted under his left arm, slid her hand around his waist and grabbed his on her opposite shoulder to steady him. The blanket she’d tucked around him earlier slid to the ground and in the dim light she saw a flash of very male, very naked skin.

Ignore it.

She would. She was a professional. She’d seen plenty of naked bodies over the course of her career. And none—not even the really gorgeous ones—had ever turned her on.

None were Zander.

She shook off the thought, gripped his hand tighter at her shoulder. “Just a few feet to the pool. It’ll be hot.”

He didn’t say much as they moved slowly toward the water, and she was grateful for that. Even though the temperature in this section of the cave was like a sauna and perspiration slicked her skin, she was very much aware that she was wearing nothing more than underwear right now. But what were her options? She was obviously going to have to get in the water with him to hold him up, and she hadn’t brought a change of clothes. Wet undergarments were a
small price to pay for making sure her patient lived and she didn’t freeze to death in the process.

They made it to the edge of the first pool. As she eased him down to sit on the rock ledge, she wished she’d thought to bring the lantern. It was darker on this side of the room. Shadows played across his skin as he dipped one toe into the water and pulled it back quickly.

“
Skata
.”

“I told you it was hot.”

She’d tested it earlier, just to make sure, and knew it was right around a hundred and four degrees, which wasn’t that bad except when you were already freezing. While he was preoccupied with trying to ease his feet into the steaming liquid, she slid into the pool and sucked in a breath as the hot water surrounded her legs and torso.

The bite was a shock to the system, but after a few seconds, her muscles began to relax. The water hit just below her breasts, the bottom of this part of the pool one continuous long flat rock that was smooth beneath her bare feet. She walked to where Zander was sitting on the edge of the pool, his feet now submersed in the water, his hands in his lap as he acclimated himself to the temperature.

Gods, he was really beautiful. For a moment, the look of him there, totally naked with the light from the lamp across the room highlighting the angles and planes of his very chiseled body, stole her breath. She’d seen him naked before, many times, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever stopped to appreciate his body aesthetically. Now she did.

His shoulders were broad, his chest muscular and defined, the play of muscle over bone so smooth it was as if he’d been carved from marble. His abs were taut and ripped, his arms as thick as her legs. And that thin line of hair that ran from his chest to his navel, then lower, was like a blinking arrow, urging her to keep looking.

She drew in a breath and told herself to wise up. He was her patient, she was his healer. Their past was so over and done with it wasn’t even funny.

Refusing to look down, she leaned into him and once again wrapped her arms under his and around his torso. His legs immediately opened, and within seconds she found his bare chest pressed up tight against hers. And other things. Most definitely where she didn’t need them.

Her heart rate kicked up being this close to him, just as it had in the king’s study, just as it had when she’d worked on him earlier. She had to grind her teeth together to keep her voice even. “Come on. We’ll go slow. It’ll feel good once you get used to it.”

He muttered something that sounded an awful lot like “I thought that was my line,” but then she didn’t care, because he was sliding into the water and she was focused on making sure his legs didn’t go out from under him.

He hissed in a sharp breath, let it out slowly. She kept a hold of him as they slid in deeper and the water rose up to their shoulders. His breathing slowed and he closed his eyes, but he didn’t make any attempt to push away, and she figured he either knew he needed her help right now or he was oblivious to the fact she was still holding him.

The water made him virtually weightless and easy to maneuver. Slowly she walked them to the side of the pool, where the rocks were smoother and more comfortable to lean against. Bracing his back against one very flat rock, she continued to keep her body tight against his so he wouldn’t slide under and drown.

Steam rose around them. The tips of her wet hair slapped against her shoulders. With a groan he rested his head back on the rocks behind him. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead, so she lifted a hand from the water, shook the droplets from her skin and wiped his brow.

“Hmm,” he said as her fingers ran across his skin. “That feels good.”

A half smile curled her mouth before she could stop it. He’d always loved it when she massaged his forehead and ran her fingers through his hair. “Better?”

“Way better.”

“I told you you were cold.”

“Not anymore. I think I feel my toes again.”