I did as he said, finally feeling as if my lungs were no longer being crushed. My chest loosened.
“Better?” he asked.
“Y-yeah,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “Yes. I’m…I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Sera. It’s okay.” He remained close, his hands on my upper chest and back, tracking my breaths. “You’ve got this, and I’ve got you.”
A faint shudder ran through me as I dragged in a deeper breath, catching hints of his citrus-and-fresh-air scent.
Ash watched me for several moments. “Still feeling better?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and counted to five before reopening them. “I’m okay,” I stated, voice steadier, stronger. I lifted my gaze to him. The anxiety was still there, holed up inside me, still whispering that Ash and I wouldn’t be as we once were during whatever time I had left, be it days or hours—and I really didn’t think it was days. And the only way to shut the voice up was to prove it wrong. “Ash?”
“Yes?”
“If I asked you to touch me right now, would you?” My face was definitely on fire now. “If I asked you—”
“I will do anything you ask of me, Sera.” Silvery streaks of essence whipped through his eyes. “Anything.”
“If I asked you to touch me like you did the first time I bathed in your chamber, would you?” I insisted. “Would you kiss me—？”
Ash’s mouth was on mine before I could say another word, and…oh, gods, it was so apparent that he didn’t see me as a fragile piece of glass. Not with the way his lips moved against mine. There was nothing gentle about his kiss. It was all-consuming and relentless. His arm came around my waist as he stepped into me, sealing our bodies together as his head tilted. He deepened the kiss as the feel of his body overwhelmed my senses: the hard coolness of his chest, the strength of his thighs, and the hard, thick press of his cock against my belly. All I felt was desire—heady, heated desire. He parted my lips and thrust his tongue into my mouth. A shiver ran through me as I released my death grip on my gown and grabbed his shoulders. My nails pressed into his flesh as I kissed him back, stroking my tongue over his—over the edges of his fangs. I felt his shudder in every part of me.
Slowing the kiss, Ash caught my lip between his as he lifted his head. Breathing hard, he said, “As I said, liessa, I will do anything you want. You need me to just be here? I’m here.”
His hand slid from my waist, catching the flimsy, ruined gown and dragging it down, letting it slip past my hips. My breath snagged as the balmy air washed over my back.
Ash’s eyes held mine. “You need me to hold you? Done.” He dipped, working an arm under my knees and lifting me as if I were made of only air. He held me to his chest. “Kiss you? You already know the answer to that.”
My lips felt…deliciously swollen. So, yes, I did know the answer to that.
“You want more than that?” he continued as I became aware of him walking, the ground shifting beneath us. The sound of fizzing water rose. “Want me to kiss that stubborn jaw of yours?”
Only then did he break eye contact, kissing said jaw, and then those swirling irises met mine again. “Kiss those beautiful breasts? Draw your nipples into my mouth the way I know you like?”
My lips parted as warm water swept over my feet, immediately bubbling as Ash went down earthen steps—
Wait.
He was still wearing his leathers, wasn’t he?
“You want me to kiss my way down your body and then between your thighs? Or touch you there? With my fingers? My dick? Gladly,” Ash said, and I was no longer thinking about him still having his pants on. His voice…good gods, it reminded me of silky shadows and midnight dreams as Ash lowered himself, either sitting on an underwater rock or the ground. Water rose, frothing at my waist and tugging at my hands. “I will be inside you or on my knees in a heartbeat.”
“Even now?” I whispered, fingers tangling in his hair as the water teased my sides and breasts. “The on-your-knees part? Wouldn’t that be difficult?”
A smoky grin appeared, one I hadn’t seen in what felt like an eternity as he positioned me on his lap. “It wouldn’t be impossible.”
“Your head would be underwater,” I pointed out as he leaned back slightly, keeping us balanced.
His eyes were like pools of molten silver. “And my mouth would still be fastened on you.”
“That…that sounds really, really nice.” A bolt of lust pulsed through me, causing me to wiggle a little in his lap.
Ash groaned, dropping his forehead to mine. “It sounds better than nice.” His lips brushed mine. “I can practically taste you on my lips and tongue.”
Tingles of desire and need pooled low as the fizzing water danced over my legs and between them.
“Anything,” Ash repeated in the heated, damp air between us. “Whatever you want.”
I wanted to take those promises and turn them into action. The steady, welcome throb in my core was all about it, and how his heart pounded beneath my palm told me it would barely be a heartbeat before he fulfilled what he’d promised. But…
I just need to take care of you.
That’s what he’d said he needed, and these moments weren’t just about assuaging my fears. The anxiety-riddled voice had quieted, proven wrong by Ash’s words and what I felt pressed against me.
“Take care of me,” I said. “Please?”
Ash shuddered against me, and I knew he got what I meant.
Falling silent, I relaxed against him as I watched him take one of my arms, bringing it below the water. He rubbed his hands over mine and then my arms, scrubbing away the blood. Before he moved onto the other arm, he lifted it to the narrow streaks of sunlight, inspecting his work. Once satisfied, he moved onto the next and did the same. He had me lean back so all my hair fell below the surface and held me as he reached around, gently running the strands through the churning water.
When he was done, I took his hand and brought it to my mouth. I kissed the glimmering imprint, then washed his arms as he’d done with mine. Scooping water, I bathed his chest, his face, and while his eyes were half-closed, I knew his gaze never wavered from me. Not even afterward, when he did what I asked for next.
As the hot springs bubbled and churned around us, Ash held me in the sweetly scented air.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“Thirty-six.”
His flesh was even cool underwater.
Water bubbled around us as I lifted my head. “Were you counting my freckles again?”
“Possibly.” Wet strands of his hair clung to the sides of his face and neck as he smiled at me.
We sat silently for a little while, lulled by the tinkling sound of the churning water. It was so peaceful here. I imagined the Vale was like this.
My stomach hollowed. “Can I…can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
I nibbled on my lower lip, struggling to ask what I wanted to know. It was not something I had allowed myself to wonder about.
“Liessa?”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a reedy breath and searched for courage until I found it. “What…what will happen when I die?”