Laurel turns, giving me a full view of her backside, before gingerly stepping into the water. She walks down the stairs carved into the rock, and all I can do is stare as her hips sway. When she’s fully submerged, she turns her head to look over her shoulder at me. “Aren’t you coming?” Then she dives, disappearing into the steamy black water.

I undress quicker than I ever have, ripping my tunic and trousers off my body, only leaving my tight undergarments on. I splash into the water, and she swims away from me.

“You do remember that I’m from a kingdom known for its oceans and beaches, right?” I ask, swimming after her quickly. Just when I think I’ve caught her, she aersteps across the pool, giggling. I growl. “And that I’m also a water channeler?” She squeals as I bring her to me on a quick current. She crashes into me, and I wrap my arms around her waist, letting the water carry us to the shallow edge of the pool. I press her up against the wall, my body humming with the feel of her. Skin to skin, there’s nothing but a small length of fabric between us. I bring my lips to her ear. “You can’t run from me, witchling.” My voice is seductive and demanding.

When she shivers, I tighten my grip on her, and she lets out an exhale that’s part sigh and part moan, the ends of her long hair floating around her, and her body glowing from the soft light hovering above us. I bring my lips close to hers, an inch away, then cup her ass. She wraps her legs around me, and my twitching cock fully hardens. She smirks, but I bury my face into her neck, breathing in her seductive scent.

“Laurel,” I sigh. She’s a goddess, and I will willingly worship her. My hands knead her ass in soothing circular motions. Her head drops back, and she arches her pelvis into me. I groan low in my throat. I want her so badly. But I know I have to go slow, have to let her be in control, or she’ll run again.

Her head lifts and her eyes meet mine, and there’s a new kind of heat in them I’ve never seen. “Kiss me,” she demands, breathy and pleading, squeezing her hips closer to mine. That’s all the encouragement I need.