Chapter 2 #2
“You’re full of surprises,” she said softly.
“And you,” he replied, gaze dropping briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes, “are exactly as curious as I suspected.”
Liora’s smile deepened. “Good.” Because she had no intention of turning back now.
Maldenis finally released her, though his hands lingered for the briefest second before falling away. He gestured ahead with an easy sweep of his arm. “This way.”
She straightened, smoothing her shirt as if she hadn’t just been comfortably suspended against a wall of solid muscle. Still, she couldn’t help the small flicker of disappointment at the loss of contact. His body had been warm and steady, strength wrapped in controlled power. It had felt…nice.
Ridiculously nice.
They began walking along a narrow stone path that wound through thicker ruins, ivy creeping along fractured walls, the sound of water growing clearer with each step.
“You handled that well,” Maldenis said casually. “Most humans panic when lifted without warning.”
She blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“I’m just saying,” he flashed her a grin that was far too pleased with itself. “You didn’t scream.”
“I gasped,” she corrected.
“Lightly.”
“That was not lightly.”
“You’re adaptable,” he chuckled, entirely unbothered. “I appreciate that.”
There it was. That faint bro-like swagger in his tone, the self-assured commentary that suggested he was evaluating her performance in some invisible competition.
Liora narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you grade all your swims like this?” she asked sweetly.
“Only the memorable ones.”
She huffed softly, shaking her head. Still, she couldn’t fully suppress her smile. His arrogance was irritating, but it was also playful. There was no cruelty in it, no condescension that cut too deep. Just posturing. A little chest-thumping disguised as charm.
She could handle that.
It’s fine. You just have to put up with him tonight.
And she absolutely could. Because beneath the swagger was confidence. Beneath the teasing was heat. And beneath that shirt, she was still very curious.
The path curved, opening suddenly into a hidden clearing tucked between tall stone walls. Moonlight poured through the canopy into the space, illuminating a natural spring that shimmered like liquid silver. The water glowed softly where starlight touched it.
Maldenis stopped at the edge, spreading his hands slightly as if presenting a prize.
“The coolest place in Solkaris,” he said.
Liora stepped forward, the sight stealing a quiet breath from her. It was beautiful.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “You do know how to impress a girl.”
He tilted his head, pleased. “I try.”
She rolled her shoulders lightly, letting the tension of the evening fall away. Annoying or not, she could still have fun. And judging by the way he was watching her now, heat and challenge mingling in his golden gaze, so could he.
Liora stood at the water’s edge and reached for the hem of her shirt. She didn’t rush. Didn’t look away.
He went very still.
“You said a swim,” she reminded him lightly, and pulled her shirt up and over her head, letting it fall carelessly into the sand. Then she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her shorts and slid them down her legs, stepping free of them without hurry.
And she was acutely aware of his gaze tracking every deliberate movement.
She smiled and dove cleanly into the water. The spring embraced her, and she surfaced with a soft laugh, pushing her hair back. “Coming?”
He hadn’t moved from the bank. But his shirt had, and it lay discarded beside the rocks.
Moonlight traced the strong lines of his chest—human, sculpted, warm-toned skin tapering down to where his hips should have been. Instead, his body smoothed into polished scales, dark and iridescent. The transition was seamless, powerful.
Her gaze dipped automatically.
Human torso, then the beginning of a long, coiled tail. Too bad she couldn’t see anything else. She bit the inside of her cheek, curious in a way she’d never been before. She’d never been up close with something not entirely human. The thought made her pulse quicken, not with fear. With intrigue.
He slid into the water without a splash.
One moment, he was on the shore; the next, he was there cutting through the spring with fluid grace until he was close enough that the water rippled against her shoulders.
Then she felt it.
His tail.
It circled her waist slowly, deliberately. Not trapping, just resting there, warm and firm beneath the surface. She glanced down at it, then back up at him. Still a careful inch of water between their chests.
She arched a brow. “Is this as close as you’re going to get?”
His lips twitched. “I thought you might prefer breathing room.”
She drifted a little closer, testing the boundary herself until her fingertips brushed his sternum. Solid. Warm. Very real.
“Breathing room?” she echoed, feigning confusion. “You carried me over a locked gate. You wrapped me up like a prize catch. But now you’re shy?”
“Shy?” His tail flexed slightly at that word.
“What’s the matter?” she leaned in, voice dropping to a playful murmur. “Scared of a little human?”
His eyes darkened, not offended, but amused. “I could coil tighter,” he said quietly. “If you’re feeling neglected.”
Her pulse jumped at the promise in his tone. “Maybe I am,” she replied, pretending to consider it.
The tail around her waist shifted, sliding just a fraction higher, drawing her a breath closer until the water between them thinned to almost nothing. He didn’t press. But he could have. That was the point.
“Careful what you challenge,” he murmured.
She smiled up at him, entirely unrepentant. “I thought basilisks liked a little danger.”
A slow, knowing grin spread across his face. “Oh,” he said softly, “we do.”
“I’ve never been up close and personal with a monster before,” she smiled. “First time for everything.”
His gaze sharpened at that. “Is that so?”
She could see the faint glow in his eyes, something ancient and coiled beneath the surface. He wasn’t just a man with a tail. He was something older. Stronger.
And entirely aware of her.
“You’re staring,” he said softly.
“I am,” she admitted.
“At what?”
She let her gaze wander deliberately down his torso and back up again. “Just assessing how human you really are.”
His smile turned wicked. “And your verdict?”
She let her fingers skim over his chest, light, curious, exploratory. “Still gathering data.”
His tail tightened, and she felt the shift in him, interest deepening into something more focused.
“Careful,” he repeated, quieter this time.
But she didn’t move away. Because for the first time in too long, she wasn’t just surviving the heat of Solkaris. She was enjoying it.
He leaned toward her slowly, that infuriating, confident smile playing at his mouth, like he knew exactly what he was doing. Like he was waiting to see if she’d be bold enough to follow through.
It was absolutely a challenge.
Fine.
She closed the last inch between them and kissed him. For half a heartbeat, she wondered if he’d freeze. He didn’t.
His lips were warm, very warm, and softer than she’d expected. Human. Completely human. The faint brush of teeth, the low sound in his throat when she pressed closer, even his forked tongue, none of it monstrous.
Oh.
Oh, that was good.
She pulled back just enough to look at him, her hands resting against his chest. “Well,” she murmured, a little breathless. “More human than monster.”
His eyes gleamed. “Disappointed?”
“Not even slightly.” She traced her fingers lightly down the center of his chest. “This will be a first for me, being with a basilisk. Or any monster at all.”
His brow lifted. “You say that as though you assumed something would happen between us.”
She gave him a look. “You carried me into a hidden spring under the stars.”
“And?”
“And,” she said sweetly, sliding one hand lower, feeling the unmistakable evidence of his arousal against her stomach beneath the water, “I can’t see it, but I can definitely feel it.”
His laugh was low and unashamed. “Observant,” he murmured.
Her curiosity flared again, wicked and insistent. She shouldn’t be thinking about it, but she was. Wondering what he looked like fully. Wondering how different it would be. How it would feel.
Dang it.
He leaned closer, lips brushing the corner of her mouth. “Same for me,” he said quietly.
“Oh?” She tilted her head. “You’ve never been with humans before.”
“Yes.” His smile turned slow and deliberate. “But I’ve been wondering about something.”
“And what would that be?”
“One of the differences,” he said, gaze dipping meaningfully, “is that you have a—”
She narrowed her eyes. “Finish that sentence carefully.”
“A butt,” he finished innocently.
She splashed him lightly. “You are impossible.”
His grin widened, unrepentant. “I’ve been wondering,” he continued, voice lowering, “what that feels like.”
Her breath hitched despite herself. “How it feels?” she shot back quickly, cutting him off before he could say anything worse.
His expression said he had absolutely meant something worse.
Instead of arguing, she took his wrists and guided his hands around her waist and lower, under her panties, pressing them firmly where she knew he’d been curious.
“There,” she said, chin lifted. “Research.”
He blinked once, then his fingers flexed. Slowly. Experimentally. And the pleased sound he made seemed entirely involuntary.
“Oh,” he said under his breath, thumbs tracing the curve of her ass before settling more firmly. “That is…distracting.”
She smirked, even as warmth flared through her at the way his grip tightened just slightly.
“See?” she teased. “Not so scary.”
His tail shifted beneath the surface, drawing her closer again until her body brushed his fully this time, no careful space left between them.
“Scary?” he murmured, hands still very much occupied. “No.”
His forehead dipped toward hers, smile turning something darker, something heated.