Episode 81 She Wants to Do What?
She Wants to Do What?
“You know, the last time we were here, we did all sorts of things Tharios wouldn’t approve of.
I’m not sure you quite understood what I meant when I asked for a distraction, love.
” Rominy crosses his arms over his chest as he tries to hold back his smile on their little tropical island.
The surf laps at their toes, and Elowyn grins over her shoulder at him as she tucks a wisp of silver hair behind her ear.
He’d like to play with her ears himself. And her hair.
All of her, really.
She lifts her arms and spins as she tilts her head back, the hem of her gown catching the breeze and giving him a view of far more of her legs than she probably realizes.
Unless she’s doing that on purpose.
At least no one cares if he catches fire.
“I wish to build a treehouse,” she says. “Like the ones in the books Tharios read to me about people stranded on deserted islands after their ships wreck.”
He stares at her without responding.
She wants to do what?
When he doesn’t say anything, she stops spinning and turns toward him with her hands on her hips. “You wanted an adventure.”
“Did I say that?”
“You did, Your Highness.” She lifts her chin, and thoughts of their negotiations yesterday fill his head.
He’s going to lose. That much is obvious. But it might be fun to play along.
“And tell me, my princess, why would I want to build a treehouse when we have a perfectly good cottage already waiting for us?”
“Because your wife asked you to.” She crosses her arms and tilts her head as she gazes at him.
That’s probably reason enough. If he knows what’s good for him, in any case.
“And what is my wife offering in return?”
He should have just agreed, but she’s so attractive standing there like that.
“What makes you think she’s offering anything?”
He runs his tongue over his lips as he struggles to come up with a response. She’s always so quick to answer. She’s definitely better at this than he is. His flesh tastes salty from the sea air, and thoughts of her smoke and waterfalls fill his head.
Does she taste salty, too? She would if he dipped her in the ocean first.
Stars above. This island is the wrong sort of distracting.
He stares at her as her lips twitch with the hint of the smile she’s holding back. He has no idea what to say next, and she knows it.
He needs a diversion.
Without pausing to think, he runs toward her and throws her over his shoulder, carrying her out into the surf.
“Rominy! What are you doing?”
“I have no idea.”
Laughter bursts from her, and he stops once the water is waist deep and sets her on her feet in front of him.
She could have stopped him. Easily.
It always warms his heart when she doesn’t.
“You still haven’t answered my question.” She wraps her arms around his neck while the warm waves wash around them.
“How about you answer mine?”
That’s what he should have said before. But then they wouldn’t be here, and this is better.
The waves push her against him as her dress soaks up the salty seawater.
So much better.
“I think she’d do this.” Then she kisses him, and he doesn’t stop her. Hopefully, the water will keep her fire at bay. For a few minutes, at least.
She does taste salty.
As they stand in the water, their bodies pressed together while the warm sun beats down on them, time loses all meaning, the way it did in their pool by the waterfall.
When Rominy eventually slides his fingers along Elowyn’s ears, she clutches his wet shirt as she whimpers against him.
The heat building within him nearly makes him lose his head and forget everything Tharios told him.
Then she whispers, “I...I need...I need to cool down. My magic...”
Stars above. When did she grow so warm? The water tempers her heat, but it doesn’t obliterate it entirely.
It didn’t seem to matter that she was warm during their twilight swim, as long as she wasn’t catching fire. But now?
Breathing out slowly, he wraps his arms around her again. “I think we both need to cool down.”
He holds her for a few moments before letting her go, and to his shock, she dives under the water.
She’s a water wielder. She’ll be fine.
When she surfaces a good twenty feet away, he watches her bob in the waves, looking out at the horizon, until she dives under again.
She swims as if she has fins, but it’s the currents she manipulates that propel her forward. It’s remarkable.
She’s remarkable.
Does she really want to build a treehouse? To pretend they’re shipwrecked on this deserted island?
She surfaces again a few feet away and walks toward him in the water, her white gown clinging to her as her shoulders emerge from the waves.
This time, he crosses his arms to keep from reaching for her.
“Are you ready, love?” he asks, and her brows wrinkle.
“Ready for what?”
“My wife thinks she needs to build a treehouse, and who am I to say no? As if I could deny her anything.”
Elowyn’s face lights up in a smile to match the first one she sent him across that meadow near the border, and he reaches for her hand as they stroll back to the shore.
“I know nothing about building treehouses,” he whispers near her ear. “So I hope you know what we’re doing.”
She shrugs as she leans against his side. “How hard could it be?”
“This is it. This is the one.” Elowyn drags Rominy through heavy foliage toward a large tree not far from their waterfall. Its many branches are low, stretching out to the sides in every direction before angling toward the clear blue sky above the tree canopy.
It’s exactly what she imagined, as if the heartlanding placed it on their island just for them.
Rominy’s brows knit as he glances from her to the tree and back again. “How big of a treehouse do you think we need?”
“I want multiple rooms like in the books—”
“Tharios read to you,” Rominy finishes for her. “Were these elven tales or human ones?”
“There were some of both, though humans seem keener on sea travel than most elves, aside from the water wielders of Lumath Teyal in the western region of Lostariel, of course. I should like to see the city on the water someday. Mother says it’s spectacular.” Elowyn smiles wistfully at Rominy.
“We will, all right? Someday, you and I will visit Lumath Teyal together. I’ve heard the stories myself, and I promised to help you chase your dragons, which I assumed was mostly metaphorical rather than only—”
She cuts him off with a kiss. His lips taste of salty sweat and seawater, and he eagerly kisses her in return, his hands warm against her flesh through her damp gown. His touch sends fire racing through her veins, and Rominy pulls away.
“We’re not very good at listening to Tharios,” he mumbles.
She barely resists the urge to laugh. They do seem to struggle with that.
“So...” Rominy looks back at the tree before clearing his throat. “This treehouse of yours...you really think it needs multiple rooms?”
“All the best stories have treehouses with multiple rooms. And bridges connecting the rooms, and platforms on ropes and pulleys to—”
“I think you’re overestimating my skills. I’m a prince, remember? Not an engineer or builder.”
“Cerian builds things all the time.”
“With his plant magic?”
“Yes, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out. How—”
“Hard can it be? You keep saying that, and it keeps not reassuring me.”
“Come on, Rominy. It will be fun. Please?” She looks warmly up at him, and after a moment, he groans and turns away.
“Fine. But if it looks like a child built it before it crashes down around us, I take no responsibility.”