Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
FRID
The balance of golden light and the almost translucent veil of fog that billowed up from the pool looked like something seen only in dreams. Carefully, I lowered myself into the water.
I immediately dunked under and quickly resurfaced.
The light tingling traveled through every inch of my body, returning all the strength I lost. The warmth of it soothed my skin and removed the ache in my bones.
“Argh!” Victor’s voice sounded in the silence.
I gently unplaited my braids and placed the ribbons on the edge of the pool. From the corner of my eye, I watched Victor struggle to remove the piece of glass from right beneath his eye.
“Do you need help?” I asked.
“No, thanks.”
He continued working on it without any success. Streaks of blood ran down his cheek and neck as he kept reinjuring himself.
“This thing is so fucking small,” he muttered.
Slowly, I made my way toward Victor. The light ripples of water traveled all the way to where he stood, brushing against his skin.
“Let me.” I stepped closer, not giving him any opportunity to turn me down.
He stilled, lowering his arm. As I leaned against him, I saw something in his eyes that resembled a flicker of panic.
My chest was pressed against his. The coils of my damp hair touched his shoulder. He made a point not to meet my gaze and for some reason, I was disappointed that he did.
I tugged on a corner of the glass, and slowly pulled on it. Victor’s breathing halted, and he clenched his jaw.
“Almost done.” I glanced at him, but he would not look at me.
Why wouldn’t he look at me? Was he upset about something? I could hardly understand him.
Catching my lip between my teeth, I returned to what I was doing.
“I’m almost done. Sorry.” I pinched the shard between my fingers one more time.
A sharp exhale was my only answer. I hated that I was the one hurting him.
“Please hold still,” I said.
“Frid?”
“Almost done.”
“Frid?”
“There.”
I smiled, rotating the piece of glass between my fingers. But when I looked at Victor, there was a strange expression on his face. His eyebrows lowered, his lips were pressed tightly together. He ignored the shard in my hand. Instead, his eyes were on me.
I was about to ask what was wrong, when, with one unexpected motion, Victor yanked me toward him.
I nearly lost my balance, wrapping my arms around him.
Our bodies connected in the most intimate way.
Through my undergarments, I could feel his hardened flesh pressing against my hip.
My knees grew weak, and for the first time, I could admit that it was exactly what I wanted him to do.
I really wanted to feel what it could be like between us.
Just this one time, just for a little bit.
To forget about everything and give my body, and possibly my heart, what it has craved for so long.
And yet, I worried that if we did this, our friendship would be over and we could never go back.
But with him so close, his arms around my back and his chiseled stomach pressed against mine, it did not feel like it mattered.
Nothing mattered anymore. In his arms I forgot about the sisters, the crawler dragons, Talman, and The Fall.
“You have to tell me what you want because . . . I can’t fucking . . . deal with it.”
I opened my mouth, but could not say a word.
My brain scrambled to make sense of it all, but my body had already decided.
Pools of liquid flames traveled down to my abdomen, my bones melted.
I had never felt anything like this with anyone.
Not one of my two short lived flings could make me feel what I felt for the boy I considered a childhood friend.
I had always wanted to be with him, even though I knew how wrong it was.
No amount of shaming myself worked. Every time I was intimate with someone else, my mind went into forbidden places where he was the one touching me.
The first time I had sex, I cried half the night because it was not what I wanted, who I wanted.
I felt disappointed and empty. My heart was breaking and I could not understand why it made me so miserable.
“I’m sorry.” He dropped his arms, looking away. “I don’t know why . . . I thought . . .” He shook his head.
My body moved on its own. I stepped closer.
My chest brushed against his. I could see his astonished eyes, his parted lips.
But, I was beyond reason. My fingers played with the hair on the back of his neck.
Slowly, his mouth hovered over mine. His warm breath caressed my cheek and then his agonizingly soft lips claimed mine.
I exhaled, unprepared for all the feelings that fractured my brain, sending it into an uncontrollable frenzy.
The kiss was sweet and gentle, but there was something just underneath the careful exploration that I craved to unravel.
Victor’s hands moved to my face, cupping my cheeks.
He wanted to slow down, to let me breathe, but I was in agony, I was on fire.
My legs wrapped around him and he lifted me up.
Victor’s hands slid down to my hips and cupped my backside without breaking our wild, all-consuming kiss.
I could not hold back my low, sensual moan.
“I take it you like that.” Victor’s voice sounded strained.
He breathed in, steadying his voice.
“Who told you that?” I responded.
“Just a hunch.” He walked toward the edge of the pool as I continued teasing him with my tongue.
When my back pressed against the stone, I exhaled watching Victor’s hands lifting my undershirt. His beautiful fingers carefully traced the lines of my breasts, concentrating on their tender peaks. A moment later, his lips replaced his hands and my head hit the wall behind me.
“Fuck,” he murmured.
I smiled, catching my lip between my teeth. Then I removed my top all together and enjoyed watching his eyes unfocus.
“I take it you like them?”
“Fuck, yeah.”
His teeth grazed my nipples, leaving tormenting, sizzling hot lines on my skin.
“Ahh,” I gasped when he sucked on them.
I lowered my hips, adjusting my legs just below his stomach. “I wonder if you can show it to me,” I whispered, placing my hand on his chest.
“What?”
Our eyes met.
I did not respond, raising my eyebrows. My hand slid lower from his chest down to his abdomen.
“Are you talking . . .” He choked on his breath when my fingers wrapped around his rock solid length.
“I’m talking about your tattoo, of course.” I continued exploring him, running my fingers up and down.
“Frid . . . Stop . . . Stop . . . Fuck.” He removed my hand and stilled, pressing his head against my collar bone.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, knowing exactly how close he was.
A sense of power overcame me, and something in me shifted. I was not intimidated by being close to him. It was as if I had always been this version of myself. Completely comfortable in being me without needing to act a part, to be convenient, be like the other girls.
Victor lifted me and set me up on the edge of the pool, standing between my open legs. I blinked, not ready for what was to come. I had used up all my courage when I touched his manhood. I was in unfamiliar territory, and now he was the one in control.
“And you were saying?” Victor chuckled as if knowing exactly what I was thinking.
Somewhere in the back of my mind was the uncomfortable thought that I was probably nothing like the women he dated.
Not that skinny, not nearly as feminine.
I had muscle and I had fat on me. My hips were wide and round.
My chest was broad, but my boobs were not that impressive.
That was probably why he hesitated. Without clothes, he probably saw me in the most unflattering way.
But I could not help noticing that his hands were shaking when he pulled my underwear off.
Victor’s eyes closed, he pressed his lips to my knee.
“It’s not enough,” he whispered.
“What?” I could hardly speak.
“I want more than to just kiss you. I want to feel you. Now.” He lifted his eyes to me.
There was so much sincerity, so much bare, unmasked emotion behind his words.
“Yes.”
He was beside me the very next moment. His lips found mine one more time. My back pressed softly against the floor. His body lowered on top of mine. We looked at each other as we both realized that there would be no going back after this and despite it all, it was worth the risk.
I raised my hand and my fingers brushed the back of his neck.
“Just . . . don’t hurt me,” I whispered and he shuddered.
His light gray eyes studied my face as if he finally understood something about me. As if he could finally see the real me.
“Never,” he breathed into my mouth and I pulled him in for a kiss.
His lips were tender, feathery soft, but the kiss grew more passionate, more desperate and soon it was not enough. I wrapped my legs around his hips, pulling him close.
“Frid?”
“Yes.”
“Slow . . . down.”
I arched my back, not willing to wait a moment longer.
He carefully lowered his body over mine, slowly filling me, stretching me.
The heat, the pleasure, sent shock waves through every inch of my skin.
I cried out, not caring about propriety, unapologetic for the way I felt, wild and longing for more.
Victor stilled above me. His light hair dropped to his eyebrow, his arms were shaking.
Streaks of golden light colored his face.
His eyes burned into mine, desperate, hungry.
His hips started moving agonizingly, torturously slow.
I bit my lip to hold my moans. The sweetest ache melted my bones, building up just like countless waves pushing me closer and crashing over me, all at the same time.