Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Izzy stumbled as she climbed off Luka’s back, and he immediately put out a wing to balance her.
She grinned up at him, bubbling with delight.
The flight had been one of the most thrilling of her life.
The rush of air, the distant twinkle of the stars, and the spray of salty water as Luka dipped his claws in the sea.
The rough purr of his beast as it showed her its world still filled her.
She unbuckled the soft saddle, unclipped the harness, and slid them both away.
Then she stepped back and looked around.
As glad as she would have been to fly with Luka all night, she was also fascinated by where he’d brought her.
He’d landed in a small clearing on the northern side of the mountain range, several miles away from the Nabaspath.
The ground rose and dipped in peaks and gulleys, and a surprisingly dense forest—almost a jungle—surrounded them.
Night creatures sang and whirred, and the rush and burble of moving water added its own melody.
“Wait here a moment,” Luka rumbled.
Izzy was more than happy to stand still. It was dark, even with the starlight filtering into the clearing, and her legs still wobbled from their flight.
A rush of energy and a pained groan from behind her told her that Luka had shifted back. His breathing was ragged, and she knew he was hurting. She turned, searching for him in the dark. “Luka, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He paused for a moment, and then added more quietly, “Thank you.”
There was a rustling sound from deeper in the shadows, then she heard the squeak of old hinges and a scrape.
Light flared, and there was Luka, standing in only his boots and breeches, holding a small, smoky torch.
A dirty iron box sat at his feet. “It was Rayan’s idea to keep a bunch of resin torches here,” he explained. “I’m glad at least one still worked.”
“Where are we?” Izzy asked. “I don’t think I’ve been here before.”
“We found it before he died. I haven’t been here since then.” Luka cleared his throat. “I thought… even then… that you would like it here.”
Had he thought of bringing her? She held in the question, but he must have read it on her face anyway because he stepped closer and gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I was working up to talking to Rayan. Telling him what I wanted. I thought….” He shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid.
“You thought we had more time,” she finished for him. But everything had changed, and he’d pushed her away instead.
“Yes.” His voice rumbled softly. “Somehow, time is never on my side.”
She didn’t know how to answer. This night was an escape from whatever new danger they would face in the morning… but it wasn’t hopeless. They had this chance to work together, to find the killer who had shattered all their lives. And maybe, afterward, to finally be together.
Yes. This is the beginning.
She went up on her toes and kissed him. A quick, firm kiss that she hoped could convey that she understood, and that she was glad that he’d brought her here.
Luka took her hand, and she followed him gladly as he led her across the clearing to a narrow path.
They were surrounded by the dense foliage of thorny blackwood trees, looming mhoba, and thick ferns, and the air was full of mossy sweetness.
The sound of frogs singing and running water grew louder as they walked.
Izzy picked her way carefully in the small pool of yellow torchlight.
They turned a corner to emerge from the woods, and suddenly the sound of crashing water surrounded them. Together, they stepped onto a tumble of rocks that overlooked a steamy pool—only dimly visible in the starlight—fed by the sparkling waterfall that poured through the air beside them.
Luka pressed his lips to her ear, speaking above the rush of water.
“A series of pools is connected by cascades,” he explained.
“The water in the first pool is very hot, presumably heated inside the mountain, but by the time it gets here, it’s warm without being scalding.
In the daylight, it’s the clearest blue you’ll ever see. ”
Her beast purred as they clambered down the spray-slick rocks together. The air was sultry, and the symphony of insects and frogs rose again as they moved away from the falls to a small sandy area beside the lower pool.
Luka tucked the torch into a crack between two rocks. “I thought we could—” He cleared his throat, glancing between her and the pool. “—have a swim?”
She looked down at her bodice and breeches, and Luka chuckled roughly before adding. “I realize now that I could have planned this a lot better. I’m not…. I don’t usually go flying off unexpectedly.” He shook his head. “We can go back, if you want.”
Absolutely not.
“I don’t want to go back,” Izzy said softly.
“I didn’t bring any food. I don’t have towels for us.” Luka rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “I want you to be comfortable.”
“I am comfortable.”
“But—”
Her beast growled loud enough to cut him off.
She didn’t want to go back. Not now, when he’d finally lowered his walls.
Not when he’d admitted that he wanted her too all those years ago.
Not when he’d brought her to his secret place.
If she let him get caught up in his worries, he would pull away; she could already see it happening. “I am comfortable, Luka.”
He frowned at her, and she smiled back. Perhaps she was wrong before. Perhaps she hadn’t pushed him too hard… maybe she hadn’t pushed enough. If she had, would he have acknowledged his grief? Could she have helped him lay aside his guilt? Maybe things could have been different for them.
Or perhaps not. Maybe that wasn’t the right time for them. Maybe this was? She was no longer grieving, no longer dealing with uprooting her entire life. Now she could be brave for both of them. Izzy dropped her hands to the hem of her bodice and lifted it over her head before kicking off her boots.
Luka froze, his eyes fixed on her. His mouth opened, but no argument came out.
She took that as a sign to continue. She bent over to pull down her leather breeches, leaving her in only her soft chemise.
It was short enough to ensure it didn’t bunch on the top of her breeches, and it fell only to the top of her legs, not even covering her.
Luka took a step forward, his beast purring loudly. Izzy grinned at him. “I thought we were swimming.”
He blinked at her. “Yes, but—”
“Good. Hold this.” And then she pulled her chemise over her head and passed it to him. His hand gripped it automatically, leaving her naked in the warm pool of torchlight.
Luka’s breath caught, and she enjoyed his glazed expression for a moment. Then she turned and picked her way over the rough sand, feeling his fiery gaze on her the entire time. She gave him one last look over her shoulder before sliding into the steaming pool.
The water was hot enough to ease her aching muscles and bring a flush to her skin, but not too hot.
The floor of the pool was formed of smooth rock with some pitted areas and sandy patches, and it warmed her tired feet.
It was very dark, but the bubbles reflected the starlight, while the splashing cascade and distant frog song created a cocoon of safety.
She lay back, letting the water hold and soothe her, watching the stars.
A moment later, Luka stripped and then splashed into the pool. He swam over to stand beside where she floated. She couldn’t make out the expression on his face, but the rumbling purr of his beast filled the air.
“Come this way.” He pulled her upright and led her through the pool to a shallow ledge against a rock wall, not far from where the waterfall bubbles frothed.
He guided her to sit in front of him on the smooth, warm rock with her legs dangling in the bubbling water, his hard chest at her back.
“How do you tie this up?” he asked, tugging her hair gently.
Izzy reached back and pulled her hair into a damp braid. As soon as it was off her shoulders, he covered them with his big hands, gently massaging the muscles, slowly increasing the pressure until he was unraveling all the knots that she’d been building.
The rest of the world was so far away, it no longer existed.
She moaned, relaxing into his hands, even as her skin prickled where his legs spread on either side of her hips.
She closed her eyes and imagined his hands sliding down her arms, moving to her waist, exploring further, finding more skin, skimming over the parts of her that were waking up, wanting attention, and she shivered.
“Are you cold?” His breath was hot on her neck.
She shook her head. “Not at all.”
“Hmm.” Luka pressed his lips to the base of her neck, and goose bumps broke out where his breath teased her.
His thumbs found the tight muscles at the back of her arms just as his mouth opened and he nibbled across her shoulder to her throat.
Her nipples peaked, and she dropped her head down and to the side, opening her neck, giving him space.
He bit her gently, and she shivered again.
Luka rumbled, sounding pleased, and the vibration coiled through her.
His mouth didn’t leave her neck as he slipped his hands under her arms to skim over her ribs and around to settle on her breasts.
He massaged gently, thumbs scraping over the sensitive peaks of her nipples, sending tantalizing sparks firing through her body.
She arched her back, pressing into him with her hips, needing to touch him everywhere.
“You’re so beautiful,” he rasped, his beast’s growl woven through the words. “Do you know how often I’ve thought of you like this? How many times I’ve wished….”
Izzy twisted in his arms, looking at him over her shoulder. “I’ve wished it too.”
Luka pulled her even closer, lifting her onto his lap with only her feet in the water, and slanted his mouth over hers.
He nibbled her bottom lip, demanding access, and she opened for him, tasting him as he tugged her nipples, rolling and twisting gently.
Heat washed over her as a fiery line of need spread through her body, down to her core.
Her beast vibrated inside her, pushing closer to Luka, desperate to touch and taste.
She whimpered, and he kissed her even deeper. One big hand dropped from her breast to stroke down her belly and come to rest over her mound. She was wrapped up in him, surrounded by his body, adrift among the stars and bubbles, but she needed even more. “Luka, please touch me.”
His hand moved then. His fingers found her aching clitoris and stroked gently.
A featherlight touch that dragged all her awareness to where he wasn’t touching her.
He held her pinned against his body with one hand still on her breast, his mouth open on her neck.
But his other hand—the one so close to where she needed him—barely moved.
She squirmed, trying to get closer, and spread her legs over his.
Luka murmured his approval as he slid his fingers slowly down, opening them in a gliding V, skirting her entrance, and then back again, to pause, taunting her.
She needed more pressure. More movement.
Her body vibrated with the need that coiled and uncoiled through her, and her hips rose, chasing more.
Luka’s beast purred steadily as he widened his legs, taking hers with them and opening her to the stars. She lay suspended, her body entirely on his, supported by his strength, surrounded by steaming water and the glow of the rising moon.
“You are magnificent.” Luka kissed her again, and then he finally sank one big finger inside her.
His thumb circled her clit as another finger joined the first, and she whimpered. He found a rhythm, a relentless building pulse between stroking fingers and gliding thumb, his hand still holding her breast like an offering up to the sky.
“Gods,” he growled, “even better than I dreamed.”
They kissed sloppily, faces not quite reaching, as everything in her turned molten.
Their panted breaths drowned the sound of water until every sensation in her world was Luka.
His cock was a hard rod at the cleft of her ass, but he never stopped driving her higher.
His fingers found the swollen front wall of her pleasure as he pinched her nipple, and suddenly she was at the summit and flying over.
Her body spasmed in a wave of bright, bursting pleasure.