Chapter 15 #2
“That’s a tragedy. Switching it up could bring the sexual experience to a whole new level.”
“Exactly!” She slapped the water. “It would be exciting and risqué.”
“I’m not turned off or intimidated by what you need in bed,” I replied. I preferred taking control in intimate situations but challenging the social order with Rozi would be fun.
She splashed her leg under the water and watched me move over to the waterfall to douse myself in it. When I finished, I sat across from her with arms draped over the ledge.
“I love dominating in bed. I’ve never submitted to any female, but with you… I’d never reject exploring what turns you on.”
She was silent for so long I feared I’d said too much, pushed too hard. She shifted through the water toward me, not close enough to touch.
“I tell myself that you and I are just biology,” she said. “Just the mate bond refusing to die completely. But the truth is more complicated than that.”
Hope, dangerous and fragile, unfurled in my chest.
“What truth, Rozi?”
Her eyes met mine, unflinching despite the vulnerability in them.
“That even when I hated you for leaving, I still wanted you. Just you. Not the concept of a mate. You.”
Her confession was more intimate than our nakedness.
“I don’t know what to do with that truth,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. “I spent years building walls to keep my heart safe. Now here you are, and my walls are cracking.”
“Emotional walls serve a short-term purpose, but if left unchecked, they can become a self-built prison,” I replied. “I know this from personal experience.”
She didn’t answer immediately, her gaze dropping to the water’s surface where ripples spread outward from our bodies, meeting and merging in the space between us. She ran a hand through her damp, curly hair, water droplets cascading down her neck and over the swell of her breasts.
“Even when I’m arguing with you, I feel more alive, and that terrifies me. Who am I, if not the person who survived being abandoned by everyone who should have loved her?” The raw honesty in her voice cut deeper than any accusation.
“You’re still you,” I said quietly. “Acknowledging our bond doesn’t erase who you’ve become. It just opens possibilities for who you might be next.”
“And who might that be?”
“That’s for you to decide,” I replied. “But whatever you choose, whoever you become next… I’d like the chance to know her.”
I hoped that the simplicity of my request reached her in a way that grand declarations might not have. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“You’re different than I expected,” she said. “More… thoughtful.”
“I had a long time to think about the worst mistake of my life,” I replied wryly.
Her laugh was unexpected, a brief, genuine sound that rippled through the water between us. “Fair enough.”
We fell silent then, the only sounds the gentle lapping of water against stone and the soft trickle of the waterfall.
After what might have been minutes or hours, she sighed and glanced toward the darkening sky visible through the dwelling’s crystal ceiling. “We should get some sleep. Tomorrow will be challenging.”
I nodded, remaining where I was to give her space to exit the water. She rose with quiet confidence, water streaming down the graceful curves of her body. Her dark nipples pebbled in the cool air. I longed to caress the gentle curve of her belly, the flare of her hips narrowing to strong thighs.
My cock strained painfully. My inner wolf howled with need. Every instinct screamed to claim what was mine. To complete the bond that had been left tattered and incomplete for years.
She stood there, unabashed in her nakedness. The challenge in her eyes was unmistakable, acknowledging the desire between us without surrendering to it. Then she reached for a towel, wrapping it around herself with deliberate movements.
“Your turn,” she said. “Don’t worry. I won’t pretend not to look either.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”
I rose from the water slowly, feeling her gaze track every movement.
Water cascaded down my chest, my abs, lower.
Her quick intake of breath was subtle but unmistakable.
My wolf preened under her attention, reveling in the way her eyes darkened, the way her scent shifted to something richer, headier.
“See something you like?” I asked, unable to resist teasing her.
She crossed her arms, the towel shifting dangerously high on her thighs. “Just making sure you’re up to tomorrow’s challenges,” she replied, but the slight rasp in her voice betrayed her.
I grabbed a towel, making no move to cover myself immediately. Let her look. Let her want. The ache of desire was a sweet torture I’d gladly endure if it meant her walls continued to crumble.
When I finally wrapped the towel around my waist, she turned toward the bedroom. The sway of her hips was hypnotic, and I wondered if it was deliberate or if she was simply unaware of how every movement affected me.
We dressed in silence, the air between us charged with unspoken possibilities.
I pulled on a pair of shorts, leaving my chest bare.
From the corner of my eye, I watched as she slipped into a T-shirt and shorts, her movements casual yet somehow impossibly sensual.
She added thick socks to her ensemble, a strangely endearing detail that made my heart clench.
The domesticity of the moment struck me with unexpected force. This simple act of preparing for sleep, in this strange dwelling, felt more intimate than the nakedness we’d shared moments before.
We faced the massive bed, all pretense of professional distance evaporating.
“I’ll take the couch,” I offered, though with less conviction than I might have earlier.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Brody. After what we just shared, I think we can handle sleeping in the same bed.”
The practicality in her voice made me smile. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” she said, climbing onto the massive bed and settling on one side. “Just try to remember that sleeping is the operative word here.”
I joined her, leaving a respectful distance between us, despite every instinct urging me closer.
We lay side by side beneath twinkling gemstones above, the space between us electric with awareness. Her scent, natural and mineral-rich from the spring, filled my senses with every breath. The mate connection hummed between us, turning simple proximity into raw potential.
“Night, Rozi,” I said.
“Good night,” she replied before turning away and presenting her back to me, not in rejection but in a gesture of trust I hadn’t expected.
I lay awake, marveling at the miracle of her presence, at the fragile trust beginning to form between us.
I’d spend the rest of my life showing with actions, not just words, that I was worthy of her if she gave me a second chance to claim her as my fated mate.