Chapter 56
Water
Kazuki gripped the pool’s edge a little too forcefully, water lapping at his middle section; two hundred thousand yen in three days. His savings account was bleeding, but he would spend twice just to see Elyna smile again.
Her father’s call had interrupted their last day at the hotel, sending Elyna into a depressing spiral. She kept her tears at bay, but her brother’s cold behaviour had rattled her. He surmised that the blinking decorations in the little Cornish cottage only sprinkled salt in the wound.
Hence his suggestion to try the pool; in his mind danced the memory of a water fairy, half-submerged in hot springs, mist surrounding her like silk veils. That day, in Hokkaidō, everything had changed. He was glad he could own that relationship now.
Kazuki turned around, eyes settling on the entrance as he awaited Elyna.
That indoor basin would certainly not sport waves the size of Cornish cliffs, but it should be enough to wash the sadness away.
Guilt churned in his gut, too, for being the cause of her estrangement with her brother. Had he not offered she stay?
You selfish man.
Elyna appeared, wearing a vintage-style bikini that should be classified as dangerous; she looked like a 1950s postcard, halter top and high-waist bottom emphasising the graceful curve of her neck, and that wonderful dip at the base of her spine.
She descended the stairs, submerging herself in the water step by step.
Kazuki’s heart stirred in wonder when her features relaxed, tension leaking out like grime washed away. One dip later, his golden lady disappeared into the pool, only to emerge right under his nose.
Her smile was so bright that he forgot to breathe; his hands reached out to her. This was her element; the one that revealed her true nature. He suddenly felt like a mortal graced with a sea fairy’s presence.
“I am glad you have chosen to spend some time at the surface, my lady,” he teased.
Elyna settled in his arms, draping herself around him, warm and soft. “Well, I am a Scorpio after all,” she said, legs swaying in the water while her head lay upon his shoulder. Kazuki felt a shudder run up his spine at the contact of her warm, wet body.
“When is your birthday, my Tsuki? I never got to ask you the exact date,” she murmured, her lips grazing his skin. Another shudder ran across his shoulder, and he tightened his hold on Elyna. “The 16th of October. We are ten days apart.”
Elyna pushed back just enough for water to touch her chin, keeping his hand captive as she gently swayed around him. Always in movement.
“Well, I always get on fantastically with Libra! I’m not surprised you’d be one.”
Speaking of astrology… For all his rationalism, Kazuki cared about signs. How many matchmakers had computed people’s compatibility based on zodiacs?
“Have you had a look at the Chinese zodiacs?” he chanced.
Elyna blushed, the colour giving her a healthy glow in the pool lights. “Yes. At first, I just wanted to know your age. And then…”
Gaze twinkling, she reclined into the water and closed her eyes as if lounging on a sofa. Leaving him hanging…
“And then?”
Elyna peeked at him underneath wet lashes, beckoning him further with her finger.
“I found out just how fantastic the dragon and rat combination was. And it’s good to have a dragon in my corner too.”
Dragons were water creatures after all, he mused, watching his sea fairy float at arm’s length. “A cosmic combination, yes,” he murmured. Elyna’s lips twitched, but she kept her eyes closed.
As the warm water loosened his muscles, Kazuki reflected on their zodiacs. A Rat and a Dragon, a Scorpio and a Libra. Not that he was ready to surrender the success of his relationship to the heavens … but it still felt like an auspicious pairing.
As Elyna floated mindlessly, his hand grazed the small of her back, gently guiding her away from the man doing laps and the few children playing catch.
She nestled into him with complete trust, melting in his careful embrace. For a long while, Elyna remained perfectly still, suspended between water and air like some mythical creature. Her hair fanned in long silky strands, a golden halo around her head.
This is her own meditation, he mused. Her breathing was slow as she poured out her hurts in the water. Her faint eyebrows finally settled in repose, mouth slack and inviting.
Kazuki’s hand opened, splaying on her lower back.
Warm skin upon warm skin. Sometimes, he feared she might pull away, that she might remember their precarious balance.
But she never did; instead, she kept coming back to him, over and over, like the tides of Cornwall.
Each surge was stronger than the previous one; that she welcomed his touch still amazed him, still made his breath catch with wonder and guilt in equal measures.
I just can’t stay away. Kami-sama. He was falling harder than he’d ever thought possible. Elyna’s eyes eventually fluttered open, trapping him in their ocean-blue depths. “I’m inviting you to dinner tonight,” she murmured, as if awakening from a long, restful slumber. Replenished.
“You do not need to…” His sentence was interrupted by her finger on his mouth, chlorine melting upon his lips before she surged from the water to twine herself around him. His heart skipped a beat when her legs bracketed his waist.
Such intimacy, in public! Every coherent thought scattered like cherry blossoms in the wind. Kazuki sank a little deeper in the pool until only their shoulders emerged.
“Please,” she breathed against his neck.
He felt himself dissolving like sugar under heavy rain. Some practical thoughts tried to bloom, something about room service or just picking up ramen from a food stall, but they paled compared to the blazing of her skin against his. She made him feel both powerful and utterly undone.
“Thank you,” he murmured, dropping a short kiss at the corner of her mouth.
His hand sneaked up her spine beneath the water.
Well hidden—there were children on the other side of the pool, and their display was scandalous enough—but exploring that wonderful dip.
“It will be my pleasure to be invited by such a lovely woman.”
Her answer sounded more like a purr than human words, but the smile she gave him blazed stronger than the sun.
Two hundred thousand yen? For this moment and her radiant expression, he would spend it all again without hesitation. It would even comfort him when he’d eat plain rice to balance his budget the next month, fool that he was!
Tomorrow, they would retreat to his flat. Better enjoy the luxury while it was offered.
Elyna: still pissed?
Aksel: ??, deserter
Elyna: good day to you too, dolt