Page 46 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

"Let me help you with that."

"I've got it." He waved her away. "Get changed yourself. I want to see you in that red swimsuit you bought."

That was the old Navuh, the one who had always lusted after her, who found her desirable and exciting no matter how many thousands of years they spent together.

She took her time changing, lingering a little longer than necessary before covering herself with the scrap of red fabric and enjoying the sound of his quickened breathing and low growls of appreciation.

Still with her back to him, she pulled on the one-piece swimsuit with deliberate slowness, then turned around and struck a pose.

"Well?"

"Stunning." He leaned forward and put his hands on her waist. "You look good in red."

She let him pull her closer and was tempted to sit in his lap, but she didn't know whether it was medically approved.

Instead, she leaned down and kissed him on the lips. "Save the thought for the pool."

His dark eyes began to blaze with inner light, eliciting a corresponding response from her.

Fates, how she missed making love to him.

Soon.

She straightened, and he didn't fight her. He never had, even when he'd been whole, and she was at his mercy. He accepted nothing less than her full participation, and it was one of the many things she loved about him. Those private things that belonged exclusively to the two of them.

Navuh was dominant, and he enjoyed her submission, but he never demanded it. It was always her choice.

The small sarcastic voice in the back of her head whispered that her choices had been very limited in every other way, and it was right, so she didn't argue with its logic.

Areana reached for the matching sarong she'd bought along with the swimming suit, a length of nearly sheer, red-patterned fabric that tied at the hip.

"What do you think?" She turned in a circle.

"That there is no way you are walking out of these rooms dressed like that, or rather undressed."

She laughed and slipped her feet into a pair of gold-colored flip-flops that had a bit of a heel to accentuate her long legs.

Navuh groaned. "You are killing me."

"On the contrary, my love." She put her hands on the wheels of his chair and leaned to plant another kiss on his lips. "I'm giving you motivation to recover as fast as immortally possible."

"That you do," he agreed without arguing and making any snarky remarks, which was nice. There was only so much sarcasm she could take.

"Where are you going to put your phone?" he asked when she wheeled him out of the bedroom.

"In the pocket on the back of your chair." She took the device off the table where she'd left it and dialed Daniel's contact. "We are ready for the pool."

"I'll be there in a moment. I'm entering the outing into the cuffs' programming."

The cuffs were set to activate if Navuh attempted to leave the apartment without authorization, and Daniel had to change the programming every time they needed to leave the predetermined perimeter.

A few moments later, the hiss of the locks releasing was followed by the heavy door swinging out.

"All set," Daniel said.

"Thank you." Areana pushed the wheelchair forward, and Daniel fell into step beside them, the three of them making their slow procession down the corridor's reproduction-lined walls toward the elevator bank.

The ride up was silent except for the low hum of the cabin, and when the doors opened, the smell of chlorine reached her right away, proving they were at the right level of the massive underground complex.