Page 48 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

She had no other choice but to lift him, sit on the edge of the pool, and slide him in. The belt would keep him afloat.

"I'm sorry about this part." She executed her plan without looking into his eyes and then slid into the water after him.

"There," she said. "We survived the hard part."

"Was that the hard part?" Navuh tested his legs beneath the surface, a slow, exploratory motion. "It felt considerably more dignified than most of what I have to contend with."

Areana released a relieved breath.

Navuh wasn't making a big deal out of it.

Standing waist-deep in the water with her mate floating beside her in a buoyancy belt felt like a monumental achievement.

"All right." She positioned herself in front of him, the way the videos had shown, hands braced under his forearms. "Let's see what your legs remember to do. Small steps."

He tried.

His right leg drifted rather than stepped, foot trailing up instead of planting down, the muscle refusing to answer the signal his mind was sending. He overcorrected, twisting at the hip, and the belt held his torso upright even as his lower body listed sideways like a puppet with half its strings cut.

"That's fine," she said. "Any form of movement is good."

"That was not walking."

"It was a good attempt. We build from those. Let's try that again."

They worked through it slowly, a dozen halting steps, their bodies brushing against one another in the water, the contact stimulating and distracting.

For her, and probably for him as well.

"You're improving," she said, a little breathless and not from the exertion.

"Not really." His voice had dropped, low enough that she felt it more than heard it. "But I'm enjoying this far more than I expected."

She smiled. "So am I."

His hand drifted to the small of her back, and not for balance. He drew her the rest of the way against him, water sluicing between their bodies as the last of the distance was eliminated.

"Areana."

"Yes."

"I find I have very little interest in continuing the exercises."

"Hildegard would be very disappointed in me if I don't do my job."

"She is not here."

He kissed her before she could decide whether to argue the point further, and it was nothing like the sweet, soft kisses they'd traded lately.

This kiss had heat in it, his hands tightening on her waist, pulling her flush against him. She felt need and desire wash over her body, her fingers curling into his shoulders, a small, desperate moan escaping her throat against his mouth.

He drew back only far enough to look at her, his dark eyes blazing with that familiar inner light, and then he smiled, the real smile that he reserved just for her. She hadn't seen that smile since before the cliff.

"There you are," she whispered. "I've missed that."

"It's still all in here." His arms tightened around her. "It only needed the right motivation to resurface."

She laughed. "I'm glad I can still do that for you."