Page 55 of Keeping a Nymph’s Heart

Her gazed trailed up his legs and settled on… Well, there was no other way to put it; she was staring at his cock. Orla had been a warrior, spending large quantities of time in barracks and on battlefields. She had seen her fair share of naked men in her life, but she had never seen a cock like that. He wasn’t fully erect, thank the Gods or she didn’t know what she would do. But his length hung heavy and full between his thighs nonetheless. Beautiful. The word popped into her head unbidden. She had never thought of a cock as beautiful before, but she supposed there had to be a first time for everything. He had never let her touch him there during their many, many trysts. She wondered what he would feel like in her hand, how he would respond if she stroked him, what might he ta⁠—

“You’re staring.” She shook her head as Owain pulled her out of her fantasies.

She looked up at him to see a cocky grin on his face. The combination of that grin and a naked Owain was devastating in all the best ways. For a moment, she had to remind herself why she was so upset with him. But as she did, she schooled her expression from one of shock and lust to cool indifference.

“I’m using the hot spring. I was just surprised you didn’t wait your turn.”

“There’s enough room for two.” He smiled as he turned around, giving her a view of the firmest ass she had ever seen on a man. It took all her strength not to swim towards him and bite it.

They stayed in the hot spring like that for a while, both washing in an uncomfortable lust-filled silence when Orla finally spoke. She didn’t know why, but she desperately wanted to believe Owain when he had told her that they were real.

“When did it change for you?” He turned towards her. Mercifully, he had moved deeper in the water. The water lapped at his bare chest as he sat on a ledge in the deep pool.

He raked his wet hands through his hair before looking her in the eye.

“After we went foraging for the first time.” She thought about that day. How Owain had skipped his meetings to spend time with her.

“And what changed?”

She was inching closer to him now, closing the distance between them.

“I got to know you. In Edam, you are this monster, and I wanted to believe that because it would justify me killing you. But that day I saw that you weren’t a monster, you weren’t even cruel. It was the first day where I felt like I got to see the real Orla, and I really liked what I saw.”

He sighed as he moved off the ledge, eating up the distance between them.

“Afterwards I started thinking of ways to follow through with our plans without killing you. After that day, I couldn’t stay away.”

She looked up, they were separated by less than a foot of space now.

“Why did you never let me touch you? Every time we were together, you always focused on me. Why?”

They were even closer now, nearly chest to chest with one another as they spoke.

“Why do you think?”

“After I left the palace, I thought it was because of your ruse, that you didn’t actually care for me and that you couldn’t stand the thought of me touching you. Of you giving yourself to me fully.”

“And now what do you think?”

She shook her head as he gazed at her with such tenderness before placing a tentative hand on her shoulder and using the other to tilt her chin to look up at him.

“I didn’t take my pleasure with you because it didn’t feel right. There was so much you didn’t know; that you still don’t know. And if you decided to give yourself fully to me, to join with me in that way, I wanted it to be because you wanted me with all the information. No secrets.”

His words struck her and that ice around her heart continued to thaw. Gods she wanted his words to be true. He leaned in towards her, tilting her head even farther as his gaze traveled towards her lips.

Her breath grew shallow and then she stilled. Something in what he had said caught her.

“What else don’t I know?” He inhaled deeply, his gaze searching hers, but before he began, a screech of pain and a feral snarl echoed around them. They turned quickly, looking at the bank near their camp, and on that bank stood two massive hellhounds, one with blood dripping from its maw, looking straight at them.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Of course two snarling beasts would attack them at that moment. Though maybe it was a mercy; Orla didn’t know everything there was to tell about Owain and how the two of them found themselves tangled up together, physically as well as metaphorically. And because she had asked him directly, he was going to tell her the full truth, no matter how much it pained him.

But he had to put thoughts of Orla and telling her the truth behind him to focus on the two hounds in front of them. Hellhounds were larger than a typical hound, and they could grow to be even larger than a horse. Coats of deepest black were veined with orange red streaks along their large bodies. Their snarling maws revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth, and they had unparalleled strength. However, that’s not what concerned Owain the most. The hounds were typically used in Edam during battles. If these two found him, it was likely that he and Orla were being tracked by Owain’s father.

Slowly, Owain moved to position himself in front of Orla while he whispered to her. “Orla, can you use your vines to hold them?”

He knew her vines wouldn’t hold them for long. Her magic had strengthened, but it wasn’t sufficient to bind the beasts for more than a few moments. Hopefully that was all he would need. Orla sucked in a breath but nodded her head slowly.