Page 122 of Of Bargains & Betrayal

Enora’s smile grew. She reached for my hand and pulled me closer until our bodies were damn near pressed together, and I let her guide my arm loosely around her waist.

A feat, truly, when we were both working against the pull to float to the surface. I didn’t know how her lungs weren’t screaming at her already, with the dull burn that was building in mine, but Enora set her hand against my chest, like she was in no hurry at all.

She traced her fingers over one of the many bargain marks there before trailing her touch up my sternum, skimming over the scar on my throat I rarely liked to talk about, up to the base of my jaw.

I could’ve sworn the water was growing warmer, but that didn’t stop gooseflesh from rippling up my arms. My pounding heart may have had something to do with it too.

Enora’s touch slipped around, cupping the back of my neck as her hazel eyes searched mine, and I gave no resistance as she guided me even closer, pressing her lips to mine.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever been kissed underwater before.

But she was gone a heartbeat later, pushing away from me and kicking for the surface. I really could’ve used a minute or ten to gather myself, but my protesting lungs and the other warmth in my chest had me swimming right after her. I breached the surface with a gasp, sucking down all the air I could, and found Enora doing much the same as she swam for a submerged ledge and settled herself on it.

The water lapped gently at her waist, framing her heaving chest and divinely peaked breasts in a way that needed to be studied. Or painted. Or seared directly into the back of my mind for later use.

This was not getting any better. I couldn’t fathom where I’d left any of my carefully built resolve.

I was joining Enora before I knew it, grateful I could stand at the shallow edge and match her height, not caring the least about the discomfort of my waterlogged pants. Especially not when she let me stand between her parted thighs and slipped her arms around my neck. Something in the back of my mind gave a weak shout of protest, but it fell away quickly.

“Were you contemplating drowning me down there, or…?” I mused, and Enora chuckled, shaking her head. The glimmer of amusement in her eyes was so damned welcome.

“Oh, I’d never. Just giving you a taste of your own very confusing medicine.”

The hell if I’d get to clarify what she meant by that, because Enora kissed me again. Goddess below, this woman.

I fell whim to the slow coax of her absurdly soft lips. The testing brush of her tongue. Her pleased sigh when I cupped her jaw, and her expectant gasp when I slid my hand along the outside of her thigh, gripping the supple swell of her hip.

Warmth I hadn’t felt in years poured through my veins, pooling low in my stomach, settling into a needy ache in my spine. It spurred my movements, tangling my fingers into the damp hair at her nape and tipping her head back. Enora made a noise of protest that rolled into a low groan when I tore my mouth from hers and grazed my lips down her throat.

Enora’s soft fingers trailed up the side of my face, sweeping back wet strands of my hair until she brushed the base of my horns. She curled her fingers around the sensitive base ridges, grasping gently, and a shaky breath sawed out of my lungs. I nipped at the crook of her neck, if only to distract myself from the overwhelming urge to ravage her, but Enora stroked my horn again with a slow, sweeping squeeze, and she may as well have had her fingers wrapped around my cock for how my body shuddered and my core tightened.

I couldn’t help the low moan that clawed its way out of my chest.

“Oh, Max,” she breathed, and, in a goddess-damned blink, everything came crashing down.

Whatever deluded trance I’d found myself in under her touch vanished at the sound of her voice, an ice-cold dump of sensibility colliding with my heated body. I tensed and planted my hands on the stone shelf.

What the fuck was I doing? What in the dark mother’s name had me thinking any of this was okay? And worse, why the hell did I want this?

“Stop,” I ground out, and Enora’s touch slipped away from my horns. “We should not be doing this.”

She made a choked noise. “Excuse me? Where the hell did that come from?”

Who fucking knew where any of it had come from.

“This isn’t right.” I rested my forehead against her shoulder and let out a resigned sigh.

“Right?” Her chest heaved with a huff of a laugh that held no humor. “None of this is right, Maksym. Not a single goddess-damned thing. But you’re the one who brought me here for a distraction, remember?”

“I brought you here to distract your mind, Enora,” I said with an ample amount of caution. “Not…this.”

Already, she was easing away from me, drawing her legs up and leaving me there, my hands braced on the stone, and my head hung.

“So you don’t want this?”

It killed me to shake my head. “No.”

Enora scoffed quietly. “Well, I’ll leave you to it then. Goodnight, Maksym.”