“Thank you, Finn.” I glanced down at the soap in my hand. This had obviously been treasured by someone. Perfumed soap was considered a luxury, even if it had probably been scented by rose oil from the garden. “Where are the people who live here? Why are the houses we’ve been staying in vacant?”
“Liam had discovered the first house during a previous trip, but this one we’re not sure.” Finn paused. “But Tobias noticed footprints outside. It might have scared the family away.”
“More marauders?” I asked, my fear spiking.
“No. They were animal prints. We think they belong to corsairs.”
“Corsairs? They never come this far west and certainly not in the mountains.”
“And yet . . .”
Matthew walked in with another bucket of water. “What are you telling her, Finn? Why does she look frightened?”
I frowned. “He’s telling me the truth. He respects me enough to believe I can handle it.”
Dax shot Finn a glare as he entered the room. “We’re not certain they belong to corsairs. It’s a guess.”
“A good guess,” Finn said, holding my gaze.
Mathew and Dax both dumped the water into the tub. Dax put his hand in it to test the temperature, then walked back out.
Finn hesitated, looking away. “About my disagreement with the others . . . I don’t want you to think I’m upset with you or that I’m calling you a liar.”
My eyes flew open. “Why would I think that?”
He turned back to me. “Because I’ve been so skeptical.”
I offered him a warm smile. “I need you to be skeptical, Finn. Everyone else is so quick to believe it.”
“And you?” he asked.
I paused as I considered my answer. “There’s something living inside me. I see no point in denying its existence.” I held his gaze. “Does it matter what it’s called?”
Surprise filled his eyes. “No. I guess not.” His expression softened. “I want to help you, Princess. You have to know that. But I can’t . . .”
Horrified, I dropped my gaze. “Finn, I would never expect you to. Liam’s obviously out of his mind.”
“And yet you sound unsure that he is . . .”
I looked back up at him. “I’m not sure what to think. I’m not sure of anything anymore.”
He nodded and walked out of the bedroom as Matthew came back in with more water. He poured it into the tub, then declared the water ready.
He moved closer. “Do you need help . . . with anything?”
“If it were my own dress, yes, I’d need help with the lacings, but it’s Christa’s, so it’s meant to be easy to get on.” And off. My mouth went dry again.
He walked past me and shut the door, remaining in the room.
My stomach fluttered with nerves.
“Get in the tub, Elena,” he said in a low tone.
My legs turned to rubber. “I . . .”
“It’s my night to stay with you. I’ll turn my back if you want, but I’m staying.”
“Matthew . . .” I forced out in a squeak. “I’m fine now. Better.”
“Which means Liam’s theory is right.” I started to protest, but he said, “I’ll turn my back, but I’m not leaving.”
“Then face the door.” When he did as I requested, I slid off my boots and socks. Then after making sure he wasn’t watching, I unfastened my breeches and took off my undergarments. I looked again, and Matthew was like a mountain, sitting on the bed and facing the door, his back to me.
I made quick work of the lacings on the side of the dress and slipped it down my arms and over my hips, letting it drop to the floor. All that was left was my thin shift with a slit all the way up to my pubic bone, but I couldn’t make myself take it off. It was the last barrier to doing something I would likely regret.
Still wearing the shift, I stepped one leg over the tall side of the tub, then held on to the edge to lift my other leg in. The water was warmer than I’d expected, and I sank down, releasing a sigh as the water came to just above my breasts, my legs bent upright in front of me. I leaned back, resting the back of my head against the edge. The wet shift clung to my skin, making me slightly uncomfortable, but I was enjoying this too much to care. I let myself relax, despite the fact that Matthew was still sitting behind me.
I closed my eyes for several minutes, until I decided I needed to wash before the water cooled too much. It was then I realized my mistake. The soap and cloth to dry off were on the bed out of reach.
If I were alone, I would have gotten out and grabbed it myself, even if I would have gotten water everywhere—it occurred to me that the shift would have to come off at some point, and I was likely to make a huge mess anyway. I could either ask Matthew to get the soap for me, or I could try to get it myself. I was sure it was close enough to reach. A quick glance toward Matthew, at the way his head dipped forward, suggested he might be asleep
Grabbing the sides of the tub, I slowly pulled myself to a standing position, trying to splash as little as possible. I started to turn toward the soap, and Matthew sat upright, looking over his shoulder.
After a moment, he asked, “Are you finished?”
“No.” I couldn’t decide whether to squat back down and hide myself or just reach for the soap. I did neither, my shift clinging to every curve. The dark look in his eyes confirmed that the thin material hid little. “I forgot the soap.”
He stood and picked it up, moving to within a few feet of me.
The fire had warmed the room, but the wet cloth against my skin began to cool, making my nipples hard. An ache filled my chest and my core, and the thing inside of me demanded attention.
Matthew moved closer with the soap in his hand, and I expected him to hand it to me. Instead, he said in a husky voice, “Sit down, Elena.”
The thing in me rejoiced, and I did as he instructed, although some part of me started to panic.
I sat facing the door this time, my eyes on Matthew as he knelt by the tub.
“I won’t hurt you, Elena,” he whispered as he lowered his hand holding the soap into the water. His knuckles brushed my outer thigh, and my heart began to beat faster.
“I know,” I breathed. And I did. Matthew would end his own life before he’d ever hurt me.
“I won’t do anything you don’t want. I’m just going to wash you, okay?”
I nodded, my eyes still on his.
He picked up my arm and slowly ran the bar of soap up the length of it, stopping at the edge of my sleeveless shift. He then slid it down the inside of my arm to my palm. With his other hand, he massaged my palm, and I held my breath, the magic inside me craving him.
“Close your eyes,” he murmured, and I obeyed because the magic inside me wanted me to.
I leaned my head back as he picked up my other arm, repeating the process—only this time, after he massaged my hand, he brought my fingers to his lips, lightly licking my fingertips.
I released a low moan as something within me tightened.
His mouth moved to my palm, licking and kissing the sensitive skin.
My pulse increased, and his mouth left my hand, and then he was lifting my foot out of the water. The shift clung to my calf. He placed the bar of soap on the top of my foot and inched up until his fingers brushed the edge of the shift. But he pushed the fabric higher, over my extended knee and down my thigh.
My legs were slightly parted, and the shift was split high enough that I was sure he could see my womanhood, but the force inside me didn’t care.
His hand slipped to my inner thigh, and my core tightened and ached even more as his hand slipped over my wet calf and back to my foot. He rested my extended leg on the edge of the tub, then started the process with the other leg, stopping inches from my womanhood and then sliding back to my foot.
“I want to wash your hair,” he said, his voice tight. “I want to feel it in my hands.”
My core ached. “Okay,” I croaked out.
He put my feet back i
nto the tub, then moved behind me and slid me forward, letting my hair fall into the water. Once it was thoroughly wet, he used the soap to work a lather into my hair, then rinsed it in the water.
After he rested my head on the side of the tub, he said, “I’ll be back.”
And then he was gone.
My eyes were still closed, and although the water had begun to cool, my body was a strange mixture of tightly wound and relaxed and loose. A minute or so later, I heard the door open, then footsteps. I started to sit up, but I knew it was Matthew from the essence in his chest—strong and firm.
I felt his lips on mine, barely brushing mine with a gentleness I hadn’t expected, although I wasn’t sure why. His touch had been nothing but gentle until now.
Then his lips were gone and his hands were on my shoulders, sitting me up, then leaning my head back. Warm water washed over my hair and down my back, warming the water in the tub.
“I want to wash the rest of you,” he said.
My eyes flew open. His gaze was on my erect nipples, then lifted to my face, waiting for permission.
I wrestled with the magic inside me, which screamed yes, while the still-sane part of me said no.
“I only want to touch you, Elena. I’ll stop whenever you want.”
That was the problem. I wasn’t sure I’d want to, but I realized there had been a shift in power. The magic in me had been the pursuer, but now it was content to let Matthew take charge—yet I could feel that it was on a tenuous leash. I suspected if I sent him away, it would break free and hunt Matthew down and take what he was so freely giving.
But was he freely giving it?
“You don’t have to do this, Matthew,” I said, “I know Liam—”
He silenced me with a kiss. It was still gentle but more insistent. His tongue found mine, coaxing it to join his.
“Say yes, Elena,” he pleaded against my lips.
“Only touch?” I whispered, and I realized my fingers were twined in his hair, holding him close.
He leaned back to face me, my hands still in his hair. “I swear on my life that tomorrow you will technically be a virgin.”
I flushed, but this time not from embarrassment. The magic inside of me was so close to having what it wanted I wasn’t sure it would let me take back control.
“Touch me,” I said with a slight smile. “Give me what I need.”
He pulled free from my grasp, then reaching into the water, he grabbed both sides of my cut shift and ripped it up the middle, exposing me.
I expected to feel embarrassed, but the awe on his face pushed away any shameful feelings. This was Matthew. My protector. My rock.
He picked up the bar of soap and lathered his hand before reaching in the water. His large hands straddled my hips, his fingers digging in. A low moan escaped my lips as his hands slowly slid up my abdomen, then cupped my breasts. His thumbs brushed over my hard nipples, and a jolt shot through me, the magic in my chest coming to full attention.
“Sex magic,” I said.
“Yes, Elena,” he murmured, one of his hands sliding down, the fingertips stopping on my pubic bone. I resisted the urge to lift my hips.
“Are you frightened?” he asked, studying my face.
“I trust you with my life. I have since I was eight. Why would I stop now?” How could something that felt so right be wrong?
His hand slid down over the crest, finding the nub of nerves.
I gasped and his mouth covered mine as both of his hands worked on two separate places that somehow felt connected. I could feel something tightening inside of me both in my core and in my chest.
Matthew lifted his head. “I’m going to get you out of the tub.”
He stood and grabbed the cloth Finn had brought for me to dry off. Reaching for my hand, he pulled me to a standing position, then slid the shift over my shoulders and let it fall.
I shivered, the front of me cold, but my back warmed by the fire.
Matthew turned me so I faced the fire, patting my arms dry and then my upper legs. He hooked his hands under my arms and lifted me out of the tub, then grabbed the shift Finn had brought in. He held it open, and I realized it tied in the front. He slipped it over my arms and tied the strings under my breasts.
I had a sudden urge to touch him, and I wasn’t sure if it was coming from the thing inside me or just me. I stepped toward him, took a breath, then pressed my palm to his shirt.
“I want to touch you,” I said, sliding my hand slowly over his shoulder to the base of his neck. The contact with his skin intensified my reaction, and a sigh escaped my lips.
He smiled and his eyes darkened.
I moved my hands back down over his rock-solid chest to his waist and tugged his shirt free from his pants.
He caught both my hands easily in his. “Elena . . . Liam thinks it only has to be you.”
Surprise and confusion wrestled for attention. “What does that mean?”
“Dax . . . he and Liam think that you’re the only one who has to . . .”
“Has to what?”
He grinned. “I think it would be better to show you.”
I was still confused how it could only be me, but if it meant I couldn’t take his shirt off, I wasn’t sure I approved. Maybe that was what he meant. That I was the only one who was unclothed.
I tugged on his shirt again, my knuckles raking against his hard abdomen as I lifted it higher. He reached for my hand again, and for a moment I thought he might protest, but instead, he pulled the shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor.
I gaped in wonder at how big his chest and shoulders were. I knew of course, but seeing him naked from the waist up made him even more impressive.
I reached for the waistband of his pants, but he stopped me. “It’s time to show you what I meant.”
He pushed me down on the bed, my legs still over the edge. Then he leaned over me and kissed me. His lips were still gentle, but there was an urgency that hadn’t been there before, and I felt a spark on my skin as his mouth trailed down my neck and to the valley between my breasts. The thing in my chest sent out tendrils throughout my body, and I ached for him to give me something I couldn’t name. But just as the magic in me reached out to Matthew, I could feel his reaching out to me too.
“Elena.” My name was a rasp on his lips.
“Do you feel this, Matthew?” I asked as he kissed his way over the gauzy fabric covering my breast. “Do you feel the magic?”
“Yes.” His tongue flicked my nipple, making me arch my back and moan.
I grabbed his head and lifted his face so I could search his eyes. “No. Real magic.”
He looked into my eyes. “Yes, Elena. I can feel both of us, and the thing in you needs this, so let me give it to you.”
I gave him a tiny smile, and he unfastened the tie under my breasts and slowly lifted the fabric, exposing my breasts to the air.
“By the gods, you are beautiful, Elena.”
He shifted, moving between my spread legs and leaning over to my breasts. His teeth raked over my nipple, and I moaned louder this time.
“I want you,” he murmured against my breast as his hand reached between my legs again. “I want to bury myself inside you,” he said. “But not this time . . .” His words trailed off, and his thumb pressed against the button of nerves. I gasped again, my breath coming in fast pants.
His mouth moved to my other breast, his tongue teasing my nipple until it was a hard peak. Then he kissed his way down my abdomen, settling between my legs. I lifted up on my elbows, about to ask him what he was doing until he showed me—flicking his tongue where his fingers had been—and I released another groan of pleasure.
He placed his hand on my abdomen and pushed me back down, then found my nipple and pinched it.
I gasped again as a pressure began to build in my core, but the thing in my chest was expanding, and I could feel the life force in Matthew reaching toward me through his hand on my breast.
I was t
errified I was going to hurt him, but I was powerless to stop what was happening. The magic had taken control.
I reached for his head, sinking my fingers into his hair and holding tight, needing to hold on to something, because I felt so dangerously close to losing all control.
Matthew continued to push me higher as the magic in me filled my entire chest. I could feel Matthew’s energy in his hand, which was now covering my breast, directly over my heart. A thin barrier separated them now, and my magic was desperate to connect.
Matthew shifted and I gripped his head, frantic that he was about to stop. I was so close, so close . . . to what I had no idea, but my body and the magic both stretched toward it. And then Matthew did something else with his tongue, and it pushed me over the edge. Sensations washed through me in waves, and the magic in me broke through, merging with Matthew’s essence.
My back arched as my body continued to feel wave after wave of pleasure, and the magic pushed into Matthew’s hand, shooting straight for the center of his chest.
My magic was retreating and pulling back into my chest, and it felt stronger, as though something solid had been formed with our merger, yet now that it had finally gotten what it wanted, the magic in me was hungry for more.
Only, I knew Matthew couldn’t give the magic more. He’d already given all he had to give.
I lay still, realizing I’d zoned out, although I had no idea for how long. Matthew was now by my side and had gathered me in his arms, kissing my temple and my cheek.
My eyes fluttered open and I looked up at him, and he stared at me with concern. “Are you okay?”
I took a moment to assess myself. “I’m fine. Are you okay? The thing in me . . . Did it do something to you?”
“I think it woke something in me,” he said.
“Do you think it’s magic?” I asked.
“If Liam’s right, it’s one of the five elements. But we’ll deal with that tomorrow. Now you need sleep.” He kissed my temple again. “Go to sleep, my little flower,” he whispered. “Tomorrow will be a difficult day.”
And then, as though my body had decided it needed to obey him, I drifted off to sleep.
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Heiress of Light: Magic Reborn (Reverse Harem) Page 12