Magnus broke off, the words he’d been about to say choking in his throat. Nadine was through the tunnel, and she’d already stripped off not only her coat and snow pants but was halfway to removing her undershirts, exposing the creamy brown flesh of her belly, along with sweeping, black ribbons of inked skin.
Magnus’s pulse quickened. His eyes went straight to her covered breasts as she peeled off her shirts and dropped them to the ground with a thump. She’d undone her hair, and those wild curls spilled out around her, framing her lovely breasts like a crown. He blinked, all awareness gone except for what was happening right in front of him. When her hands moved to undo the lacing of her pants, Magnus’s voice came out in a rasp. “Umm . . . Nadine?”
She didn’t pause, simply stripped the pants down to her ankles, then gingerly stepped out of them and toed them aside. She stood in nothing but her underthings. A surge of lust bolted through Magnus. His eyes snapped up the long, glorious length of her, before meeting her own gaze, which was filled with something dangerous.
“Is this a trap?” he blurted.
Nadine narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. She was holding in a laugh. The effect gave her a shrewd, feline look that spoke to the maleness in him. Feminine mischief. When she reached back to untie the bandeau that bound her breasts together, Magnus was sure of it.
“Because don’t mistake me,” he added, “I’m about to walk right into it.”
Nadine let the bandeau fall to the ground, and Magnus’s blood went hotter than the steaming water as her full breasts stretched and pulled free.
“Stop babbling, barbarian, and join me if you mean to.” He didn’t meet her eyes when she spoke.
Magnus hadn’t meant to bathe with her, but that was only because he’d never in a thousand years imagined she would invite him to.
Now all he could think about was ripping his clothes off fast enough to be naked in the water with her. To be anywhere naked with her. Or really just to have Nadine naked. The state of his dress was an afterthought. These were her terms, however, so Magnus yanked at his clothes so quickly he ripped a few stitches in his haste. All the while, he never took his eyes off his bride as she peeled off the last of her underthings.
When she slid into the water, Magnus didn’t try to hide his whine of disappointment. He threw off the last of his clothes and dismissed the inclination to stand at the edge and let her have her fill of his naked body. He’d already done as much long ago and, in all honesty, how could she have forgotten? He splashed into the pool next to her, sending water in all directions.
“Shuraa ket! There’ll not be any water left if you jump in like that again.”
Magnus grinned and dunked himself, only to come back up and shake his long mane out, laughing when she sputtered. When he stilled, he could see she wasn’t angry, not even close. In fact, this was the happiest he’d ever seen her.
In the blue light of the cave, the droplets on her shoulders glowed. The water darkened and flattened her hair, which clung to the edges of her face and around her shoulders, giving her a sensual look, especially with the one lock hooked around the swell of that overfull bottom lip. He couldn’t help himself. Magnus reached forward and plucked it off her chin. That beautiful chin with the dimple in it. Her lips parted as his eyes traveled down her long slender neck and landed on her tanshi mark, half-covered by the waterline. It was healing well. Even the scabs were mostly gone.
He met her gaze and grinned. “So? What do you think? Can I keep my hair?”
Nadine huffed and reached forward. She gathered up his wet locks with nimble hands, a sultry smile on her lips. He shuddered as she rolled them between her thumbs and fingers, then ran the pads up to the spot just behind his ears. She gave a gentle tug, and the sensation made his eyes roll back in his head.
“I like your hair. But I would’ve cut it off myself if I hadn’t been pleased.”
Magnus could barely breathe. It was like the water was too hot, or she was too close. He wouldn’t leave this spring and neither would she. Not until this thing between them had played out. His body was afire. For this moment, his guilt, his fear, his mission—everything Magnus had thought mattered to him, was forgotten. For now there was only Nadine. He was simply a hatu winning his hamma.
Nadine ran her fingers back down those strands of hair and this time flattened her hands against his shoulders to rub her palms in the flat of his chest, just avoiding his own healing tanshi mark. His skin tightened. Could she feel his heart racing? They met each other’s eyes before his gaze fell on her lips. He slid a hand around the small of her back and dipped his head low to taste her.
Her hands on his chest grew taut, her fingertips pressing into his muscles. She angled her head away, just missing his mouth. Magnus recoiled automatically. His hand remained at her back, but it softened, allowing her to slip away if she chose. His brows drew together, and he cocked his head to the side. What was the problem?
Nadine drew a deep breath and sighed. Looking up at him, she dropped her hands from his chest and took a steady step out of his grip. The water swayed around her, rippling toward the rocky surface. As she waded away, she spoke. “You know that kiss last night was just for show, right?”
Magnus stared at her as his body reeled with confusion that morphed into a sudden frustration. “Show? If you meant to show me you wanted me, kandiri, I got the message loud and clear.”
Nadine rolled her eyes. “You know whose benefit it was for.”
Of course he did. And it infuriated him. His first kiss with his bride had been meant to raise the ire of another man. At the time Magnus had been too surprised, his blood too heated with lingering battle lust to be anything but aroused by the gesture. But afterward?
Magnus drew a breath and reminded himself that getting angry wouldn’t serve him. It would only distance his bride. At least one thing was certain: Nadine had begun this mission skipping hand in hand with Samar. Now the two were at each other’s throats more often than not. At this very moment, Magnus and Nadine were naked together while Samar was sitting back at camp with his tail between his legs. It was a start.
Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?
Magnus forced himself to smile. “Anytime you want to kiss me for the benefit of your second, I’m at your service.”
Nadine smiled at the hunger in his eyes. If he tried to grab her again, she’d leave him with more than injured pride for his efforts. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t reveling in it. The attention. The desire. The need.
Magnus put his hands together and sliced through the rippling water like a shark drawn out by blood. He reached for her, but instead of grabbing her as she expected, he ran the back of his knuckles along the outside of her left shoulder. “This would be a good place.”
Nadine skin tightened where he touched her. She was careful to swallow before she answered, lest her voice come out hoarse. “For what?”
“For you to mark yourself. You felled the scatta.”
Nadine scoffed. “If I marked myself for every victory as you savages do, I’d fast run out of room.”
Magnus wiggled his brows. “Of that I have no doubt. But only because you’re so small.”
Nadine flicked away his fingers, which still glided lazily up and down her arm. “Perhaps the reason you barbarians need to mark yourselves is because you do so little bleeding on the battlefield.”