His heart thudded with pathetic hope. “When will that be?”
“In about a week.”
He offered her a smile. “That’s more than two days.”
“So, it is.” To his relief, she advanced farther into the room, pausing by the chair with his clothing. She glanced at the garments.
“Um—if you’d toss me a towel, I’ll get out of the pool,” he said.
“Or I could join you.”
Heat spiraled, lighting up nerve endings. “Can you do that?” he asked hoarsely. “I thought dragons avoided water. It won’t put out your fyre, will it?”
She laughed, a girlish sound filled with such lightness and joy, he fell for her all over again. “Our fyre is a manifestation, not a real flame. Dragons don’t immerse themselves because they are hydrophobic, but there’s no danger. On Earth long ago, I had no choice but to bathe in rivers, and I came to enjoy it.”
She undid the shoulder fastening, and then her gown puddled at her feet. The light and his gaze gravitated toward her and caressed her smooth, pale skin. She had rose-tipped smallish breasts and a narrow waist flaring out to mature hips. She reminded him of the Madonna, womanly but holy. Temptation did indeed pave the road to hell.
She slipped into the water with a small splash.
He was so fucking done for. It killed him, but he had to give her one last chance to leave. To save them both. “Are you sure about this?”
“This is the only thing I am sure of.”
“It will end.” A horrible, hopeful part of him ached for her to contradict him, tell him they would make it work, because god or fyre or pixie in the sky help him, how would he let her go again?
“Yes. It has to.”
“Parting will be painful.” Was he reading too much into her visit? Maybe she didn’t feel as strongly for him as he did for her. But if he was a diversion, a way for her to kill time until the temple was ready, he wanted her anyway.
“Pain can’t be avoided—so why not grab joy and pleasure whenever we find it?” She slid her palms up his chest and pressed her lips to his.
He groaned and pulled her hard against him, letting her feel the effect she had on him. He kissed her with awareness this hello would end in a forever goodbye. He drowned in the feel, scent, and taste of her, warm cinnamon and a heady exotic spice. Their tongues mated and caressed. He roamed his hands over her shoulders and spine and lower, to cup her ass and haul her closer. She moaned, and his blood turned molten. Time would race on, but he refused to rush this. If he could, he would slow time to a standstill. “How about we swim?” he suggested.
“I don’t know how.”
“I can swim for both of us. Okay if I turn up the lights?” He wanted to see her better.
“How’s this?” She stepped back and raised her palms. Like fireworks, lights shot from her palms into the air to form tiny floating, glowing flames.
Yet…another reminder of what she was, the inappropriateness of this assignation. Fuck it. He didn’t care. If he got fried to a crisp, he didn’t care.
Her gaze turned hesitant as if she feared she’d gone too far. She was the most powerful dragon in the world, possibly the most powerful being in the galaxy, and her vulnerable expression slew him.
“Perfect. Like you.” He pressed a soft kiss to her mouth and then wound the rope of her hair around her waist and secured the end in the coils.
“Why did you do that?”
“Safety.” Her braid was strong and long enough to secure a boat to dock—but it could also get sucked into the pool drain. If there was one. Draconian tech continued to impress him, but better safe than sorry.
The water lapping at his waist covered her breasts. “The pool is an even depth. If you need to, you can stand up at any time.” He flashed a grin. “But you won’t need to. Just hold onto me.”
“Like this?” She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her abdomen pressed against his erection, her soft breasts against his chest.
“Hang on. Here we go.” He secured an arm around her waist and then pushed into the water onto his back, O’ne lying atop him. When she was settled, he used both arms to propel them through the water.
“This is almost like soaring through the air!” she exclaimed. “Can all humans swim?”
“Most can to some degree.” His lips twitched at the awe in her voice, and then he teased, “Can all dragons fly?”
Her expression was solemn. “Oh yes!”
He kept his strokes firm but slow and steady. “How soon after birth do they fly?”
“Four or five years. They’re born in demiforma and have to learn to shift first.”
He laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s a challenge for a human parent to corral a toddler who has learned to walk. They get into everything. I can imagine trying to control a baby dragon flying around.”
She giggled. “Yes. It’s a challenge.” Then she sobered, amber eyes clouding. “I never got to see my daughter fly.”
They reached the end of the pool. He held her tight and rolled onto his feet, pulling her into an embrace. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to trigger bad memories.”
“You didn’t.” She lifted her shoulders. “I am grateful you have given me an opportunity to speak about her. I haven’t been able to do that with anybody.” Her lips curved into a sad smile. “I assume she could fly. She wasn’t old enough for me to know. She was born in demiforma, but her features were softened. She didn’t have much of a neck frill, and her snout was very short. Wings
