#Chapter 230 – Water

Victor reaches out a hand, snatching me as soon as I come in within his reach and dragging me through the water to him. I laugh as he pulls me against him, delighted at the feeling of being weightless, of being drawn close to him so effortlessly.

Victor tucks a hand behind my back, pulling me against him so that our chests are flush against each other. I wrap my legs around his waist, looping my arms around his neck as he holds me close, his mouth going immediately to my neck and pressing kisses there.

I exhale a long sigh, relishing the feeling of my body against his, of the peace that this pool brought me almost the instant we got here. But still, as my mate’s kisses grow more fervent, traveling up my neck, I push back against him just a little.

“No, wait,” I protest.

“No,” he refuses, shaking his head and returning his attention to my neck. Slowly, he uses the length of his tongue to trace the line of my throat, drawing an eager little shudder from my body. “Now, Evelyn –“

“No!” I say again, laughing, pushing harder against his shoulders, making him look at me. He glares at me now a little, frustrated to be distracted. “Seriously, Victor,” I plead. “We’re still disgusting – we haven’t had a bath in days – can we just take a minute? To clean up?”

“Fine,” he growls. “But it will be a waste, because you’re just going to have to clean up again when I’m finished with you.”

“Good,” I murmur, bringing my face back to his and pressing a long kiss to his lips. I feel his arms tighten around me again as my mouth opens and his tongue slips inside, pressing urgently against mine, letting me know precisely how much he does not care how dirty we are.

“Patience,” I whisper as I pull away, unwrapping my legs from his waist and swimming away from him.

“I never won awards for patience in school,” he grumbles, pushing away from me into the deeper water, almost as if he has to so he won’t grab me again. “Not precisely an Alpha trait.”

“Oh well,” I say, my face all innocence. “Looks like you’ll just have to learn it today.”

I take a deep breath, then, and plunge under the water, relishing the cool press of it on every surface of my body. I let myself sink to the bottom of the pool, running my fingers through my hair, shaking my head to get out all of the dirt and sweat that I know has been accumulating there for days.

God, what I wouldn’t give for even just a tiny bottle of shampoo right now. But, I’ll make do.

As I begin to run out of breath, I reach a hand down to the bottom of the pool, scooping up a handful of the sand that I felt there with my toes. Then I surface, taking in a fresh breath and inspecting the coarse sandy paste in my hand. I smile at it, pleased that – as I suspected – it’s clear, fresh sand like that you’d find at a beach.

Victor asks, frowning

soap,” I say, smiling at him. “Come

going to rub that all over me and scrape my skin

chasing him into the deeper water. “Come on!” I shout. “It’s a

he objects, but he lets me catch him

turning him away from me. “I’ll do your back,

the water hold me up as I use my hands to spread the cool sand over his back and shoulders. As I work, Victor slowly maneuvers us to the far side of the pool, closer to the waterfall where there are more rocks for us to sit on. I smile as I

work, using the sand to rub the dirt

at the sight and feel of his strong, broad muscles. “You’re very good looking, you know,” I continue, an unrelated statement that makes him laugh a little and turn to

that?” he asks as I spread more sand across his chest now, admiring the shape and contour of his pectoral

and see him smile a little,

innocently. “If I’m going to be mated with someone, I don’t want them to be ugly.” I look him up and down then, assessing. “You’ll

slides over his lips. “You liar,”

laughter. “How is that

to the waterfall. “I don’t just ‘do’ – you’re thrilled to be

my voice falsely appalled – “a hottie! He thinks he’s a hottie now,

talking to,” he murmurs then, still laughing, close enough to the falls now that they

so that he feels the words as well as hears them. “And the whole universe, apparently. Didn’t

very suddenly they’re past, and we’re in a secret little cove behind them. “Logically, I must

and staring at me, the humor sliding away from his expression to be replaced with an earnestness he so rarely presents to

and he shakes his head at me,

I tuck my head into its space between his shoulder and his neck, shaking it in denial. “I’m not sad, Victor. I just…I love you so incredibly much. And I’m so grateful that we found each other. And I never want to let

it, in the bond between us, that he

eyes then, breathing evenly, wanting nothing more than to stay in this moment with my mate, to feel his body against mine, to simply breathe here in the darkness. And Victor’s breath

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