Page 26 of A Kiss of Flame

It was like a bucket of cold water thrown over his head. Barith tore his gaze from her arse even though it pained him to do it. She was a clever creature and knew him well. Knew his weak points. There’d always been a respectful boundary between them, even when they’d pulled similar stunts in the past. They’d flirt and push each other but never crossed that boundary. Their bet was to push the other to do exactly that. He knew they were playing with fire, but he was determined to win.

Emboldened, Barith moved past her, swimming to the center of the pool. “You’ve got to do better than a fine bit of cloth, magick slinger,” he challenged.

Levian shrugged a wee shoulder and smirked. “Says the dragon swimming away.”

Barith bit back a curse and dunked his head beneath the waters. It didn’t matter how fine and tempting she looked, it was just a game, and he needed to keep it together. He surfaced and found himself nearly face to face with a pretty little watery profile. The naiad smiled at him, her blue eyes glowing.

“You should join us,” she offered, her voice liquid and fine. The creature didn’t give him a chance to reply before she giggled and dipped below the surface to swim away back to her sisters.

“You should,” Levian told him, her tone tart once more. “If you want.”

He found footing in the deep waters and dipped closer to the mage. “Should I?” he questioned.

The naiads giggled behind him, but he kept his eyes on Levian. There was a time when the watery nymphs might’ve tempted him, but at that moment, the only thing he was tempted by was the woman with the sour expression standing before him.

“Ye a wee bit jealous, darling?” Barith asked, moving closer. Water sluiced down his front when he stood up fully, splashing lightly over the mage.

Levian scowled at him and recoiled at the water, but it fell flat as he caught her taking in his damp body. “Why would I be jealous?” she snapped half-heartedly, her eyes still on his chest when she spoke.

He felt a rush of triumph. “Maybe I’m the one who’s jealous,” he said, leaning down so that he dripped over her shoulder. “Jealous that everyone else here gets to look at ye in that—-” He didn’t know what word to say, so he merely growled low and dark.

Levian tilted her head to him, her eyes flashing violet and her cheeks flushing with color. Barith relished the rare blush and the fact that he’d drawn it out. “Or maybe they’re all jealous of me,” he grumbled so only she could hear.

The mage composed herself in a blink, rolling her eyes. She smirked, “They haven’t seen your wings yet. We’ll see who’s jealous then.” She slid past him and swam along the surface, carefully keeping her hair out of the water. Barith caught all three fae and one of the witch’s companions watching her as she swam. With a smirk of his own, he followed right behind her.

They swam near the pool’s center until the water was deep enough that Levian couldn’t stand, and he dove under. The mage’s fine, long legs worked to keep her above the surface, and he enjoyed knowing she wouldn’t dive down to join him. He tickled at her feet, and she kicked him off. He chuckled to himself. When he tried to do it again, her fingers lit violet beneath the surface, and she shot a rather lazy burst of magick at him. He did enjoy annoying her when he got the chance.

Two of the naiads swam past the mage beneath the water and came to either side of him. They smiled and waved at him, their ethereal naked forms in their natural element. One took his arm, and the other nudged his shoulder, urging him to come with them. He smiled back and shook his head, pointing to Levian and, to his surprise, his heart.

Their faces filled with disappointment, but they sighed their understanding before they each brushed a soft kiss on either of his cheeks and swam away. As Barith watched them go, he found himself amused rather than disappointed at missing the opportunity to enjoy the company of three water nymphs. His gaze tracked back up to Levian’s long legs, swishing about as if she were waiting for him to try something else. Her fingers were already illuminated with a small magickal charge.

He found a spot near her high enough to stand and popped up.

“I was beginning to think you’d drowned,” Levian grumbled at him.

Barith chuckled and whipped his damp hair back out of his eyes. “Not so lucky,” he told her. “Come here.”

She eyed him cautiously. “Why?” she questioned.

“Cause I can stand, and ye can’t,” he pointed out. He stood with the water only up to the top of his chest. Barith held out his arm for her.

Levian grumbled but took it, using him as a float. Barith pulled her in closer. “Grab my shoulders,” he told her. He was surprised she had no sharp retort but did as he told her. Barith took hold of her waist and moved her so that she faced him, careful not to pull her too close. She braced her hands on each of his shoulders.

“Is this for show or an attempt to win?” she snarked, looking up into his face.

He smirked. “Neither, but ye don’t have to believe me.”

She huffed and rolled her eyes, clearly not believing him at all. Barith let his tail swish beneath the water and enjoyed the moment of serenity. He looked up to the enchanted sky, which grew nearly dark, and stars shimmered above. “There’s a pond like this on the island,” he told her. “I used to swim there everysummer as a boy. It was the only time it was warmer than the sea.”

Levian let out a contented sigh, her fingers digging mindlessly into his shoulders. “I didn’t swim in the sea until I was nearly grown,” she admitted. “My mother did take me to a spring when I was a girl, though. It was smaller than this and always deathly cold but lush in the summer heat. I’d play until my teeth chattered, and she’d have to sit me by the fire for hours to warm up. I even snuck out a time or two without her and would come home with a frozen nose and frozen toes.”

“I imagine Trislana loved that. You sneaking off without her knowing,” he replied, holding her waist with his thumbs and locking his other fingers together at her back.

Levian closed her eyes and smiled softly, lost in memory. “She said it was laughable compared to the other stunts I’d pulled. Car and I got into plenty of trouble as children in Obsidian.”

“Aye, that I believe. And I’m sure it was nothing compared to when you nearly burned down that Italian port,” Barith teased, referencing the time she accidentally set a fleet of ships ablaze in her youth.

“That was—” Levian’s voice hollowed, and she stiffened.