Ezra nodded. “I’m not going anywhere. Just practice your magick and breathe, baby. You’ve got this.”
I had this. I so had this.
Turned out, I had about five more minutes ofnothaving it left in me. But with Ezra’s voice in my head and his shoulder under my cheek, I was able to hold on through the worst of it and find my center again. It really wasn’tthatbad. I was coming to realize that my nightmares had twisted and warped my memory of the water into something it wasn’t.
I didn’t want to dunk my head under anytime soon, but I knew it was time to face this fear and start working toward that eventual step. To prove to myself that I was in control, I practiced my power over water. I created waves and a playful whirlpool that spun Ezra and me around like we were in a dance. I made bubbles and concentrated until I thought my brain would melt—they eventually froze like I wanted them to and then melted again when I released the magick.
It was all very peaceful andfun.The voice came at the first hint of my joy.
She wasn’t terrifying like in my nightmares or as loud and unrestricted like the night I changed. It was more of a whisper. I froze, listening but wary. The ocean called to me, Her song filled with curiosity and longing. She sang of safety, a haunting melody that spoke not of fear, but hope. The message warred against the anxiety riddling my body. After a few minutes of feeling like Iwas being torn in two, the voice faded, and I was once again left alone with the faint sound of the far-off surf.
The constant back and forth between fight and flight zapped at my energy, and I shivered in the water that was once again starting to feel cold.
“That’s enough time,” Ezra declared, walking us to the side of the pool where two dark towels were laid out. When the fuck had he done that? “It's past fifteen minutes, and I think you’ve more than earned that reward.”
My stomach dipped at the way he said reward, but I managed to glare at him anyway. “Good, I’m freezing.”
He licked his bottom lip and ran his hands in a silky caress from my lower back to my ass. “Let me make it all better.”
“You should. It’s your fucking fault we’re in here anyway.”
“Gods, the mouth on you.” His chuckle wasn’t a good enough warning.
It was hardly an effort for him to lift me out of the water and set me on the side of the pool. The soft towel made a comfortable seat as my legs dangled wide on either side of his chest. Cool air met my hot center, barely covered by my bikini bottoms. Of course, his gaze immediately dropped, and I blushed at the intense stare.
Had he never seen a vagina before? Why was he looking at it like that? And why was it hot?
When I moved to cover myself, Ezra caught my hands and trapped them against the top of my thighs.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, legs tensing under my palms.
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
Oh God. The mimicked response wasn’t lost on me; I knew exactly what he had planned. Especially when he sank in the water and brought his head level with my knees. Payback wasonly fair… except… I’d never let anyone do this to me before. It always seemed too intimate, too vulnerable. And I was right.
The soft kiss on my inner knee caught me off guard as it tickled and raised goosebumps on my damp skin. Higher and higher he went, ignoring my impatient wiggles until he reached the apex of my thighs. His hot breath brushed my center a second before his mouth made contact. Right on top of the bright nylon. Already wet, his warm mouth was an instant shock, and… was that his tongue?
Fuck.
He licked me over my bathing suit, applying just enough pressure to make sure I’d feel him. And holy fucking shit did I feel him. My legs instinctively closed against the foreign pleasure, but his shoulders didn’t allow them to get very far. Tongue still making lazy passes along my heat, Ezra's hands went on the move.
Fingers plucked at the ties of my bottoms, expertly undoing the knots. With no more resistance, he pulled them away and laid me bare. Fully exposed. There was nothing between me and his mouth when he finally brushed against me. It was a gentle graze, not nearly as deep as he’d gone before, but he groaned anyway and rested his head against my thigh.
I felt his soft breaths on my nowveryhyper-aware skin, but nothing else. I’d fallen completely flat at the first several passes and now propped myself on an elbow to see what the hell he was doing. Nothing. He was just… staring.
“Can’t you close your eyes when you do that?” I snapped, embarrassed to be studied so intently.
He finally dragged himself away long enough to look at me with an innocent smirk. “It's not like I haven’t seen one before.”
“But you haven’t seen mine, and you're so… close.”
His eyebrows rose, and his mouth curved into a smile. “You haven’t done this before, have you?”
“Shut up!” I glared and deliberately lay back down, waving a hand so I didn’t confirm my inexperience. “Carry on.”
A sharp pinch on my inner thigh made me squeal, and my head snapped up. I opened my mouth, ready to cut into him, but the molten gaze he leveled at me made all my thoughts shrivel up. I swallowed at the absolute satisfaction gleaming in his eyes.
“I’m honored, Rani. Truly.” His tongue slid right over me, reaching in just enough to flick my clit.
