His eyes narrow. “There isn’t.”
“But what if there is?” I counter, knowing I should probably shut up, but it’s too much fun to annoy him.
He sighs deeply and looks at the spring again. “Stay here,” he orders, then sets his morning star to the side. I watch as Grimus steps down into the pool, armor and all, the water rushing around his hooves before he eases farther in. It’s deeper than I expected, the water coming up to his chest, and he’s far taller than I am. Once inside the pool, he stands there expectantly, as if waiting for something to jump out and attack. When nothing does, he spins and waits again. “Seems pretty safe.”
I set the clothing Nero gave me off to the side and note as Grimus follows the movement, his eyes catching on the bundle. When I take a seat on the edge of the water and drop my legs in, his gaze flicks back to me.
“Thank you for checking,” I say gratefully. I haven’t been alone much since I crossed into the Dead Lands, and I have to say I’m starting to distrust any dark places.
He snorts. “Should I send Nero in to tend to your needs?” he asks, and while the words are a question, there’s bitterness hiding beneath his tone.
Frowning, I slide into the water completely, still dressed in my gown. It comes up to my shoulders before my toes touch a roughly carved bottom, smooth enough to keep from hurting my feet. The water is warm, hot almost, and feels amazing on my aching muscles, but instead of lingering, I swim over to Grimus.
“Should I not have accepted his deal?” I ask seriously, looking up into his eyes.
His eyes soften. “You’re doing what you must to survive.”
“But we’re a team now, aren’t we? I should have asked.”
Something shifts in his eyes. “We’re not a team.” The words hurt when he says them, but I try not to let that hurt show. “Nero took nothing from you but your company. I demanded your magic. We are not the same.” That admission dances in the air between us.
“Grimus,” I murmur, moving closer. “I do not judge you. I’m thankful you ever agreed to help in the first place. I’d be dead many times over if not for you.”
He grunts, his form of deflection, and I place my hands on his biceps, where he keeps them crossed.
“I mean it. You’ve helped me far more than I expected. You’ve kept me fed. You’ve protected me. You made me slippers for my feet. None of that was part of the deal.” When his eyes soften, I run my hands up his biceps to his shoulders, then circle his neck. I have to lift myself in the water to be closer to his face. “I’m not comparing you to Nero.”
“You should be,” he admits softly. “We’re all monsters. You should fear us.”
“And yet I don’t.” I twine my hand into the hair at the base of his skull, tempted to reach up and grab one of his horns, but that feels intimate and I’m not sure how he’d feel about that. I should back away and let him leave, but I can’t. I won’t. All my life, I have been denied everything I ever wanted or needed, and I refuse to back down now. I could die tomorrow, and I refuse to die a coward. “Ever since the first moment I laid eyes on you, I’ve wanted you, Grimus.”
He blinks down at me in surprise, his nostrils flaring wide, his nose ring glinting in the candlelight. “Little human,” he warns, but his large hands come to rest on my waist, helping me stay up in the water.
“I still owe you a taste of my magic,” I point out, leaning in closer.
His eyes drop to my lips. “I’m not calling in the deal yet.”
My body presses against him in the water, the thin slip barely any barrier at all between us. He sucks in a breath at the feeling of my breasts against him as my nipples pebble.
“Maybe I want a taste,” I whisper, looking up at him through my lashes.
His breathing speeds up, his fingers clenching my sides. “You don’t owe me this, Cora. I won’t force you.”
The sound of my name on his lips makes me throb beneath the water. Carefully, I wrap my legs around his waist, and his hands immediately go to my ass to hold me up. Despite his words, I feel his throbbing cock between us, pressing against me, begging for attention. He’s massive, far bigger than anything I’ve ever had, and my mouth waters at the thought.
My whole body lights up, aching to taste the wildness, the unknown.
“I want you, Grimus,” I murmur. “I want you so badly.” I press my mouth against the corded muscles of his neck, tasting his skin, even as the heat of the spring rises around us.
It’s the truth—I want him, and I refuse to be ashamed of that. I refuse to spend one more night denying myself because of what others think. There is no one here but us. Fuck the humans, fuck the other monsters.
Better yet, I’ll fuck all the monsters, because why the hell not?
He groans in pleasure, his hands squeezing me tightly. “You’re entering a point of no return, little human.”
I grind against him and nip his neck. “Did it bother you to see Nero with me?” I ask.
His fingers squeeze my ass almost to the point of pain. “You speak his name while you’re in my arms?”
