34. Jasmine

34

JASMINE

A s Julian explained, the exercises were designed to build strength without putting too much strain on Ell-rom's recovering body, and Jasmine memorized them as best she could so she could continue the therapy with Ell-rom later.

As Ell-rom's eyes kept shifting to her and roaming hungrily over her body, she preened under his attention, feeling a boost of confidence. But then she remembered he'd never seen a woman so scantily clad before, so of course he was excited. In many ways, Ell-rom was like a boy experiencing these feelings for the first time, but knowing how much he hated that comparison, she wasn't going to give voice to her thoughts.

It took a while for her prince to give his undivided attention to Julian instead of sneaking peeks at her, but as the exercises demanded more and more of his focus and effort, his covert glances became less and less frequent.

"Do ten repetitions of this exercise," Julian told Ell-rom. "Then rest for a few breaths and repeat it. You should do three rounds of each exercise for a total of thirty repetitions for each."

When Ell-rom proceeded to do as instructed, Julian turned around and waded over to where Jasmine was sitting. "Do you think you will be able to guide him through it if he forgets?"

Jasmine nodded. "I memorized all the exercises."

"Good." Julian put his hands on the edge of the pool and, in one powerful move, jumped out of the water, splashing droplets over Jasmine.

"Show-off." She laughed, grabbing a towel.

"You need to get in the pool," he told her as he took the towel from her hands. "Keep a close watch on Ell-rom."

Jasmine stifled a smile. "I will."

"I'll be back in half an hour to help him get out of the pool. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He winked.

"Oh, yeah? And what wouldn't you do if Ella was here?"

"Good point. Then don't do what I would have done." He wrapped the towel around his shoulders, picked up the coat he had discarded before entering the pool, and walked out.

Jasmine got into the water and stood next to where Ell-rom was doing his leg lifts.

He stopped, his eyes roaming over her again. "It is difficult to concentrate on the exercises with you looking like that."

"You seemed to be doing well up until now. Julian is really good at what he does, isn't he?" She hoped to distract Ell-rom from his obvious fascination with her body. "The exercises he has shown you are excellent for building your strength without putting too much strain on your muscles."

To her surprise, Ell-rom's expression darkened. The light that had been in his eyes moments ago dimmed and was replaced by something that looked almost like resentment.

"What's wrong?" Jasmine moved closer to him.

Ell-rom dropped his gaze to the rippling surface of the pool. "It's not important," he muttered.

"Hey," Jasmine said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "Talk to me."

He shook his head. "I'm ashamed to admit that I find myself jealous of Julian's healthy looks."

"Ell-rom." Jasmine lifted her hands and cupped his face, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "When you're back to yourself again, you'll be even more handsome than Julian. You're half-god and a royal, after all. As I think you can tell, I find you very attractive as you are. But I also have no doubt you'll be absolutely stunning when you're fully recovered."

The words weren't just platitudes to make him feel better. Even in his weakened state, Ell-rom was beautiful in the way of the gods—a perfection that was nearly impossible to look away from.

Her words seemed to have the desired effect, and a spark reignited in Ell-rom's eyes. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her, which was made possible by the buoyancy of the water, and held her against his chest.

With her feet dangling above the pool's floor, she had no choice but to lift them and wrap them around his hips. His swim trunks and her bikini bottoms were not much of a barrier, and feeling his hard length pressing against her soft core was delightful.

The glow in his eyes intensified. "Jasmine," he breathed as he put his hands under her bottom to support her.

"Yes?"

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Still cupping his cheeks, she leaned in. "Kiss me."

The look in Ell-rom's eyes shifted from insecurity to something darker, more intense, and then his lips were on hers, kissing her with a fervor that threatened to turn the pool's water to steam.

She responded in kind, her hands wrapping around his neck as she deepened the kiss.

With her clinging to him like a monkey, Ell-rom could support her weight with one hand, and he used the other to explore. As he traced the curves of her body with newfound confidence, cupping her breast, Jasmine arched into his touch, a soft moan escaping her lips.

She knew that they should stop and that this wasn't the time or place, but it was so hard to think clearly when Ell-rom was holding her like this, kissing her like she was the air he needed to breathe.

Desperate for friction, she started rubbing her core against his erection, moving herself up and down with the muscles of her thighs.

Ell-rom pushed one of the bikini top cups aside and teased her nipple in sync with her rubbing motion below.

As things were starting to get truly heated, the sound of the double doors swinging open jolted them back to reality. They sprang apart just as Julian's footsteps sounded on the tiled floor of the pool deck.

"Hello," he called out, seemingly oblivious to what he had walked in on. "Time to wrap it up. We need to get Ell-rom back to the clinic to get showered, eat lunch, and rest before the Clan Mother's visit."

Ell-rom looked at her, his eyes still glowing and his fangs still a little elongated but retracting. "I need a moment," he whispered, but her earpieces had no trouble picking it up.

Thinking quickly, she turned to Julian. "Before we get out, I have a few questions about the physical therapy regimen," she said, her voice a touch too bright. "I was wondering about the long-term goals and how we might be able to continue some of these exercises outside of the pool. I took Pilates back in the day, and it's done lying down. I think it could be very beneficial to Ell-rom. Is there a chance we can get a Pilates reformer in here?"

As Ell-rom shot her a grateful look, Jasmine kept Julian engaged in conversation for a few minutes, giving him time to compose himself.

"A Pilates exercise machine is a great idea, especially since Morelle will have to go through rehabilitation. I'll discuss it with my mother. How long have you been practicing Pilates?"

"Oh, not long. Just a few weeks. It was too pricy for my budget."

Jasmine had a feeling that Julian was perfectly aware of what she was doing and was cooperating with her.

He really was an awesome guy, and Ella was a lucky girl for having him. They would have beautiful babies one day.

"I'm okay," Ell-rom whispered.

She smiled. 'Let's get you out of here before you turn into a prune."

He frowned. "A fruit?"

She chuckled. "It's just another expression that the teardrop can't translate."

"Oh." He held on to her hand as she led him to the pool steps, where Julian was waiting.

"Don't get out yet," she said as she rushed out and grabbed his discarded robe from the floor. "We don't want you to catch a cold." She wrapped it around his shoulders.

"Thank you," he murmured, his voice low enough that only she could hear.

Jasmine offered him a warm smile. "Any time," she replied, giving his hand a quick squeeze.

Julian chuckled. "Just a reminder, Ell-rom can't catch a cold."

"I'm not sure about that." She wrapped her arm around Ell-rom's middle and helped him up the first step. "Maybe the miraculous healing ability is also diminished after seven thousand years in stasis. Human viruses can be deadly to an alien."

Julian stepped forward to help Ell-rom up the rest of the steps. "The healing ability is part of our DNA. It's not something that comes and goes."

"Oh, well. Good to know."

As they made their way back to the clinic, Jasmine thought about how far they'd come in such a short time. Just days ago, Ell-rom had been unconscious, barely clinging to life, and now he was walking, albeit with assistance, engaging in physical therapy, and, well, engaging in other activities as well.

The thought brought a smile to her lips. The road to full recovery was still long, and he had yet to face the complexities of integrating into a new world, but moments like the one they'd shared in the pool were the best proof that things were heading in the right direction.