Chapter 44

44

Arya came to slowly, cocooned in warmth and gently rocked by the movement of the ship. She burrowed deeper into the covers, but memories of the fort barreled through her mind almost immediately. A sigh escaped. Priya was dead. She could no longer torment Jai or hurt anyone else.

The thought of Jai pulled her eyes open. It was only then that she realized she felt no pain from her injuries. She rolled onto her back and felt something move against her skin. She pushed the blankets away and sat up. Giant leaves covered each of her wounds.

Some mud seeping out from under the leaves had dried, caking onto her skin. Arya gently peeled back one of the leaves on her knee and smoothed away the mud with it. The injury was gone, the skin pink from healing.

Curious , she dabbed some mud with her finger and brought it to her nose. One whiff had her gagging at the rotting stench. She jerked her head back while yanking her hand away and wiped the offensive sludge from her finger on a leaf, looking around for something to clean up with. That’s when she got a look at the room.

The furnishings were well-appointed and lavish: the desk, the shelving, the rugs, and even the bed. She rose and removed all the leaves and as much mud as she could. Then she tugged a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself since she couldn’t find her clothes. She glanced out the windows behind the desk and saw it was daytime, but the ship wasn’t moving. Where was Jai ?

Arya needed to get the smell of the mud off her before it became embedded in her skin. She also wanted to check on everyone. But she really needed to speak to Jai . She took a step toward the door when it cracked open, and Yasmin peeked inside.

“ You’re awake,” the woman said with a wide smile. “ May I come in?”

Arya motioned her inside. “ Please . Tell me what’s going on. What are the leaves?”

“ That is courtesy of the Sea Elves ,” Yasmin explained as she stepped into the room and closed the door. “ They came on board not long after we arrived and said very little as they went to each of us to spread the mud on our wounds before wrapping the leaves around them.”

“ I had no idea they had anything that could heal like that.”

“ Neither did Ravi , Dain , or Jai .” Yasmin’s smile dropped. “ I’m glad they came. You were in bad shape.”

Arya smiled reassuringly at Yasmin . “ Then I owe the Sea Elves a debt. Are they still on board?”

“ According to Dain , they left the moment he woke. He was the first of us. That was also strange. We all slept after they tended to us.”

“ We were in battle and swam quite a distance.”

Yasmin’s lips twisted. “ True . Anyway , they sailed the ship away from the cave. When Dain woke, the three Sea Elves on board dove into the water without a word.”

“ How odd.”

“ I can catch you up on the rest later. I dug around in some of the quarters and found some clothing. I’ll go get it for you. I’m guessing you’d like a bath?” she asked with a grin.

Arya almost moaned at the thought of sliding into a hot bath. “ That would be lovely.”

“ I understand. I couldn’t wait to get the mud off. Wait until you see the tub.”

Arya caught Yasmin before she reached for the door. “ And Jai ? Where is he?”

“ Seeing to a few things on the ship. He’s walked the entire breadth and width of it four times already. We anchored so he could bathe. He chose the ocean so you could have the heated water,” Yasmin told her.

Arya walked around the desk to the windows after her friend left. She looked out at the expanse of blue stretching behind them. Sunlight glinted off the water, making her squint despite being inside. She couldn’t stand to look up and see where the sun was. All she knew was that it was daytime.

It wasn’t long before Dain carted a black oval tub into the chambers. Behind him was Ravi , a bucket of heated water in each hand.

“ About time you woke,” Ravi teased after dumping the water into the tub. “ You’ve been out for nearly an entire day.”

Arya was startled to hear that. She looked at Dain .

“ Get cleaned up. We’ll talk later,” he said.

It took the men several trips to fill the tub. Yasmin returned with clothes, along with food. Then Arya was alone. She scrubbed at more of the mud with the sheet, getting as much off as she could. Then she stepped into the water.

She sat, letting the warmth ease her tense muscles. But her mind kept going over everything that’d happened at the fort. She wanted to know what the others had experienced, and she couldn’t do that in a tub. Arya scrubbed her body and hair. Whatever remnants of mud remained came away easily. The same couldn’t be said for the fort. Its particular stench seemed to have sunk into her skin and bones, where it would remain. Always . Just like Shaldorn .

When she emerged from the tub and dried off, Arya felt like a new woman. She dressed in clothes that belonged to Priya or one of the other elves she had battled. It felt weird to adorn her body with their garments, but they would have to do for now.

She then sat at the table and combed out her tangle of wet hair. When she emerged from the cabin, the sun was sinking into the horizon. Dusk’s shadows allowed her to see easier as she stepped onto the deck. She headed to the railing and gazed out at the vast water stretching endlessly from one side to the other. It was difficult to tell where the sky ended and the sea began.

She looked down into a deep, fathomless blue. The home of the Sea Elves . There were all kinds of stories from the Sea Elves about what was beneath the surface. Only a few walked among the other races, and even when they did venture onto land, they were never far from water.

Arya looked over her shoulder toward the coastline. They were close enough to see land but far enough away to keep them safe. None of what she saw looked familiar. Not that it would. The only elves who would recognize this stretch of coast were the Sea Elves .

Voices drew Arya’s attention toward the helm, where Ravi and Yasmin were talking and smiling. She scanned the ship for Dain . She finally found him perched in a structure at the upper part of the main mast, high above them, scanning the water.

There was no sign of Jai , however. Arya walked along the railing to the front of the ship, searching the sea. It wasn’t until she made her way to the opposite side that she found Jai swimming to the ladder. Her gaze locked on him as he grabbed the first rung and hauled himself out. He glanced up, and their eyes met.

He never looked away as he climbed up and over the railing to stand before her. She ran her gaze over the expanse of his bare chest beaded with water. His hair dripped. She tracked a droplet to his shoulders as it wound along his collarbone to the dip at his neck and then trailed down his muscular chest to the finely chiseled muscles of his abdomen. Then it moved lower to his trim hips until it vanished into the waistband of his drenched pants that molded to him.

His strides ate up the short distance between them. He took her hand and turned her as he strode across the deck. Within moments, she and Jai were in the bedroom facing each other. Her breathing was ragged, her blood rushing in her ears. Her sex throbbed with need.

They had been denied for too long, kept apart and betrayed. They had survived treachery and deceit on a level few could comprehend.

Yet they were still standing.

Together .

Jai swallowed, his throat bobbing with the movement. “ There is so much I’ve wanted to say to you. I missed my chances before, but I won’t again. I’ve loved you from the moment you walked into the Milni house and smiled. There wasn’t a night that went by that you weren’t in my dreams. Even when I hated you, I loved you.”

Emotion rose, tightening Arya’s throat and making her eyes burn with unshed tears. “ If I had known what’d happened, I would’ve torn apart the Below to find you. I would’ve scoured the realm. Because I found love when I least expected it, where it wasn’t supposed to be. You moved me, touched me like no one else. I will choose you every time.”

“ I don’t ever want to be parted from you again.”

She shook her head. “ We never will be.”

Desire flared in his eyes. “ I’ve thought of all the ways I would worship your body.” His eyes dropped to her lips. “ Have you imagined being loved by me?”

“ Aye .” The word came out as a breathless whisper.

They moved at the same time, each reaching for the other. Her hands smoothed up his sculpted abs to the thick sinew of his chest and over his powerful shoulders. He flattened a palm on her lower back, holding her firmly as his thick arousal pressed into her stomach. His other hand slid sensuously along her back to gather her hair into his hand.

His cheek brushed hers. Their breaths mingled, the desire wild and unconstrained. She couldn’t catch her breath. Her blood heated in her veins, scorching her body. Passion thrummed, dampening her thighs and forcing her to clench them. She gasped at the throb of pleasure.

Jai’s fingers skimmed along her ear to the point and downward, moving her hair aside as his fingers skated across her neck. “ I have to know the taste of your release on my tongue, feel you clenching around my cock.”

“ Aye ,” she said and tried to kiss him.

He lowered his mouth to her neck and pressed his lips against her skin before brushing his tongue over the area. He kissed up the column of her throat and along her jawline. She clung to him, aching and eager.

Impatient .

How many nights had she dreamed of him touching her, of bringing her to climax? She needed him, ached for him. Like he was a crucial part of her anatomy, necessary to stay alive. Jai kept her heart beating, her lungs expanding. He was her day and night, the light and the dark. He was her world. Her everything .

His mouth found hers. The kiss was passionate and sizzling, it was slow, sensual, and full of longing. She lost herself in all the desire and yearning pent up inside her. She couldn’t stop touching him, but she craved to be closer. A tug at her shirt told her Jai felt the same.

Arya somehow pulled her lips from his and quickly removed her clothes. Within moments, she stood naked before him. The heat in Jai’s pale gray eyes as he slowly looked her over made her sex throb.

There wasn’t another creature in all the universe as splendid as Arya . Jai was struck speechless by her. Just as he had been the first time he saw her. Just as he would be every day he was lucky enough to have her in his life.

Just as he would long after he turned to dust.

Her smooth gray skin was unblemished. Her breasts were full and heavy with dark nipples that strained toward him as if they were as excited to feel his tongue as he was to wrap his lips around them. He followed the indentation of her waist to the rounding of her hips, then lower to her sex, and finally her legs. All the moisture went out of his mouth. His cock jumped and thickened, demanding to be inside her.

He reached for her, yanking her close as he took her mouth again. The hunger and the longing were too much. The feelings consumed him. And the heat of passion engulfed him.

She clawed at him, returning his kiss with as much fervor as he gave. Then her hands cupped his aching rod through his pants. It was too much. In a blink, he had them unfastened and down his hips. He kicked them off and yanked her to him, pressing their bodies together, skin to skin.

The love he saw reflected in her eyes made his heart skip a beat.

“ Arya ,” he whispered reverently.

The ship rocked with the waves. She barely felt it. There was only her and Jai and their love. Everything else fell away.

The sound of her name, spoken reverently from his lips, sent a shiver of anticipation through her. She pulled his head down for another kiss, their tongues tangling passionately. His hands slid down her back and over her buttocks as he bent forward. His fingers gripped her thighs, and then he straightened, lifting her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. She gasped when the head of his arousal brushed her swollen, needy sex.

He walked around the tub and didn’t stop until her back was pressed against a bookshelf. She plunged her hands into his wet hair and impatiently waited to feel him enter her. Instead , he slowly lowered one of her legs until her foot was on the floor. Then he left a trail of kisses between her breasts and over her stomach as he dropped to his knees.

She watched as he draped her other leg over his shoulder and gave her a sly smile just as he leaned forward and ran his tongue over her sex. Arya cried out from the pleasure and tried to hold on to the bookshelves. Dimly , she heard something crash to the floor, but she was too consumed with the carnal feel of his tongue and lips to think about it.

Her hips rocked against him. She was so close to orgasm that she shook with it. She wanted the release. She never wanted him to stop. She wanted him inside her. She wanted it all. Every day for the rest of her life.

She cried out as his tongue teased her clit. And then she was splintering, waves of pleasure rolling through her from the most intense orgasm of her life.

Her taste was exquisite. Jai didn’t let up until long after Arya had gone limp. He tenderly lowered her leg from his shoulder and looked at her as he stood. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath. Her lips were swollen, and her eyes were heavy-lidded as she watched him. He gathered her into his arms and carried her to the bed before laying her down.

Her arms wrapped around him, keeping him against her. It was exactly where he wanted to be. No sooner had he rested his weight atop her than she rolled him onto his back and straddled him.

Jai cupped her breasts, massaging them before thumbing her nipples. She moaned and dropped her head back. He rose and wrapped his lips around a turgid peak before suckling her. Her hair tickled his thighs, and her hands caressed up his arms to his shoulders and then around his neck. She lifted her head and took his face in her hands. Then she kissed him.

Deeply , fully. Completely .

One moment, she was in his arms. The next, she was sliding down his body. He watched her settle between his legs and brace her hands on either side of his hips as she leaned forward. His balls tightened when he felt her breath on him. Her tongue darted out and skimmed the outside of his cock.

Jai fell back with a groan of need. Her fingers wrapped around him. She moved her hand up and down his length. He lifted his head in time to see her lips part to take him into her mouth.