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I softly lift his arm from around me, then slide up from between his legs. I’m basically standing up on my pillow by the time I’m completely untangled from him, but the last thing I want to do is wake the grumpy shifter up.
He grunts and turns to face the door to my bedroom once I’m out of his arms. I stand still, making sure he’s still asleep before I tiptoe out of the bed and across the room.
Stopping by the fireplace, I glance back at him. Gods is he a beautiful man. My body feels hot again, and frustration builds inside of me. Why do these men make me feel this way?
Looking away, I realize that I’m parched. I pour a glass of water and take a sip. That disgusting metallic taste almost makes me spit it back out. Geez, I’m tired. My eyes flutter closed as I sip more water, and the strange taste slides over my tongue again. My magic awakens, pricking at the feeling of the water sliding down my throat. I investigate the strange sensation, feeling the water with my magic.
What is that?
Taking another sip, I swish it around in my mouth. There’s a buzz to it, a familiar magical buzz. Magic? Strange. Why would the water taste like magic?
I gasp, and almost choke on the water in my mouth. My eyes pop open, and Wisp, sitting with a knowing expression, is on the rim of my cup. She darts into the cup, hovering above the water, just like she’d done at the river, then back to the rim.
Wait. It can’t be… can it?
I spit the water back into the cup, and Wisp flies off, shaking the water that landed on her off with a frown. But I can’t focus on her, I’m too excited. Too relieve. Absolutely ecstatic!
“It’s the water,” I whisper.
Finally, the pieces are all falling into place. The weird taste. The seemingly random way people have been getting sick, all over the shifter lands. It’s sickening but clever, something only my mother could have come up with.
“It’s the water,” Wisp whispers, flying back to the rim of the cup.
The water. A curse that likely affects the weak at first until it gets stronger. Everything makes sense.
“That’s what all your swooping down towards the water meant!” I say, smacking myself on the forehead. Why didn’t I get that the first time?
Now, I know something. Finally. The first piece of the puzzle. That’s all I really needed to start putting everything together, as long as my magic is able to save us in the end.
But before any of that, I have to tell the princes.
Walking back to the bed, I crawl over to where Prince Rinan lies asleep. Taking a deep breath, I shake his massive shoulder, prepared for the questions and distrust again, but eager to see how they respond now that I actually have something of use to say. “Prince Rinan, I figured it out. Wake up,” I say, with another shake of his shoulder.
He shifts from sleeping on his side to lying flat on his back. The covers are low enough that I get to see the broad expanse of his chest and stomach. A tiny whisper inside of me urges me to run a hand down his chest, just to see if it's as hard as it looks, but I hold myself back.
If he catches you, he’ll only think you’re weirder than he already does.
I crawl closer to his face, placing my hand on his cheek and say his name again. “Prince Rinan, I need you. Wake up.”
His hand touches mine. “Huh?” he says groggily.
“I need you,” I insist, this time a little louder.
To my shock, he sighs and rolls on top of me, flipping me onto my back, then leans down and captures my lips with his. It’s a soft kiss at first. Softer than I ever imagined his lips could be.
His lips continue to move on top of mine, and my eyes flutter closed. He tastes… good, warm. Soft and nice. That warmth spreads through me again, pulling at the space between my thighs, and I kiss him back, too overwhelmed to even wonder if I’m doing it right.
When they kissed me when we were getting married, I didn’t have time to think. I didn’t have time to feel, to enjoy it, but now I do, and I’m surprised by how much I like what he’s doing.
When his tongue touches my lips, I instinctually open my mouth, letting his tongue in. His lips grow harder, more desperate, against mine. His tongue runs over mine, sending goosebumps rising on my skin. My hand moves to his back, pulling him closer, never wanting him to stop.
His lips break from mine, and I whimper, wanting more, but that hungry mouth of his is sucking his way down my neck. My body arches against his, and I whisper his name. Every muscle in his body tightens, and I feel him hard between my thighs.
Rubbing against him, I spread my legs a little further, and he curses against my neck. One of his hands grabs my hips and pulls me harder against his cock. My mind spins, and I grind against him, chasing that hot feeling inside of me I don’t understand.
Only, I do. I want this man. I want to touch him. Maybe I even want him inside of me.
He slides his hand from my hip down to my thigh and pulls, coaxing my legs to wrap around his back. Sucking harder on my neck, he thrusts between my thighs, while I rub myself against him, and more curses slip from his lips.
