against him. Dampening the brightness of his smile, Er’it tucked her chin into his palm, forcing Aida to meet his gaze as another thought came to him. “Help me bathe, and we can get you more.”
Brow puckering, she leaned back to watch him through narrowed lashes, no doubt thinking back to when he’d had her bathe him in the castle. Offering a strained smile, Er’it lifted Aida by the hips to set her on the sandy creek bed beside him so he could begin scrubbing the cold water over his legs and chest. Not having her warmth pressed against him did nothing to ease the throbbing ache in his cock, but at least he would not feel her delicious squirming anymore.
“Undo the braids,” Er’it said, keeping his gaze focused on his hands. Doing everything he could to make her at ease, the task he set for her would take time, and she would take care not to tug at his hair. Knowing that fact made him grin at the burbling water as Aida moved farther behind him to pick up the first of many raveling plaits.
Her small fingers were nimbler than he gave her credit for, and Aida made quick work of it, surprising him when she splashed toward the shore on awkward knees to deposit the palmful of decorations that had survived this far. Before he could react and ruin the moment, she turned back, her smile shy as she returned to his side to brush out his long locks.
There was no helping the subterranean depth of his rumble, the way it resonated through his chest. Her small hands worked over his scalp as she guided him back, thorough as she cleaned away bits of leaf and twig caught in the strands from the forest. Peering up at her, he saw the avid joy on her features, the simple act something of importance to her. Uncertain if her joy was from the act itself, of having some duty to perform, or if it was for him, he reached up to rub the back of her neck as Aida hunched over him to do the same.
“Kiss me,” he whispered, a hint of question lying beneath the command, wanting to give her the option to refuse but unwilling to accept it if she did.
Blush spreading from her cheeks down to the gentle curve of her breasts, Aida nibbled at her lower lip. Meeting his gaze, a daring act for her, she took a deep breath that caused the stiff points of her breasts to brush against his shoulder before she leaned farther down to press a chaste peck against his lips. As she breathed into him, Er’it’s hand tightened at the back of her neck to deepen the kiss. Teasing at her tongue with his, he gave a gentle call at her timid response. His fingers worked at her nape when she hummed in return before slanting her mouth over his in a bid to get closer.
With a strength of will he didn’t know he possessed, Er’it urged Aida back so he could sit up. Water cascading down his face and back, he ran a rough hand through the soaked locks then turned his attention to getting clean. Keeping his pleasured sounds to quiet growls and rumbling sighs as she worked at his back, they made quick work of his bath together. All too soon, he had no more reason to keep them there.
“What of your hair?” Aida asked.
“It will take too long to dress it.” Er’it looked at her, one side of his mouth sliding up as he caught her staring at the delicate ring of red at his shoulder. A place that thrummed with sensation, a tangle of icy fire working its way through his chest, he felt something of her there—the intensity and innocence of her nestled beneath the steady drumming of his heart.
It disturbed him at first. During the act, instinct had guided them both. He’d reveled in the shock of pain, gloried in the surge of awareness of her. After, when he’d sensed the volatile swirl of her emotions, the overwhelming tide of her power, he’d been more than concerned, not for him but for her. Too small, delicate, and fragile by half, his little Omega was not built to contain so much. Even the strongest of Alphas would be hard-pressed to endure such a burden.
Yet she gave him a smile, trembling and bashful as it may be. She let him help her up from the