Page 117 of In Violent Waves

Lyra was in the bath, but she wasn’t ignoring him. She had half of her head underwater, specifically her ears. A delicate foot rested against the lip of the tub, and she used her big toe to turn the water off and on.

Her naked body was hidden by clumps of pink bubbles. Yet, he could see enough. She was glorious.

A goddess with moon-white skin and soft curves. With the faintest freckles scattered across her cheeks and nose. He wanted to memorize each and every one.

If he thought he couldn’t get her out of his mind before, it would never be possible now. He wanted to know every inch of her skin, wanted it so badly he might bite her in places so she would never forget where he had been.

Auburn hair wreathed her angelic face. Her sea-glass eyes were shut, and it was the light humming coming from her that had his mouth parting.

She was singing, but not with her power—just singing. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. No wonder so many were lost to the sea, trying to find the source of such a melody.

He wondered what he would sacrifice to keep such a treasure.

Everything.

He might sacrifice everything.

Lyra blinked, and it wasn’t horror that sparked in her eyes. No—it was something darker.

“Prince.” She pulled her head from the water so she could hear him. “Is it common to surprise ladies while they’re bathing?”

He thought back to a few days ago when he had shared a bath with three females. But that wasn’t what she meant.

“I fear that title is lost upon you, Legs.”

Lyra smirked and brought her legs out of the water. Her pale knees glistened in the light streaming through the window. A droplet of water raced down her thigh to places he would love to explore.

“I’m sure you would think that. But I’m not the one stumbling in late in the morning from pleasure houses.” She said the words as if they offended her, but her attention darted over to a very well-loved book on the stool next to the tub.TheKnight in Shining Armor.

“You take offense to going to a pleasure house, but see nothing wrong with reading about activities that take place there?”

This line of questioning was a horrible idea. His arousal was clouding his judgment, and her body was becoming visible from the dissipating bubbles.

“Is that a rhetorical question?” she asked with an arched brow.

Wilder shook his head, trying to clear the visual of her skin on his.

“I came to tell you we leave for a tour—tomorrow morning. Begin preparing.”

Her happiness vanished like smoke in the wind.

“Are we staying for Ostara?”

“We should be back in time.”

“Oh,” she said. Her head drooped a bit, and she looked at the water. “That’s a relief.”

The sadness in her voice gripped him.

“It’s not on my order that we leave so soon. You can thank my father for that,” he replied.

Wilder wasn’t there when she looked up. He was already striding through her bedroom and addressing the guards.

“Call for Daisy and see to it they have everything she requests for the journey.”

The dark-haired one looked annoyed. “Everything, Your Highness?”

Wilder came close to lashing out and punching the male in his smug face for questioning him. “Everything.”