He raises a dark brow. “We’ll see about that.”
I swallow and fight to gain control over myself. The need to be angry surges, but his eyes are like a drug. He smiles at me, and it seems so genuine. I stare back at him, breathing hard, waiting for something to happen. My body shivers and the muscles between my legs tighten. I want to touch him more than anything else, and yet I can’t move.
Get control of yourself, girl.I wade further away. “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” Another smirk. Is everything a joke to him? “The name’s Dayton.”
“Dayton,” I repeat. I say it so casually, not realizing how it would sound in my mouth. Like sunshine and fire.
He blinks at me. His eyes are blue. Not like Keldarion’s, with his ice chip eyes. No, Dayton’s are like a sea before a storm…
Then I realize while I’ve been staring at his stupid eyes, he’s moved closer to me, and I’m naked and he is most certainly naked as well.
I give another peep of fear and walk backwards until I hit a rock wall. Thankfully, that stops his advance.
“And I suppose you work here too?” I ask, if only to distract myself.
His brows shoot up and he laughs, a deep throaty sound that is so joyous it involuntarily brings out a smile of my own.
“Love,” Dayton says, “you really don’t know me at all. I would rather sift my cock through hot coals thanwork.”
A playfulness claws its way out of me, and I smile back. “Well, you’re going to have to stop being so lazy. Marigold says she’s putting everyone to work now I’m here.”
“Now that’s unfair,” he says. “You can’t bring Marigold into this. If you’ve met her, then you know how positively terrifying she can be.”
“You’re teasing me.”
“Only a little.” He gives a white-toothed grin. “What’s your name, love?”
“Rosalina.” I paddle around carefully as I try to gauge this fae. His kindness seems different from Astrid’s and Marigold’s. I don’t miss the flirtatious tone, and how his eyes haven’t left me since he stepped into the pool.
Rationally, I know I should be afraid. I’m literally naked and ten feet away from a male who could overpower me in a second. But nothing in my gut is screaming fear. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, like everything in me wants to movecloserto him.
Maybe it’s some fae trick, but if I’m ever to escape this enchanted castle, I need to be brave. I can’t make it out of here on my own. I need information, and maybe even allies.
I push across the basket filled with bubble bath, shampoo, and other bottles. “If you’re going to bathe, here.” My cheeks flush as I quickly avert my eyes, hoping he can’t tell how exposed and vulnerable I feel. I cross my arms defensively over my chest beneath the water, though he’s probably too far away to see anything.
“Why, thank you.” He takes out the bar of soap.
“So,” I say, “what can you tell me of the master of this castle?”
“The master? Huh…” Dayton looks to the rock ceiling as he slides the bar of soap over his body. This might have been a terrible idea because I’ve totally forgotten what question I’ve asked as the soap suds slide across his broad shoulders. “The icy prick? More power than brains. Someone youreallydon’t want to piss off. But you already knew that, figuring you spent the first night in the dungeon.”
“Jeez, word spreads fast around here.”
“What can we say? You’re the new shiny object that everyone wants to get a glimpse of.”
The mysteries keep piling up, but it seems everyone who works in this castle doesn’t get out much.
Dayton turns slightly; there’s a scar down his spine. A giant one. Three jagged lines ripple down the perfect bronzed skin of his back.
“What happened—” The words are a breath on my lips before I can think better of it.
He quickly turns, flashing another smile as he slides the soap across his muscular chest, then his hand disappears beneath the water. “Can’t forget the most important part.” His gaze locks with mine as his arm moves up and down.
I’m pretty sure I’d be dripping if I wasn’t already in this pool. I lower and blow bubbles in the water, thinking of the first night the master locked me in the dungeon. It wasn’t Dayton and the other servants’ fault, but I can’t fool myself into thinking they’re my friends.
Another memory flashes into my mind: the young fae man with the chain around his neck, his golden eyes, the way his hair fell across his brow. I rise my head out of the water a little to stare at the fae across from me. Mercifully, he’s thrown the soap back into the basket, though I’m not sure what he’s doing now is much better. His torso stretches, muscles elongating as he massages the shampoo gel into his long hair. Something catches my eye. A seashell necklace bobs over his chest, interlaced with pearls and a jagged piece of red sea glass in the middle. It’s beautiful.