Serpent's Claim (Serpent's Touch 2)

Tilting his head back, he spread and stretched his senties. All twenty-four of them. The longest ones reached down below his waist on the back. The one in the front dropped like a thick curl over his face. When stretched all the way down, the end with the golden beady eyes reached below his chest.

Every line of his body carried power and grace. Not a part of him was unsightly or out of place. I could just stand there and ogle him all day.

Forcing my stare away, however, I walked over to the chest by the waterfall and took out a towel for him.

Sliding the spout back into the wall, Kyllen turned, and…I was faced with his erection, bobbing between his legs.

I tried to avert my eyes again, but it wasn’t easy. That appendage of his, almost as thick and long as the large cucumber I’d once whacked him in the eye with, commanded attention. I’d felt it pressed against me before, but this was the first time I’d gotten to see it in all its glory like that.

It jerked higher under my attention, then higher still. In fact, the longer I stared, the thicker and longer it got, now pointing straight at me.

Was I supposed to say something? Or ignore it and turn away?

All I really wanted at that moment was to reach out and touch it.

“Towel?” I thrust the towel at Kyllen’s chest, finally tearing my eyes from that fascinating body part of his.

My eyes met his, and I knew I’d been caught staring. My face heated so much, I didn’t think the veil could hide the blush.

“Do you like what you see?” he asked.

I glanced aside. “I didn’t mean to stare.”

“Oh no, my dear.” He waded across the pool to me. “Please stare. If I wanted to keep you blind to the world around you, I wouldn’t have gotten you that veil.”

“The veil is priceless,” I muttered under my breath. “I’ve never been as grateful for the ability to see as I am right now.”

He chuckled, stepping out of the basin and coming to me.

“I couldn’t possibly have you deprived of this beautiful sight for too long.” He gestured at himself, with a cocky grin.

“The sight is truly beautiful,” I said without a hint of flattery, simply stating the truth.

He took the towel from me, patting his senties with it lightly. The water that glistened on his body was slowly absorbed by his skin.

My hands moved to him, as if on their own. With the tip of a finger, I traced a path left on his chest by a droplet of water running downwards. I followed it all the way to the first dip between the hard squares of his abdomen.

His erection bobbed in response, and I yanked my hand away.

He caught my wrist then pressed my hand to his flat belly. “You can touch, Amira. My body is yours to explore, to do whatever you wish with, as long as it brings you pleasure.”

I swayed on my feet a little when he stroked my cheek through the veil.

“Whatever thought has made you blush like that, I want to hear it later. I wish we had more time for all of it right now. But we can’t miss the dinner.” He heaved a long breath. “I need to find out what has been happening in this snake pit while I was gone.”

“A snake pit?” Was that what he really thought of the palace?

I sensed there had been some tension with Kyllen’s return—I was not the only one having trouble with fitting in. But Kyllen referring to his family home as a snake pit indicated even bigger problems than I thought.

“Don’t concern yourself with any of this for now,” he said. “But I do want you to keep your eyes open.”

He gathered up the bottom of my veil and draped it over my shoulders, allowing it to fall freely down my back. The soft folds around my neck brought the sensation of comfort, like wearing a scarf used to do. I buried my chin in the silky material.

“Feels good?” He kissed me through the veil.

“It does. Thank you for this.” I trailed my fingers along the barely-there fabric.

“Are you ready to face the Court of Ellohi?” he asked.

I nodded. With Kyllen at my side, I could face anything.