Chapter forty-three
In a very long time, Calemir had the urge to be reckless. To just forget everything, all the good and bad and just enjoy the act of being alive even for just a short while. He closed his eyes briefly and breathed in, chest rising and falling. His eyelids fluttered open, his green eyes sparkling. His wife warily looked at him. Calemir responded with a crooked, mischievous grin. He bent over and started with his boots, pulling one then the other off. The coldness from the wood prickled his feet, sending a tingling up his legs.
“What are you doing?” Nara asked.
“Going for a swim” Calemir gave her a lazy grin as he untucked his shirt from his waist and shrugged it off from his body. Her eyes widened by a fraction, surprised by his sudden decision. He didn’t miss the way her eyes slid down from his face and down to his shoulders and chest before going back quickly to his face with a faint pink coloring her cheeks.
“Want to join me?” Calemir offered, cocking his head to the side. If he had been alone, he would’ve taken off his trousers too, but he didn’t want to shock her.
Nara’s breath hitched at his invitation. “Uhh, no.”
“Alright,” He turned, giving her the view of his defined back before diving in. Nara jerked back as the water splashed, a little of it getting in the boat. She wiped small droplets that had landed on her face and watched as his dived back up and met her whilst floating. He gave her that lazy attractive grin again before flipping around. Her eyes fixated on his shoulders, flexing back and arms as he stroked and moved forward.
Nara smiled and shook her head. He was making it difficulty tempting to just give in and jump in the lake the way he was swimming languidly. Letting a contended sigh, she scooted closer to the edge of the boat. She folded one sleeve of the blouse she wore and dipped her hand into the lake. Goosebumps broke over the skin on her hands. The lake was cold. She swirled her hand in the water absently. It was when she stopped her little play and straightened that she noticed Calemir was nowhere to be seen. Poking her tongue in her cheek, she unrolled her sleeve. Probably he just dived in. She sat there for another five minutes and still no sign of Calemir. She frowned. Nara glanced around again, her stomach knotting. The lake was calmly still with its small natural ripples and the boats. She moved again to the end of the boat, eyes scanning the water extra carefully. “Hey” she called, worried.
Nothing.
“Calemir”
Silence.
“Calemir!” Nara called louder. She nibbled on her lip, eyes searching. He couldn’t have swum back to the land for her not to notice. Could he have drowned? But he knew how to swim. Nara’s features morphed into worry. She could swim, but she wasn’t one you called an excellent swimmer. As you all know her favorite hobby, swimming was at the bottom list. She had only learned to swim when she joined the military, and that’s because it had been part of training. Standing, she was just about to take a deep dive and search for him when his familiar voice called. “Hey.”
Nara spun around. Her heart leaped into her throat as her face broke with relief. There, not far away, Calemir floated without an utter care in the world. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Where did you go?”
Calemir lifted one hand from the water. “To get this.” In his hand was green, blue and red strange looking flowers with their roots still on them.
“To get flowers?” Nara asked incredulously.
“They are not any flowers” he replied and explained no further. Nara huffed. She couldn’t believe she had worried for nothing, she had been about to risk her life for nothing. Nara shook her head as he swam toward the boat. Nara looked at flowers as he deposited them inside first. They were belled shaped with translucent petals giving a glassy reflection and black stems. They were gorgeous, but still, she couldn’t help but be slightly irritated. The least he could have done is told her before he disappeared. She was probably overreacting, but she did it anyway. As he was hoisting himself over the boat, she pushed him back to spite him.
Big mistake.
With incredible reflexes, Calemir had his grip tight on her hand, pulling her back with him. Her eyelids flew wide, brows hitting her hairline as she sank in.
“Oh! my goodness!” Nara shouted. “Oh! my goodness!” It was freaking cold. Her body shuddered as the coldness slipped under her clothes into her bones. The chill robed her ability to think or process anything for a moment. As her body adjusted to the temperature, she became aware of the steely arm around her waist, keeping her steady. She tilted her head and looked at him. “Why did you do that?” Calemir asked. Nara huffed, pushed back, wanting to get back to the boat. The arm around her only tightened more and tugged her closer to its owner. If he pulled her any closer, she would be pressed against his chest.
“Let me go” Nara demanded.
He didn’t.
She glowered at him.
“Why did you push me?” the chill riding the words sent a shiver down her spine. Calemir’s features hardened. If she didn’t speak up, things might turn ugly. She felt it in the tensed arm shackling her.
“You scared me” Nara admitted. “You just disappeared without a word. I thought you had drowned or something terrible happened.”
Calemir’s face softened. “Forgive me.”
“Just let me go” Nara said. She wanted to leave the place and go back home. She was tired, and they had overstayed here already. Calemir pulled her even closer that his face was just inches apart from hers. Her chest brushed against his. She let out a light gasp. Calemir’s eyes smoldered, their intensity sending a bolt of warmth to her chest and stomach.
“Forgive me for not telling you,” Calemir said again, his voice a murmur. Nara read the determination in his eyes. He wasn’t going to let her go until she had forgiven him and said it loudly. It bugged her that he saw the need to hear her forgiveness for something she was starting to brush off.
“Okay,” Nara blurted.
Calemir’s hand eased then dropped completely, but he didn’t move back. His eyes burned in hers, flitting to her mouth and back to her eyes. The air between them hummed. Hot and charged. Palpable that you could touch it.
Kiss me the thought popped into her mind from nowhere, shocking Nara. As if he had heard it too, Calemir’s eyes narrowed. Bringing one hand up, Calemir rested it on the curve of her neck. Her heart thrummed violently. Her mouth grew dry, as he tilted her head a little down. Brushing the tip of his nose against the side of hers. Calemir heard the hitch of her breath, feeling her nerves skitter along his wet skin. Her neck had grown stiff whilst her brown eyes fixated on him, tracking each of his movement. She wasn’t the only one affected. His own pulse was going wild, his breath shaw finding it hard to breathe as his mouth got closer to her pink luscious trembling lips. Only the last second, with the control he had to dig deeper for, he didn’t crush his lips to hers. Instead, Calemir brushed his mouth near her ear then pulled back. “We should get back,” he said and already swimming back to the boat. Nara shuddered, feeling her whole face flame particularly where his lips had touched her skin. Turning she kicked to the boat and got in. Once she sat, and he wore his tunic again, they started paddling back to the land.
“Carry this, and I will take the fish,” he said, handing her his satchel.
“Okay,” she mumbled, hurriedly taking it from him. It had gotten awkward between them. His features had turned unreadable. They mounted their steeds and began to ride down the road they had come from. Nara couldn’t stop her body missing the heat of his body when the breeze hit her wet clothes and caused her to slightly tremble. She had enjoyed his closeness and his touch. Nara wanted to feel it again. She was a little greedy for his touch again if she was honest. It made her feel good without making her feel she needed to tolerate as most other touches did.
She blinked. What am I thinking?