Page 55 of Dark Awakening: New World

Was it?

Ell-rom was afraid to look at her, but his eyes were drawn to her of their own accord, and he saw her sitting on the edge of the pool, her lovely brown hair cascading down her front, hiding the fronts of her covered breasts, but leaving the swells exposed.

"Eyes on me," Julian said, most likely saving Ell-rom from doing something stupid.

34

JASMINE

As Julian explained, the exercises were designed to build strength without putting too much strain on Ell-rom's recovering body, and Jasmine memorized them as best she could so she could continue the therapy with Ell-rom later.

As Ell-rom's eyes kept shifting to her and roaming hungrily over her body, she preened under his attention, feeling a boost of confidence. But then she remembered he'd never seen a woman so scantily clad before, so of course he was excited. In many ways, Ell-rom was like a boy experiencing these feelings for the first time, but knowing how much he hated that comparison, she wasn't going to give voice to her thoughts.

It took a while for her prince to give his undivided attention to Julian instead of sneaking peeks at her, but as the exercises demanded more and more of his focus and effort, his covert glances became less and less frequent.

"Do ten repetitions of this exercise," Julian told Ell-rom. "Then rest for a few breaths and repeat it. You should do three rounds of each exercise for a total of thirty repetitions for each."

When Ell-rom proceeded to do as instructed, Julian turned around and waded over to where Jasmine was sitting. "Do you think you will be able to guide him through it if he forgets?"

Jasmine nodded. "I memorized all the exercises."

"Good." Julian put his hands on the edge of the pool and, in one powerful move, jumped out of the water, splashing droplets over Jasmine.

"Show-off." She laughed, grabbing a towel.

"You need to get in the pool," he told her as he took the towel from her hands. "Keep a close watch on Ell-rom."

Jasmine stifled a smile. "I will."

"I'll be back in half an hour to help him get out of the pool. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He winked.

"Oh, yeah? And what wouldn't you do if Ella was here?"

"Good point. Then don't do what I would have done." He wrapped the towel around his shoulders, picked up the coat he had discarded before entering the pool, and walked out.

Jasmine got into the water and stood next to where Ell-rom was doing his leg lifts.

He stopped, his eyes roaming over her again. "It is difficult to concentrate on the exercises with you looking like that."

"You seemed to be doing well up until now. Julian is really good at what he does, isn't he?" She hoped to distract Ell-rom from his obvious fascination with her body. "The exercises he has shown you are excellent for building your strength without putting too much strain on your muscles."

To her surprise, Ell-rom's expression darkened. The light that had been in his eyes moments ago dimmed and was replaced by something that looked almost like resentment.

"What's wrong?" Jasmine moved closer to him.

Ell-rom dropped his gaze to the rippling surface of the pool. "It's not important," he muttered.

"Hey," Jasmine said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "Talk to me."

He shook his head. "I'm ashamed to admit that I find myself jealous of Julian's healthy looks."

"Ell-rom." Jasmine lifted her hands and cupped his face, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "When you're back to yourself again, you'll be even more handsome than Julian. You're half-god and a royal, after all. As I think you can tell, I find you very attractive as you are. But I also have no doubt you'll be absolutely stunning when you're fully recovered."

The words weren't just platitudes to make him feel better. Even in his weakened state, Ell-rom was beautiful in the way of the gods—a perfection that was nearly impossible to look away from.

Her words seemed to have the desired effect, and a spark reignited in Ell-rom's eyes. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her, which was made possible by the buoyancy of the water, and held her against his chest.

With her feet dangling above the pool's floor, she had no choice but to lift them and wrap them around his hips. His swim trunks and her bikini bottoms were not much of a barrier, and feeling his hard length pressing against her soft core was delightful.