Into the Water

Into the Water

Nicole stared at the man lounging in the hot spring as if he owned not only the cave, but the entire mountain.
Her heartbeat pounded against her ribs.
“Take off your clothes and join me.”
For a moment, Nicole wondered if she had heard him wrong.
Maybe the steam had somehow distorted his words.
Or maybe exhaustion was finally getting to her after everything she'd been through.
Because surely Ace Carter hadn't just casually asked someone he believed was a man to strip naked and bathe with him.
Who did that?
They had barely met.
And there was absolutely no way Nicole could take off her clothes.
The moment she did, Ace would discover she was a woman.
Then her disguise would be useless.
In this lifetime, Nicole had promised herself she would stay far away from him. She had believed that as long as she never went to war against his pack, their paths wouldn't cross.
There would be no massacre.
No final battle.
And no death at his hands.
Yet somehow, fate had brought them together again.
Nicole's stomach tightened.
Was she really destined to meet this man in every lifetime?
And would it always end with him killing her?
She forced an awkward smile.
“Thank you for the offer, but I'd like to decline.”
Her deepened voice cracked slightly at the end.
Wonderful.
Ace didn't answer.
He simply watched her.
His expression revealed nothing, but his gaze was so focused that Nicole had the uncomfortable feeling he could see straight through her disguise.
Steam curled around his shoulders.
Water ran down his chest and disappeared beneath the surface.
Nicole immediately looked away.
She had no idea whether he was wearing anything under that water.
She didn't need to know.
More importantly, she definitely didn't need to imagine it.
Trying to recover, Nicole touched her chest.
“Even though I'm a man, I'm still a very shy one. Being naked around other men makes me uncomfortable.”
She paused.
“Extremely uncomfortable. It's practically a condition.”
To her horror, Ace's mouth curved slightly.
A smirk.
Nicole stared.
She didn't think she'd ever seen him smile in any of her past lives.
It was unfair that such a dangerous man could look even more attractive when amused.
“You're quite funny,” Ace said.
Nicole's heart skipped.
“W-what?”
“You don't share hot springs with men you've just met.”
His voice remained calm.
“Yet you had no problem kissing a man you just met.”
Nicole's face burned.
Of course he would bring that up.
The kiss had been necessary.
What else was she supposed to do?
Let the guard drag her out of the cave?
Let everyone discover that she had something to do with the phoenix's release?
She had kissed Ace to make the guard leave.
That was all.
It meant nothing.
At least, that was what Nicole wanted to believe.
Because that kiss had been her first in this lifetime.
She had certainly never planned on giving it to Zandro.
But she definitely hadn't expected Ace Carter to be the one who got it.
Worse, Ace had kissed her back with enough intensity to make her knees weak.
Nicole folded her arms over her chest and studied him suspiciously.
Wait.
Did Ace like men?
Was that why he had kissed her back so easily?
Her gaze moved over him before she could stop herself.
She wasn't judging him.
Actually, imagining the terrifying Demon of the West kissing another man was strangely interesting.
There was only one problem.
Nicole wasn't a man.
What if Ace was interested in her specifically because he thought she was one?
She desperately wanted to know what was going through his head.
Nicole quietly reached for his mind.
Nothing.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Since gaining her new ability, some people's thoughts had become easier for her to reach, especially those with weaker mental defenses, like Alicia.
Powerful people were different.
Zandro had stronger defenses.
So did the fox from the temple.
Reaching their minds required far more effort.
But Ace Carter was on another level entirely.
His mind wasn't simply protected.
It felt sealed behind an enormous wall.
Nicole pushed harder.
His defenses rejected her effortlessly.
She couldn't even find a crack.
Nicole stopped trying.
As expected of the Demon of the West.
Terrifying.
“Don't worry,” Ace said suddenly. “I won't try anything.”
Nicole looked at him.
“You're a man, after all. I just need some company.”
“Right,” she muttered.
A man.
Nicole bit her lip.
Every instinct told her to refuse.
Stay away from him.
Don't get into that water.
Don't give him another chance to discover the truth.
But standing there arguing would only make her behavior more suspicious.
She couldn't afford to make Ace curious about her identity.
Nicole finally sighed.
“O-okay. I'll join you.”
Ace watched her.
“But I'm keeping my clothes on.”
Before he could ask why, Nicole quickly continued.
“Compared to your big muscles, mine are very small.”
She gestured awkwardly toward herself.
“Tiny, actually. For the sake of my self-esteem, it's better if I keep everything covered.”
Nicole nodded firmly as though she had just given the most reasonable explanation in the world.
Men cared about muscles, didn't they?
Size.
Strength.
Surely he wouldn't question it.
Besides, Nicole had already wrapped her chest tightly beneath her clothes. As long as she remained dressed, there was little chance of him noticing anything feminine.
Ace stared at her for another moment.
“Fine.”
Nicole almost collapsed with relief.
She carefully approached the hot spring, refusing to look directly at him.
The moment her foot entered the water, warmth spread through her exhausted body.
A soft sound escaped her before she could stop it.
It felt heavenly.
Nicole slowly lowered herself into the spring until the water reached her shoulders.
For the first time since releasing the phoenix, her tired muscles began to relax.
The warmth eased the tension from her body.
Her eyes nearly closed.
For one brief, wonderful moment, Nicole forgot who was sitting only a few feet away.
Then she felt it.
His gaze.
Nicole opened her eyes.
Ace was watching her.
Silently.
Intently.
Her body immediately became tense again.
So much for relaxing.
Nicole had willingly climbed into a hot spring with the most dangerous man alive.
A man who had killed her nine times.
A man who had just kissed her until she nearly forgot why she should fear him.
And now she was sitting almost within his reach while pretending to be someone she wasn't.
Suddenly, the hot spring didn't feel peaceful at all.
It felt like Nicole had willingly stepped into the jaws of a beautiful, deadly beast.