Ember got alerted and stepped away from him, crossing her hands in front of her chest. “I don’t want to.”

“But you have to.”

“Why?”

“Your clothes will get wet if you swim with them on. We don’t have spare clothes for you to change into afterwards,” he answered, looking as serious as he could. “I know human bodies are so frail they will catch a cold if they wear wet clothes.”

Ember could see he was serious, but she didn’t want to go into the water naked. “Do I really need to learn how to swim?”

“One needs to learn such things. You might not know when it will come handy. This skill might save your life in the future.”

“I don’t need to save myself. You are always with me. You won’t let me be in danger in the first place.”

“What if you have to save me one day?” he asked.

‘Highly unlikely,’ was Ember’s first thought. ‘Draven is the strongest person in existence, isn’t he?’ Maybe the only person who could put Draven in danger was himself.

Still, she decided to  not argue over it. It was nice to imagine herself heroically jumping into the river to save Draven, no matter how unlikely that day comes.

“Fine.”

“Clothes,” he urged and she nodded obediently. She removed her clothes and passed them to her mate.

Draven placed them on a dry boulder farther away from the river. With him standing so close, she felt a little awkward being naked in front of him like this.

“Won’t you remove yours?”

Draven only had one piece of clothing on him.

“Do you want me to?”

“It’s the hide of a magical creature. It will dry in no time,” he replied. “And I’m a Dragon. I won’t get sick from the cold.”

“Oh, that’s amazing.”

“But if you want, I…”

“No, no, we are fine like this. You are perfect the way you are–“

He gazed at her naked body with his eyes dark with lust. “You sure are perfect the way you are.”

Ember sighed and turned him around to face the river. “You are going to teach me how to swim. Remember?”

Draven had an amused smile on his face as he let her push him towards the water.

Just as they stepped into the river, Draven held her hand and pulled her deeper into the water till it reached her chest. Ember felt relieved as she didn’t feel exposed and even her chest was now covered with water.

She tightened her hold on Draven’s hand.

“Are you sure I can learn how to swim?”

“I know you are a fast learner. You learned many things faster than expectations and never failed to surprise me.”

“Which things?”

“Maybe you want to try them in the river instead of a bed.”

Ember’s face turned bright red. She understood what he meant.

Pervert! Her mate is a pervert, aah!

“I…I think you should start teaching me how to swim.”

Draven did not tease her anymore. He truly intended to teach her how to swim. Afterwards? He was sure he would get his hands on her and hid a grin.

“The first thing you need to know is how to properly hold your breath.”

“My breath? Shouldn’t I start on how to move my arms or legs?”

“Before that, you need to conquer your instinctive fear of drowning. I do not know how long an average human being can hold his breath underwater, but air is necessary because you are not a fish, that is why–“

The teaching session continued for several hours, and after taking breaks in between, Ember somewhat learned how to swim with Draven’s guidance.

Her muscles were sore but she was happy. She could not believe she learned how to swim. Now, the deep waters didn’t feel that scary at all.

“I told you. Isn’t it easy?” he asked as he pulled her closer, her wet naked body pressed against his muscular one. He put her hands around his neck. They were so close, he could see nothing but her beautiful face.

“It is,” she replied, “but I’m feeling cold now and my legs ache–“

The wide smile on her lips started to disappear as she looked into those intense-looking red eyes. She knew the meaning behind that look and didn’t back down. She also found their position intimate and inviting, but she continued to look into his eyes, feeling a little nervous and expectant under his heated gaze.

Draven’s hand ran along her bare back underwater and he pulled her closer, their lower bodies pressing against each other, making Ember realize that he was completely naked as well.

‘When did he–‘

His free hand moved towards her face. His fingers put the wet hair stands stuck to her cheeks behind her ear.

As he did all that, his fingers went from her collarbones, then her neck, while his gaze moved to her wet and delicate-looking lips.

Ember had always been beautiful to his eyes, but today, she was even more dazzling, her drenched body glistening under the sun. Her body felt soft in his hand pressed against his muscular one underwater.

“For today, this much swimming lesson is enough,” she heard his hoarse voice say, which felt enchanting to her and she nodded without a word.

She felt like she would agree to anything he would say to her at this moment. Though they were in the river, instead of feeling cold, it was as if her body was burning, the same as his. She craved for the wild, alluring intimacy brought about by the change of their surroundings.

‘What’s wrong with my body? These days, I can’t seem to resist him. We just did it a few hours ago and again I am craving it? Is this what they meant when they say ‘you can’t resist your mate’? But I am human! Am turning into a beast  or does the bond work the same for humans as well?’

“What are you thinking?” he asked, seeing her fall into a daze in the middle of his seduction.

“It–It’s nothing,” she replied and kissed him before he could ask more. She didn’t wish to tell him how she had started to crave intimacy whenever she was with him.

Draven kissed her back. With her learning how to swim, it was time for their next lesson. His mate was going to experience a new way of tasting heaven.