Free Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) by Cassandra Gannon

try, because she’d never give him
consent, but mentally undressing Ty was the current extend of Gion’s love life.
    Since
the day he’d met Ty, all other women became obsolete, which meant that Gion had
close to a dozen years of celibacy under his belt.  Literally.  He was more
than ready to end the drought.
    Unfortunately,
unless Ty had a severe change of heart and suddenly realized that Gion didn’t repulse her, it seemed unlikely that she’d let him unfasten so much as one of
her hair barrettes.  Which was too bad, because they were intriguing little
things shaped like daisies.
    Gion’s
gaze traced over Ty’s red curls.
    The
daisy barrette held back the turquoise streak at her temple, so it mixed in with
the rest of the messy style.  If Ty offered him a chance to really touch her
hair, Gion would have eagerly met any price she asked.  He loved it.  The
brilliant color, and the way the curls went in every direction, and the soft
shine of it.  The cut ended at her jawline, but if the mass of curls was
straightened out, Gion hypothesized that it would be longer than his own
shoulder length hair.
    The
Air House didn’t produce redheads.  Even Gion’s licorice black color was an
anomaly.  Nearly all the Air Phases were blondes, their hair neatly arranged in
straight, preppy styles.  Gion relished every untamed, colorful, unique curl on
Ty’s head.
    She
was beautiful.
    As
much as he hated Parald, he understood the man’s wild desperation to claim her. 
Gion would have destroyed the world if he lost Ty, too.  The Air powers stirred,
trying to connect with her.
    Ty
must’ve felt them, because she turned to look at him.  She blinked as if trying
to reorient herself to the world outside her computer.  “Gion.  Hi.”
    And
then the most amazing thing happened.
    Ty
smiled at him.
    The
breath froze in his lungs.  For a minute, Gion wondered if he was about to
become the only Air Phase in history to die of suffocation.  Ty smiled at him. 
Honest to God smiled .  Her eyes didn’t fill with dread like most Phases’
did when they discovered Gion standing behind them.  Instead, Ty looked happy
to see him.
    As
pitiful as it sounded, that alone was worth dying for.
    Everything
he’d endured to keep her safe…  The insults and the plots.  Parald’s cruelty. 
The years of near captivity in the Air Kingdom.  Never being able to relax or
trust anyone.  The constant fear that he’d slip.  The execution order on his
head…  It all meant nothing compared to Ty.
    Gion
would have done absolutely anything for this woman.
    Not
as a sacrifice, but because he loved her so deeply that there weren’t words for
it.
    He
dropped his eyes, before he made a complete ass out of himself.  “I finished my
first preliminary report.”  He held up the folder he’d prepared for her.
    “Oh. 
Excellent.  Wow, that was fast.”
    No,
it wasn’t.  Gion almost looked down at his wrist to confirm that, but he didn’t
want to draw attention to his platinum timepiece.  For some reason, the
contrast between Ty’s eccentric, plastic Hello Kitty watch and his own made
him uneasy.  Like she’d see him as so completely foreign to her quirky,
feminine world that she’d never let him in.
    Ty
made a sweeping motion with her hand, beckoning him closer.  “Did you sleep
alright?”
    “Yes.” 
Gion forced his legs forward, crossing the room.  He never slept well, always
prepared for an attack.  For the last week, he’d been moving around constantly to
elude Saxon and the other men that Parald had sent after him.  Last night,
surrounded by the serenity and magic of Ty’s kingdom, though, Gion felt almost
peaceful.
    For
the first time ever, he was free.
    “This
is a nice room.”  It was the most innocuous thing he could think to say.  “I
like libraries.”  Gion actually lived in the Air House library most of the
time, unable to bear his life in the palace.  The Water Kingdom’s library
remained one the best