Morning Swim

The morning tide rolled against the shore, curling foam over the pale sand. The air was sharp with salt and cool against Lily’s skin as she walked barefoot along the beach. She regretted only wearing her soft slip dress as it clung lightly in the breeze. She clutched at the small blanket wrapped around her bare shoulders. She hadn’t slept. Her mind was too restless, and her body too awake. She thought the solitude of dawn would soothe her. Until she heard the water break differently, a steady, rhythmic splash just beyond the surf.

Her gaze lifted, and her breath caught.

A figure cut through the surf, broad shoulders rising from the waves, sunlight reflecting the water clinging to his skin. Ares swam powerfully, each stroke confident and precise. Her thoughts tangled as she watched him. Every line of his body moving with lethal grace, muscles cutting through the water. She told herself to look away, but her gaze clung stubbornly to the slick power of him, to the droplets racing down his skin. Desire and unease warred in her chest; he was too much like the ocean itself: vast, dangerous, impossible to master.

As he neared the shallows, he slowed, treading water for a lingering moment before pushing to his feet. Droplets cascaded over his broad chest. His hair, usually tamed, fell in wet strands over his brow. His eyes found hers instantly, sharp as a blade, and for a moment she forgot how to breathe.

Heat flooded her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to stare, but gods, he looked like he’d been born from the sea itself, brutal and impossibly beautiful.

“Enjoying the view?” His voice carried easily over the surf, deep and amused.

Lily straightened and blinked. How long had it been since she'd blinked?  She tried to clutch at her composure. “Hardly. This was supposed to be a quiet walk.”

He smirked, water dripping from his jaw as he strode toward her. “And here I thought I’d stolen a moment of peace. Didn’t realize I had company.”

“You swim?” she asked, tone dry to mask her racing heart. “Doesn’t exactly fit the God of War’s image.”

“I do more than fight and bleed, Muse.” His eyes raked over her, deliberate and slow as he caught his bottom lip between his teeth.  “Though judging by the way you’re looking at me, you already know that.”

Her pulse stuttered. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

He chuckled low, closing the distance. Wet sand clung to his feet as he left a trail toward her. The nearer he came, the more the air seemed to thicken, heavy with the sea salt and his smoke. By the time he stopped in front of her, droplets still ran down his chest, catching the sun like liquid fire.

“You’re up early,” he murmured, voice dropping, intimate now. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Lily’s throat went dry. “Something like that.”

“Restless,” he remarked, leaning just close enough that the heat of him cut through the morning chill. “Dangerous thing, being restless on a battlefield. Even one made of sand and surf.”

She swallowed hard, forcing her chin up. “This isn’t a battlefield.”

“Everywhere is.” His words brushed her cheek, carried on the salt air. 

His hand lifted and hovered before tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. The brush of his wet knuckles left her shivering, her magic sparking wild beneath her skin. Her threads reached instinctively toward him, tangling with the curl of ember-scented smoke that always clung to his presence.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. She should move. She didn’t.

“Careful, little Muse,” he whispered, his mouth so close she could taste the sea on his breath. “You linger too long, and even the tide will claim you.”

Her lips parted, her whole body aching with the urge to lean into him, to feel the heat of his mouth crash against hers. The sea hissed at their feet, waves rushing forward as if to swallow the moment whole.

And then, suddenly, he stepped back. The loss of his heat left her cold, exposed, trembling. He dragged a towel from the sand where he’d left it, wrapping it low around his waist.

“Enjoy your walk, Muse.” His smirk was lazy, knowing, a blade turned sideways. “Try not to drown.”

With that, he strode up the beach, sun catching on the droplets sliding down his back, leaving her frozen in place. Her chest heaved, her skin tingled, and the morning no longer felt cool at all.