With all of the darkness outside, there was no way to tell what time of day it was. But she'd decided that it didn't matter. Because Aziel's bed was the most comfortable bed she'd ever had the honor to lay in. The sheets were like satin against her skin, the pillows were just the right amount of firm, and the mattress was just the right amount of soft—
She moaned, wiggling her body deeper into the grooves of the mattress that cradled her perfectly.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" His voice came from the doorway, a low and seductive sound that had her body heating instantly.
She slowly turned to face him, pulling the sheets up just enough to cover the fact that she'd removed the nightgown she'd been wearing. Aziel stared back at her with an intense darkness burning in his eyes, his movements slow as he sauntered towards the bed.
There was a feeling low in her belly, a coiling sensation that started there and spread through her limbs. Her lips parted when he stepped into the light of the fire blazing in the hearth, revealing a muscled body decorated in deep, dark lines that spread across his chest and stomach like branches of a tree. The roots of his hair were now just as black as the branches marking his skin, his eyes a mix of warring blues and greens.
The moonflowers alongher skin started to tingle, causing a shiver to run up her spine as she watched him slip into the bed behind her. His thighs pressed against either side of her body, encasing her completely. And even though she had every right to run away or flat out murder him for touching her this way, she didn't. She didn't want to.
His hands were trailing along her back, moving up to her shoulders, circling around her flowers and fisting the back of her hair. With a gentle tug, her head was resting against his shoulder, her neck bared to him. She felt the tip of his nose along the dip between her shoulder and her jaw, his other hand gripping the sheet that still concealed her body. He tugged at it, drawing a gasp from her when the fabric scraped over her peaked breasts.
"Look at you," he whispered, his tongue dancing over the crook of her neck. She lifted her hips in response to his thumb grazing over the swell of her breast. She felt empty. Hot. Everything felt like it was one fire. "I have never seen someone so perfect in my entire life."
"You're just saying that." Her breathing hitched, a wet heat gathering between her thighs—pulsing harder and harder with each intoxicating stroke of his hands.
Aziel chuckled. "I don't believe in saying things I don't mean, moonflower."
"Moonflower."
"Moonflower."
"Moonflower…"
Nymiria jerked upwards from the bed, one hand clutching at her pounding heart and the other shoving a tangle of wild hair away from her flushed face. She looked down at herself, confirming that she was still in her nightgown and that Aziel was, in fact,notbehind her. She didn't have it in her to be embarrassed. She'd had plenty of sexual dreams in her life, but this one…gods, this one felt so real. It was like walking through a memory or a future that was to come.
It didn't feel like some wild fantasy, it felt like a fuckingprophecy.
And itscared the shit out of her.
Shaking her head, she tossed the covers away from her body, squinting against the light that filtered in through the large window on the right side of the room.
Light?
She bolted out of the bed, nearly sprinting her way across the room, catching herself with her hands against the windowsill. The world down below was gorgeous. Pristine. With rolling green hills and butterflies, birds chirping as they flew past the window and fluttered up into the sky.
It was hard to breathe. Because she recognized this place. She'd memorized it—mapped it out in her mind to the point that she could walk these fields with her eyes closed. The river that ran through the kingdom was still in the same place, glittering and shining with beautiful flowers sprouting along the banks. And the forest…
She shuddered, eyes homing in on the vacant plot of land where the old cabin once stood.
Walk away. The voice splintered through her mind, pulling her from the trance that would surely have kept her riddled with heartache. She slowly turned away from the window, only to walk hurriedly to the balcony outside of the washroom.
She could see why Aziel had the tub placed where it was. From where it sat in the middle of the room, it overlooked snow-capped mountains and the other side of the river. It still took her breath away, her mind a muddled mess because she once believed that she'd never see this place again and that everything beautiful here had died when she abandoned it.
Tears stung in her eyes, her heart swelling with a feeling that she'd longed to experience again for the last ten years.
Home.
Home. This was her home.
It was wild and beautiful and everything was just exactly as she remembered. The air had a floral scent, mixing with the smell of moss and dew. There wereno gray clouds, no intense fog that obstructed the views. It was just sunlight and clear skies for miles.
A soft scuffle of feet had her turning her head towards the part of the balcony that led to the dining room, her eyes immediately finding the culprit of the sound. The last time she'd seen Desi's brother, he was dressed in all-black, his outfit suiting that of a ranger or a soldier. Even now, he was clothed in black, save for the purple beads that hung around his neck. Judging by the decor and Aziel's usual choice in clothing, she was starting to come to the conclusion that it was not just uniform, but a style choice.
She plucked one of the pink mandevilla flowers from the balcony railings and walked towards him, smiling as she tucked the bloom into the pocket of his shirt. "Fancy seeing you here, old friend."
"Is there something wrong with my outfit?" Trio chuckled.
