“There’s an inscription.‘Sub arcu amor fulget, sussurri dulces, cor evolat’“
Wang shook his head at the strange words. “Do you know what it means?”
“It’s in Latin. I’m not an expert, but I think it says something about love shining under the arch, and the heart taking flight.”
“Interesting. Is it a love inscription, then?”
“It would appear so,” Esther said as she straightened, one of her hands still holding onto the wall, while the other one was safe in his grasp.
“I would have thought that if the arch was part of a fortification, it would proclaim a message of power and might. And if it was part of a religious building, such as a church or temple, it would have a divine message or a warning against wickedness.”
“That’s true. I wonder what type of building it belonged to,” she said, her head tilted to the side.
She started to turn. He wasn’t sure if she tripped or if one of her legs gave out, but suddenly she was falling forward. He reacted without conscious thought. His arms hugged her to him with such speed that it was as if they had been designed for the sole purpose of catching her. The next instant she was flush against him, held securely in his arms.
It was not the first time he had held her against his body. He had carried her innumerable times, but this time was different. She remained upright, and something about the way her entire body fitted so snuggly against him ratcheted his desire to dangerous levels. His arm circled her slim waist. Supporting her to prevent her from falling, he told himself. In truth, his arms never wanted to let go.
Not that she was trying to escape his embrace. With one arm draped around his shoulders, her hand cupped the back of his neck. While her other hand came up and settled against his cheek, her fingers sliding up to brush a lock of hair from his forehead. The butterfly caress of her fingers on his brow was more sensual than an intimate caress, her touch a balm and a brand at the same time. He had to force himself not to lean into her hand, to rub his face into her palm like a cat.
Her eyes flared, the hazel depths shining green with the reflection of the vegetation. Her rosebud lips were a feast he longed to taste. He had deprived himself of the pleasure until now, but the temptation had become greater than he could withstand. There were solid reasons not to go down this path with her, but at the moment, he couldn’t remember a single one.
He wasn’t sure who moved first, or maybe they both moved at once and met in the middle, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Their lips melded with exquisite relief, and he was sampling the sweet nectar of her mouth.
They had been hurtling toward this moment from the time they first met. Since then, every gaze, every touch, every shared word and secret whisper had been a step towards this. Naïve of him to think he could avoid this outcome.
Shehadbeenrightabout his lips. They were soft. Pliant. Delicious. But that alone did not account for the warm waves of sensation his kiss was sending through her body. It was the way those lips moved on hers, gliding, sucking, molding, and possessing. It was the intensity behind his actions, as if he was pouring a lifetime of desire into their kiss.
Esther was breathless and didn’t care to draw breath. It was less urgent than savoring him. She was breathing through him. He was the rhythm of her heart, the life force in her veins. The structure that supported her.
Her legs had gone weak, but she suspected her infirmity had nothing to do with it. She would have crumbled to the ground if it weren’t for his unflinching support. He would never let her fall, she was sure of that. As her limbs had become theconsistency of warm wax, his legs had braced on either side of hers, anchoring them to the earth, while his arms had become a sanctuary of steel and velvet. Strong and unmovable, yet cradling her so gently.
Within the protection of his embrace, she was free. Free of fear. Free of limitations. Who said one needed a hot-air balloon to soar? She was soaring right now. She could reach up and twine her arms around his neck, tunnel her fingers into the warm silkiness of his hair, devour his mouth as she had been craving to do for so long.
Needy sounds floated around them like skittish butterflies. Her light moans and mewls mixed with his deeper groans. She loved the strength of the body pressed to hers. They fit together so well.
“Sir, madam, we are ready to go now,” Mr. Coxwell called out, puncturing their pleasure bubble.
Sunrise was only a promise, a glow outlining the top of the trees. But a different kind of awakening was dawning in her heart, its power as unstoppable as the rising sun. And just like the sun, bringing warmth and life to long dead places.
Theworldtransformedthemoment the balloon lifted from the ground. Suddenly they were rising above the treetops, Hyde Park at their feet.
The basket swayed beneath her, the sensation unlike anything she had ever known, but not unpleasant—weightless, yet steady, as though the air itself had reached up and was tugging the balloon hither and yon. She clutched the edge of the basketuntil her knuckles turned white, but still she peered down and around, fascinated by the sights of the awakening city.
How to describe the feeling of flying? Esther couldn’t find the words. For years, she had been bound to her chair, viewing life from a single, unchanging perspective. Her world had reduced until it became the four walls of a room. Now, for the first time, the world was open, limitless, lying at her feet as she rose above it.
She was glad Kai had warned her to wear something warm, for the air up here was cool, carrying the faint scent of smoke from the balloon’s burner. The flame roared above, a stark contrast to the serene silence that surrounded them. It was a curious thing—being so high up, away from the noise of daily life, feeling entirely at peace.
The basket jolted slightly as a gust of wind caught them. Esther laughed, a little nervous, but exhilarated. She leaned back and found the solid presence of Kai at her back. His hands clutched the basket’s edge on either side of her, creating a protective cocoon with his body. Cradling her in safety and warmth, grounding her even as they floated higher.
The narrow streets and magnificent buildings of London gave way to open fields spread out beneath them like a patchwork quilt, stitched with hedgerows and streams that glittered in the rising sun. Villages appeared as miniature models, their tiny rooftops glinting like jewels.
This was pure, unbridled joy. Even seated, she was flying, untethered from the limitations that had defined her life for so long.
He pointed to the horizon, where the sun was rising, casting golden light over the landscape. “Look. The world is awakening. Isn’t it magnificent?” he murmured against her ear, his voice carrying the awe she felt but could not yet put into words.
Esther looked, but not towards the rising sun. She was looking at Kai’s face next to hers. So close that she could lean in and brush a kiss on his cheek. For a moment, she forgot the chair, the pain, the years of longing. Up here, none of it mattered. Up here, she was free.
Lured by the need to be closer to him, she leaned in. At that moment, he turned his head. Their gazes collided, and she sucked in her breath at the desire she saw in the brown depths of his eyes. Was he remembering their kiss as she was? Was he wanting to repeat the experience?
