“Put some clothes on,” he said, legs swinging off the bed.
Ana frowned back at him. “I thought we were having a lazy day. Where are we going?”
He buckled his black jeans and reached for his shirt on the floor. “I want to show you something.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“So many questions,” he bantered. “Trust me.”
“I do,” she admitted. “But I still should know how to dress. Should I wear a dress? Jeans? Nothing?”
He stepped flush to her, hand slithering around her back and cupping her ass in his hand as he kissed her in a teasing manner, his teeth skirting over her bottom lip and causing her to suck in a sharp breath. His forehead met hers, and he whispered,
“When’s the last time you saw the sun?”
“When you laughed earlier,” was her breathless response.
Sam’s entire body seemed to flounder at the statement. His grip relaxed as he straightened over her. The way she looked at him then was how he’d always seen people look at each other when they were in love. An ache spread over his heart and grasped at his lungs, causing him to reach a trembling hand to her jaw, his thumb stroking her cheek.
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” he replied.
“Why not? It’s true.” She leaned forward, her lips pressing to his cheek, his jaw, his throat… making him swallow at the beautiful sight of her. And with barely another passing second, she whispered, “I don’t need to see the sun as long as you’re standing in front of me.”
He held her there, unable to speak, barely able to breathe… paralyzed at the sudden inescapable realization that was holding his heart in its cage.
He was so fucked.
He wanted to tell her everything right then, but instead, all he could do was kiss her. Ana sucked her lip behind her teeth when she pulled back, eyes dancing up at him.
“I’ll change clothes.”
She stalked away then, going back to the bedroom, and it was all Sam could do to hold himself upright, to grab the lip of the counter and stare at the opposite cabinet. Mind spinning, he cursed his fleeing heartbeat for the way it had betrayed him.
Ana laid her head between his shoulder blades and hugged her arms up his chest as they rode far out of town, all the way to the western cliffs. Confusion swept his knotted stomach, and he squeezed her hand despite himself.
The bike slowed to a cruise as they took the bend around the cliffside. He relaxed back a little, the tenseness in his shoulders eased for the first time since he could remember. He let every feeling sweep through him, and stayed present with every moment.
They rode out to the very edge of the kingdom, and he parked the bike on the grassy cliff.
Far out on the sea, a ray of sunlight poked through the grey clouds.
Sam watched as Ana stepped off the bike and went to stand at the edge. Her face was a puzzle of awe and intrigue, and he wondered what that ray of sun reminded her of.
“I didn’t realize you could see the sun anywhere in Shadowmyer,” she said.
“It’s the only place you can see it,” he replied.
Ana gazed at the sight, her face softened as she took in the sight of it. She braced herself on the guardrail, leaning over the edge, the wind brushing through her curls. That speck of light seemed to reach towards her, and Sam wondered if it was his own will breaking that caused the shift.
He’d always allowed one glimpse, far across the sea, as he knew people would yearn to see it. But he’d held tight to the rest of the clouds, the rain, the shadows… He’d held that power over the land he’d called home for so long. To protect the people until they were ready.
And as Ana stood there, as he felt himself falling further and further under her spell, he wondered how much he’d let go of already.
Ana turned toward him, her head tilting slightly. “Why did you bring me here?”
Sam pushed off the bike and walked toward her. “I remembered the way you admired that painting of the last sunset of Shadowmyer,” he answered. “I thought it might bring you some comfort to see it again.”
“When’s the last time you saw one?” she asked. “A real sunset, I mean.”
