Ancients,he knows what he’s doing.
“I can feel you,” I finally settle on.
“I should like to think so,” he gives a small laugh, fingers tugging on my nipple again.
“No, Keane,” I moan, slowly bringing my hand over my shirt to cover his. I flatten his over my breast and will him to understand, pressing us both into my chest.
“I canfeelyou, when you’re locating me.”
Keane’s brows lift in surprise, his eyes locking on mine in quiet astonishment. He takes a small step back and drops his thigh from between my legs, the new seriousness of his features telling me that he’s trying to understand the depth of my words.
I loosen my grip on his hand and let it slide under my shirt, feeling his fingers slowly skim my stomach before they pull away. I straighten myself and my clothes and watch as he runs a hand through his hair in bewildered thought, his features both confused and curious at the same time.
“That’s not possible, Alexis,” he shakes his head.
“It is,” I nod, “I felt your laugh yesterday when I was questioning the woman at the inn. I thought I had envisioned it… didn’t even realize what it was in the moment. But I also knew that I felt you. I felt your voice deep under my skin, Keane. You were amused that I was asking questions...”
I take the hem of my shirt and push it back into my pants, my disheveled hair falling from its pins and into my face.
“And today, when I was talking to the boy, the feeling was there again. It’s as if you were watching the conversation through me andI felt you. I felt your laugh under my skin. Felt it deep in my bones. It sent such a jolt of vibration through my body that I had to look around and make sure you weren’t standing on the road with me.”
Keane’s features have reverted back to the stoic Discerni indifference, watching as I fiddle with my shirt with slightly shaking fingers. I ball my hands into fists and take a deep breath before glancing back up at him, my eyes searching for any hint of what he’s thinking and hating that he’s so quiet.
“I don’t know how else to explain it,” I shake my head.
Slowly, and I meanvery slowly, Keane takes a step towards me, his whole being cool and calm with a serious look of intensity. I take a timid step back into the tree and watch as his body towers over mine, his hands reaching for the trunk behind my head again as his brown eyes stare down with fire.
“I could take you, Alexis,” he says quietly, “right here and now. And we’d enjoy it,immensely.”
My whole body freezes as heat courses through my veins.
“I can show you what it truly means to have me under your skin. I want to.Ancientsknow I want nothing more… and I know you do to.”
He moves closer, letting the full of his body press against mine as my heart beats wildly in my chest.
“But when I have you for the first time,fully, it will not be here. It will not be quick or stolen or hidden, as I’m sure all the boys of Knowledge and Woodlands like.”
“Where then?” my voice is barely a whisper.
Keane smiles as he watches me knowingly, “under the Shadow Oak where you belong, Alexis. Taking my time on you.”
I close my eyes at his words and think of the tall, dark tree and the stark beauty of it, so much like the man who stands in front of me. I feel his hands leave the trunk before he brings one under my chin and tilts it up. His grip commands that I open my eyes and look back at him, his intense brown gaze willing me to understand the weight of his words.
“You’re the first person to tell me they’ve been able to feel me locate them,” he replies, voice still quiet, “only a few of my closest friends and family know of that aspect of my summoning and no one has mentioned anything of the sort.”
“Are any of them human?” I ask sarcastically.
“No,” he smiles down at me, eyes warming, “you will be the first.”
“Lucky me,” I bite my lip, “I get to feel you even when you’re not around.”
His thumb reaches up and brushes against my lip. “Lucky, indeed.”
I laugh and take a deep breath, smirking at him and bringing my hands up to his chest. Keane lets me push him away this time and takes a step back with a grin.
“Come on,trouble, let me show you my mills.”
The full of our group is around the table in the common room again for dinner, this time with individual servings of peppered chicken in broth, a gentle reminder that we still inhabit the Court of Warriors. I take my seat at the table tonight at the very far edge, even opting not to sit next to Cal who is my favorite meal and drinking companion. Golem stands near me with his back against the wall and a small canteen of water slipped under his robes, the two of us ready.
