She pulled her cloak tighter around her neck and let her feet guide her home to the castle walls, knowing what she had to do.
Chapter 37
Elysia foundherself beneath the castle, deep in its safety. She used to use this path all the time to escape into the forests with no one the wiser. The stale, musty scent of dirt and rat shit was as terrible as it was familiar, but her mind was far from the vile stench of the tunnels.
Life so often stole people away before she ever had a chance to say goodbye. Whether they died or walked out of her life of their own volition, it was rare to end things with everything she wanted to say clear from her chest. Instead, she carried the unspoken words like iron weights inside her heart, knowing they would never grow wings to leave her mouth and kiss the other’s ears.
Whoever Topp Blatz was to her now—he had once been everything, and if she was going to do what she needed to do, then she was going out on her terms. She had her plans and he had his, both unwilling to bend ambition for love. All she wanted was one good final memory to take with her.
A memory that was hers alone, untainted by lies and chaos. That way, she could pull it out of her pocket and remember the good instead of how it all went wrong.
She exited the tunnels outside the castle walls, feeling the tug of her magic, but not needing it to guide her. Swaths of pines and ash and oaks rustled in the wind, the few lingering winter leaves and needles bending in a familiar wave. A damp chill enveloped her as she entered beneath the trees’ open arms, bringing goosebumps to her skin. Inhaling deeply, Elysia felt her spirit relax in the forest’s shade. The moist earthen smell of soil and dying leaves was the next best thing to the scent of flowers. Invigorated, she followed the familiar footpath into the forest’s dark.
The sudden crescendo of her magic didn’t startle her, not when she’d come here knowing where he would likely be. Staring up into the trees, she tilted her face, knowing he was somewhere in the branches' shadows.
“I’m calling a truce.”
She received no response.
Elysia untied her cloak, letting it drop to the forest floor. Hands on her hips, she kept staring into the black. “I want one last night. And then you’ll get your wish, and I’ll be gone.”
Eyes adjusted, she realized he was sitting on the lowest branch of the ash tree, considering her offer. The prince pushed off of the tree, landing in front of her. Elysia swayed, leaning into his ever present smell of rain and ozone. Her hands drifted to his chest, and he stared down at her with a wary face.
“Since when does Elysia Parker ever call a truce? The woman I know isn’t satisfied unless she’s steamrolled her opponents into submission.”
“It’s a one-night-only offer. Consider yourself blessed.”
His lips lifted in spite of himself, and one hand slid to her waist. Mouth brushing her cheek, his face dipped down closer to hers. “I was an asshole.”
She gave him a small, close-lipped smile. “You were.”
Just like that, with a few soft words and a lingering touch, the past few months were tossed from mind and memory while their bodies remembered what had once been so easy.
She pressed her face against his, the scent of his skin cascading through her in a swirl of warmth. A sigh fell out of her parted lips as her shoulders relaxed and the tension eased. A steady chorus of want and need began to hum through her. “You really, really were, but I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
He leaned back, a slight crease forming in between his eyes. “Why do I trust you even less now that you say you’re here for a truce?”
She pulled her sweater over head, her skin bare and dimpling in the night. “Because you’re an asshole, not stupid.”
His fingers tightened on her waistline, his green eyes bright and pupils wide. “You’re sure about this?” His much longer legs were already walking her back toward a tree. Rough bark scraped against her smooth back and she laughed, jumping to wrap her legs around him like she had a million times before.
Large palms caught her ass, holding her there easily.
She licked her lips, tracing his face with her eyes. “This isn’t our first time, Topp. Whatever heart I had to break, it’s already been done. I want this—I want you. I want one last memory that isn’t us flinging knives at each other because everything has gone to shit.”
Understanding clouded with his own pain was there and then gone in his eyes. He held still, so still as he weighed out her words and what she was asking for tonight under the dim moon.
Elysia stared back at him, the tree digging into her skin and cold turning her blue. She barely noticed the cold, though. Not when the anticipation and vulnerability of her request left her feeling far more bare than any lack of clothing. She waited for him to move, to say something, anything.
Then his mouth descended in a blink, covering and claiming hers like it truly was the last time. One slow, deep kiss left her head spinning and blood rushing, and then it was a frenzy. Mouths moving frantically, tasting each other over and over beneath the trees that had always kept their secrets.
Topp unlatched her legs, planting them back down to the ground as his mouth moved down her neck to her collarbones, kissing a trail that left her eyes closed and hands fisted in his shirt as she drank in the sensations. Moving lower, he captured one rosy nipple in his mouth, tongue gently bringing it to a peak and her pulse even higher. His thumb rolled over her opposite breast as his explorations continued downward, causing an impatient sound to vibrate in her throat.
Lips smiling against her stomach, Topp found the button to her trousers and worked them down until he was kissing her from the ankle back up. Elysia grasped the bottom of his shirt, tugging it up and over so she could run her hands up and down his back. Once upon a time, Topp had been muscled but lean. Now in his late twenties, he was thick and muscled with a chest like a bear. Hands full of him, she squeezed his upper arms, enjoying the feel of him. The cool wind slipped past, turning her nipples even harder, and she fought the urge to writhe against him.Gods, I’ve missed this.
Her thoughts shorted out altogether as his mouth finally reached where she had wanted it all along. Head cracking back against the tree, she barely felt the hurt as his mouth worked with the steady skill of a partner who knows you all too well. Over and over he laved, devouring her whole.
Fingers fisted in his hair, she squirmed, but his hands held her still, not yet done enjoying the taste of her. With one final kiss, he looked up at her as she panted down at him. His lips glinted with her upon them, and he held her gaze as he slid his fingers into her and curled.
