I didn’t bother dressing, remaining in my nightdress as I padded along in bare feet, slipping from my room then down two doors to Silence’s room. I knocked softly, hoping he was awake and would hear it.
I was about to knock again when he opened the door. Silence wore only a set of long, loose breeches. I could see the traces of hard, flat muscle on his chest and stomach, no longer quite as scrawny as I’d once thought him.
His eyes went a bit wide. “Legs?”
“Can I come in, I… can we talk?”
He nodded and let me in, closing the door softly. I had to look back, as I couldn’t hear him moving behind me, but there he was, silent as a mouse. His new name suited him well. We curled up in two of the large padded chairs and he waited, while I tried to find words.
“After the tests tomorrow, we may be going our separate ways and… before that happened, I wanted to… I wanted to know how you felt… about me.” Wow, I wasn’t usually the one stumbling over my words, but that hadn’t been easy to say.
He smiled softly and blushed, as he always seemed to do, but this time it wasn’t as deep a red. He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that too,” he said. “I… your kiss was my first.” I saw him look away for a moment a faint smile on his lips as he perhaps recalled the quick encounter. “Back at Silverveil, Blackclaw talked to me a lot about feelings and… love.” His voice was growing quieter now, tighter. “Haleia tried to explain it to me too, but… I…” He sighed. “I don’t know if I understand. I’ve lived such a secluded and sheltered life. Feelings like this for others are hard for me to express, hard to figure out. I don’t know if I love you, but when I think about you, I feel… warm and happy and I… my body…”
“Yeah, I understand,” I said to save him any awkward details. How did I feel about him?
Tell him the truth… about his eyes,Auwei said.
Yes, right.
“When I look into your eyes, I feel a connection with you, Silence.”
“You do?”
I nodded. “Yes. I see all your tenderness and caring, but also a determination. I know you want to become more than you were and I’m determined to do the same. It’s what I see in your eyes that drew me to you.”
“Oh,” he said, seeming surprised.
“If we are separated tomorrow… I will miss you, dearly,” I said and meant it.
“I’ll miss you too,” he said, and his gaze finally found mine again. And there it was, that conviction in his soft brown eyes. “I don’t know if any woman will ever find me… will ever look at me, like you do, Legs.” He seemed to grow more confident in that moment, but trembled at the same time. He grew flushed again and nodded to himself then said, “I would… like to be with you, once before we potentially go off to our lives.” The words came out in a rush. His face was beet red now. That couldn’t have been easy to say, to ask for. He’d put himself out there and I admired his courage.
I smiled and reached across the space between us. He did the same and we clasped hot hands for a long moment before I made my decision and said, “I’d like that too.”
Chapter 14
I didn’t knowwhy I was so nervous. This wasn’t my first time… though I highly suspected, from everything he’d said, it would be Silence’s.
This may not be your first love, but there is always a nervous excitement for… new love,Auwei said tenderly.
She was right. I was trembling and excited. My body felt warm and unsteady.
Don’t worry about how you feel, just… feel it, enjoy it,Auwei said, and so… I did.
I opened myself up to this wild energy and suddenly, just sitting there felt so very wrong. I rose and, through our joined hands, brought Silence to his feet with me. He trembled, chest heaving with quick and heavy breaths.
We stepped in toward each other and he reached his free hand up to caress my cheek. I tilted my head slightly into that touch, resting my cheek in his hand. I closed my eyes, feeling the warm press of his palm.
I felt him step in, as his hand on my cheek gave the barest of motions, a slight pull. I leaned into it, opening my eyes as our faces drew close.
His lips were soft and tentative on mine. Our hot breath mingled as we tested and tasted with chaste kisses.
He released my other hand to slide that arm around me, pulling me closer, tight to him. Warmth pooled deep within me as I felt the hardness of his lean frame against mine. I put my arms around him, keeping him close. My mouth opened first, and I teased the tip of my tongue over his lips. In the next moment, our floodgates opened and we dove into each other with all that pent-up desire and need hammering through us.
My hands roamed his back, feeling the hard, wiry muscle, while his pressed over my nightdress, feeling every contour of my back, sides, and behind. All of me had become achingly sensitive. My breasts, pressed to the flat plane of his chest through the sheer fabric of my gown, were alight with thrilled awareness as my nipples grew hard. Every shift of our bodies sent new delights through me. I felt his arousal, the firm press of his erection low upon my abdomen, through two layers of cloth.
Then one of his hands slipped down and began to bunch up my nightdress, pulling it up over calves and knees. And when he could slip a hand under, he stroked my thigh and cupped one firm cheek of my buttocks, pressing us closer still.
Our need was a bonfire now, raging and unstoppable. I separated from him, grabbing one of his hands to pull him across the room to his bed. And there, I lifted off my shift and stood naked and unashamed before him. He didn’t blush; instead, his eyes were hungry as he took me in. I wanted to be seen by him, all of me. And I wanted to see all of him.
