They came upon a landing, but Vael didn’t stop there. His fingertips brushed her hip, telling her wordlessly to keep going. Another landing. More stairs. Another. The air began to cool as they descended.
His voice was a deep rumble when he finally answered, “I needed to have a roost, but sleeping here is difficult for me.”
“Why?”
The stairs ended. The polished wood and metal steps melted into small, iridescent tiles shaped like coins. Hele stared down the short hallway. The air on the bottom floor was different. Strangely warmer than in the stairway. It sat heavily on her tongue, and had a funny, salty tang.
Water.It tasted like water, but not the lake’s particular, earthy flavor she was used to.
Before she could try and guess what in the world lay at the end of the dark hall, Vael came up behind her. His hands cupped her arms — holding without actually touching — and his heat radiated along her spine. Her breath snagged in her throat. His spicy scent enveloped her, overtaking that salty water to fill up her senses withhim.
His voice was soft and whispery. “I bought this dwelling for you, Hele. I can’t sleep in it without you.”
Oh.Her heart began to pound. A little bit more of the starch left her spine, but not enough to bend her will completely. Just to be contrary, she breathily replied, “I don’t sleep, you know.”
“I know.” Were those his lips pressed against the shell of her ear? Goosebumps broke out all over her body. The scent of him, the way his chest brushed her back, it all made heat coil low in her belly. The feeling made her restless. Unsettled. It was like pressure, but not quite.
It was utterly unique — just like everything she felt for him.
Slowly, he began to walk them down the shadowed hallway. With each step, he breathed another word into her ear. “You think I don’t remember everything about you, my Hele? Every single one of my thoughts has been yours since the moment I caught you.” A shiver raced down her spine when he used the very tip of one claw to brush a lock of hair away from her neck. His breath, hot and humid as the water-heavy air, puffed against her skin when he continued, “I’ve spent months making sure this dwelling suits your needs, my mate. I’ve gotten you the nicest blankets. The softest pillows. I’ve dreamed of what you’ll look like laid out on them, ready for me.”
Hele had to brace one hand on the wall to steady herself. How wonderful and frightening it was to feel like her body had a mind of its own! Her knees felt strangely weak. Her blood rushed in her ears. Her sex pulsed with every beat of her heart, building a deep, pleasurable ache.
Words tumbled from her lips, though she did not know where they came from, seeing as her head was full of lust’s fog. “You built this place formyneeds?”
She wascertainshe felt the smallest, lightest kiss to the whorl of her ear then. “Yes.”
She didn’t understand why her voice shook when she asked, “H-how?”
Hele thought shefeltthe smile curving his lips. “For starters, I built you a library.”
She stumbled on the smooth tiles just before the door. “Youwhat?”
Claws curled around the bulk of her hair just at the base of her head, gathering it in a firm but gentle grip. Vael’s other hand pushed open the plain metal door as he ran the tip of his nose over her cheek. There was a strange, husky note in his voice when he answered, “A library. For you. Here.”
Hele barely registered the dim room he’d led her into. She stared sightlessly at the small lap pool in the center, glowing pale aquamarine in the gossamer dark. Steam curled from the surface like wisps of smoke. She couldn’t fathom why he’d brought her there, but she also didn’t care.
“A library? Withpaperbooks?”
Vael used his grip on her hair to slowly turn her head to one side. When she caught his eye, she found his gaze half-lidded and his smile predatory. Was that supposed to thrill her, or was this yet another way she was a little bit wrong?
Vael had never been anything other than gentle with her and shelovedthat, but when he looked at her like he wanted toeather… Well, Hele learned something new about herself every day.
“Paper books,” he purred. “Whenever I go on a trip with Taevas, I try to visit a shop for you. I usually come home with a whole suitcase full of books.”
Was she panting? It felt like she was panting. Hele struggled to get her excitement under control.
She didn’t manage to succeed even a little bit.
But…paperbooks? Hele only had a handful of those. Most books were digital, which was extremely convenient and made searching for specific subjects or terms easy for her. On the other hand, she had learned that books had only recently been digitized. While many, many thousands were accessible to her, there were untoldmillionsin the world which would likely never exist on her tablet’s screen for one reason or another. The idea of lost knowledge locked in ephemera drove herwild.
If there was one thing Hele couldn’t stand, it was the idea that there was a part of life she was missing out on. Untapped knowledge had the same appeal to her as love. To her, they were one and the same.
What had he gotten for her? Her mind raced with the possibilities. At least once a week he’d sent books to her tablet — classics, fascinating narrative history, science, humor, and even some strange science fiction that made her giggle. She wasdyingto see what treasures he’d collected for her in paper and ink.
She bounced on the balls of her feet, her hair snapping and twisting in the humid air with her unconcealed glee. “Can I see?”
Vael’s eyes crinkled with his smile. “After.”
