"Yes, but it's so adorable here that I know we'll be back," Alana says, looking around at the lobby.
"Wonderful. Well, let us know if you need anything. There's always at least one of us Brooks kids around," she says with a grin.
Although the festival is running both today and tomorrow, Alana insists we unpack and then head over. Corvid Valley goes all out on these weekends with a farmer's market, artisan booths, and a carnival.
My girlfriend first convinces me to take a candle-making workshop with her, and I'm surprised at how easy it ends up being. Then, before agreeing to grab food, she drags me over to a Brigid's Cross weaving activity. Rushes, wheat, and other natural materials are spread out over the table as we twist and bind with twine.
"Crap, I don't see any more wheat," I say.
Alana brushes her lips across my cheek, whispering, "I've got you, boo."
She then shifts into her cedar waxwing form and flies to the other side of the craft area, stealing a few pieces of wheat, then brings them to me. When she returns to her human form, I pull her close, studying her stunning face, and blurt out, "Goddamn, I am so in love with you."
Alana gasps, and I feel my cheeks heat, realizing I'd planned to tell her that in a less public place. But I'm relieved when she pulls herself up against me, pressing her lips hard on mine while whispering into my mouth, "I love you too, Lorne."
After crafting longer, we head toward the food truck area, first walking through the farmer's market.
"Oh cool, over there is Serena Tuttle. I read about her," Alana says, rushing up and looking over at the special herbs and teas the witch sells.
After choosing almost every single type of tea on sale, we then head to the food area. Alana and I agree to buy things we can bring back to the bed-and-breakfast. I'm ready to have some alone time with my curvy girlfriend. Picking out a warm grain dish topped with honey and butter, we also grab a couple of seedcakes and some rich-looking cheeses before hopping into my truck and heading to the bed-and-breakfast.
Popping open a couple of dark beers, we flip on the gas fireplace and settle on the couch, trying out the different foods from the Imbolc Festival. Taking a swig of her beer, Alana places her bowl on the table and straddles me on the couch, grinding into me, which causes me to become instantly hard.
"So you're in love with me, mountain man?" my girlfriend whispers, causing me to want to be inside of her immediately.
With our mouths exploring each other, we quickly undress, and she straddles me once again, helping me enter her tight, wet warmth. Our moans come out of each other's mouths as our tongues dance, and Alana bounces on my cock, her large breasts giving me quite the show in front of my hungry eyes.
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close as I savor her tight pussy wrapped around my length. Hearing her gasp against my ear, I feel her body shudder against mine as she falls over the cliff. I can't maintain composure any longer and shatter with her, coming so hard that I cry out.
Resting against my chest, our hearts beating against each other, Alana whispers, "I'm so in love with you."
Squeezing her tight, I say, "Me too, beautiful, me too."
11
Alana
Lorne pulls into my Branwen Beach house's driveway, and I come running out with a suitcase in hand.
"Wait," he says, stepping out of his truck. "I thought we were staying here?"
"Nope," I say, tossing my suitcase into my car's trunk. "Give me your bag, mister. I'm taking you on a surprise trip."
Laughing, Lorne transfers his suitcase into my car, locks his truck, and climbs into the passenger seat. "Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see."
Grinning to myself, I look over at the love of my life, smiling like a fool in front of the National Steinbeck Center.
"I've always meant to come here and do the whole Steinbeck itinerary," Lorne says, shaking his head.
"Well, now you get to do it," I say, looping my arm into the crook of his elbow.
We take the multisensory tour, and my favorite part includes clips from Steinbeck movies. I love me some James Dean. For a late lunch, we stop at the Steinbeck House, where the author and his younger sisters grew up.
On Saturday, we spend the morning driving around Salinas. Lorne and I stop at Jack's Peak Park, which has sweeping vistas of the Salinas Valley and Monterey Bay.
Before dinner, we head over to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove to watch the sunset. Hand-in-hand, the two of us walk in comfortable silence as we enjoy nature's beauty. I have a sudden urge that has been mingling in my mind the last couple weeks since we admitted our true feelings for each other, and I stop dead in my tracks, turning to my handsome mountain man.
