It wasn’t difficult to lose herself in the joy of being with Cull, ambling through the woods with him hand-in-hand. They came upon a clearing, where a small building—a gamekeeper’s cottage, perhaps—stood near the edge of a pond. Reeds, rushes, and sedge grew thickly at the water’s edge. The sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon, rendering the sky in vivid strokes of purple, pink, and orange.
It was another scene that made her itch to paint.
“Cull, this is beautiful,” she murmured. “What a lovely surprise.”
“This isn’t the surprise,” he said.
He set down the basket on a grassy spot by the cottage. Opening the lid, he removed a blanket and spread it on the ground. He helped her to sit, settling next to her.
She gave him a quizzical smile. “If this isn’t the surprise, then what is?”
The answer came not from him, but from a burst of energy and movement that made her gasp. Out of nowhere, thousands of starlings—nay, tens of thousands of them—shot into the sky. They flew in perfect synchrony, their tiny bodies merging to form an ever-changing array of shapes. Dipping and soaring, the birds moved as one unbreakable whole, their flapping wings as loud as ocean waves crashing against a shore.
Awe pounded in Pippa’s chest. She couldn’t find the words to express what she was feeling. The majesty and magic of what she was witnessing and how alive it made her feel.
“It’s the most magnificent thing I’ve ever seen,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Yes, it is.”
Tearing her gaze from the aerial display, she saw that Cull wasn’t watching the starlings. He was looking at her. His gaze warm, he reached out and thumbed away a tear that she hadn’t realized had escaped. She wanted to say something, to tell him what it meant to her to be sitting here with him, but she was too overcome.
He slung an arm around her shoulders, tucking her close.
“You don’t want to miss the rest,” he murmured.
Together, they watched the sky. The feathered dance shifted across the heavens, morphing into helices, pyramids, and countless other breathtaking shapes. The birds twirled and dipped, their feathers flashing iridescent ruby and gold in the last rays of the sun. The show was beautiful and wild and mysterious; just as quickly as it began, it was over. The sky went still again, shades of mauve bleeding into the violet horizon.
“Show’s done for the evening,” Cull said. “What did you think?”
Her pulse raced at his expression. The brutality of his scars made the joy in his eyes that much rarer. All that Cull had endured had not dimmed his appreciation for life or beauty. For the things that mattered. And he had shared this extraordinary spectacle with her: reminded her of all the reasons life was worth living.
And it was. Like an eruption of wings, a part of her that remained caged by the past broke free. It shattered the bars of self-doubt, regret, and anger into glittering dust. What was left was her: the strong, beating, vital essence of herself.
“I think,” she said steadily, “that I want you. Now.”
Reaching up, she pulled Cull’s mouth to hers.
27
Watching Pippa observe the starlings, Cull had known he was right to bring her here. The wonder lighting up her eyes had chased away the shadows. She’d lost herself in the wild pulse that connected living things, and he knew how that felt. He’d first heard of the flight of the starlings a few months after his injury. Weary in body and spirit, he’d come here, hoping for a diversion from his damnable self-pity. He’d left renewed in spirit and faith.
No matter how arduous the journey, a life that held beauty like this was worth living for.
As Pippa pressed her mouth against his, he felt that beauty pour into him like liquid sunlight. She heated his blood, stirred his heart and cock in equal measure. He threaded his fingers into her silken ringlets, knocking off her bonnet as he took everything she offered. The sweet and sensual succor that only she could give...that had fueled his dreams for years.
He dragged his mouth to her ear, and she mewled like a kitten.
“We should go inside,” he murmured.
“I don’t want to wait,” she panted. “I want younow.”
Jesus wept. How could he resist her command? It was an unseasonably warm day, after all…and even if it wasn’t, he would find ways to heat them up.
With a growl, he tore at her buttons and laces. She laughed breathlessly at his haste, but that didn’t stop her from doing the same to him. Never had he wanted a woman so badly; never had he felt this wanted in return. When their clothes lay strewn around them, he pressed her down on the blanket and caressed her breasts, savoring their firm yet supple heft.
“Finally,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to suckle these pretty nipples for ages.”
Bending his head, he circled her areola with his tongue before drawing the taut peak into his mouth. She moaned and speared her fingers into his hair as he sucked and licked. He took his time, going back and forth between her heaving mounds, adoring how sensitive she was here. Glancing down, he saw a smear of wetness on her thighs, and the needy way she clenched them together injected steel into his cock.
