“No one but my mother has ever called me sweetheart,” I admitted.
“Should I stop?” He looked wary.
“Neverstop.” I lifted my face for a kiss.
Taeven eagerly obliged me, tasting of chocolate and love. I moaned, seeking more of it before I eased back to nibble at his delicious lips. Tae's free hand came up to brush my hair back and tuck it behind an ear.
I leaned into his touch. “I love it when you stroke my hair.”
“I see that.” He sank his fingers in the ends to clench and release the strands. “It's so thick.”
“Like my mother's hair.” I nodded. “It's one of the reasons I keep it shoulder-length. It gets heavy, but I like it a little long and this length is just long enough for me to tie it back when I'm working.”
Taeven's expression went naughty. “I never did put you in that flight harness as I promised, but I think I'll use your hair as a handhold instead. Would you like it if I pulled your hair when I fuck you from behind?”
His sudden crude words rocked through me, hardening me. “Oh, now you've done it.”
“Uh-uh.” He leaned back when I tried to kiss him. “We have lunch waiting.”
“Let it wait.”
“Shane,” Tae chided and took my hand. “I want to spend some time alone with you without being inside you.”
“Ugh, when did I start dating a woman?” I groaned dramatically.
Taeven laughed his ass off—so violently that he had to put his drink down. When he settled, he began opening the packs of food and portioning them out on the waxed cloth they'd been wrapped in. “Come now, you'll need fuel if we're going to fuck in the cold.”
“Don't you know that you need to rest after eating?” I grumbled. “You could get a cramp.”
Tae chuckled again. “I'm not going to get a cramp and neither are you; we're faeries.”
“But my stomach will be full and then I'll want to take a nap,” I tried again.
“I think I can rouse you.”
“Ugh, Tae, you're supposed to eataftersex, not before.”
“Then we shall be rebels.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Or we could relax awhile and you could play your new guitar for me before we have sex.”
“What?! You want me to wait even longer?”
“I need you too, but I feel as if all we've been doing lately is training and fucking.”
“And eating,” I added. “Usuallyafterfucking.”
“Here, put some of this in your mouth.” He placed a cloth full of roasted chicken, chunks of cheese, and a hunk of bread on the blanket before me.
I sighed and started nibbling, then ate with more gusto. It was, as everything I'd eaten in Varalorre, exceptional. The best roast chicken I'd ever had. Tae smiled smugly when he saw me enjoying the food, then set to his own meal.
He set a flask between us. “Water, if you'd care for some.”
“Thanks.” I took a swig.
“I want you to meet my family,” Tae said softly.
“You do?” I asked, my heart shivering.
“Yes. We don't have time on this visit, but during the next, I'm taking you to Dreslen.”
