Vexxion kept sending me subtle smiles, and it warmed me straight through. I couldn’t wait to be alone with him in our room. He was remembering or he was falling for me again. I knew it and the notion shot my heart all the way to the stars.
Things would get better for us from now on.
I ate quickly, washing down the excellent stew with the ale,and munching on the biscuits with jam that were as tasty as the server told us.
Vexxion’s ditched his shoe and trailed his toes up my shin.
My breath caught, and my gaze met his. I could sink inside him all the way to his core and then just keep going. I didn’t care if I lost myself in the process as long as I could be closer to him.
As the server took our dishes away and brought out small plates heaped with cobbler doused with thick, sweet cream, Vexxion’s foot kept roaming.
It was all I could do not to moan. I was so on fire; my skin must be bright red. Fortunately, the others were invested in their conversation. They kept their voices low as they spoke of traveling the next few days, of what we might find when we finally reached our destination. None of us knew other than Vexxion—maybe—and he wasn’t contributing to the conversation. No, he was too busy seducing me, and I loved it.
Hope was a fragile thing. If you clung too tightly, it could slip away, gouging you before it left you completely.
But I held onto it, cupping it gently because I needed to believe he’d be mine again. I wouldn’t accept that I’d lost him completely. One day, he’d love me again as fiercely as I did him.
Only Brodine seemed to suspect something odd was going on between me and Vexxion, though all he did was look back and forth between us a few times with an indulgent smile on his face. He leaned close to Vexxion and said something in a voice too low for me to hear. Vexxion nodded and started eating his cobbler.
Honestly, I ate my sweet so fast I didn’t taste it. After, I stood abruptly, my gaze seeking Vexxion’s.
Reyla looked between us and smiled, giving me a subtle nod. She’d lost her love, and she could understand the sadness that had been plaguing me. I loved her even more because she could be happy for me now.
“I’m going to bed,” I announced to the group.
“Goodnight.” Zayde’s word was echoed by the others.
After giving Vexxion a lingering glance he must see as a promise, I bolted across the room and took the stairs two at a time.
Inside the room, I magicked my dress away and donned a simple, short nightgown I couldn’t wait for Vexxion to peel off with his teeth. Or his magic. I didn’t care how as long as he ripped it away from my body.
I cleansed my teeth and freshly braided my hair before snuffing out the light and climbing beneath the covers, lying on the far side of the bed.
If I knew my love, and I did very well, he wouldn’t be long. He’d be as eager as me to be together.
My heart sung, and my breathing echoed around me. My eyes kept stinging with happy tears.
I suspected I had a lot of hardship left to get through in my future, but for tonight, I would let that go and wallow in the love Vexxion shared with me.
The door cracked open, and he slipped inside, locking the panel behind him.
He must’ve magically removed his clothing and cleaned histeeth, because he walked over to the bed and lifted the covers, slipping beneath them.
I lay beside him with anticipation coiling through my veins. My body throbbed with desire only this man would ever satisfy.
He said nothing.
I waited some more. Should I reach out to him first? Funny how I’d never thought of it that way. We wanted each other all the time and it was never about who touched who or who did what first. We gave completely to the other, and that was all we needed.
My swallow got stuck in my throat.
Finally, I tentatively reached out to touch his arm, finding him lying on his back. Before I could glide my palm across his arm to his chest, before I could touch his nipple in the way he adored, he shrugged me off.
He rolled onto his side, facing away from me.
Deep inside, I shattered.
I sniffed and tried to hold on, to keep myself from giving into the overwhelming need to cry.
