“You knew I’d come.” She didn’t ask, it had been a foregone conclusion for both of them the moment Rhiannon had stepped into Ceridwen’s garden earlier.
“I did know. That you’d come. And come.” Slow, sure, oh so sure fingers found her wet and wanting, circled her opening once and then entered her before she knew what was happening. “That you’d want me. Only me. To touch you. To fuck you. To undo you.”
So that was all Rhiannon would say on the matter. To Pru it spoke volumes. And it did nothing for her broken heart other than scatter the pieces even more.
“I want you to put me back together, Rhiannon.”
Whether Rhiannon understood, or whether she heard the plea in Pru’s voice, remained a mystery, at least to Pru herself, but Rhiannon did what she always did best—undoing Pru with her lips and her mouth, with gentle touches and firm strokes. It went for hours, Rhiannon’s insatiable need rivaling her own. Orgasm after orgasm, it felt like a possession, like branding. And it emptied Pru like nothing in her life ever did. Of thoughts and anxieties. Of her fears. Of worries and what-ifs. What did it matter that this wouldn’t last? What did it matter if Pru would be left with those scattered pieces of her heart?
Nothing mattered, because when the sun peeked through the half-closed blinds and Pru made to rise and leave, Rhiannon held her closer, whispering only a few words.
“Please. Stay with me. For just a little while. Stay.”
Pru stayed, even though the “little while” part undid her. The price was worth the undoing.
19
RHIANNON, WANTING NOTHING & WANTING TOO MUCH
PALOMA ALLENDE IS ABOUT TO HOST THE PARTY OF THE YEAR!
The new proprietor of the Astronomy Resort—the one we are waiting to finally start operating so we can snoop around all the rumored luxury—will open its doors to the members of the Crow’s Nest Chamber of Commerce for an extravagant bash.
Our sources report the canapés will be provided by the Tavern, Victoria Crowhart-Moreau most certainly outdoing herself once again—and all the important people have RSVPed and are eager to show their faces, including the Headmistress herself.
Watch the Viridescent!
—Crow’s Caw
October settled in.Fall took hold of Dragons and Crow’s Nest. It bled in reds and oranges, turned the wind inside out in yellows and pinks. And it drowned Rhiannon in melancholy.
Perhaps she wasn’t fair to herself when she didn’t allow her shoulders to relax, to enjoy the fall, the town, the island. Maybe she wasn’t fair to Ceridwen, or Victoria when she kept them in the dark about her reasons and her secrets. None of that seemed to matter as she watched the rivulets of rain wash the windows of the Atelier.
She certainly wasn’t fair to Pru. Pru who asked for nothing. Who responded to her plea with kindness and generosity, who irrevocably was there night after night, who took care of everything and everyone, and who lived every single day as if the other shoe was about to drop.
Rhiannon lifted her hand and watched the slow glow of her magic pulse against the barrier of her isolation. It had been a difficult spell. It was certainly an ill-advised one back then, and more so now. Now, when it was affecting not just her but Prudence as well. Their every second seemed touched by this barrier that Rhiannon had set and the lines she had drawn.
And yet she couldn’t cross any of them. Dragons, prescient to her troubles, shed tears and brooded, the island as attuned to her as in her youth.
“You were always a champion sulker. Seren was known as the pouty one, you rarely did it, but once your mind was set on moodiness? You could out-brood even the best of them. What has you doubled over now?” As if to prove her thoughts, the island answered with a familiar voice. Christian, as always her guardian angel, stood next to her, slowly pulling his work gloves off one finger at a time. He must’ve been digging in the old stock, as he tended to. Rhiannon’s vast unexplored collections, bought at bulk auctions, were bound to bring in something interesting.
“I wasn’t aware I looked that childish. Isn’t sulking something kids do? I rather fancied myself all dark and broody.”
She threw him a sideways glance, watching his eyes crinkle with mischief before his grin bloomed fully.
“You’ll have to forgive me for not quite getting over seeing you as a toddler, running around the island causing trouble.”
He guffawed and she felt herself smile in return. She knew what he was doing, coaxing her gently out of her own misery, trying to prove once again that he had an innate talent to cheer her up. Rhiannon wasn’t going to tell him that he was falling just a bit short this time. Nobody needed to know how tired she was, how worn out.
“If you’re into reminiscing about diapers and such, I’m afraid this conversation will not last long.”
He shrugged, good-naturedly lifting his hands palms up, and they fell into their usual comfortable silence before the troubles of her days encroached once again.
“Have you found out anything?”
Rhiannon couldn’t quite bring herself to mention the note out loud. She felt like she needed a shower just thinking about it.
His jaw set, and she knew the answer before he found the words.
