“Show?” Melody looks confused but delighted as she settles onto the blankets.
“The forecast said there’s a 90% chance tonight,” I tell her, finally sitting beside her. “Best conditions we’ve had all winter.”
“For what—” she begins, but then her eyes widen as the first shimmer of green light appears across the night sky. “Oh, my god.”
I watch her face instead of the sky, mesmerized by the wonder in her expression as the northern lights begin their dance. Ribbons of green and purple ripple across the darkness, pulsing and shifting like something alive.
“Everett,” she whispers, her eyes reflecting the colors above. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
And I can’t agree more.
She shivers slightly, and I immediately open my arms. “Cold?”
Without hesitation, she scoots into my embrace, her back against my chest as I wrap my arms around her. I pull the top blanket over us both, cocooning us in warmth as we gaze upward. Her vanilla-clove scent intensifies with our proximity.
“My dad used to tell me that the lights were messages,” I say, my voice low. “That they were how the universe communicated with us.”
“What do you think they’re saying tonight?” she asks, turning her face toward mine.
“That some things are meant to be,” I whisper, my eyes dropping to her lips. “That some connections are written in the stars.”
Her breath catches, and I can smell the sweet shift in her scent—vanilla deepening, cloves intensifying. It’s intoxicating, driving my alpha instincts to the surface.
Protect. Cherish. Claim.
Her hands find mine beneath the blanket, fingers intertwining.
The lights above us intensify, a curtain of green rippling across the sky, followed by a flash of purple so vivid it seems close enough to touch. Melody gasps, and I feel the vibration of her wonder against my chest.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she says. “In the city, you can’t even see stars.”
“The city has its own kind of magic,” I offer, though I’ve never been comfortable in urban environments myself: too many people, too much concrete, not enough trees.
She shakes her head slightly. “Nothing like this.” Her hand squeezes mine. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”
She turns in my arms, shifting to look at me instead of the sky. The aurora paints her face in ethereal greens and purples, highlighting the curve of her cheek, the fullness of her lips.
I cup her face gently, my thumb tracing along her cheek. I’ve never wanted anything more than to kiss her in this moment, under this sky, in this place that means so much to me.
I capture her lips with mine; her taste is intoxicating, as if every cell in my body recognizes her.
She sighs into my mouth, her body melting against mine. Her vanilla-clove scent intensifies, filling my lungs, clouding my thoughts until there’s nothing but Melody, and this perfect moment.
Melody shifts in my arms, straddling my lap, her knees pressed into the blankets on either side of my hips. Even through layers of winter clothing, I can feel the heat of her core, smell her delicious scent, and it makes me groan.
“Everett,” she whispers against my mouth, and hearing my name like that, all breathless and wanting, nearly undoes me.
Fuck, this girl is everything that I ever dreamed of.
I slide my hands to her waist, steadying her as she rocks against me, creating a friction that sends sparks of pleasure through my body. The northern lights continue their dance across the sky, casting her in their glow, making her look otherworldly and impossibly beautiful.
“I want you,” she breathes against my lips. “Right here under the sky.”
A primal growl escapes me, the alpha in me responding to her omega’s call. But concern tempers my desire. “It’s freezing. You’ll catch a cold.”
She laughs, the sound light and musical in the quiet night. “Then we’ll have to be creative, won’t we?” Her eyes sparkle. “Keep me warm, Alpha.”
Her fingers find the zipper of my coat, tugging it down just enough to slip her hand inside. Even through my sweater, her touch burns.
