The last vestiges of day surrendered to night’s tranquil embrace while Saiden lay next to Cora in the small grassy meadow. He’d been worried at first that things might be awkward after, but she’d let him curl her body into his side and leisurely stroke her arms as they shifted into idle post-coital chatter.
At one point he felt her shiver, and he dashed up to retrieve their clothes from above the waterfall before she even realized he was gone. Her underwear was beyond saving, so he only handed over her leggings and shirt, hoping she didn’t notice that he pocketed the wet scraps of fabric.
Once dressed, he lay back down, waiting with strained breath to see what she would do. A blissful sigh eased out of him when she molded her body to his once more, this time wrapping her arm up and over his chest to snuggle.
“Tell me something about yourself,” she said, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “You're like this big mystery that I don’t know anything about other than the one rather notable fact.”
“That I’m an incredible lover?”
She laughed and playfully smacked his arm. “That’s not what I meant.” She paused, then added, “Even if it is accurate.”
He was pretty sure he found his new favorite color when she blushed a little, and the crimson hue of her cheeks accented the strawberry scent enveloping him like a cloud. He didn’t even notice the medicinal tinge anymore. All he smelled was her. If he closed his eyes, he could practically imagine himself sitting in a berry field, feeding slices of pie to Cora. It was so tempting to lick the side of her face and see if she tasted as good as she smelled since he had already experienced just how delectable other parts of her were.
“It’s just a little weird,” Cora continued. “I feel like I’ve known you for years, and yet I don’t actually know anything.”
Saiden knew exactly what she meant. He could barely remember his life before Cora, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her.
“I like to crochet,” he offered, needing to lighten the mood before he did something stupid like confess his eternal and undying love.
“No, you don’t,” she said with a giggle, and the sound was sweeter than any music.
“I’m serious,” he replied, nuzzling the top of her head. “I spend a lot of time on surveillance just sitting around. If I don’t keep my hands busy, I’ll go insane. Don’t tell my cousins, though. I’d never live it down.”
Cora propped herself up and gave him a dubious look. “You’re not messing with me?”
“Not even a little bit,” he said, removing a stray twig from her tangled hair. “My little sister used to knit all the time a few hundred years ago. I like crocheting better, but it still reminds me of her.”
She blinked at him a couple times as if the factoid short-circuited her brain cells.
“What do you make?” she asked once the gears seemed to resetthemselves.
“Little animals usually. Sometimes I come across human children when I’m hunting rogues, so I’ll leave one with them for comfort until Tressa arrives to wipe their memories.”
Cora’s eyes searched his face for so long that the scrutiny started to make him uncomfortable.
“What?”
She shook her head then lay back down on his chest. “You just keep surprising me is all.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
She sighed. “Honestly? I’m not sure yet.”
He stroked her hair and slowed his breathing so his rising chest didn’t disturb her too much. “What else do you want to know?”
She was quiet for a moment, and he listened to the sounds of the rushing water mix with the crickets chirping nearby.
At heart he was a predator, more dangerous than any of the other nocturnal forest creatures emerging from their dens to begin their evening hunts. There was a peacefulness to the night that he could never find in the day, as if darkness settling over him forced a pressure to flee from his chest. With night vision better than any of the owls watching over them, he was just as at home now as any human was during the day.
Eventually it would become too cold for her, though. Or she would be too nervous to be in the woods late at night. Until that time came, he would cherish every second of contact with her.
“I guess tell me more about this whole rogue hunting thing. When you first brought it up, I thought you were just a method actor trying a little too hard to get the role. Now that I know the truth, I’m kinda curious about what it all entails.”
He let his gaze lock on the stars above him for a second, searchingfor the answer in their glittering brilliance. He didn’t remember what it was like to look at the night sky as a human, but he knew it was a damn shame that Cora couldn’t see what he could—a tapestry of constellations spreading out over a blanket of swirling sapphire and violet. An explosion of stardust, like grains of twinkling salt tossed up into the sky with abandon.
To his disappointment, the stars didn’t hold the guidance he was looking for. The answer to her question was easy, but what he struggled with was how much truth to reveal. Too much and she might bolt like a rabbit. Too little and she would think he was hiding things from her.
In the end, the reality of the situation made the decision for him. He had precious little time with her, so best to get it all out in the open so he could judge her reaction and determine the amount of damage control needed.
