Chapter Thirty-Seven
“That boy in the story…that was your story, wasn’t it?”
Lily walked hand-in-hand with Col on the path that wound from the backyard and into the woods. She had had a momentary shiver as she thought of the dogs she had heard barking or fighting the other day, when Col was out on patrol. But when she shared her concern with Col, he had answered with a little smile.
“Fear not, I shall protect you from any…dog….that wouldst be so foolish as to come near.”
He, too, seemed to find it funny as Aylwyn, Barric and Tybalt did, but at least he wasn’t in tears about it. It must be some inside joke that wasn’t worth having him explain. Probably something initiated by Aylwyn.
There was just enough moonlight that Lily could see directly in front of her, but she still marveled at how assuredly Col moved about in the relative darkness. But, she supposed that he was very familiar with the area, given all the patrolling that he and the others did.
“Yes,” Col answered her question about the story he had so eloquently told. “It was another time, when boys such as Brady would have been taken from their mothers and already shaped intoWaryeors.And girls such as Clover would not know theirBrodheruntil such time as when he had already tasted battle.”
“Do you have brothers and sisters?” Lily was suddenly seized with an urgency to know all about him, beyond what he had revealed in his story.
Col’s voice was sad. “If I had siblings born of mine parents, I knew them not, and will never have the chance to know them, ever again. My onlyBredhrennow are the ones here that you have met, and two more that are still to be found.”
Of course.Lily wanted to kick herself. It was uncharacteristically callous of her. How could she have forgotten — he obviously had to leave behind his family to come here, and they probably had no chance of getting out. In order for him to seek political asylum in this country, he had to accept that he might never see them again. She had been so thoughtless, so selfish to ask. And the other two refugees that he just referred to were in all likelihood mired in some bureaucratic nightmare. The last thing he probably wanted or needed was for her to insert herself into that red tape. All that mattered, she reminded herself firmly, was the here and now, what was developing between them. Whatever it was, and however long that it would last.
“I’m sorry about your family, Col,” she said simply, squeezing his hand to impart some strength, some sympathy. “ I have some idea how it feels, I have lost people too. I’m sorry to have brought it up.”
She thought of her mother in her last days, growing up with her father’s absence, and felt her throat tighten.
“It pains me to think of such sadness touching you.” Col stopped, and drew both her hands slowly up to his mouth, kissing the knuckles tenderly.
Who knew that knuckles could be erogenous zones? She felt the warmth flicker deep within, and when he turned her hands over, to kiss the insides of her wrists, the warmth burst into a flame .
“Tell me of them,” Col said. “I wouldst desire to know of who you hold dear, ere they were gone, but still have a place in your heart.”
Dear Lord, she couldn’t think straight, not when he held her hands like this. As if he could intuit what was going through her mind, he slowly lowered their hands, pulling her into an embrace against his massive form. Under the moonlight, in a small grove of trees, with the nighttime breeze softly blowing on her bare skin, she felt the strength of his chest, his heart beating next to her. Was it wrong to pretend, just for right now, that this would last? This was a moment she wanted to hold onto forever.
His hand was rubbing smooth circles on her back, and he murmured against her hair. “Whoever hurt you was unworthy of you, Katie Cooper. Or wouldst you wish for me to address you as Fair Lily?”
Her name in his voice, with his accent, was the loveliest thing she ever heard.
“Please call me Lily,” she breathed. And then she remembered. She had to ask him something, didn’t she. She cleared her throat.
“Col.”
He made a sound of acknowledgment, as he continued nuzzling her head, still holding her.
“The other night, when we—when you—” She struggled to form the right words, but dear God, it was so difficult as the warmth of his hand continued to hypnotically trace spirals on her back.
“When you allowed me to worship your body, beautiful Lily?”
God.And English wasn’t his first language? Somehow in the short time he had been here, he had managed to pick up the exact right words to turn her into mush.
“It’s after the fact, but we should talk about whether we are — uh, our partners — uh, the people we’ve slept with—”Crap.She had only ever had one partner, Rey, and to her knowledge he hadn’t cheated on her. And it wasn’t like she ever thought she’d have need of the articles on “How to HaveThatConversation” or “How to Be Responsible About Having Sex with People You’ve Just Met.” Or that she’d be standing in the middle of the woods wondering how to bring up the sexual health status of a hot guy she’d already done the nasty with.
“My ex is the only person I’ve been with, until you.” Lily finally said, and Col’s brows knit together.
“I cannot but envy any other man who has lain with you,” Col’s voice was a step away from being a growl. It was….kind of sexy. Okay, alotsexy.
“ You don’t need to,” Lily felt his hand tighten on her back, all his muscles tense.
“Col, in all the ways that matter, you’re the first for me. You call it worship, I call it making love. You were the first to make me….” Lily’s cheek flushed, and she forced the admission out. “You were the first to care about giving me pleasure, and that was the first time I felt it.”
She peered up into his hazel eyes, just in time to see the wonderment spread over his face.
