It was the second time today this hunter knelt before her, and she couldn’t deny the power it made her feel. She studied his broad shoulders and the freckles across them that matched those on his face.
He brought a towel from the workbench, slowly cleaning her up. Each swipe of the towel and brush of his hands made Tallulah’s stomach flip. When he was done, he slid his shirt over her head. It smelled of him. Of rain and pine and earth. She wrapped it tighter around herself, still dazed by the events of the afternoon. Wishing she could stay wrapped up in his shirt and his arms.
“Thank you,” she whispered, completely unsure what to do now.
Evren smiled. His eyes held a hint of mischief, and his hair was tousled from Tallulah’s fingers. He slid onto the sofa beside her, pulling her onto his lap with her back to his chest. Her stomach dipped as she rested her head against him. His fingers softly twisted her hair into a braid, occasionally stopping to grasp her chin and turn it toward him for a slow kiss.
They spoke little the rest of the day. But it wasn’t the silence that left Tallulah worried. It was how comfortable the silence was. Comfortable and content. As if it were always meant to be this way. She and Evren in the greenhouse. With the cold nights and the foggy mornings. With the stories and pine needle tea and his arms wrapped around hers. Him washing and braiding her hair.
But it wasn’t always meant to be this way. It wasnevermeant to be this way. And she was a fool to think there would ever be a future like this. The memory of the pleasure they’d just had washed away and replaced with what sheshouldhave been feeling all along.
Fear.
* * *
The next morningEvren found himself with Tallulah tucked in tightly to his chest, her hair still braided from yesterday, and the greenhouse dimly lit from the early morning sun. Today was like any other day that he’d woken up to, except it wasn’t.
They’d been together, and it had changed everything.
Even before that, Evren knew what his heart wanted. It was his brain that took longer to catch up. Logic and reason had always been his leading emotions, but with her, neither of those seemed to matter.
Especially now that she’d been vulnerable with him. Had let him see all of her, hadwantedhim to see.
There was no going back. He had fallen deeply. Slowly, but deeply. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, but he imagined it began the day she let him go. Let him live even when she knew what his intentions were.
She often spoke about being a Florecas. How it was not a magick deemed useful to anyone but the flowers she grew. And so many times in the last few weeks he’d wanted to tell her that her magick was so much more than plants and flowers. It was softness in the face of brutality. It was brightness on a gloomy day and joy in the wake of chaos. It was her passion for all living things and her empathy for those that maybe didn’t deserve it. Like him.Especiallyhim.
His stomach flipped as Tallulah moaned in her sleep. A sound he wouldn’t mind hearing every day of his life. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her temple, soft enough that she wouldn’t wake, but firm enough to wash away the worry forming between her brows. Not that he didn’t want her to wake, but that she deserved the rest.
The rest of the afternoon yesterday had been quiet. Quiet but not uncomfortable. But he missed her laugh. Missed her voice, even if it had only been a few hours. He remained still behind her. Letting her sleep and letting himself form the plan he’d started yesterday. The plan to keep them safe.
His mind drifted briefly to Davenport. To the pub and the ale that, only weeks ago, dictated his life. His every waking moment. But with the ale cleared from his system, he could never imagine going back to that. She had helped him even when she hadn’t realized she was doing so. But maybe she had realized, and she never said. Never made him feel poorly for the choices that led him to the withdrawals.
He breathed in the scent of her, floral and sweet, his arms wrapping tighter around her waist. He was determined to be a better man because of Tallulah Hollow.Forher.
He would never let anything bad happen to her again.
* * *
Shivers caused Tallulah to wake.She’d gotten used to the firm warmth of Evren’s body behind her and when he was no longer there, she sat up with a start.
She glanced around the greenhouse. It was empty aside from her plants slowly coming to life in the morning sun. Evren’s shirt still hung loosely around her, so she pulled it tighter. Taking a deep inhale of the pine and earth scent.
“Oh, you’re awake.” Evren’s voice sounded from behind her.
She turned to see him balancing her teakettle, two mugs, and scrambled quail eggs on a wooden tray. Still shirtless. She smiled, knowing how poor of a cook he was from a previous failed attempt, but the look of determination on his face made her heart warm.
“I made us some…” he glanced down at the scrambled mess.
He must be cold. But if he was, he didn’t show it, and she certainly didn’t mind the view.
“It smells lovely,” Tallulah lied, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
He came to sit beside her, handing her a mug of tea. She drank slowly, watching him over the edge of her mug. His hands no longer twitched as they had before. Instead, they were a new kind of nervous. It was endearing watching him try to impress her. Like he had any reason to. She was already his in a way.
“I’ll take that.” Tallulah reached for the tray and set it on the ground. Evren’s smile left a sensation low in her stomach, so she turned her head and focused on her tea.
She didn’t regret for one moment what they’d done yesterday. Doing it again was all she could think about in the most maddening way. But she knew better than to imagine they could have any sort of life together.
