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And then I’m laughing again, imagining the two of them.
Caspian smiles back and with a final tug on his boxers, his cock springs free, thick and long and solid as steel. He slides on the condom.
“Come here, beautiful,” he says softly and tugs on my hips.
Maybe neither of us belongs here, in this world, but I know I belong here. I position myself over his lap, my entrance hovering at the tip of his cock.
“Make me feel something,” I repeat and then impale myself on him.
The first plunge is like falling into cold water, the shock enough to steal my breath. But I’m not stuck here; there’s no ice blocking my way. I’m swimming, saving myself, and with each thrust, the surface appears above me, beaming with light.
Caspian digs his fingers into my hips and cries out as his cock spears the deepest part of me. God, he looks so beautiful, his hair in a halo around his head, his face so angelic it should only belong in poetry. We swell together, movements in sync, our bodies knowing each other perfectly. My heart drums against my chest, and when I put my palm over his, it beats in the same rhythm.
“Rosalina,” he growls, and I know the cadence of his voice. He’s close.
The thought of us finishing together, of him being such a part of me, is nearly enough to undo my every thread. I throw my head back, feeling the ends of my hair brushing the top of my buttocks. Staring up, I see the first star has winked awake in the purple sky.
The North Star. Above and below me.
I look down at Caspian. The star reflects in his gaze.
“Make me feel,” I say once more.
And he does. His roar tears through the trees, causing birds to skitter and ripples to raise along the lake. And with his final thrust, the inside of my body bursts with light, every candle flickering into a bonfire.
I am a quivering mess, but he pulls me gently to his side, banding his arms around me and grounding me to the earth.
“I remember now,” I whisper when words come back to me.
“Hmm?”
“Who I am.”
“Oh good.” Caspian kisses the top of my head. “Just so you know, I never forgot.”
I know he didn’t.
Rosalina.
Daughter of George and Anya. Sister to Wrenley. Mate to Keldarion, Ezryn, Daytonales, Farron, and Caspian.
And Princess of the Enchanted Vale.
6
Rosalina
Ipull my sun hat lower down on my head and keep my eyes hidden behind the oversize sunglasses. Orca Cove is small, but during the summer, it’s filled with tourists. A local wouldn’t take notice of me, but still, I don’t want to chance being seen.
As far as they know, Rosalina O’Connell disappeared years ago.
My unconscious steps carry me through the streets, the morning sun baking the cement. I walk past the rows of stores designed after log cabins before arriving at a tree. Not any tree, but a very good tree. A willow tree, its leaves the most delicate shade of green, the undersides almost silver.
“For some reason, I thought I’d find you here,” I say as I stand beside the woman staring at its weeping branches.
My mother turns to me. She hasn’t bothered to hide her face. It’s been nearly three decades since she left Orca Cove—I suppose she doesn’t expect anyone to remember her.
When I woke up this morning, Mom was gone. It’s the first time since we came here that she’s left the cottage. Nobody had seen her leave, not even Wrenley who still stays out all night in the tree house.
