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Nava pulled hard on the stem of a tomato plant, ignoring the small hairs that pricked the pads of her fingers. The cold temperatures last night had killed her crop, but it wasn’t much of a surprise. Aristaeus had chastised her days ago when she’d mentioned she had been extending the plant’s fruitful season.
“We don’t go against nature’s course,” Ari had said, and she was rolling her eyes even now. What good did it do for her to have the power to grow things if she wasn’t able to wield it in here?
She sighed at the wilting leaves and the young fruits that were too small to pick and glanced to the side, meeting the eyes of her fellow gardener. The fae waved at her and continued working.
Urlah wasn’t talkative, but he kept his uniform impressively clean for someone who worked with dirt all day. He loved to teach Nava about native crops that grew in this part of the Copper Kingdom.
Tossing the tomato plant aside to the pile she had been working on the entire morning, she studied her very dead vegetable garden. She would have to wait until later in the spring to get her favorite crops blooming again.
The thundering hooves of a horse on the gravel road drew her attention. The ornate copper gates of their estate swung open as a gray stallion galloped toward the house. Its rider was a large male, wearing a black coat with a wide collar that matched his beast’s shiny fur.
He jumped off the saddle before the horse stopped moving. His wings popped out from his back, casting a shadow over the stone steps that led to the entrance of the dwelling.
Nava dusted her palms off on her raw linen apron and rose to her feet. He came up the steps, two at a time. His clothing hugged his wide shoulders and a thick belt cinched in his narrow waist. Watching him approach made her heart soar.
Arkimedes’s gaze dropped to her bare feet, then traveled upward as he studied her choice of clothing until their eyes met. “You must be the gardener,” he said. “Do you know if anyone else is home?”
Nava’s lips curled up into a smile, her stomach swirling with a mixture of nerves and anticipation. “I’m afraid they have all gone to the market. It’s just me—and Urlah.”
“I see.” Arkimedes reached for her, but Nava swatted his hand away.
“Keep your hands off me, sir. While you’re dashing, I’m a married woman.”
Arkimedes peered at her from under his long, dark lashes, returning her smile. “I see no ring on your finger, milady…”
“He keeps me here with something much bigger than a ring.”
Arkimedes choked on a laugh. “How big are we talking about?”
“I meant our soulmate bond!” Nava’s cheeks warmed, and she fought the urge to fan her face. “You’ve a naughty mind.”
“When it comes to you, I do.” He reached for her again, so fast this time that Nava couldn’t slip away. Then he pulled her close by her apron’s front pocket, his face hovering a mere breath away from hers. “Perhaps you should wear the ring I gave you. It will ward off unwanted suitors.”
“But it comes off while I’m gardening, and I don’t want to lose it,” she said, right before his lips descended onto hers. As if they hadn’t seen each other in ages, when they had been a tangled mass of two bodies this very morning.
Arkimedes’s kiss was soft but demanding, keeping a rhythm that made her blood sing. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her body to his while tracing her tongue over his bottom lip before deepening the kiss. His hands traveled up her arms, across her shoulders, finally settling against her lower back.
Then he pulled away, his breath whispering over her well-kissed lips. “What do you say, should we get you out of these clothes?”
“Shh! Urlah is going to hear us…”
Again.
Nava should feel embarrassed that the poor staff kept stumbling over them in heated moments. However, with the rumors that they were soulmates, their insatiable desire for each other didn’t appear to bother most of them.
“I think it’s too late for that, Bee,” he said, peering over her shoulder. She could hear the gardener’s quick steps fade away as he made himself scarce. Arkimedes didn’t wait. He dipped swiftly, wrapping one an arm underneath her bottom and the other behind her back, lifting her up with ease before he took off into the sky.
The crisp air bit her cheeks, and Nava smiled as she looked down on their home. The golden sunlight kissed its clay rooftop, and beyond the magnificent old edifice made of gray stone and climbing roses, the lake’s water caught the light with a twinkle, like stars glimmering in the night sky.
“I hate that the meeting took me away from you this morning,” Arkimedes said, and dipped his face into the crook of Nava’s neck. A soft, approving noise left his lips. “Your scent is intoxicating, and it’s driving me crazy.”
Perhaps they were getting close to the winter solstice, and their primal nature was already taking over. Or perhaps this was how they always were.
His lips grazed the sensitive skin of her ear as he breathed her in, tightening his hold on her as they approached the house. Her core tingled with her awakened desire, and she dug her fingers into his scalp, kissing the side of his jaw and down to his lips. The longer they lived together, the more she was discovering Arkimedes’s animalistic fae side, and she loved it.
They landed on the balcony. The stone beneath her bare feet was warm, and the view from here—she would never tire of it.
The beautiful, manicured gardens sprawled before her with their tall golden grasses, white winter honeysuckle bushes, and bright bursts of pansies. Each season brought a new delight. The entire estate took her breath away. Gods, she loved it here.
