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Just… calm.
And happy.
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured.
Though Laith shouldn’t have been able to hear the words, I heard his soft response of, “It makes everything feel smaller.”
Though the words could’ve been taken badly, I knew what he meant.
It put things in perspective. It made the fear seem less overwhelming, and the tremendous problems hanging over us feel less massive.
After a few minutes, Laith sat down, pulling me with him smoothly and setting me in front of him. His legs were on either side of me, his chest to my back. His arms wrapped around my front, and I let myself lean against him.
“You’re extremely dusty, Lemay,” he murmured into my ear. I could feel his soft amusement, and it made my body relax further.
“Not as dusty as your castle, Eiven.” I don’t know what made the word leave my lips, and felt his surprise in response to it. Eiven, pronounced ay-vin, was a word in the old language that meant wind. Not just any wind, though; eiven was a wind blowing in one direction, strong enough and sure enough to drag a fae along with it. It took a dozen wind fae of an average power level to create eiven, and after it was created, it took multiple days to dissipate.
“It needs a good cleaning,” Laith finally said. My teeth had captured my lower lip, and his fingers lifted to my mouth. When he gently tugged my my lip free, I opened for him. The pad of his finger traced the sensitive flesh that framed my mouth, and I relaxed back against him. His erection pressed against my lower back, but neither of us mentioned it. He wasn’t trying to get into my dress again; I could feel that much through our connection, though it seemed to fade and swell at random.
“You take pride in your bedroom and kitchen. Why has the rest of your home been ignored?” I asked.
His lips met my throat gently, and I tipped my head to the side as they made their way up to my ear. His teeth scraped over the three piercings I’d had put in along my earlobe, tugging so lightly that it felt nice, not painful.
“Seemed pointless to care for space that wasn’t in use,” he finally said into my ear. Bumps erupted on my flesh at the intimacy of his breath on the skin there.
I knew that wasn’t the full truth, but he didn’t seem eager to let me know his true feelings, so I didn’t push.
His tongue dragged over my earlobe, tracing the earrings and making me shudder. “Not many fae in my lands have these.”
“I’m not a night fae. Not really.” I closed my eyes, savoring the rhythmic crashing of the ocean against the shore. “Your magic changed me, but at my center, I think I’m still an elemental. The land speaks to my heart in a way the stars and darkness never have. It’s different, for Akari and Diora; Diora was born here, and Akari never possessed enough solar fae magic to experience the power. But elemental fae don’t connect with the land ourselves until we’re old enough for the elements to correctly assess us.”
I bit my lip, worried I’d spoken too much. Laith’s interest in my words drifted through my mind though, reassuring me, and I continued. “Had my mother been sane, and I remained in my land, I would’ve become a contributing member of my people’s society. Diora and Akari were saved by your brothers’ magic; I was only saved by yours because there was no one in my town willing to bond my magic to theirs in the case of my mother’s death.”
Laith’s nose rested against my temple, his breath stroking my ear still. “What would your element have been? I can see you with burning palms; you certainly have the inner fire required.”
My lips curved upward sadly. “I’ve always been a wind fae, through and through. Wind is my element. Should we travel back to my world, we won’t bother with any of the others.”
“Your confidence in your nature is extremely attractive.” One of his hands dragged over my ribs, and my body clenched for a moment as desire rolled through me.
“As opposed to your self-consciousness?” I teased him lightly. The man certainly didn’t broadcast any sensitivities.
His amusement faded slightly at my words. “I don’t belong to either of my worlds. The lunar fae no longer have a kingdom of their own, and if my brothers had their way, I would be dead and buried. I have to pretend to murder, capture, and maim fae who I might otherwise consider my people. The level my illusions have gotten to would scare even the strongest of my mother’s people, and I…” he trailed off. “Well, I have never had the privilege of knowing exactly who, what, or where I should be.”
Damn.
That was definitely not what I’d expected to hear.
The urge to comfort him swelled within me, but I knew he didn’t want my pity. And I didn’t pity him, but most of what I could say would come across that way.
My hands lifted to rest on the arm he had wrapped around my chest, and I pulled it tighter to my body. “I think fate has made it fairly clear that you belong wherever I am, Eiven. And as far as what you are… you’re mine, aren’t you?” I lowered my hand to the one he had resting on my waist, and lifted it to my mouth.
Emotions swelled in my chest, and I ignored them as I pressed my lips to his thumb.
His body went rigid behind me.
I pressed a second kiss to his pointer finger, and a third to his middle.
His body trembled slightly against mine.
