Page 36 of Fallen Stars

“Lorenzo,” he imagined her purring with that throaty voice. How his name would sound on her lips as he was inside her was his undoing. He hissed, clenching his teeth as his hand moved faster, harder.

“Lorenzo,” her voice purred again, and he groaned, trying to savour the climax, trying to make it last. But it was no use; it tumbled out of him, spilling onto his stomach as he moaned through clenched teeth.

He opened his eyes slowly, his muscles still clenching and unclenching, cock still hard.

He had come in less than five minutes, like a teenager only just discovering his hand.

He covered his face with a pillow, despair and frustration escaping his mouth.

Because fuck, if it wasn’t the best orgasm of his life.

Enzo jerked awake, looking around with wide eyes as his heart continued to drum, the feelings from the dream still cobwebbed over him. His legs were still in the water, and as he looked down at his crotch, he felt an overwhelming sense of lightness, as though he really had just climaxed and unwound all his tension from being trapped in a place where he couldn’t even experience pleasure.

Gods, that memory. He hated it, the way he had tried to convince himself that he loathed his Elara. But at the same time, it had made him smile. That for all his convincing, he had known deep down, from those first moments of meeting her that she was his.

He pushed himself out of the river, the water wrapping around his ankles as though begging him to stay. He looked around, seeing a peek of the cottage’s chimney far in the distance. He had never explored Elara’s dreamscape past the river, but the clear head from his rest and dreams had him observing his surroundings, really observing them. Behind him, he spotted a shadowed clump, one he had never noticed before. He squinted, trying to make out what was rising to the skyline.

He began to jog towards it, the shapes becoming sharper and more pronounced.

A forest.

He continued, a strange pull to the dark treeline propelling his feet.

It was quiet in this space as it usually was, but the moment he reached the woods, the silence seemed to settle heavier.

He peered into the gloom, seeing only twisting paths and dense black trees within. A small sign jutted out of the ground, crude letters carved into the wood.

‘The Veritas Woods.’

Strange. Elara had never mentioned these before. And she had never warned himnotto explore them.

He looked back to the cottage, merely a speck now.

‘Well,’ he thought, turning back and stepping one foot across the boundary, ‘I suppose I’m going in then.’

Chapter Twelve

“Oh, thank gods,” Merissa breathed, squeezing Elara’s hand as she walked towards them, Eli sloping off with a nod to the three.

“We thought he might be kidnapping you,” Isra said.

“Well, you’re both excellent bodyguards then,” Elara said sardonically.

The women laughed, but it died soon.

“So?” Merissa pressed. “Do we have an answer?”

Elara smiled, her eyes shining as she nodded. “But not here. Come, let’s find somewhere to eat.”

The cool Castorian air was a welcome balm to Elara’s face as they stepped out of the club. She linked the two women, pulling them to a quiet little restaurant a few alleys down, its cosy glow inviting them in.

“Eat, and then I’ll tell you everything I know,” she said, beckoning them into the room.

For the first time, Elara was hungry. She assumed it had something to do with the faint flicker of hope Eli had cast without realising. No matter how hard it may be, there was a way to wake Enzo. She hadn’t realised how much tension she had been carrying in her bones or how hopeless she’d truly felt until she was thrown a raft.

Isra and Merissa ordered quickly while Elara looked over the menu, her stomach growling. She settled on roast beef, spiced potatoes, and greens, the plates arriving piled high and steaming in the dimly lit booth they’d snatched.

“So,” Elara said with her mouth full, shovelling forkfuls in as though she’d been starving. “Thereisa way to wake Enzo.”

---