Page 36 of Must Love Scones and Secrets
I closed my eyes, all too aware of her warmth beside me, the faint scent of vanilla that clung to her even after being drenched in rain, the whisper of her breathing. Sleep seemed impossible with her so close, yet I felt more at peace than I had in years.
Tomorrow, I would worry about unicorns and secrets and the inevitable complications of who I was. Tonight, I would simply be Bjorn, a man fortunate enough to share a small cabin and a warm bed with a woman who saw him for himself.
For the first time in all my memory.
CHAPTER 13
ROSALYN
I’d never been afraid of storms, per se, but the storm raging outside felt different. In Spring Haven, my mother used to say that pixies were made of rainwater, pollen, and magic. Apparently, my father had some skill with weather charms, but that gift had bypassed me entirely. The weather outside felt wild and untamed, like the chaotic magic affecting the unicorns.
A deafening crack of lightning jolted me awake. The cabin shook with the force of it, and without thinking, I let out a startled squeak and pressed myself closer to Bjorn.
“Rosalyn?” His voice was thick with sleep, but his arm instinctively wrapped around me.
“Sorry,” I whispered, embarrassed. “The lightning?—”
Another crash interrupted me, this one accompanied by a flash of lightning so bright it illuminated the entire cabin for a breathless moment. The wind howled, rattling the windowpanes like an angry spirit demanding entrance.
“It’s all right,” Bjorn murmured, pulling me closer. “I’ve got you.”
I looked up at him, his face shadowed but his eyes gleaming in the firelight. My heart fluttered, but not from fear this time.
“I’ve never heard a storm like this,” I said softly.
“We get them in the Frozen Isles. Magic-infused storms,” he replied, his thumb absently tracing circles on my arm. “They blow in from the sea, bringing ice and howling wind.”
“Is this one magical, do you think? I don’t remember a storm like this in Moonshine Hollow before.”
He was quiet for a moment, considering. “Maybe. It came on so suddenly.”
Our faces were inches apart. The thin barrier of space between us seemed to crackle with the same electric tension as the storm outside.
“Bjorn,” I whispered, unsure what I wanted to say.
He didn’t let me finish. His mouth found mine in the darkness, gentle at first, then with growing urgency as I responded. My hands slid to the back of his neck, gently pulling him closer. The oversized shirt I wore hiked up as I shifted, and his hand found my bare leg, his touch setting my skin ablaze.
“Is this okay?” he asked against my lips, his voice husky.
“More than okay,” I breathed, my wings fluttering under the long shift with anticipation.
His hand traveled higher, and I gasped when his fingers found the sensitive skin of my inner thigh. I arched into his touch, my body already humming with desire.
“I want you,” I whispered, feeling the words coming from my heart. This did not feel like my usual flirtations. Something different was happening here. I wanted Bjorn, but for more than just one night. I wanted him, all of him, heart and soul. “I have since the first moment I saw you,” I confessed.
Bjorn groaned, the sound sending a delicious shiver down my spine. He pulled back just enough to tug his shirt off, revealing his muscled chest and the intricate blue runes that decorated his arms and torso. In the dim light, they seemed to pulse with a soft glow that matched the rhythm of his heartbeat.
I touched them with wandering fingers, tracing the patterns. “They’re beautiful.”
“They’re reacting to you,” he said in a tone of wonder. “They don’t glow unless…”
I didn’t have time to ask what he meant before his mouth was on mine again, more demanding this time. His hands pushed the borrowed shirt up further, and I helped him pull it over my head entirely, leaving me bare.
The cool air made my skin rise in gooseflesh, but Bjorn’s gaze smoldered as he took me in, looking over my naked body. “You’re perfect,” he whispered, his hands stroking my soft belly. “Like ivory and roses,” he whispered, then began to trail kisses down my neck, collarbone, and lower still.
When his mouth closed around my nipple, I cried out, my back arching off the bed. My wings fluttered wildly, lifting me slightly.
“The advantages of a pixie lover,” I said with a breathless laugh.
