Page 41 of Song of the Dawn
“Recover.” I rubbed my head ruefully. “That wine did things to my vision. I saw horned creatures and women with tails.”
“Yes, you saw what you saw.”
His tone made me peer sharply at him. “Are you saying it was real?”
“This is Lagoda, and the veil between worlds is especially thin on nights like these. It is plausible some of the fair folk came out of hiding to dance with us, but you’ll never find them again, even if you try.”
I stared at him, trying to wrap my mind around it. He’d been trying to tell me this all summer. Other beings were real, and I’d seen some last night. My headache began to pound again, and I gave up thinking. It was much easier not to believe even though I’d seen the creatures with my own eyes.
“I see,” I said and smiled at him, although it turned into a grimace.
Shadow creatures and fair folk, a veil between worlds. What was the veil hiding, and what was on the other side? And then another question rose, one I’d never considered before. Had Ezra been there? I studied him while he worked, his slim figure hiding taut muscles, the fall of his golden hair, sometimes with hints of a reddish orange, depending on how the sunlight fell. No, I came to the conclusion he was human through and through. Nothing made me think he might be one of them.
Ezra served a meal of fruit, eggs, bread, and jam. Fig jam, I noticed with a smile, wondering if it was popular here or if he’d done so to humor me. We ate in a comfortable silence, and he was right. As soon as the food hit my belly, I felt much better, especially after washing down the bread and jam with peaches. Yet another fruit that was rare to find in the city, or at least for those who were commoners. The titled, of course, used extreme measures to supply all their needs.
Not for the first time, I thought of Mother and Aveline and wondered how they were faring in the countryside. They’d written letters, of course, but words only went so far. Seeing them in person would be lovely and perhaps break the enchantment, the spell that seemed to hold me here at the Dawn.
“What are you thinking?” Ezra asked, his low voice luring me out of my thoughts.
Taking another sip of water, I studied him, a lightness returning to my heart. “Of my mother and my sister. They’d love it here.”
“Tell them to come sometime. They are welcome here,” he said.
The words rang true because it was Ezra, because he was generous and kind and… “You’re so good to me,” I whispered.
“You make it easy.” He leaned so close our knees touched under the table. His eyes were dark, sincere, and shimmering with yearning.
I parted my lips to respond, but my words faded under the intensity of his gaze. What was between us was potent, powerful, intoxicating, and although I’d given myself wholly to his kisses, nothing had happened beyond that. I wanted to submerge myself in him and experience the extent of passion and pleasure.
He placed a hand on my knee, fingers inching up, close to my inner thigh.
I bit the bottom of my lip but held his gaze. This was what I wanted. Something curled deep in my belly, and I didn’t think it was simply lust for him. It was more. An awakening, a desire for something deeper that went beyond sharing picnics on the lake or taking walks in the gardens.
“Ezra?” I whispered.
“Mila,” he responded, “I’m done waiting.”
Mila
Ezra stood so suddenly his chair fell over and crashed to the floor with a boom. The look in his eyes was indescribable and his movements a blur as he practically lifted me out of the chair, one hand squeezing my bottom, the other splayed against my back.
The calm, sweet man I knew shifted and morphed into something more dangerous and dominant. Before I could catch my breath, his lips were on mine, hot, insistent, the sweet nectar of peaches on his tongue. The blaze within me ignited, replaced with an ache for more. I squirmed in his arms, my fingers fumbling, tugging at his shirt as he spun me around. A moment later, my back was against the wall, and he lifted me higher until I could wrap my legs around him, the robe falling open.
Ezra drew back with a hiss. My face hovered above his, just inches away from his delicious lips. “You are naked, aren’t you?”
“I told you,” I teased, my fingers curling around the nape of his neck.
I dipped my head to taste him again, and he welcomed my advance, kissing me gently and then not gently at all. He pressed kisses against my jaw, sucking at my neck until I panted, bucking against him. Desperate.
Breaking contact, he pinned me with his dark eyes. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “Do you know what you do to me?”
“Show me,” I ordered, a wildness growing inside, warning me I was on the verge of losing all control.
His grip tightened, and suddenly the wall was gone as he carried me into the dark bedroom. A faint glimmer shone in from the curtains, providing just enough light for us to see each other but muting everything else.
Ezra laid me on the bed, positioning himself between my legs. When I propped myself up on my elbows, he reached for the knot of the belt and pulled. The belt slipped down my hips, but the robe remained closed, like a gift, waiting for him to unwrap it. My breath hitched, but instead of touching me, he pulled off his shirt and tossed it over the side of the bed.
He was slim, his body hardened from his days as a knight. A crisscross of scars covered his torso, coming around his rib cage like the claws of a great monster. I reached for him, paused. But he stilled, waiting.
