I rise to my knees, my body automatically gravitating toward her. However, I catch myself and fall back on my heels again, shaking my head at how quickly I almost lost control of myself there.
 
 “Have you ever climaxed from nipple play alone?” I ask Florence, curious if she’d like me to continue just as we’ve been doing and nervous to push her too far.
 
 Florence moves her head from side to side then slowly uncrosses her legs, widening them before placing her feet down flat on the blanket.
 
 “Think your magic can manage other areas too?” Florence’s voice exudes confidence, and so does her body, but a breath of nervousness seeps into the air around her. It is extremely endearing to know she is battling her nerves the same way I am and she is only putting up a front to keep me present in the moment. I don’t call attention to it, though.
 
 Matching her confidence instead, I say, “I guess we will have to find out.”
 
 Florence’s grin grows and I can sense her appreciation that I am playing along.
 
 I reach toward the picnic basket with my right hand and move it behind me, not wanting my view obstructed by anything.
 
 When I look back at Florence, her chest is moving up and down more rapidly than before. Anticipation thickens the air between us and my heartbeat picks up its rhythm.
 
 I stretch out my fingers in front of me, flexing them as if I’m readying my mage hand for what I am about to attempt.
 
 “Adelbert,” Florence says in a gentle whisper, “you don’t have to do anything you are not comfortable with.”
 
 I huff out a laugh and shake my head.
 
 “Florence, I only wish you could read my emotions right now. There is nothing I would like more at this particular moment intime than to touch your pretty pussy and watch you explode in ecstasy.”
 
 A warm blush steals across Florence’s cheeks, traveling down her pale chest, tinging the skin there with the same reddish color. She throws her head back and shakes out her hair. When her gaze lowers to meet mine again, there’s a fire burning in them.
 
 “Then what are you waiting for?”
 
 Chapter twenty-six
 
 Florence
 
 Throwing that challenge down was the final push Adelbert needed. Today has taken such a very unexpected, yet very welcome, turn. If you had told me I’d be laid out on a picnic blanket about to get finger fucked by the most handsome male in existence, there’s no way I would have believed it.
 
 But here I am. In my meadow. Adelbert’s meadow.Ourmeadow? The meadow of my dreams. I am sure the fates planted the image in my head way before Sadie and I even thought of the Caribbean trip. I can’t even remember whose idea it was anyway.The season might not be exactly the same as what I dreamed about, but in another month or so, it might be.
 
 I wonder if the bond—and I—will be gone by then…
 
 Pushing out any negative thoughts, I fix my eyes on Adelbert’s, reveling in the pure hunger he isn’t even trying to mask. I let my knees fall a bit more to the side and suck in a sharp breath when his magic hand wraps around one ankle.
 
 “Your skin is so soft and smooth,” Adelbert says as he strokes what I assume is his thumb against the inside of my ankle.
 
 It has been hard not having had a hug or a reassuring touch since I’ve come to Germany. Yes, Sir Purrington soothes a little of the ache, but it doesn’t fully replace that human-to-human, skin-to-skin sensation I crave.
 
 Even though I know it’s not his physical hand, this sensation right here on my body still feels like it could be Adelbert. The fingers are long and elegant, just like his, and the touch grows more confident with each pass across my skin.
 
 Adelbert doesn’t toy with me for too long. He grabs my skirt, gently shoving it up my thighs, revealing more skin to his wolfish gaze with each inch he uncovers. I make no move to help him, just keeping my back arched and my legs open, as if I’m some wanton queen in another realm. If today is all I get with Adelbert, I will make the most of every second.
 
 With my dress settled around my waist, my breasts free to the open air, and only a thin piece of material covering my soaked core, I feel more powerful than I have with any previous lovers.
 
 All because of the way Adelbert is looking at me.
 
 Like I’m some kind of Christmas present he has just unwrapped. I choose to believe that I am the reason for his awestruck expression, and not that he is marveling at how strong his magic is.
 
 “Would you like me to take my panties off?” I ask Adelbert as his eyes remain riveted on what I’m sure must be a wet spot inthe center of my underwear. His magic hand is wrapped around my knee, thumb rubbing absentmindedly at the sensitive skin on the inside.
 
 Wordlessly, Adelbert nods and his Adam’s apple bobs on a hard swallow.
 
 I shift around to grab the sides of my panties and slip them off, tossing them in the corner of the blanket. While I’m busy removing them, the thought that it might be good to also get rid of my dress, strikes me. So I do just that, and lift it over my head to place it in the corner too.