Page 70 of Enchanting the Elf
“So are you,” I slur, drunk off orgasms and blissed-out with life.
“Let’s get you to bed.” Adelbert scoops me up and I sling my arms around his neck.
After a couple of steps I lift my head and point out, “My room is that way.”
“Liebling, if you think I’m not keeping you with me then you are sorely mistaken.”
“Okay,” I sigh contentedly and snuggle closer.
Chapter thirty-four
Adelbert
I wake up with Florence’s naked body curled around mine, her head on my shoulder, arm slung across my waist, and leg draped over my thigh. I glide my fingers through some strands of her pale blonde hair fanned out behind her, admiring how it glows in the morning light streaming in through the gap in my curtain. She looks utterly ethereal.
“Morning,” Florence croaks and burrows into me. My heart swells at the move and I realize how natural it feels to have herin my bed, to wake up with her. I swallow around the unexpected lump in my throat.
“Morning, Liebling,” I rasp back, lacing our fingers on my chest.
Florence beams up at me with bleary eyes and a strange sensation takes root deep in my gut, setting loose a swarm of butterflies.
She’s pure radiant sunshine and I can’t help but fall a bit deeper in love with her.
“I like waking up with you,” Florence whispers and bites her lip. A faint pink stains her cheeks before she tries to duck her head.
I reach out with my mage hand and tip her chin up so she can see the truth in my eyes.
“I like having you in my bed. Waking up with you. Cooking with you. Living with you.” And not knowing if it’s appropriate to say it but needing to utter it regardless, I add, “And I really like fucking you.”
Florence repositions herself onto her side so she can look at me more directly and I mirror her move.
“This is really fast, isn’t it? Two days ago we were in Vegas and acting like polite acquaintances, and now we’re here. Sleeping together. Are you still okay with everything that’s happened?” she asks, and bites her lip.
I free her lip from her teeth and rub my thumb along the plump flesh, gathering my thoughts before I speak, not wanting to fuck up my explanation or hurt her ever again.
“Please bear with me as I try to explain this. I’ve been up for a while trying to logic my way through the past twenty-four hours, but I can’t. Too many emotions. And for the first time in my life, I don’t mean that in a negative sense.”
I take a deep breath and rub at the back of my neck while Florence lies absolutely still, patiently waiting for me with asoft, encouraging smile. My heart hammers in my chest at the thought of saying this the wrong way and her misunderstanding me.
I sit up and card my fingers through my hair. Florence copies my move and drapes a sheet over her naked chest. Good thing too, or I’ll get distracted by her lovely breasts and then have to lavish them with attention.
Florence reaches out her hand and grips my clammy one.
“Take your time. There’s no rush.”
My smile is faint but true, bolstered by her kindness.
“The moment I saw you in that storm, the moment I thought there was a chance of losing you, I let go of everything that was holding me back. You have to understand, from the first time I saw you on the island, you felt like mine. I never allowed myself to pursue anything that would be considered selfish or would take me off the course that has been set for my life. Relationships, love, those are—no,were—concepts meant for others. Not for me.
“Since you’ve moved into this house, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know you. Not as the person bonded to me by the fates, but as Florence—the amazing, caring, kind, funny, playful, thoughtful person that you are. With every moment spent together in the kitchen, and every conversation, I liked you more. And then there was the picnic.”
I pause and inhale slowly through my nose and exhale my nerves with a loud sigh.
“It was like my brain shifted at that point, where I saw the potential of us being together. But I didn’t—still kind of don’t—feel good enough for you,” I admit sheepishly.
“Baby—” Florence tries to interrupt, most probably to comfort or encourage, but I can’t let her derail me from admitting my truth. It’s time to come clean about it all.
“Hold on,” I cut her off. “Let me get this out, Liebling. I think you deserve so much better than I can give you, but I want to try. I want to see you happy and I want to be the reason you are happy.
