Page 79 of Enchanting the Elf
Florence squares her shoulders and fixes me with a soft but unwavering smile.
“Adelbert Alberad,I choose you,” Florence says confidently with tears brimming in her eyes.
I lean down and cup her face.
“My mate,” I whisper against Florence’s lips.
My lips skim over hers and Florence’s tongue darts out in response. Granting her entrance, I meet her tongue with mine in a soft, languid kiss. Our tongues stroke and twine lazily, echoing our commitment and sealing our love.
My body heats and a prickly sensation spreads across my skin. It starts in the center of my chest and radiates out toward my fingers, my toes, even up my neck to my scalp.
Florence pulls away slowly and breaks our kiss.
“Baby.”
The concern in her tone has me on alert, growing more worried when I see her wide eyes and mouth parted in shock.
“What is it?” I ask and look around us, searching for the threat. But something doesn’t feel right and I lift my hand to inspect my head.
“You’ve got horns,” Florence says tenderly and lets out an excited squeal.
Chapter thirty-seven
Florence
Blinking rapidly, Adelbert reaches up with shaky hands, and walks his fingers along his new horns from their base to their highest points.
Jutting out from behind his temples on either side of his head, the taupe-colored horns twist and curve about eight inches high, splitting into two leaders.
They’re marvelous and my hands are already itching to capture them with thread.
“You look dapper,” I tell Adelbert affectionately. “They suit you.”
Adelbert doesn’t seem to hear me, lost in thought with the deepest frown I’ve yet seen on him marring his brow. He tilts his head from side to side, seemingly getting used to the horns’ added weight.
“Careful! Don’t strain your neck. It might take some time to get used to them,” I say and hover my hands in front of him, not sure if he’d welcome my touch right now.
“I’ve… but… they’re…” Adelbert grabs both horns, then lowers his hands again. He starts pacing, pauses, and then paces again, hands flexing at his sides.
I step in front of him and lay two hands on his chest, hoping to catch him before he spirals.
“It’s okay. We kind of knew this could happen, right?” I suggest gently.
Adelbert looks at me like I’m the one who has grown horns and shakes his head slowly.
“How could we have known?” he asks, genuinely oblivious.
“Baby, let’s sit and talk this through,” I coax, feeling like someone trying not to spook a wild animal.
“I can’t sit now. I have to… to…” Adelbert picks up his pacing again, his hands waving animatedly through the air as if they’re the ones who will give him the answers. “Do… something.”
“You don’t have to do anything right now. Let’s figure this out. Together.” I smile warmly at him and push comfort, peace, and love toward my anxious mate.
Adelbert closes his eyes as he receives my emotions, then takes a deep breath in through his nose. On his exhale, his brow relaxes and his shoulders loosen.
“Okay,” he croaks out with a half smile. “Help me make sense of this, please, Liebling.”
The vulnerability in Adelbert’s voice pinches my heart. For him to lower his guard like this for me, is a gift I do not take for granted.
