Page 78 of Legends and Librarians
“Are you going to join me?” Nyssa asked, a faint pink blush spreading across her cheeks. “Or just stand there all by yourself?”
“Sorry, got distracted.” I pulled my shirt over my head and joined her as fast as I could, glad I’d worn my swim trunks.
The water was hot as I sank into it up to my shoulders, resting against the warm rocks near her.
“Distracted, huh?” She smiled, scooting a bit closer untilher bare legs brushed against mine and my pulse really started racing.
“So...” I paused awkwardly as my brain refused to think of anything to say. I was too focused on the beads of water dripping down her skin or the way her eyes sparkled with mischief as she looked me over, her fingers running through the water in a slow, hypnotic motion.
“So,” she said, smiling deviously, “is this what all your adventures are like? Finding cool caves and saving students in over their heads?”
“Sometimes,” I said, barely managing to find my words again, “other times I’ve been sent to dispel wild magic, investigate strange occurrences, bodyguard merchants, or clear out some dungeons before they surge and overflow. I’ve even saved a few kittens from trees. It all depends what people post jobs for.”
Nyssa grinned. “Oh, I can so picture that. Roan, savior of kittens.”
“Hey, I do what needs doing,” I said, shrugging. “Honestly, just getting to see the world and meet so many new people is what I really love. There’s always something interesting happening if you look for it.”
“Oh?” Nyssa asked, averting her eyes. “Are you sure you want to stay at the library and give up adventuring then? Like I said before, you can always just come back between jobs if you want. I don’t want you to miss out on something you really enjoy doing.”
The air felt heavier with each word, like she was trying to give me a way out if I wanted it, but that was the furthest thing from my mind. This felt too important for her to misunderstand, so I shifted, taking her hand in mine under the water.
“Nyssa, I love being at the library. It’s full of adventure all on its own, so I haven’t missed going out on missions at all. So manyamazing things happen and there’s tons of people to meet when they stop and visit. It’s wonderful.”
Especially since she was there. Not only had I found a place I wanted to call home, but a woman I wanted to share it with. The words I really wanted to say stuck in my throat. There were so many things to love about the library, so many things that made me never want to leave.
“I’m glad,” she said softly as she looked at me through her long lashes, “because I love having you there.”
I swallowed hard. We’d never really hadthe talkabout where things between us were going or how we really felt. Maybe that was my fault since she’d been assuming I’d be on my way eventually, but I didn’t want her to worry about that anymore.
“I was serious about staying,” I said, shifting closer. “Meeting you changed my life, opening me up to whole new possibilities. I’d always thought that keeping my distance was the best way to protect myself, but you and the library showed me that even if you’re hurting or abandoned, that there will be people who stay by you. People who care and will fight to show you how much you matter to them.”
I rested her hand on my chest, right above my heart. “I’m willing to put in the work to get to know you better, to show you how much I care. I want to be a part of your life, a part so solid that there’s no doubt I’ll be there for you if you ever need it.”
“You already are that.” Her fingers pressed into my skin as she wrapped her arm around my neck, pulling me to her. Her soft lips pressed against mine, filling me with a warm fuzzy sensation I never remembered having before.
Was this...what love felt like?
I deepened the kiss, wanting her to feel just how much this moment meant to me. How much her welcoming me into her life and wanting to keep me in it mattered. I never realized how much I’d craved a place to call home, but now that I had it withher, I never wanted to let it go.
She’d opened up a new world for me and I wanted to do the same for her.
I pressed my hands into her back, anchoring her to me as she shifted to get closer. Nyssa surrounded me, encircling me with warmth and happiness. When our kiss finally broke, we were both rosy cheeked and breathing unevenly.
Light danced in her eyes, sparkling as she smiled at me. My heart felt so full that there was only one thing I could say.
“I love you.”
Her fingers froze as she stared at me, her smiling growing bigger with each moment until it was like she was so full of happiness that she couldn’t contain it anymore.
“I love you too,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Then she kissed me again as the steam from the hot spring curled around us, blanketing us in our own little space. It was just me and Nyssa, bound together by our own dreams and wishes. A moment so perfect it went beyond anything I could have planned.
My love for her was new and precious, but this was only the beginning. I couldn’t wait to see how we’d grow from here.
Chapter 28
Nyssa
