Page 64 of Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore
She beamed against his lips and repeated his words from before: “You’ve no idea.” A tendril of something she could not name grew between them, grasping for his heart like the reaching corkscrew coils of ivy climbing a wall, seeking a place between the cracks to bond, begging him without words not to cut her down when the weight of what she carried grew too heavy.
As they moved together, discovering the turns and play of yet another new game between them, Violet reached back to grasp her worktable for purchase. Her hands in the spilled soil, she felt another release begin to wind tight within her. With Nathaniel inside her and his hands and mouth on her, she came again, and dimly, amidst the pulse of heat and the tunneling of her vision, she felt her magic release as well, flowers sprouting from the dirt beneath her hands, the drawers of seeds on her worktable suddenly bursting with color and sharp, floral scents. Chrysanthemums and peonies, lilies and orchids—suddenly, she and Nathaniel were lost in a jungle of her own making, and Violet cried out a laugh as she sank her fingers into the dirt, feeling the tender roots that were beginning to form. Nathaniel’s thrusts became quicker and more erratic, and as he followed her into bliss, the greenhouse continued coming to life around them. Her eyes glowed green, but for once she didn’t care, because this wasn’tdark or evil; it wasmagnificent.Violet let go of all control and allowed the energy within her to sprout as it pleased, and she was amazed to find no thorns grating against her skin.
There was only life and color from her magic.
Things that grew.
Things that blossomed.
Nowthis, she decided as Nathaniel grew still and leaned against her, their breaths loud within their shared space, his body sweaty against hers and his heart beating hard against her chest as they held each other close—thiswas magic.
Breakthrough
“I’ve never been so pleased to be covered in dirt,” said Nathaniel smugly, kissing her bare shoulder.
She laughed, low and throaty, and looked around them. They’d ended up on a bed of their own clothing on the greenhouse floor, illuminated only by the moons. “You know we both have bedrooms within sight of this place, right?” She nodded toward the building, blurry through the rain that had begun to splatter and run in rivulets down the warped glass.
“I don’t mind,” he said honestly. They would have to make a run for it eventually, and would likely end up drenched in the process, but Nathaniel had exactly zero desire to leave this place, or her, anytime soon. “This is perfect.”
Violet snuggled closer to him, and Nathaniel allowed himself a few more moments of this gorgeous, relaxed freedom, because for once even the incessant buzz of anxiety in the back of his brain couldn’t convince him that any task or obligation was more important than the woman in his arms.
“I never expected this,” he said suddenly. “I never expectedyou.” He drew a hand up her arm, fingertips brushing along soft, pale skin, charting their path by way of freckles.
“Sometimes life gives us unexpected turns,” she responded softly, her voice barely audible over the drumbeat of rain against the glass.
He couldn’t argue with that. If he’d been asked only a few weeks ago, he’d have said there was no way hewantedthis—with anyone—but now that she was with him, now that he knew what it was like to be with her, he wanted to shake Past Nathaniel for his stubbornness, for his inability to let himself have something good.
He held her tighter. “I’m beginning to discover that unexpected turns aren’t so bad.”
To his surprise, she sobered, her gaze drifting to the floor.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
Hehmphed. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
She sighed and said quietly after a moment, “It’s just that I wonder if you’d feel that way if you knew everything about me.”
He chuckled. “I can’t imagine there’s anything about you I wouldn’t like.”
But her answering smile was limp and sad. “You don’t know the parts of me that have been trying to get out. My past.”
“We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. You certainly know I have.”
“Coming here was meant to be a fresh start. A way to be someone new. But I…I do want you to know me.”
His puzzlement must have shown on his face because she quickly shook her head.
“It’s a conversation for another time,” she said. “Perhaps when we’re fully clothed.”
“That might be tricky,” he said, trying to cheer her up. He wanted to hold on to his good feelings, not be drawn into his usual dark thoughts. “I plan on keeping you naked as often as possible from now on.”
He was rewarded by her smile, a real one this time, that struck him to his core with how it lit up her face. Desire stirred in him once more. Moons, she made him feel like a teenager.
“I can’t say I dislike that plan.” She stroked a hand over his hip in a way that brought his skin to life with interest and laughed at the trail of dirt her fingers left.
“Your hands are filthy,” he noted primly, sending her into a peal of giggles. “What?”
