SWNOVELS Chapter 31
Out of breath and completely exhausted, I laid my head on her chest and listened to the beating of her heart as my breath began to fall in line with hers. I felt her move her fingers delicately through my hair. I realized that no one had ever played with my hair like this before. I found it quite relaxing. She pressed her lips lightly against the top of my head, much like I do with her. This night had been one I would never forget. I had never seen Rose so alive, so confident, so herself. I saw the dress she had been so proud of laying in a heap on the floor besides my own clothes and smiled. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been rendered speechless by the mere sight of a woman. I nearly suggested skipping the night completely and having a celebration of our own at home, but I knew she never would have gone for it. Remembering how the dress had clung tightly to those curves I had become so intimately familiar with sent a whole new wave of lust through my body. I took a deep breath and sighed, reveling in the moment we had created.
“You alright?” I heard her ask.
“Perfect,” I heard myself respond, without missing a beat. As much as I surprised myself with my answer, I realized it was accurate. I also realized that I couldn’t remember a time that things had felt this right.
She giggled. “Me too.”
I shifted to my side and kissed her lightly between her breasts, across her chest, and up her neck, until I got to her lips. Pulling back, I looked at her sweet smiling face.
“No wonder everyone loves this festival so much,” she mused, stroking the side of my face with her fingers.
I laughed in spite of myself.
“What?” she asked, appalled. “Is Night of Masks not normally like this?”
“Not quite,” I answered, laying down on my back beside her.
“Is that so?”
I nodded. “Normally there is no ‘this.’” I gestured between the two of us. “If you had gone tonight on your own and brought someone else home he would’ve been gone by now.”
She cocked her head, “Really?”
I laughed again, amused by her naivety. “Really,” then seeing that she was not satisfied by my response, I added, “Rose, this festival is a celebration of indulgences, not relationships. People go there to eat, drink, and have sex. No one goes in search of a suitor.” I could tell this information made her uncomfortable.
“That seems like a pretty lonely way to end a night.”
I considered her words. Cringing slightly at the many festivals I had attended over the years. She wasn’t wrong. Despite all the excitement, never was there an experience afterward quite like this, not for me at least.
“Which is why I feel like a lucky man tonight,” I concluded. She leaned over and kissed me. I pulled her close as she snuggled up next to me.
“So, tell me,” she started, “if you’ve been able to move me that quickly, why did we spend so much time walking down the mountain?”
“Seriously?” I asked.
She stared at me expectantly.
“Rose, try to imagine for a moment. You had known me for maybe a month or two, knew next to nothing about shadow walkers or the magic we’re capable of. Imagine me changing, fully changing, and proposing I carry you off the mountain.” I could feel her laughing silently as I spoke, “I wager you would have been more likely to run back into the village and light yourself on fire than come willingly with me.” Now in a fit of full-blown laughter, all she did was nod. I laughed along with her. She had the sort of laugh that was contagious. The more she laughed, the more I laughed. We laughed harder and longer than my comment had warranted. “Besides,” I added as we settled down, “I quite liked our time together on the mountain.”
“Yeah,” she said, interlacing her fingers with mine, “so did I.”
We talked long into the night. When words failed us, we let our bodies speak. I didn’t want it to end. I told myself it wouldn’t. I mean, how could I just go back to how things were before? Rose has changed so much in my life and so much for the better. I refused to acknowledge the fact that it was all about to come crashing down.