42. Eris
Eris
Perhaps I should have brought more wine from Reinhilde's lair.
Will two bottles be enough? Verena must be horribly thirsty by this point, so perhaps it's not. I suppose if she drinks all of it, I can fetch more. It's far swifter to travel long distances through the mirror realm, though it may steal another hour or two of our moonlit time together.
Truthfully, I hope she doesn't drink much wine.
I'd rather she take her fill from me.
The thought of Verena feeding from me has me unbelievably distracted as I step through the glass into the queen's guest quarters.
A soft gasp makes me look up quickly, and I have to remind myself not to drop the glass bottles.
Because holy Crones, Verena and I are in the same room.
At last.
I'm so overwhelmed with nervous anticipation that I cannot draw a full breath—but I realize she's pressed back against the wall, her eyes wide with shock and…lingering fear.
Damn it.
I never wanted to make her feel unsafe, even for a moment.
I intended to finish setting everything up and return to the reflection of her mask to speak with her well before she reached this room. I had no idea she would return so early from the masquerade.
Swiftly, I set the wine bottles on the table.
"It's all right, Fairest. You're all right. Forgive me for catching you off guard."
"Eris, you—what—how—" Verena begins, her words jumbling together. She blinks at the mirror I just stepped through as if she's catching up from the initial scare. "Holy shit, you found your body? Where? When did—"
"I didn't," I clarify, drinking in the candlelit vision before me.
I'm certain she doesn't realize just how many of the stares directed towards her tonight were laced with lust. Before the full moon began its ascent, allowing me to leave the mirror realm, I caught the heated stares of men lingering on her far too many times for my liking.
It's only natural that they're curious about the Veiled Queen. Everyone knows the rumors of her beauty, and there are even more rumors about her tastes in men—from Favored to the affairs Reinhilde had in the past.
Still, I was tempted to ask Wulf to break into the masquerade and carry Verena away from the endless gazes caressing her flawless beauty.
But that would likely have ended in his demise, and the Huntsman is far too useful to lose.
Verena must be aware she's distracted me, for her impatience is tinged with amusement.
"If you didn't find your body, how the hell did you just stroll out of the mirror realm?"
"I'm not sure about the how," I admit, trying to focus despite the way my heart is still reacting viscerally to finally being in the same space as her.
"For as long as I've existed, I could become corporeal and leave the mirror realm only during full moons.
Once per month, for several hours, until the moon reaches a certain decline. "
Verena removes her gleaming mask and takes a few steps away from the wall toward me. I'm distracted all over again by the full effect of her beautiful face.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
I move closer, drawn like a wight to a lost traveler. I'm aching to touch her, but she deserves an answer.
"I haven't stepped into the physical world in years, thanks to Reinhilde's spell holding me captive.
And before that, I never tried to be with someone, since I was more interested in research that could hopefully free me one day.
I know I'm useful to you in the mirror realm, so I wasn't certain whether you would be happy that I… "
I clear my throat, unsure how to voice this particular worry. "That is, I wasn't sure whether you'd still consider us to be…Butcher Cassidy and the Dancing Child, if I was no longer in the mirror."
Verena presses her red-stained lips together, fighting a smile. She moves closer again, until we're so close that I'm holding my breath, gazing into the humor dancing in her dark blue eyes.
"The only butcher here is you, because you just slaughtered those names.
But it's adorable that you're trying to use my references," she twists my words with a teasing smirk.
"You being out of the mirror doesn't change what a great team we are, Eris.
Of course, I'm happy you're out tonight—just warn me the next time you set up an impromptu wine tasting, okay? "
At that, she strips off one glove, holding up her bare palm as if she's about to lay it on glass.
It's a reminder of when she first gave me a name. Only this time, no glass keeps us apart.
Heart pounding, I mirror her once more, raising my own hand and placing it against her smaller one.
Her warm touch has me exhaling at last, smiling in return.
"I only brought Reinhilde's wine to curb your thirst."
"I figured. And I happen to really need the edge off tonight, so thanks for being so thoughtful."
Her fingers interlace with mine. I marvel at the sensation. Verena tilts her head back to study me, her gaze lingering on my hair.
"Now…about that third promise you wanted from me," she begins meaningfully.
My attention drops to her lips at once. My other hand is already brushing the waist of her cracked-mirror ballgown, not yet daring to pull her closer.
"One kiss," I murmur.
"Just one, huh?" she laughs, sounding as breathless as I feel. "You're pretty chaste, for a voyeur. Close your eyes."
"And deprive myself of this view? What part of me craving you to the point of madness are you not understanding?"
Verena stands on her tiptoes, her sweet breath brushing my chin. "Keep flattering me, and I might have to make it two kisses."
My eyes shut before her warm lips press to mine. Immediately, I pull her closer, needing more of this tenderness. This soft, simple…
Pleasure.
So this is what it feels like.
No wonder everyone is obsessed. It feels incredibly nice.
Yet nice only gets better when Verena's hands tangle in my hair, her mouth parting and coaxing mine to do the same. I gasp and then groan as our kiss deepens into something far more intense.
Her tongue brushes along my upper lip, and then her teeth drag playfully along my lower one.
I try not to shiver at every delicious new sensation, mimicking each one to feel Verena smile against my lips. My hands smooth up and down her sides before I catch the end of her remaining glove, pulling it off her arm.
My rapid heartbeat stops for a moment when she reaches behind herself to begin unlacing her ballgown's bodice.
Yes.
Crones, I need Verena naked.
Turning her around, I quickly begin unweaving the ribbons myself, kissing along her smooth shoulder and neck. She cranes her head back to capture my lips once more.
Before I can slide off the ballgown that has been tormenting me, she whispers against my lips.
"Hey, Eris?"
I kiss the little beauty spot over her lip—then again, then once more. It's too damn adorable, and it's been taunting me for far too fucking long.
Before I can kiss her harder and toss her onto the bed, she laughs and frames my face with her hands.
"Eris."
I like her hands on my face. I like her hands anywhere, but I need to feel them everywhere before I lose my mind.
"Hmm?"
"You're a virgin, right?"
Am I?
"I have no idea," I admit.
"With no memories, I think you pretty much are. Are you sure you want to do this right now, with me?"
"Yes."
She hesitates. "Even if Wulf and I have kind of messed around, and that prince and I—"
"Verena," I whisper, peering into her eyes with the longing I've been so terrible at concealing. "I will not be able to step out of the mirror realm for another month. If you have your way, you may be gone long before then. If this is all I can ever have with you, I need it. I need you."
"Thank god—I need you too," she breathes, and then she's helping me pull my shirt off over my head.
We're a blur of excitement and need, kissing one another ardently as I slowly back her toward the large guest bed.
Finally, her ballgown and underdress are tossed aside, and my trousers are kicked off. I have to break away from the kiss with a rough swear at the sensation of my naked body tangling with hers for the first time.
It feels unbelievably good. The slide of her hands up my chest, my palms squeezing and cupping her breasts, the drag of her tongue against mine as she continues to explore my mouth.
My naked erection is throbbing with excitement. I have no idea if I can finish in this world, but I'm so mad with need that I decide I'll accept the torture, if necessary—just so long as I can keep touching Verena.
Every second I have with her makes me feel as if I finally exist.
Verena's hands slide around me, exploring my back, but she stills when her fingers encounter the raised stripes.
"Are these…scars?" she whispers, frowning as she starts to pull away from the kiss.
Not interested in discussing what my back may look like, I lower my head to drag my tongue against one of her pink, peaked nipples.
At the same time, I slide one palm between us, down her stomach and between her legs to cup that hot, fucking hypnotic cunt.
I drag my fingers through it, groaning at the same time she gasps into my mouth.
"Watching your Huntsman play with this while I could only watch was the sweetest kind of hell," I whisper between her breasts, my fingers circling through that delicious wetness. "But it's my turn for a taste."
Verena's breath catches as I trail kisses along the same path my hand took until finally, my tongue can delve into her.
Matron above, her cunt is so soft and warm.
She's wet, but not dripping as she was in that carriage. My cock strains eagerly, but I do my best to ignore it, determined to prepare her thoroughly.
"Oh, god," she sighs as I lap at her again. "That feels so good."
Good?
That's not enough. Having my face between her thighs is making me lightheaded with newfound pleasure. I want her at least as mindless with lust as I'm quickly becoming.
Reaching for her hands, I guide them to my hair until she tangles them there.
"Guide my tongue," I rasp, sucking on the little nub at the top of her cunt.