18. Under the Stars
Under the Stars
Pearl leaned back against the bar, catching her breath. Had that been a mistake? Was this entire thing a mistake?
Probably. But Pearl didn’t regret it.
Where had Driz gone? She said she would come back. She would, wouldn’t she?
The full reality of Pearl’s situation hit her. Stranded in an abandoned ghost town in the middle of nowhere, she had no supplies and no sense of how far they’d even flown. If Driz didn’t return…
But she would. Pearl trusted that she would. Perhaps that was a mistake too.
Yet it wasn’t long until the thud announced Driz’s arrival, and the winged, horned shape appeared above the half doors.
Driz hesitated, lingering outside, and Pearl’s unease increased. Had she pushed too much?
Instead of waiting, Pearl straightened and marched out.
Driz retreated back down into the street as Pearl swung the groaning doors open.
“Are you alright?” Pearl asked, holding her lantern up to see better, scanning Driz’s body. Her soaked clothes clung to her figure in a highly distracting way. Pearl focused determinedly on where the pricks of blood still stained below her hips.
“I will not hurt you,” Driz promised seriously.
“I wasn’t expecting you to.” Pearl tilted her head. “Should I?”
“I do not want you to be afraid.”
“I’m not afraid.” Pearl stepped into the street too. “Was that too much? Did you not like it?” Pearl had been fully convinced Driz liked it very much. But perhaps she’d somehow read her wrong.
“I told you I liked it.”
“I know. But you’re allowed to change your mind.”
“I have not changed my mind.”
“Good.” Pearl moved closer. “I haven’t either. But I’m sorry if I—”
Driz stopped her mouth by covering it with her own. She craned her neck down, still keeping space between their bodies as her hands ghosted and hovered, barely skimming Pearl’s arm and her hip, as if afraid to touch her.
Pearl reached for Driz, lacing their fingers together. Driz drew her head back and stared at their clasped hands—Pearl’s smaller and roughened, Driz’s larger and elegantly sharp.
“We’re all good,” Pearl said, her heart beating faster than it should. “Yeah?”
Driz nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed, and the casual word made Pearl’s belly flip.
“So,” Pearl repeated, reining in her scattering thoughts and newly stoked desire. “That surprise?”
Driz nodded again. “I will take you there.”
Pearl wound her arms around Driz’s neck and Driz’s sodden clothes immediately dampened her own.
They didn’t have to go far, landing in the shadow of a lone, still-standing dead tree on a high ridge above the same canyon they had watched the firefoxes from, but on the opposite side. Driz lay Pearl gently down onto woven softness.
Pearl pushed up to find herself on a spread blanket littered with plucked night-blooming flowers, pretty despite the fact they’d mostly wilted already.
And to the side rested three bottles. One was empty of liquid, its neck stuffed with long grass while inside several glowing lightning bugs twirled, lazily bumping at the glass. But the other two were still corked.
Pearl inspected each. “Damn, this is old. Spencer's got one of these displayed. They stopped distilling at least twenty years ago.” She brushed the dust from the label, holding it up to the light of her sputtering lantern.
“Is that bad? I took two because I did not know which you might like.”
“Let’s find out.” Pearl snuffed the lantern to save the remaining fuel for an emergency. Working by the stars and the faint glow of the bugs, she withdrew her pocketknife and jammed it into the stubborn cork. With a bit of careful twisting, she managed to work it free.
In the absence of any glasses, Pearl took a swig from the neck. It was smooth and smoky, and exactly what she needed right now to dull all the emotions vying for her attention as she resolutely ignored them.
“Good?” Driz asked.
“Where’d you get this?”
“From a wagon.”
“You stole it?” Pearl raised her eyebrows, surprised that Driz would do so. She seemed so honest.
“They had many.”
Pearl grinned. “You won’t hear me complaining.” She took another large mouthful, savoring it as it rolled down her throat, and held out the bottle. “Want some?”
Driz brought it to her nose. “Will it burn like the other?”
“A bit.”
Driz sipped. Her wings shivered and she hastily handed it back. “You said you like music, yes?”
“Sure.” Pearl drank deeply.
Driz shifted nervously as she reached into her pocket. “I have been practicing.” She held the harmonica Pearl had gotten for her.
“Have you?” was all Pearl managed, her mouth dry despite the bourbon.
“May I play for you?”
Pearl nodded, and Driz brought the harmonica to her lips.
After a few notes, Pearl realized she recognized the halting tune. Or at least the shape of it. “My pretty blue-bonnet Sally…” she mumbled along.
Driz stopped. “What?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. It sounds like ‘Blue-Bonnet Sally.’”
“Is that what it is called? I have heard it often. When I can get near enough and listen without being seen.”
Pearl suddenly wanted to cry, so she drank more. “Keep going. You’re doing great.”
Driz started again, and Pearl kept her mouth shut this time.
Pearl didn’t possess any musical talents, as she’d admitted the other night. But Driz figured out the instrument and the notes so quickly. She had a good memory.
Pearl had never been serenaded before. She rather enjoyed it, and Driz’s fierce frown of concentration as she cradled the harmonica in strong hands.
Pearl wanted those hands to touch her, not the metal. Driz obviously worried she had frightened Pearl with her demonstration of strength earlier.
It wasn’t fear thrumming in Pearl.
All caution deserted her, leaving only a reckless need for this kind, thoughtful gargoyle to possess her.
Before the last note had the chance to fade, Pearl pushed up to her knees, leaned forward, and grabbed Driz’s face.
Driz’s heart hadn’t yet recovered from the nerves of playing her tune for Pearl. And now it was beating for an entirely different reason as Pearl’s mouth crashed against hers.
Had she played it well, then? The harmonica fell away, forgotten.
Pearl’s fingers dug into Driz’s cheek, her tongue demanding entry.
Driz had hoped this night might give them the chance to do this again, and it thrilled her that Pearl enjoyed her surprises. She’d done something right.
She skimmed her hands over the fabric of Pearl’s back, wishing she could touch her smooth, speckled skin again.
As if hearing Driz’s thoughts, Pearl sat back enough to shimmy off her coat, tugging impatiently at her scarf and popping buttons on her waistcoat and shirt.
Driz barely caught sight of her before Pearl kissed her again, unhooking Driz’s suspenders.
When Driz tried to help, Pearl batted her hands away, so Driz settled for holding Pearl’s hips steady. Her thumbs brushed against the hot skin of Pearl’s waist, and Pearl shivered. So Driz skimmed her hands up, first thinking to warm her, but getting distracted by the sensation.
When Pearl cupped Driz’s breasts and squeezed, Driz thought she might burn up.
“I want you,” Pearl murmured, sliding her mouth to Driz’s ear and fingers into Driz’s hair. “Touch me.”
Driz accepted the invitation, letting her hands wander. Every part of Pearl fit wonderfully in her palms. Driz could feel the pulse of Pearl’s heart, beating as fast as her own.
This night didn’t feel possible. The sky spun, out of control. Driz needed everything to slow down so she could savor it. And she couldn’t stand for it to ever stop.
When Pearl pushed her back, Driz went. She would give and be anything Pearl wanted. Her wings bunched beneath her, and she adjusted in discomfort until Pearl pulled away.
“Let’s not do this on the ground,” Pearl said as she stood, unbuckling her holsters and toeing off her boots.
Driz climbed unsteadily to her feet. “Where?” she asked, but she barely managed the word as Pearl bent, stripping off the last bit of clothing, leaving her fully bare.
A dark bruise marked her knee from the end of their game two nights ago.
A scar slashed up her other leg and an old white one bisected her hip, a raised crater with fracturing lines running away from it.
The newest one on her upper arm—the one Driz had witnessed the first night they met—was still pink amidst the smattering of enchanting freckles that spangled her entire form.
Pearl was magnificent.
She backed up until she hit the smooth trunk of the dead tree, leaning back to brace into it. With a slow smile, she shifted, parting her legs. Her scent filled the night, and Driz’s attention fixed on the lush triangle of curls.
Pearl extended a hand in invitation. “Here.”
Nothing could have stopped Driz from accepting. When Pearl pressed on the dip of Driz’s spine, Driz eagerly leaned in, trapping Pearl’s body against the tree. The slide of their bare thighs together made Driz’s mind trip over itself.
Tiny pebbles had broken out over Pearl’s skin, exposed to the chill of the air. Driz covered more of Pearl with herself, her wings draping around them and the trunk to shield her from a faint breeze. Grinning, Pearl kissed her hard.
Pearl tasted of bitter smoke and burning drink and metal. Driz liked it better than pie.
Fisting Driz’s mane, Pearl shimmied higher and straddled one of her thighs, rocking against her. Driz could feel Pearl’s arousal. They were the same in that way too. It marked Driz’s skin where they touched, igniting a wonderful and wild desire in her. She needed that scent everywhere.
She bent her head, running her nose over Pearl’s throat and behind her ear, into her hair, inhaling. Pearl gripped Driz’s hip, urging Driz to move with her. Driz tensed her thigh, trying to meet Pearl.
“Is this right?” Driz whispered.
Pearl’s teeth glinted, her eyes heavy as she nodded. “Perfect.”
And Pearl slid her hand between Driz’s legs.