Chapter Twenty
Rhea couldn’t believe he’d asked her to ride with him again and so soon.
He must have enjoyed their short time together if he wanted to do it again.
She had also. Hearing his voice speaking—no matter what he’d been saying—had made her stomach grow warm.
It was a new feeling. Deeper than just curiosity or infatuation.
She might be feeling something stronger this time.
She reached the stables and walked inside but didn’t see anyone.
A noise caught her attention from a few stalls over.
When she got closer, she heard Reeve talking.
To whom, she wasn’t sure. Peeking into the stall, she saw that he was alone and talking to his horse.
She chuckled, surprising him. He toppled over off his stool and jumped up, quickly dusting straw from his trousers.
“That is the second time you’ve snuck up on me and startled me half to death,” he said, laughing. “I forget how quiet you are. Perhaps, I should tie a bell around your neck so I can hear you coming.”
He knew his mistake the moment he finished saying it.
Her face drained of color and light, and she looked every bit as awful as he felt for saying something so careless.
He knew she had just gotten her collar removed and how much she hated the damn thing.
It was a constant reminder of what happened to her.
He was such a stupendous idiot to suggest putting something around her neck, even though it had been meant as a joke. He would never want to do anything to hurt her. To put that look on her face and distrust in her eyes.
He couldn’t even get an apology from his lips before she ran.
He tripped over a feed bucket trying to get out of the stall, stubbing his foot on the door.
Despite the pain, he chased after her. He caught up with her at the end of the stables and only because she was crying so hard that she couldn’t breathe steadily enough to continue running.
“Don’t touch me!” she shouted, sensing him approaching. “This was a mistake. I never should have let myself trust you.” Her mind kept flashing back to the time spent with the thieves and it horrified her.
“Rhea, please. Let me explain,” he pleaded, moving in front of her in hopes that she would look at him. But when he tried to get closer, she jumped away. Even in the larger gown, she was still very light on her feet. He backed off, afraid that he might scare her even more if he didn’t.
Seeing that he was no longer blocking the way out, Rhea ran past him and didn’t stop until she got to the gardens. She found a tree and climbed up into it. On a large branch, she hid until the sun finished setting. Then she cried herself to sleep.
~*~
The wardrobe was full of ladies today. The seamstress had brought two assistants with her this year to fit the queen and her companions for gowns for the Winter Ball. Bree couldn’t believe that the Harvest Festival was already upon them.
Several months had passed since the wildfire and thanks to assistance from the fae who came that day and healed the farmland to the south, the fall crops were plentiful. When winter came in two short months, the kingdom would have enough food in reserves to survive it.
Cicilly sat beside Sarita, both waiting their turn.
To thank Rhea for helping with the pixies and the wildfire, Bree had offered to gift her a gown for the ball.
Rhea had refused at first, saying she didn’t plan to attend.
Bree insisted and the fairy reluctantly accepted. Rhea and Gabby were being fitted first.
“I get to choose the color, right?” Gabby asked, looking down at the woman measuring her waist. “Because I don’t really like light colors. I like colors that are bright.”
“A girl after my own heart,” Celeste said, stepping inside. She had arrived just in time it seemed.
“And what marvelous color will you be wearing this year, Aunt Celeste?” Bree asked.
“I haven’t really decided. I may shock everyone and stick with something simple…”
Bree snorted. She didn’t believe for a moment that Celeste would wear anything that wasn’t extravagant. It just wasn’t her style.
“And what color would you like, my dear?” the seamstress asked Rhea.
“Well… I mostly only wear white. So white, I guess,” she replied.
“I think white would be lovely, but maybe we can find a way to make it more… fairy-like,” Bree said, certain that fairy-like wasn’t a word, but it seemed to fit.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Well, the other fairies were all wearing flowers, sewn in different patterns. Maybe we could add some flowers. Sarita, what kind of flowers did you wear last year?”
“I don’t remember but they were white,” Sarita said.
“Hmm… white flowers won’t do. Perhaps, we could find some lovely pink ones.”
“If you can’t find pink flowers, we can use white ones and I can change the color,” Sid added.
“That should work,” Bree replied. “Sid, it’s your turn.”
“Actually, I think I’ll wait. Adelphie should be here tomorrow. I think I might go into the village and get fitted with her.”
“As you wish.”
“What about you, Bree? Planning to surprise us all, again?”
“I actually only want to surprise one person,” she said, smiling. “Rowan prefers me in green. He says it matches my eyes. But just for good measure, I think we should add some gold in there too.”
~*~
Finn was waiting by the gate when Adelphie arrived. She rode up on her horse and dismounted. He didn’t even try to help her down, knowing she would balk at him if he tried. He walked up closer to her and stopped. She looked at him. They had so much to say to one another, yet neither of them spoke.
After what seemed like several moments of torturous silence, they practically jumped into each other’s arms, mouths clashing and limbs tangling. The stable boy who came to collect the Sabra’s horse was stunned by the pair’s intimate embrace, almost tripping over himself as he led the horse away.
Adelphie couldn’t care less about whether they had an audience.
The anticipation of seeing Finn again had built so intensely that she couldn’t wait to be with him.
To have him hold her as only he could. Their kisses were long and deep and entirely inappropriate for the courtyard in the middle of the day but being apart appeared to affect him just as much as it had her.
“We have a carriage,” he said between kisses. “Your sister will be a while longer, so we should go ahead without her.”
Adelphie’s eyes rolled up to meet his. She had a naughty grin on her face as she reached up and ran her hand through his thick red hair.
“So… we have the carriage all to ourselves then?”
“Yes, we do” he said, flashing his brow at her. He took her hand and led her over to the carriage. Then he instructed the driver to take them to the village, slowly, and held the door open for her.
Last year, Finn holding the door open was one of the many things that had angered Adelphie about him. This time, however, she found everything he did to be insanely arousing. It was maddening how much things could change in such a brief time. She ducked down and climbed inside.
The moment the carriage door was closed behind them, they pounced on each other.
This time, there was no taking their time, like in the forest. There was no saying, ‘please’, or any other words that made sense.
Only the intense need to be with each other.
The longing from being apart for months had been agonizing. For them both.
Adelphie climbed onto Finn’s lap and stripped off her tight leather top.
At once, her breasts were in his face and his hands were on her hips, pulling her animal hide skirt up so that he could enter her.
It was almost a race to see who could finish first as she held his shoulders and rode him much faster than she intended to.
She couldn’t stop and she didn’t want to.
He may have been gentle with her for their first time, but this time it was her turn to show him how a Sabra makes love.
The air in the carriage was hot and thick as he cut off her panting with another kiss.
Adelphie hated to consider what the poor driver was thinking at that moment, with the carriage bouncing around.
When Finn wrapped his arms around her back and ran his hands up her neck and into her hair, she completely forgot that there even was a carriage driver.
Where was she? Who cares. As long as Finn kept sucking on the side of her neck and whispering such naughty things into her ear, she couldn’t be bothered to know anything else.
They found their pleasure at nearly the exact same moment and in just enough time to get dressed before the wheels of the carriage came to a stop.
The driver opened the door and Adelphie stuck her head out slowly, avoiding making eye contact with the man.
When she and Finn were both out, they walked into the seamstress’s shop as if nothing had happened, leaving the driver shaking his head.
~*~
Adelphie was done with her measurements and choosing fabrics when Sidonie walked in.
“I am so sorry,” Sid said. “I completely lost focus and…” She trailed off and narrowed her eyes. “Did you and Finn, well… you know? Already?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Adelphie replied, playing coy.
“Adelphie, your shirt is on backward. And your hair is a mess.”
“I’m not sorry.”
“No, I wouldn’t be either.” Sidonie laughed then looked down at the seamstress. “Do you sew robes? For wizards?”
“We do, miss.”
“Good. I would like to get a set of wizard robes made. For me.”
“What color?” the lady asked.
Sidonie smiled, remembering the cloak in Odustis.
“Make them red.”
~*~