She buries her head deeper into my throat. “I was curious.”
I flip to where a dried flower has been pressed between the pages and scan the words there. “About mating ceremonies?” This knowledge should not make my heart skip, but it skips all the same, right around my chest.
“Not specifically. I wanted to know more about you.”
“I am here now, full of knowledge about Unseelie fae. I have been one my entire life, you know. Ask and I will answer.”
Once again, there is silence between us. I would think she fell asleep if not for the way she trails her nail along my chest, back and forth, conjuring gooseflesh. “Will you tell me about mating scars?”
Why would she want to know about that? Surely, she isn’t considering?—
I shake my head at the thought that almost crossed my mind. Her questions have nothing to do with a desire for mating. She is simply trying to learn about our customs like a friend would. “When two Unseelie mate, they use their teeth to mark each other.”
“Doesn’t that hurt?”
“I have heard that the pain only fuels the passion, but I do not know from experience.” I have never marked Leah, and she has respected my wishes to leave my skin unblemished by her own teeth.
“Where do you leave them?”
“Depends on how amorous the mating. Some only have one or two…” I dare to trace a finger where her shoulder meets her neck. Her sharp intake of breath is a strike to my heart. “Others have them all over.” Like our chieftain and his mate.
“Oh…”
I already know that if we were to mate, Kerris’s skin would be scarred from neck to toe. “Do you have more questions?” I rush before I can let that thought take root.
“Hundreds,” she says on a yawn, burrowing deeper into me like a little rabbit. “But they might have to wait until tomorrow.”
Then I look forward to tomorrow, because this means I will see her again.
My life has never been full of luck, but knowing this makes me feel like the most fortunate male who has ever lived.
“I hate that I’m so tired,” she murmurs. “You can leave if you’re bored.”
How can anyone be bored with such a magnificent female wrapped around them? “I would like to stay a little longer, if you do not mind.” After all, she might think of a very important question that requires an answer right away.
“I don’t mind…as long as you don’t mind me closing my eyes for a moment.”
“Close them for as long as you want. I will keep watch over you.”
No harm will come to her as long as I am around.
Cautiously, I slip my fingers into her silky hair. The strands are so long, she could wear them as a gown.
Shit. Now I am imagining her in nothingbutthis hair and it is a slow, painful death. Like being shot in the gut and left to bleed out.
So many brown specks dot her nose and cheekbones, like tiny grains of sand. Even breaths fall through the perfect bow of her parted lips as dreams steal my sweet Seelie fae.
As I listen to the silence, my gaze drifts over to where a rainbow of silk spills from her wardrobe. Kerris has so many dresses to choose from, much like she has Seelie men. Her options are endless.
Unwelcome emotions twist in my gut.
Kerris Dawn might not be meant for me, but in the quiet of this night, I let myself pretend.
25
“Never underestimate the restorative power of a good cuddle.”
Kerris Dawn, An Observation