Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(26)
My head fits perfectly in the crook of his neck and I breathe him in deeply. He still smells like a winter snow and pine, but there’s something else. It wasn’t exactly the scent of him in my vision, but very close. It’s strange that his scent had changed. I look up at him still waiting for a response.
He sighs, “Elvena wouldn’t give me any answers. She says that you and I would be able to figure it out together.”
He pulls me back a little so he can look at my face and into my eyes.
He continues, “She also said that your heart belongs to me, and it always will. After I saw you with Merrick she told me I needed to trust you.” I smile, thinking of Elvena. She has never in her life doubted me or my decisions and I love her for it.
I saw you with Merrick and I know you care about him, but I need to know what you feel for me. If what I saw in the vision is real, we have a deeper connection than I could have ever imagined,” he says softly while rolling wisps of my hair through his fingers.
“Ryder, I don’t know how or why it is happening so fast, but my heart does feel like it belongs to you. When I saw you tonight, I felt it. The connection is there and I see it now, but what if it isn’t real?” I pull away from him to walk closer to the crystal blue water of the lake.
He looks at me bewildered.
“Why wouldn’t it be real? It feels real to me,” he says while making his way toward me. He’s coming closer to me and all I want to do is run into his arms and feel his body surround mine. That’s what my body is telling me, but how do I find out if that’s what my heart truly feels?
I shrug and say flatly, “I just think we might feel this way because of the prophecy.” He wraps me in his arms again and tilts my chin up to look in his eyes. He is worried and I can see the tension around the lines of his mouth.
He shakes his head and lets out an exasperated breath.
“Why are you trying to fight this, Calista? Whatever we feel is between me and you. No prophecy or any amount of magic is going to change the way I feel in my heart.” He cups my face with both hands and brings his face closer to mine. Our foreheads are touching.
He breathes lightly in my face and whispers softly, “My heart tells me this is real, and if we can’t believe in our own hearts, then what can we believe in?”
We stand frozen in place and the only sounds I hear are the rippling of the water in the lake and our erratic breathing. Just his touch makes me yearn for more, but do I trust what’s in my heart?
He lowers his hand to rest over my heart and moves his lips closer like he’s about to kiss me. I close my eyes expecting his kiss, but instead he says something that answers all my questions.
He whispers lovingly, “I trust my heart, Calista, and you need to do the same. The heart won’t steer us down the wrong path. A wise lady told me not too long ago that I would find the answers through you. How about we find them together?”
I let his words sink in and then I do what I have wanted to do ever since I saw him. I lean into him, press my lips to his and let our feelings take over. The kiss begins slow and then gracefully moves into a sensual rhythm like our dance earlier that night where our bodies took over. Ryder’s arms tighten around my waist and he pulls me closer. I can feel his heart beating against my own chest.
He breaks from the kiss breathing hard and whispers, “I believe I might be falling for you, Princess.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond because his lips find mine again in a deeper and harder embrace. A moan escapes my lips. I can tell they are swollen from his feverish kisses, but I welcome the feeling with open arms. I run my hands down his back and move them around slowly to his chest. His heart is beating fast and mine is beating to the same tune. I feel lightheaded with the intensity of our kisses and if he wasn’t holding onto me I’m sure I would have fallen to the ground. I can feel him slowly moving to the ground and he pulls me with him to lie on a pile of soft, green leaves. He lies down half on top of me and half to the side, just like our vision. The weight of his body feels so good beside mine, but I want more. The intense feeling of longing spirals through my body and all I want is to be closer to him, as close as any two people can get. I grip his shirt and pull it over his head. I run my hands over his smooth, muscled arms and they flex and ripple underneath my touch. I feel protected with his arms around me.
He moves his body to position himself between my legs and I can feel the heat of his arousal pressed against my body. I wrap my legs around his waist to pull him closer. He groans into my mouth and tugs on my bottom lip.
Ryder kisses his way to my ear and whispers, “You’re killing me here. I’m starting to feel like I’m going to have no control when I’m around you.”
I grip my legs tighter and breathlessly add, “Well, then don’t.”
His breathing picks up and he begins to move his body against mine. I moan in pleasure because the sweet taste of orgasm is making its way to the surface.
His hand travels down across my breasts and down to the edge of my shirt. He gently lifts it and trails his nice warm hand up my stomach to one of my breasts and massages it gently. My eyes flash open and my body freezes. Wait. He has warm hands and his body is warm. That’s not right. I stop kissing him and gently push him back so he can see my face. He looks at me questioningly and rises so I can sit.
That is when things begin to change. It all happens at once and both of us sit there shocked and wide-eyed as we stare at each other. His body is warm and the chill that usually inhabits him is gone. His skin has taken on a golden glow. It isn’t the sun-kissed glow that the Summer Court fae have, but somewhere in the middle between his Winter Court heritage and the Summer Court. I look down at my skin and see that I have the same skin tone, too. My normally tanned skin has become paler in comparison to what it was. What is happening to us? He reaches down to grab my hand and I notice our skin feels the same as well. I am no longer hot to the touch like I was before, but I still feel warm.