He rolled her over and stripped off his clothes.
“You swear that bears aren’t going to find us?”
“I swear.” Although he probably would have promised anything right then as he lay over her, both of them naked. If any human did stumble into the clearing, they wouldn’t see anything; they’d just have a strong urge to leave. Mortals couldn’t see fairies unless the fairies let them—and even then most didn’t show their true face. It suited their purpose to not be seen right now.
She slid one leg over his hip. “You’re just saying that.”
He eased forward, his shaft pressing against her waiting sex. “You aren’t exactly rushing away.” He kissed her before she could speak again. He didn’t care if a family of bears ambled into the clearing—not that they would. The forest was quiet, and there was very little wildlife around. He wasn’t careless with their safety in either world. “If you want to see bears, we could go somewhere else.” He pretended to draw back, knowing she’d stop him.
Her other leg hooked over his thigh. “Here’s fine.”
She reached for him, her fingers feathering over his shaft as he watched. Her lips parted a little, a smile curving the corners as though she were a forest nymph free of all responsibilities. Maybe that was just what he wanted, to know what it was to be truly free again. He moved closer, sinking into her. For the moment, he was free of everything and everyone except Taryn and his desire to be alone with her.
While she admitted to needing these breaks from Court, he couldn’t. It went against everything he’d worked for. It was much easier to lose himself in her and pretend that he came here to be with her. She was the reason he was craving more than what the Court offered.
She was his craving.
Taryn moved with him and the sound of skin on skin filled the air. She moaned against his lips, her hips lifting to meet every thrust, her fingers digging into his skin. He nipped at her lip, and she responded in kind. Her breaths shortened, and she urged him faster. He gave her what she wanted, holding back until her core tightened around him and she came. Then he let himself slide over the edge to drown in pleasure.
The bed of leaves tickled her back even through the dark cloak spread over them. Every movement made the makeshift mattress rustle. Verden lay next to her, with one arm over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun, which had moved. He was thinking, and she knew what he was thinking about.
He’d told her about his run-in with the Queen. Just hearing about it had been enough to make her heart clench in fear. But all her doubts about sneaking off vanished when she was in his arms in the mortal world. Here, she saw who Verden was when he wasn’t hiding behind the mask of Hunter. She rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows, stretching out in the dappled sunlight.
He’d assured that no bears would disturb them, but Yosemite had bears, and deer and all kinds of things. Wondering about wildlife wasn’t particularly relaxing—not that she’d been thinking about wildlife as they’d given into the lust that was becoming harder and harder to keep locked away.
“There is a café down the hill a bit I believe.” This was as close to home and the familiar as she’d come, and she didn’t want to let the opportunity slip by without seeing people and eating normal food and feeling like the world as she knew it still existed. In Annwyn, it was easy to forget there was more across the veil.
“We just ate.” Verden opened one eye.
She was tired of the elegant dinners, and she was sick of Court food. The fruit and what they called cake. She craved the sugar and salt of the mortal world. Soft drinks and chocolate and meat. She’d convinced Verden to take her through a doorway that was close to civilization because she wanted him to see her world and realize there was so much more than deals and games. She wanted to see him in her world. As much as she loved the wilds and being with him, she wanted to see if they could play at being human together.
“We ate at Court hours ago.” Since then they’d been entertaining themselves. She plucked a leaf from his hair and tossed it away. At least no keen hiker had stumbled across them. “Can we just go and see?”
“You want to spend the little time we have together surrounded by humans?”
“It’s called a date. Usually men take women out to dinner before jumping into bed.”
“Is that how they win affection?” He reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
She leaned into his touch and let herself be pulled into a semi-embrace. “It’s how people gauge interest and compatibility.”
“I’m interested. I’m interested every time I see you.” He took her hand and placed it over his hardening shaft.
“I’ve noticed.” She bit her lip; she didn’t think she was asking too much from him. “I want to be able to sit down and have a meal with you and not hide what I feel. I want to be able to talk to you without wondering who will overhear.” This was the test: could they have a real relationship? She twisted around to look at him.
“I want that.” There was a silent but.
She waited. She was aware of his breathing, the lift and fall of his chest against her, and the cooling of their skin. She’d have never lain naked in the forest with a human, yet with Verden it felt right—because it was all they had. She hoped she was wrong and there was more than sex and magnetic attraction.
“I’ve never eaten human food,” he said finally.
“What?”
“I don’t spend any time around humans.”
“How can you not spend time around them when you patrol the mortal world?”
He looked up at her, the sunlight and leaves making patterns on his skin. “I don’t patrol. I simply monitor fairy activity in the mortal world. I relocate Greys, and stop those who choose to live here from making excessive trouble for humans. I am the King’s law in the mortal world. The rest of the time I’m at Court. I’ve been there nearly my whole life. I’ve never had time to dabble with humans, as I was too busy trying to secure my position and, once there, holding it and doing what was required. My life belongs to the Court.”
She didn’t know what to say. Had he ever really lived and had fun? “This is where my life is.”
“You don’t want to live at Court?”
She shook her head. The longer she spent there, the more she disliked it. He was quiet again and she knew he was thinking what she had already considered. This was fun, but at some point it would it end. He was a Court fairy and she wasn’t. She eased away, not wanting to hear him say it. She just had to enjoy what little they had without reaching for more.
“Forget I asked. It was a stupid idea.” She reached for her discarded clothes.
He moved and caught her hand. “No it wasn’t. Let’s have the meal we could never have at Court.”
Dressed, they let themselves be visible to mortals. Their clothing was wrong, but a little fairy magic would convince anyone who saw them that they were nothing more than another couple of hikers. Few would bother to look closer for the simple reason mortals didn’t expect fairies to walk among them.
They had found a trail and then walked down the hill to the little village. Village might be generous, as it had a general store, a post office, a tiny museum, and a couple places to eat. Verden watched as people milled about, talking in groups; some walked past and snapped photos of the scenery.
He followed Taryn into a shop where she scanned a board, then turned to face him. Her eyes were bright and she looked relaxed, more relaxed than he’d ever seen her.
“What do you want?”