Author's Note: This is a little one-shot that lived on my computer for the past few weeks. I wasn't sure what to do with it and it needed some TLC before it was post-worthy. But, in light of some recent Cedfia hate and some unkind reviews, I decided to push it through and continue my contribution to the Cedfia romance fandom. Hope you enjoy. :)
As always, Sofia is proper adult age in my stories. 18+ and whatnot.
Whispers in the Wind
"Sofia ..."
She paused with a finger upon the line she'd been reading, lowering her book. Shrouded in the shadowing boughs of an ancient willow, she thought she was peacefully alone inside her secret garden. But she could swear she'd heard someone calling her name, no more than a whisper, but real all the same. Around the dappled ring of trailing willow whips, she saw no one. The little grove was silent except for the sound of her own breath.
"Hello?" she called curiously.
The vines fluttered as a breath of wind kissed across the nape of her neck, stirring the tendrils there.
"Sofia ..."
She peered around the trunk of the great tree, wondering if she'd somehow imagined the sound of her name. Then she felt it, a presence there with her. Her lips tugged into a sideways smile as she rested back between the cradling roots of the old tree. The wind tickled her ear, licking along her neck, caressing her lips until they tingled. She set the book aside. The air solidified into a pair of ghostly hands, cool but firm to the touch. They caressed her shoulders, drawing down the flimsy cap sleeves of her summer gown. The heat of the sun didn't bother her under the cool shadows of the tree, but a internal warmth rose in her belly, building with those emboldened phantom caresses.
She turned her head aside, feeling the outline of a thumb tracing the pulse along her neck. A cool kiss of lips across her shoulder raised goosebumps in their wake. The touch chased fire beneath her skin, prickling with that certain unique hum of magic. Her pulse jumped in her throat. The presence, his presence, surrounded her.
Those ghostly hands smoothed down her arms. When his thumbs brushed over her breasts, her nipples puckered tight beneath the thin bodice.
"Yes," she murmured, her voice smoky from his light touch.
She eased down across the blanket spread beneath her, shivering as a breath of air teased across the shell of her ear. On the breeze she caught hints of spicy sandalwood and pungent sage. A soft sigh eased from her lungs at the familiar, calming scents that were his marker. She relaxed, giving herself over to this strange new sensation of touch. But her eyes she kept tightly shut, knowing she wouldn't see him. He was in the very air, encircling and engulfing her.
The persistent breeze ruffled the hem of her dress.
She laughed lightly. "Couldn't wait to see me again, I take it?"
The only answer she received was the sensation of her bodice being drawn down, exposing a taut nipple to the air ... to him ...
She moaned as a cool stream, tinged with a thread of warm magic, blew across her areola. She shuttered, gasping when the touch solidified like a tongue licking over her tormented nipple. A hand dragged her skirt upward, exposing her thighs.
"This is hardly fair," she panted. "I want to touch you too."
If the wind could snicker. "Soon ..."
A hot breath of air teased between the slit of her pantalets.
"How soon?" she gasped, unable to keep from parting her legs, exposing her dampening curls.
The hand brushed over her mound, teasing.
"Tonight ..."
His incorporeal fingers brushed through her curls, humming with magic. Her flesh twitched, tightened, buzzed with pleasure. The feel of his unseen stroking caught her in a web of desire. Each tender stroke shook through her, making her cry out in a voice that was no longer her own, answering only to his touch.
"Now," she whimpered, "why not come to me now?"
His winding fingers moved faster, drawing her closer towards the unseen edge.
"Can't, love ..."
Sofia bit off a rare curse, her body rising, arching. This was delicious, thrilling, but she longed for the real man. Still his magical touch made something primal and inescapable wind through her. Her cries deepened. When she felt a warm tug on her exposed nipple, she could swear she felt the real warmth of his mouth there. Light burst behind her eyelids, the world fracturing.
"Cedric!" she cried, wishing she was holding him in her arms, not just some conjuring.
Waves rolled through her as she twisted and thrashed. His hand moved away, caressing up her belly and arms until she felt held. Light kisses tingled along her cheek, steadying until her breath evened. As the tremors eased, she drew her dress to rights, covering her breast, smoothing her skirt down.
Once more she felt the whisper of lips, across her forehead this time. She sighed, longing for the coming evening, when she could slip away unseen.
"Sofia," the wind sighed.
She curled onto her side, sated but still longing. Above her sounds returned, the shy twitter of a bird, the lazy hum of a bee. The wind gave her one last gentle caress across the cheek before the weight of magic evaporated, leaving nothing on the breeze.
Cedric bent low over the spellbook taking deep breaths to calm his racing pulse. Lust twisted in his gut, throbbing low between his hips. He soothed down the bulge in his pants, wondering if he had time to assuage his needs properly.
As if on cue, an impatient knock thudded at the door. He snatched his hand away, sighing. "Yes?"
"Cedric," Baileywick's crisp voice wilted any residual desire quite effectively, "the king is waiting for your presence in the throne room."
"Yes, yes," he grumbled, snapping the book closed, "I'll be right down."
The steward's shoes clicked away, fading down the steps. Cedric gave the book one last wistful gaze, still seeing Sofia's flushed, sated face. No rest for the wicked, he smirked, taking up his bag of extra wands and potions before strolling out the door. Disappointment forgotten, he downright smiled thinking how in a few short hours he'd have the real woman in his arms.
Author's Note: Short and sweet. Hope you guys enjoyed it. If you liked it, please leave a review. :)
P.S. I swear I haven't stopped working on Revelry. Chapter 4 is giving me fits, but slowly and surely it is working itself out.