All of the thoughts were conflicting in my head, emotions swirling and crashing like violent waves in a storm tossed sea. I was torn. I watched her in front of me, the moonlight making her exquisite skin glow, like she wasn't human. Which, I had to remind myself, she wasn't.
But it only made her all the more beautiful.
She spun around the courtyard, her usual composure and ever present seriousness had disappeared, and this beautiful creature that I was getting to glimpse, this was Tessa. The real Tessa, my Tess. The woman who was so passionate about books, the characters like old friends to her, the woman who's flame seemed to not just burn but absolutely flare, outshining everyone around her. She was beautiful, enthralling. Who, when faced with such a woman, could not fall in love?
She caught my eye, a small smile upon her lips, laughter in her eyes. I saw my her lips shape my name and walked over to her, drifting almost, entranced by how ethereal she was. Her hair had almost broken free, the soft tendrils framing her heart shaped face, the curves of her neck showcased exquisitely. I ached to touch her, wrap her up in my arms, rejoice in her very existence which had transformed my world from a dark prison to a garden of light.
I caught her hands, my arm automatically going for her waist as we danced. She laughed once more, her head tilted up at me. I gazed into her eyes, warm and brown, seeing all the emotions she could not hide. Her lips were parted, her cheeks flushed with the faintest blush of pink. I leaned forward, unable to stop myself. I wanted her, I needed her like a dying man needs air. That's what she was; she was my air. I had been drowning, dying until she had come here.
My hands found them selves cupping her face, my thumbs tracing circles over her cheekbones. I closed my eyes for a second, the hope inside my chest building until it was painful, and then I opened them. She was inches away from my face, her eyes on my lips.
"Will…" She was breathless, and the words were barely a whisper.
It was enough.
I closed the last few inches between us, her soft lips grazing mine. At first I was gentle, but she dug her hands into my hair, pulling me down, her lips pressing up against mine with as much desperation as I felt. Happiness flooded through me, I was heady on it, and as we broke away, still breathless, I smiled at her, dropping all the pretences that I had kept up for so long. Desire warred inside me, and once again we clung to each other.
She pushed me backwards, and I realised what she was doing. I took hold of her hand and grasped it, revelling in her touch, as ducked through the stone archway and up the stairs. As soon as we reached the top we embraced again, my hands buried in her hair. My back hit something solid, and I reached for the door handle as we fell into my bed chambers. I was clutching her to me as I kissed a trail down her throat, stopping at the hollow where the pendant rested. I looked at her then, her gaze catching mine. Pain flared up then, as I remembered she was not mine to touch, to hold.
Slowly, but deliberately she reached up, before undoing the latch on the necklace and setting it on the table beside her. My mouth opened and I gasped slightly, but she silenced me with a kiss before speaking softly.
"I am yours Will. I have always been yours."
I did not hesitate to touch her then, my hands fumbling as I pulled her closer, and closer still, our clothes being shed like an old skin. I kept running my hands over her, the beautiful , creamy expanses of skin that I adored, terrified that this was just a dream, that getting to be with Tessa, my Tessa, was not real. But it was. And she didn't let me wonder for long, her hands tangling in my hair as she pulled me down to her, her lips like fire against mine, her skin like silk.
Somehow, it was as if she was breathing the life back into me.