Chapter 37

Sitting in the dim light, the room lit only by the fire before them, Elain shifted closer to Lucien on the soft couch. Nesta and Amren had been the only others at dinner with them and both had gone upstairs to work on something or other together afterwards, so Elain had found it only too easy to drag Lucien into the sitting room where they could find a quiet space to be together. She watched the fire for a moment before glancing his way and, noting the pleased smile on his face as his eyes moved over the flower crown she still wore, she felt herself blush slightly.

"Did Rhys say anything to you about when we might leave for the Winter Court?" She asked, shifting her gaze back to the flames dancing before them.

"No, not yet." Lucien's voice was soft, and Elain thought it almost sounded like the fire itself. "I think that it might be good to give the courts time to process the change in Autumn first."

"And how long might that be?" She looked his way.

He shook his head, giving a light shrug. "Could be a week or more."

Elain tried not to pout, but wasn't sure how well she managed that. She suspected not well at all when Lucien laughed gently. "Are you still so eager after what happened?"

"Yes." She replied, "I…I want to see it all. Prythian is so much more beautiful than I imagined, and I need to …" she made a vague gesture with her hands, not knowing how to explain. He took one of her hands in his, holding it gently, and she looked back up to meet his eyes.

"You will."

Elain smiled at him, pleased that he sounded so sure about that. "You promise?"

"I promise." he agreed, giving a solemn nod, "Even if not for this, I will take you to all the different courts." Elain's smile widened at his words, and at the fact that she could hear his heartbeat increase as he looked at her. She watched as his russet and gold eyes flicked back up to the flower crown before locking onto her face once more.

"You're staring at me." She said, smiling again.

Lucien's fingers gently began to caress her hand, still held gently in his own. "Yes… I am." His voice was a gentle as the crackling fire again. "You are breathtaking to behold." Elain laughed, even as she felt the colour rise in her cheeks. Lucien pulled her hand slowly toward himself. "You are."

Smiling, she met his gaze, feeling warmth spread throughout her. She believed that he truly thought so, because nobody had ever looked at her the way he did, and Elain wondered if anyone had ever really seen her before.

Apparently realising that she was now staring back at him, Lucien gave a soft laugh of his own. "I'm sorry for not being as worth staring at as you are…" his gaze dropped for the briefest of moments before meeting hers again and Elain could tell he'd meant his words as a joke, but she could hear the undercurrent of his truth behind them. She just looked at him, watching the way the firelight danced in his vibrant hair, making the colours shift and change, and she moved closer to him on the couch.

Lucien looked surprised, his golden eye flashing in the flickering light, as Elain lifted her hand from his own large hand to his face. She touched him gently, tracing his scar from his brow to his jaw. His eyes closed as he surrendered to her touch, and Elain suspected that he had never let anybody touch him like this. "You might think of it as imperfection," she breathed, "but this…" she traced her fingertips over his scar again, "does nothing to diminish your beauty. I wouldn't have you any other way than how you are." She paused, her eyes moving over his handsome face again. "I like it."

When his careful hand touched Elain's shoulder, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his scar, feeling Lucien shudder as she did so. She moved closer again, bringing her other hand up to the side of his neck, her lips grazing his cheek as his fingers tightened on her shoulder, drawing her closer. Elain smiled when Lucien suddenly turned his head slightly, and she could feel his smirk when his lips caught hers. She opened to him instantly, and he lifted her into his lap, as his tongue swept into her mouth. He'd moved so quickly she had not had time to process it, yet somehow his hands were in her hair as he pressed further, deepening the kiss, and Elain could do nothing but groan her appreciation for the way his tongue moved against hers, sending waves of warm fire throughout her entire body.

The heat spreading through Elain sparked something else within her and she slid her left hand from the side of Lucien's neck down and across his shoulder as she pressed herself flush against him, her other hand still at his cheek, stroking him as she returned his kiss. One of his hands left her hair and, a moment later, she felt it slide around her waist as he hooked an arm around her, locking her in place. With a jolt, Elain realised that she could feel how hard Lucien was beneath her and her breath caught in her throat at the thought of anyone walking into the room to find them like this.

When she had stopped, Lucien had lifted his head to look at her, and she met his questioning look with a shy smile. The burning look in his russet eye made her want to kiss him again, but she swallowed that desire and traced her fingers down his scar once more. Her fingers, she realised, lined up with the worst of it, and she flinched when she realised that had been exactly how Amarantha's claws had raked down his face. "Why did she do it?" she asked softly, her eyes tracing his scar carefully, "I mean, I know I saw it… but her reaction was extreme…"

"I should have kept my mouth shut, and I didn't." Lucien's reply was flat and she looked up at him. "It's not the first time it has gotten me into trouble. I need to learn to control it."

Elain shook her head. "I like your mouth."

Lucien smirked. "Wait until you see what else I can do with it." He froze the instant the words were said, and Elain blushed. She couldn't resist a low chuckle however, and Lucien visibly relaxed. His fingers moved lightly from her hair down to her shoulder, tracing her skin in the firelight and Elain smiled again, feeling warm and content in his lap.

As the fire burned lower, Elain let her eyes continue to wander appreciatively over Lucien's scarred face. She could still feel his uncertainty, and his desire to hide the scar as he noticed her looking so closely, and she dropped her gaze, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable. Instead she leaned into him, listening to his steady heart. "I wish that you could see yourself the way I see you." She murmured.

"I… it's still kind of new to me." He told her softly. "Amarantha held that masked ball so soon after it happened, apparently as a way for me to hide the scar… and then I wore that mask for nearly fifty years, unable to take it off, until Feyre broke the curse." Lucien's hand moved gently across Elain's back, "For so long I couldn't see it… not all of it. And, it hasn't really been that long since the curse was broken. Every time I look in a mirror, I'm still somewhat surprised by what I see…"

Elain sat up straighter to look into his face, meeting his gaze again. "I'm sorry." She said gently, her hand coming up to touch the bottom of the scar again at his jaw. "It… your face kind of feels as familiar to me as my own face." She smiled, "It makes no sense… yet I feel it." She stroked his jaw with her thumb. "… I like every part of it."

She blinked when both of Lucien's hands came up to cup her face as he carefully brought his lips down to hers in a soft kiss. "I wish that you would love me." He breathed, and Elain's heart stuttered in her chest.

She met his eyes silently, not knowing what to say or do to respond to those words and, just as she drew a breath, trying to figure out something to tell him, they were interrupted by an enraged scream from the doorway.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Nesta's voice rang out as she marched through the room, apparently not noticing them entwined on the couch by the fire. Before either Elain or Lucien could do or say anything, Cassian stalked into the room, hot on Nesta's heels.

Elain watched silently as Nesta threw open the other door and disappeared and Cassian hurried after her. She heard the Illyrian's low murmur of something he directed at Nesta who only shrieked that she was moving out as soon as possible and that he could go to hell. The door slammed shut after them and Elain turned her eyes back to Lucien. He looked as shocked as she felt and she leaned back, shifting herself off of him and back to her end of the couch.

Neither of them said anything, but Elain knew that they were both thinking that if Cassian and the others had returned from the House of Wind, then they were running the risk of being walked in on by someone who might actually notice their presence. It was probably best if they headed upstairs for the night.