Chapter 62

Several large vases of Eisblume were scattered around their room, and Lucien smiled. He made a mental note to thank Kallias in the morning as he watched Elain's eyes light up at the sight. She hurried toward the closest vase, turning it on the table to a more advantageous angle. "I wish there was a way to take some of these when we go… I wish I could grow them…"

"Yeah, I don't think that'll work, Petal." He said, draping the blanket from the sleigh over a nearby chair. "The seeds Tam gave you may grow in the Night Court, but I don't think Eisblume will grow anywhere but here."

"I figured." She murmured, sighing a little. "I'm going to have a quick bath before bed…"

"Alright."

Lucien sat down at a table to write a quick report on the Winter Court for Rhysand while Elain headed into the bathroom. He had finished and was packing everything away when she came out in a long white nightgown. His eyes caught on her, moving slowly over her from head to foot. The light nightgown wasn't quite transparent, but the material was thin enough that he could nearly see through it. Elain didn't pause as she moved toward the bed, but the smile she wore as she glanced at him told Lucien she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I… am going to do the same thing." He told her, grabbing what he needed before heading swiftly into the bathroom. He stripped off and washed quickly in the tub, eager to get back out into the bedroom; to get to Elain.

Striding back out into the bedroom in record time, Lucien found Elain sitting in bed, propped up against several pillows with a book in her lap. "All clean?" she asked, smiling at him as he approached. Lucien bit back a reply, questioning if she preferred him dirty, and just nodded as he pulled the covers back and slipped into the bed beside her. "Here…" Elain shuffled closer, until she was leaning against him instead of the pillows. Contentment flowed through Lucien as Elain's head rested against his chest, and she flicked the book open in her lap. "My turn to read to you."

"Oh?" He asked, "Alright."

"Okay, get comfortable."

"I am." He grinned, sliding an arm around her waist, holding her firmly to himself as she began to read. It was the book he had begun to read to her and, although Lucien had read it before, he listened happily. He liked her voice, soft and soothing, and he found himself gently playing with the end of her braid with the hand not currently at her waist.

After a while, Elain tilted her head to look up at him. "You're quite distracting…" she said softly, and Lucien realised that he had been stroking her steadily. He grinned, stilling his hand.

"Sorry…"

"No…" she smiled, setting the book aside, "It was nice…"

"Was it?" he began stroking her again with his hand at her waist, his fingers moving slowly across the thin material of her nightgown. "Like this…?"

"Exactly." She grinned at him, "Do I get to do it too?"

"Petal, you can do whatever you want…" Lucien's breath caught in his throat when she shifted and turned, lifting herself over him until she was straddling him. "By the Cauldron…" he groaned, unable to look away from her leaning over him, the aurora lighting up the sky outside, easily visible through the windows behind her.

"Really? Anything I want?" She asked, and he could do nothing but look up at her, nodding his agreement. She looked back at him, her brown eyes flicking over him and coming to rest on his chest. "… you told me once that you usually don't sleep in clothes…" She plucked at the shirt he had on.

"True…"

"Well…" she pulled at the shirt again, looking at him questioningly.

"Petal, you want it gone, it's gone…" Lucien could practically see Elain considering before she nodded. He sat up quickly pulling the shirt up and over his head before tossing it away. The smile that spread across her face then sent a flush of heat right through him and both of his hands came to rest on her thighs as he settled back against the pillows again. He watched Elain hesitate for only a moment before her hands came to his chest, sliding carefully over his skin. Colour filled her cheeks then when she met his eyes and Lucien ran his own hands over her thighs. "…. Earlier," he began, watching her expression carefully, "Did you like it?"

"Earlier…" she mused, "… the sleigh?"

"Before that." He said, and her wide smile told him she knew exactly what he was referring to. "Out among the Eisblume."

"I liked…" she paused for a second, "I liked that I could unravel you…"

"Oh… you can at that." He raised an eyebrow at her, "You make me come completely undone."

Elain smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, her hands braced against his bare chest, and Lucien slid his own hands from her thighs up to her waist. When she sat straight again, he allowed his eyes to wander over her. The thin nightgown was practically translucent from this close, and he lifted one hand to her cheek, caressing her gently, his thumb trailing along her cheekbone as she leaned into his touch. "I enjoyed every moment of today…" he told her and Elain nodded.

Carefully, Lucien allowed his hand to slide down Elain's throat, trailing his fingers over her skin to the garnet necklace she still wore. Pleasure washed through him as he looked at the garnet stones sitting against her soft skin, and he thought about what it meant that she didn't seem to have taken the necklace off since he had put it on her back in the Autumn Court. Keeping his eyes on her face, Lucien let his hand trace lower until it came to the laces at the front of her nightgown. When she didn't make any kind of protest, he began to slowly untie them. Noting the deeper breath Elain took, Lucien paused. After everything they had done, he'd almost forgotten that he hadn't actually seen her naked. Knowing that modesty was important to her, he waited for her decision. Elain met his eyes as she bit her lip. Nodding, she lifted one of her own hands to rest over his and Lucien carefully opened the front of her nightgown enough to slip a hand inside.

Elain's breath came more quickly as he gently caressed one of her breasts. He kept his touch light, merely ghosting his fingers across her until she leaned in to kiss him again. Bringing his other hand up to the back of Elain's neck, Lucien pulled her more firmly into the kiss and Elain's hands moved up his chest again before sliding across to his shoulders. Lucien groaned when he felt her hips begin to move as she began rubbing herself against him. She sat up again then, and he could see the desire in her eyes. Slowly, she lifted her hands to the laces on her nightgown, untying them further before allowing the whole thing to fall from her shoulders.

Mate. Touch her, smell her, taste her-

Elain's dark eyes were firmly on his own and Lucien could see her trying to read him. He was unable to help himself from allowing his gaze to drop, moving so very slowly over her and he could see when her breathing quickened again. Gently, he ran both hands over her, his eyes lifting to meet her gaze once more as his heart began to beat loudly in his own ears, and Lucien knew that she would definitely be able to hear it too. Elain leaned into his touch as his thumbs traced her ribs and shifted higher and he heard her soft gasp of a breath, saw her lips part slightly, and her hips shifted again. Lucien gave another groan, "Is this what you want to be doing, Petal?"

Watching as Lucien's eyes moved over her, Elain bit her lip. His metallic eye clicked and whirred and she could see him trying to maintain his control. She had the choice. He'd given it to her, and she could make that decision here and now. "Here?" she asked, thinking about what he had said the other night. One of his hands cupped her breast and she closed her eyes, "I thought you didn't want some random bed…"

"I… like it here…" his voice was weaker than before and Elain thought that control might be slipping. He had told her that he wanted this to happen somewhere more meaningful to them, somewhere they had complete privacy and where they wouldn't be disturbed. She doubted they would be disturbed here, but it was hardly meaningful.

One of Lucien's hands slid up between her breasts and to her throat and she opened her eyes to meet his again. "I want you…" she murmured, and she heard his heartbeat quicken. "I want this before I accept the bond…"

"Okay…"

"I want to know my own mind, know it's us… and I don't want to be a virgin when the mating frenzy hits…"

Lucien was nodding now, his eyes still moving over her and his hands both stroking her. "Alright…" One of his hands slid around to her lower back and Elain shook her head, her breath coming quick and shallow. He had told her that he wanted somewhere meaningful, and she didn't want him to give that up now because she had tempted him. That wasn't fair, and it felt manipulative. "No?" he asked, and Elain met his eyes again. He was watching her, clearly trying to read her expression. "Elain?" Both of his hands came down to her thighs, and he began stroking her again, slow and soothing.

Trying to think about somewhere that wouldn't be random for him, Elain's mind went back to his room in Tamlin's manor. Lucien had lived there for so long, and she remembered the way he had decorated the room. The whole thing had felt like him, had smelled like him. That had been his last home. Lifting one of her hands, she gently touched Lucien's cheek, trailing her fingers down his scar to his jaw. "Can we go back to the Spring Court?"

Lucien's hands stilled on her thighs and he tilted his head as he looked up at her. "Is that what you want?"

"Yes…"

"Alright."

Elain leaned down to kiss him again and felt him smile softly "Is that okay?" she asked, shifting herself so that she was laying atop him.

"Perfect." He murmured, "We will have privacy there… and…" she felt him press a kiss to her hair, "That's where you first came to me because you didn't want to sleep alone…"

"I remember."

"When do you want to go?" Lucien asked softly, "Before we head to Summer?"

"I'd go now if we could." Elain murmured, resting her cheek against Lucien's hot chest. She felt his laugh before his hands came to her bare back, trailing gentle patterns into her skin as he held her.

"Soon enough, Petal." He replied and Elain nodded, closing her eyes comfortably. After a few moments, she shifted herself to the side and off of Lucien. He made a soft sound of protest until she snuggled closely into his side, her head coming back to rest against his chest, and her hand moving again over his skin, unable to help herself. She stay there like that, feeling sleep sneak closer, and not caring about the fact that her nightgown was still bunched around her waist, leaving her bare. Lucien's fingers were still tracing gentle patterns into her skin, up and down her back, and she wasn't moving again until morning.