Chapter 142

He couldn't stop his fingers from tracing the garnet necklace around Elain's neck. Over and over, his fingers went from the chain down to the garnet pendant, he traced the tiny golden leaves surrounding the stone, and then his fingers went back to the chain, beginning again. "You've really not taken it off at all?" he breathed, fire simmering beneath his skin.

"Well," she murmured, and he looked up to meet her eyes again. "When I tried to find you when you were missing with Thesan, I removed it from around my neck, but I still held on to it…" she smiled, "It was still touching me… so I don't count that. I never let it go."

"It helped you see?" he asked, tilting his head and looking at the garnet again.

"It helped me focus on you." She replied.

"Like an anchor," he murmured, thinking.

"What's that look?" she asked, and Lucien smiled, remembering Nesta ask her the same thing earlier in the evening.

"Nothing." He replied, "Just thinking for later…" His gaze slid past her to the table and he grinned, giving her a small wink. "You asked me to take you to bed…"

"I did."

"Are you still sleepy?" his grin widened.

"I never was."

"Ah…" Lucien lifted a hand to Elain's hair, stroking her gently, and enjoying the silky feeling beneath his hand. He loved how she had grown as their relationship had deepened and she had become more and more comfortable with him. He especially liked it when she was playful, and would tell him what she wanted. "Bed, then?"

Elain nodded, her wide brown eyes trained on his face.

Leaning forward, Lucien smiled when Elain went up on her toes as if to kiss him, but then he'd leaned past her to reach the table and he lifted one of the books. He heard her disappointed huff and he couldn't help a soft laugh. "Sorry, Petal." He grinned, remembered the last time he had tricked her like that in the glade in the Spring Court. The rest of that afternoon had quite easily taken the place in his mind has his very favourite memory, and he rather hoped the rest of this evening proved just as lovely.

"Are you?" she asked, hands on her hips as she looked up at him. "Prove it."

Laughing again, Lucien wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her toward the bed. "Alright…" He grinned as she settled back against the pillows and turned her dark eyes on him again. "I thought we might read a little…" he settled beside her, "I had thought, at first, that we might read a few of the accounts I found today, but now I'm thinking we might read some of this…" He oh-so-very-much enjoyed the look on Elain's face when she recognised the book he was holding out to her.

Faster than he had seen her move, she had snatched it from his hand and pushed it under her leg, trying to hide it. "That's not mine." She said, "That's Nesta's… I… was going to give it back to her…"

He was grinning so hard that his face hurt as he leaned over and pulled the book out from under her leg. "Oh, Petal." He purred, "I have no doubt you borrowed it from Nesta…" he watched as she turned scarlet, "But you've been reading it since we last left the Night Court."

"I…" she fell silent, just staring at the book and, he suspected, avoiding his eyes.

"I had a bit of a flick through earlier…" Elain's eyes flicked directly to him then, "and it seems pretty good…" he watched her eyes widen. "Why don't we read some together…?"

Elain's heart was thundering in her chest, and she could feel her face burning. She could feel her whole body burning, if she were to be honest with herself. Lucien had found the book that she had borrowed from Nesta? And he had read some of it! He knew exactly what she had been reading.

"Together?" she asked, her voice weak. He nodded, smiling at her and holding the book out again. Her hand shaking, Elain took it, still looking at him and trying to read his expression. He seemed completely tickled to know that she had been reading this kind of thing, and she could feel his excitement reaching her down the bond again.

"The bit you're up to seems pretty good. Why don't we go from there?"

Obediently, Elain's hands moved to find her bookmark, and she flipped the book open. Her heart was still thundering, faster than Lucien's own, and she didn't know how he managed to appear so calm when she could feel him practically burning from within. He made an excited sound and settled down against her, one arm sliding around her to pull her to himself.

Drawing one deep breath after another, Elain nodded and steadied herself. "Alright… ah… do you want to know the plot first?"

"There's plot?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Yes…" Elain muttered, "That's what makes it good…"

"Tell me the plot."

"Well…" Elain murmured, "This is the second in the series. And so now she is free to be with her lover, and they have set up their own manor out in the countryside. But there are some inheritance issues… and it also kind of seems that her lover isn't who he has always thought he was."

"Intriguing…"

Elain's cheeks burned again. She didn't know how she was meant to go straight from the new information that Lucien knew that she was reading this, to reading it out loud to him. There should definitely be a few more steps in there in between. "Okay…"

Lucien's cheek rested against her shoulder as he made a show of getting comfortable. "Okay, go."

Letting out a deep breath, Elain nodded again, smoothing the page as she looked at it. "Rohan was standing in the door to the stable, out of breath, and looking wild." She tried to clear her throat, hoping to make her voice steadier. "He…" she broke off again, shaking her head. "Lucien, I can't read this out loud." She breathed.

He looked up at her and smiled, "Would you prefer me to do it?"

"Yes…" She liked that idea far more. The thought of Lucien reading the scene she was pretty sure was about to happen, was far more appealing to her. He lifted a hand to take the book as he sat up straighter, leaning back against the pillows, and this time Elain settled down against him, leaning into his side. She rested her head against his shoulder, and released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"Rohan was standing in the door to the stable, out of breath, and looking wild. He strode forward quickly, his eyes on her, and she backed into a stall, wanting to give herself time to prepare for what she knew was to come. The moment he reached her, his hands went to her dress, pulling it open and then down off her shoulders, and she was thankful that everyone else had gone for the midday meal early. Sinking down into the hay, she had thought that Rohan would be on her in an instant, but instead he had grabbed her hips and turned her over, lifting her to her hands and knees. She braced herself as his hands yanked the skirts of her dress up past her hips and then she gasped when one of his hands went between her legs. She loved it when he got like this, and she was only too willing to allow him to do exactly as he liked. Hearing his laboured breathing, she knew that he was ready and an instant later she felt him press against her. One of Rohan's hands stroked tenderly up her back and so she was ready when he pushed forward, sliding deep inside of her. After only a moment of stillness, one of Rohan's hands grabbed one of her shoulders, pushing her down, and then he was thrusting quickly…"

Elain couldn't take her eyes off of Lucien's face as he read. Listening to his beautiful cultured voice, she was almost certain that this was better than when she read anything on her own. There was no outward sign that suggested Lucien felt anything or was in any way affected by the words that he was reading, yet Elain could hear his heartbeat, and she could feel him through the bond. She was picturing everything that he was saying only, in her mind, Rohan had become Lucien.

After a pause, Lucien evidently became aware that Elain was watching him and he turned his head to look back at her. "This is saucy stuff…" he grinned, and Elain reached up with one hand to draw him down into a kiss. The moment her lips met his, Elain could feel the fire burning within him. So often close to the surface, it was right there, ready to burn through the both of them, and she was even more impressed that he was able to appear outwardly so unaffected. She hardly noticed when Lucien tossed the book aside, but then he had wrapped her in his arms as he sank down over her, licking teasingly at her, and pushing to deepen the kiss.