Chapter 223

Lucien dropped his pack by the door, eyes on Elain's back as she stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame as she peered out into the hallway. His mate had said nothing about what had happened in his old room earlier and he wasn't sure how she felt about it. He knew that he had been intense, and that he had lost himself a little in wanting to touch her, kiss her, and his need to then be inside of her. He knew that he hadn't exactly been gentle, but he also knew that she liked that. She had asked him if he had been alright, and he knew that he hadn't exactly given her an answer. At the time he hadn't been sure what he was feeling, only that he'd needed to have her then and there.

Once they had left his old room and he had had the time to think about how he had been, Lucien had felt a little guilty. He wanted to discuss it with her, but she hadn't brought it up so he figured that he maybe had to be the one to do it. "… Petal?" he began, and Elain glanced over her shoulder at him. Lucien wasn't sure what his face was saying, but upon seeing him, she turned around and he could see the interest in her eyes.

"Yes?"

"I…" he didn't know what he actually wanted to say to her, and fell silent. Elain took a few steps toward him, and he reached a hand out to her, relieved when she took it, linking their fingers together.

"Yes, love?" She moved even closer, and Lucien couldn't help looking her over. Her hair was still slightly messy from earlier, and it didn't appear that she had thought to fix it up yet. "Is something the matter?" Elain lifted his hand, in hers, to her chest, pressing it firmly to herself. "Love?" Her dark eyes were looking him over in an almost assessing manner, and Lucien couldn't help but smile at her concern.

"Do you want to sit?" he asked, glancing at the couch nearby, and Elain nodded and moved with him. They sank down beside one another, and Lucien wrapped a arm around her shoulders, wanting to keep her close. "I…" he let out a sigh, not knowing how to even begin. Figuring that he would just begin to talk, and see where it led him, he drew a shaky breath before he continued. "I wanted to talk to you about earlier."

"In your old room?" she asked, and he nodded. Elain just looked at him, an expectant expression on her face as she waited for him to continue.

"Yes…" Lucien stroked her hand, "I… I'm sorry if it was…" he made a face, "I don't know. I didn't intend for that to happen. It just kind of happened when we got up there. Something in me just… needed… you…"

"It's okay." Elain replied, smiling at him. "It was like what happened when you had me in your room in the Spring Court."

"Was it?" he asked, eyes narrowing slightly at he tried to remember.

"Yes." Elain said, "It makes sense, really."

"Does it?"

"Mhm…" her fingers moved carefully over his wrist and up his forearm, and Lucien shuddered lightly, "That was your space, and having me in it made you possessive…"

"I… suppose so."

"Your old room was the same thing." She went on, "But maybe more so."

"Ah…" Lucien thought about that, and decided within a matter of seconds that Elain was correct. It had hit him almost instantly when they had gone through that door into his old room. It had smelled a little mustier than it had used to, but that old familiar scent had been there. It had been his. His space. His home. Then, Elain's scent had hit him, and sparked something within him. He'd needed to get his hands on his mate, and nothing else could have held his attention until he had. "You're right…" he told her. "I think that's exactly what happened."

Elain scooted closer to him on the couch and he blinked when one of her gentle hands came up to his cheek. "You don't have to worry about being possessive with me." She said, her fingers caressing his jaw. "I am yours." She gave him a bit of a twisted smile then, and Lucien's blood quickened in his veins, "Any time you want me."

"Oh, Petal." He grinned, "If you go saying things like that, we're going to get ourselves into all kinds of trouble." He had a brief mental image of himself pulling her down onto the floor in the hall before Helion's throne in the Day Court, his hands moving up under her dress as she moaned his name, and he swallowed thickly, hoping that what he had thought didn't show on his face. Elain's smile widened as she looked at him, and Lucien wondered if she had seen anything of what he'd imagined down the bond. Clearing his throat, Lucien glanced toward the door. "Are… uh… are Nesta and Cassian coming to the Winter Court?"

"Nes is." She said, her own dark eyes shifting toward the door. "Have you spoken with Helion or your mother yet?"

"No," Lucien held Elain's hand in his own. "Helion will meet us downstairs as we are leaving…" He felt her shift then and he released her to allow her to get to her feet. He followed a moment later, knowing that they were expected downstairs. They were due to leave for the Winter Court before the hour was over, anyway. "Yeah, let's go…"

He had picked up both his pack, and Elain's, and they were headed downstairs while he tried to think about what he would say to his mother. He had spent so very long without her, but being able to see her so frequently recently had changed something within him, and he hated the idea of being separated from her now. It saddened him to think that he might not see her for weeks or months, and when Elain glanced at him over her shoulder, he knew that she had been able to feel that down the bond. Allowing his eyes to move over his mate, Lucien tried to let the view distract himself. His eyes fixated on Elain's backside, and he smiled to himself. She glanced at him over her shoulder again, this time with a raised eyebrow, and he gave her a wink by way of reply. She was definitely reading him down the bond. There was no question about it.

Most of the Court was waiting in the hall when he and Elain reached the room, and Lucien noticed that Eris was not sitting in his throne, but rather on the edge of the dais. His brother was chatting animatedly to Helion and Lucien felt his jaw drop slightly. Nera sat next to Eris, and Lucien watched as the High Lord took one of her brown hands in his own pale hand, holding gently, yet in full view of the entire Court. The whispering was still there, Lucien realised, but not nearly as loudly as before.

"Ah," Eris said, his eyes shifting to Lucien and Elain. "Time for everyone to leave."