Chapter Thirty
Lonan stayed for the whole night.
While it made me incredibly happy to sleep beside him, it also saddened me to realise that he wasn’t worried about being missed by his family on his birthday. That they wouldn’t even notice he wasn’t there.
Last night, we’d eventually dragged ourselves out of bed to get some water and Lonan had hungrily wolfed down a few slices of bread and marmalade in the quiet warmth of the kitchen, the low flames of the dying fire flickering over his nude body.
After he was done, I’d silently tangled my fingers with his and led him back to bed, desperately hoping he wouldn’t tell me that he had to leave and start getting dressed.
He didn’t. After I’d blown out the candles, he climbed in beside me without a word and immediately wrapped his arms round me from behind, pulling me back into the cradle of his body. I fell asleep almost instantly.
I woke up with him still wrapped round me, his warm, even breaths tickling my shoulder and telling me that he was still asleep. Before I could carefully spin round to look at him, he was jerking awake, his body tensing against me before he relaxed again. My lips pulled down as I wondered if that was how he woke up every morning, tense and expecting something awful, but I forced myself to smile as I spun in his arms.
“Morning.” My voice was croaky from sleep and my pleasured yells from the night before.
I shivered when the blanket slipped down, cold air rushing in. I pulled it up higher, burrowing deeper as he nuzzled my face.
“Good morning.”
I shivered again, this time from the sound of his husky voice. It was even deeper than usual from sleep. I closed my eyes as warm lips pressed against my cheek.
“Can you stay a bit longer?” I rasped, hand creeping out to slide up his stomach and chest. “Can we go back to sleep for a while?”
“I should probably go.”
I sighed and forced my eyes back open, kissing his chin before rolling onto my back and stretching. I smiled when Lonan draped himself over me, kissing my chest before resting his cheek there.
“This doesn’t look like leaving,” I said as I threaded my fingers through his messy hair.
“In a minute,” he mumbled, warm hand trailing down my hip beneath the blanket and resting lightly over my relaxed shaft. It twitched in response.
Long minutes passed in contented silence, and I grew convinced that Lonan had fallen back to sleep before a brisk knock at the door made us both jump.
Lonan panicked. He jerked up, and before I could even blink the blanket suddenly fluttered down, the space beside me empty. The crow flapped its wings once before scrambling onto the floor.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, quickly getting out of bed and shoving on my shorts. The room was freezing, and as I glanced at the window I could see nothing but a blanket of white.
“Holy shit, it’s snowed,” I whispered, then peered worriedly over at the bed. Lonan had vanished.
I really, really hoped it wasn’t Caom at the door. I couldn’t be bothered to fake smiles and fend off any advances. In fact, anger burned in me for him interrupting my blissful morning with Lonan. I was already scowling when I flung open the door.
I blinked at the naked kelpie standing there, a long piece of pondweed barely concealing anything of his pale body.
Odran nodded once, black eyes glistening green in the snow’s reflection. “Ash.”
“What…” I looked around at endless white fields, everything having been completely covered in snow overnight. “What are you doing here?”
“I have something for you.” He lifted the waterlogged book in his hands and held it out. “It could help.”
I automatically reached out to take the book, its leather cover sodden and already icing over. “What?”
I shivered from the freezing air rushing in and hitting my chest. The cold didn’t seem to be affecting Odran at all, even though he was almost completely naked. Even his feet were bare, and the snow reached his ankles.
“We are doing what we can,” the kelpie said, eyes hooded as he flicked a glance behind me into the cottage. “Trying to find ways to help. This may help.”
“We?” I asked, staring at him. “You and Nua?”
He nodded and turned to leave. “Stay safe, Ash.”