SYN
Iwoke up that night with a gasp on my parted lips. River had been on my mind, the softness of his mouth on mine. I turned in bed, reaching a hand toward his side where he’d embraced me until I drifted off to sleep.
His side felt cold under my fingertips, and I looked around the room, finding no signs of him. Only the door to my room was slightly ajar.
“River,” I whispered quietly into the night.
The moment I lowered my feet from the bed, instead of the cold floorboards, I stepped on something small and velvety soft.
Looking down, I saw there was a myriad of white flower petals under my feet, along with a path that led around my bed.
So pretty and sweet, it made me smile. Did River do this?
Curiosity had always been my weakness, and right now, I followed the trail of petals out of my room. The hallway had a light on as if on purpose, illuminating the trail left for me.
I lifted my head and gazed at the petals in front of me. They led to a door I knew went upstairs to the open roof. Eliza had shown it to me last week.
Uncertainty surged through my chest that this might be a trap, yet I also couldn’t help but think of River who had been planting a frangipani tree today with these exact flowers on its branches.
That thought alone made me hurry past the door and upstairs. I pushed the door open and stepped out onto a small courtyard that sat toward the rear of the roof, the space surrounded by a framed railing. The scene from here was spectacular, taking in the forest behind the mansion.
Despite the darkness, there was a tiki torch flame flicking in the breeze several feet from me, and that’s where I spotted a double recliner seat up near the railing that had the best vantage view.
“Hey gorgeous,” River’s voice came from my left in the shadows. “I was starting to wonder if I had to come and wake you up.” He emerged from the shadows, dressed just in slacks which hung dangerously low on his hips, below the V-shaped curves that always drove me wild.
Sharp angles and valleys of muscles covered his chest and abs, biceps drew my attention, and his smile melted my heart. His hair sat messy around his Adonis face, and my knees felt weak just looking at him.
“What’s going on?” I asked, catching my breath.
“I wanted to start making things up to you.” He took my hand, our fingers interlacing. It was crazy how within the span of the same day I could feel angry, heartbroken, and smitten…all with the same person.
He brought us around to the outdoor recliner, noting that the table next to us was decorated with glass flutes and a bottle of bubbly, along with a bowl overflowing with individually wrapped chocolates.
“Tonight is what many call a blood moon,” River explained. “With our island being far from the cities, there isn’t a lot of light pollution and the skies are crystal clear for a perfect view of the universe.”
I didn’t waste a moment and raised my head to the sky just as the moon slid out from behind the clouds. I gasped aloud. “It’s actually red.” Of course, I sounded silly repeating exactly what he’d told me, and he just laughed at me. But I’d only ever seen the moon in its silvery hue.
But this…”Wow. How? It looks like someone has painted it with blood.”
River guided me to sit down beside him, and we both reclined to look up. He slid his arm around me, and I pressed myself up against him, his skin on fire against me and distracting.
“Blood moons occur about twice a year, and are actually total lunar eclipses.”
“Why’s it red?” I found myself pressing closer to him, loving the way he smelled so sexy, how he gently caressed my back.
“It’s a similar phenomenon that causes colorful sunrises and sunsets, and also what makes the sky look blue. It’s more complicated than that, but in its simplest form, it’s nature at its most perfect self.”
“Sounds a lot more boring when you say it that way,” I teased.
River chuckled and drew me closer against him. “Then let me tell you one of the scarier myths associated with the blood moon.”
“Oh? I’m ready then.”
“Some say there’s another reason for its name. One that comes from the sport of hunting shifters like us. A long time ago, humans believed the red moon was an omen placed on them by their god. So, to ensure he didn’t strike them down, they made him an offering twice a month. In order words, sacrifices.”
I gasped. “They hunted shifters to sacrifice them?”
“Yes. During those two days a month, no shifters were safe. There was a saying that the darker the moon, the angrier the god, and as such more blood had to be spilled. Now to many, the darker moon is associated with death, while the bright silvery moon is about rebirth to our Moon Goddess and salvation. Many believe this is why wolves howl to the bright silver moon, but on blood moons you’ll never hear a wolf howl.”
“That’s…intense.” Huddled against River, I lay on the roof of the mansion, staring up at the red moon, reflecting on his myth and wondering if it was real or not. “Sometimes I think that I’ve missed out on so much in life, hidden away in a box like those twirling ballerina jewelry boxes. She only sees the world when someone wants to watch her dance, and not when she longs to come out.”
River drew me closer, his lips on my brow. “That just means we have a lot more to show you. Speaking of which.” He pulled away from me, reaching for something on the small table with the drinks. Then he returned holding a small velvety pouch in his hand.
“I got you something for those times when the past haunts you. This will remind you of how bright your future is. Stick your hand out for me.”
“I never get gifts.” I told myself to not get sentimental, but my heart was thumping louder in my chest as I offered him my palm raised upward.
He opened the pouch and turned it upside down. From inside, a golden chain tumbled out along with a white opal clasped to the necklace by a small golden claw. A play of colors danced across the stone’s surface against the night, but more so, it appeared to be almost projecting a luster from the inside.
“Oh, River. This is really for me?” My mouth had fallen open, and tears were already racing down my cheeks, my throat thickened.
“You deserve the world to sink to their knees for everything you’ve been through.” He leaned over and tried to kiss me softly, but I practically threw myself on him and kissed him back, peppering his face. “Thank you so much. This means everything.”
“Then let’s put it on.” I loved how much he smiled at seeing my joy.
Giving him the necklace, I sat up and lifted my hair for him to clasp the chain around my neck. The opal felt cold against my chin and it had enough weight to remind me it was always there, nestled just above the valley of my breasts.
“They say opals represent faithfulness and confidence,” River whispered in my ear, his arms sliding around my middle and drawing me back against him. “So when you’re having a shitty day, hold onto the opal and remember that you are a shining light who is meant for amazing things.”
Okay, that time I became a blubbering mess.
“Baby, don’t cry. I wanted to make you smile.” He had his chin propped over my shoulder, his arms wrapped around me.
“Oh, these are happy tears. I never grew up with anyone saying things like that to me. I never received a gift for my birthday or Christmas. So, what you’re seeing is me bursting with joy.”
He chuckled softly in my ear just as the sky overhead rumbled with thunder. I shuddered at the unexpected sound and pressed myself tighter against River. Glancing up, the moon slid behind a heavy storm cloud. And in the distance, the streak of lightning danced across the heavens.