Right. He wanted me to be quiet. But how could I be silent in such a gorgeous place? I wanted to dance around more and play with my earth magic. It’d been so easy to circumvent the collar this time, proving Kols and Zeph right about the enchantments—they’d worn off.
So all my powers were free for me to explore, yet this man with the flashlight had ruined it all.
Evil human.
His boots scuffed against the path as he searched for us, his voice gruff as he spoke into some sort of communication device. “Some crazy flower chick,” he was saying. “She was stripping in the middle of the fucking park.”
I scowled at him. I was not stripping, just removing my sweater because I wanted to roll around in the fresh green grass. Really, some people had no understanding of what it meant to be an Earth Fae.
Which, yeah, humans were oblivious to our existence.
My bad.
But who could blame me when surrounded by all this life? I just wanted to swim in the nature of this place and listen to all the tales of the flowers around me.
Zeph pressed his lips to my ear. “Stop that.”
I blinked, confused, then realized the leaves were swaying around us, ready to embrace my magic. It just came to me instinctively, the urge to help them all grow and prosper a part of my base existence as the conduit for the earth source.
The light-bearing human disappeared down the path, causing Zeph to relax somewhat against me. “We should get out of here.”
“Why?” I asked against his hand, my voice muffled.
“Because we’ve already drawn enough attention to ourselves here. There’s a division of Warrior Bloods who scan incident reports to spot any signs of supernatural activity in the Human Realm. If that officer files a case about a ‘crazy flower chick’ dancing naked in the park, it’ll raise a red flag.”
I frowned. “I wasn’t naked.”
“Not yet,” he agreed, using his wand to retrieve my sweater from the field and handing it to me. “Put this back on, Aflora. Humans don’t frolic without clothes on in Central Park unless they’re sunbathing, or doing other things.”
“I was doing other things,” I pointed out as I pulled the sweater over my head. “I wanted to feel the grass.”
He nodded, his lips twitching at the sides. “Uh-huh.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That look isn’t nothing, Zeph.” I folded my arms. “Tell me.”
He shook his head, his mouth curling into a fond smile. “I’m just amused by your Earth Fae inclinations. It’s very stereotypical.”
“Stereotypical,” I repeated. “In what manner?”
He pressed his palm to my lower back to guide me the opposite way down the path, purposely keeping us to the dark areas to hide our presence. “Nymphs are a popular lore in the Human Realm and commonly depicted as nature beings who frolic around naked.” He glanced at me sideways. “Which, I’m pretty sure, you were about to do.”
“I don’t know about naked,” I replied. “But maybe. There are just so many glorious scents here, and the magic coming from the ground is very alluring.”
“You know what’s alluring?” he asked quietly, guiding me into a darker area of the park where the moonlight was hidden by the lush branches above us. He walked me backward with his palms against my hips. This was not the path we’d entered on, and my boot-clad feet were encased in the beautiful green grass once more.
I bit my lip and stared up at him. “What’s alluring?” I whispered, continuing to step in the direction he led me, trusting him not to let me fall.
His lips went to my ear. “The idea of stripping you naked right here and fucking you up against this tree.”
My back hit something hard, my palms finding the bark behind me and identifying the vivacious American elm tree. So big and full of life. I gave it a little pet, pleased with its sturdy roots and overbearing size. I also rather liked how dark it was beneath the trunk-like branches.
And more specifically, I enjoyed how Zeph felt as he trapped me between his body and the hard surface behind me.
“Yes,” I said softly, my hands wandering up to grasp Zeph’s shoulders. “I like that plan very much.”