The recollection alone sends a flush of heat through me. His lips on mine… His hands seizing my hips… Him pushing deeper and deeper into me, coaxing moans out of my—
“There!” Cillian says urgently, snapping me out of my reverie.
I turn my neck—just in time to see the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.
It’s a stag.
An incredibly massive, albino stag with antlers as wide as my arms can reach. He strides majestically out of the forest towards the grassy outcrop at the edge of the slope.
“Oh my God,” I breathe, completely captivated.
His fur is pure, rippling white and it seems to absorb the sunlight rather than reflect it, until I’m not sure if the thing is real or just a figment of my imagination. He snorts softly, doing his rounds through the woods without any sense of urgency.
He either doesn’t notice us or doesn’t care. He lingers for a moment in the center of the clearing to nuzzle on some grass.
And then, when he raises his huge head to glance in our direction, it feels like he’s staring straight at me.
His eyes are as human as mine.
Full of life. Full of wonder.
After grazing for a little while, the stag moves right through the meadow until he reaches the other side.
Then, as serenely as he entered…
He leaves.