Chapter Twenty-Four

 

 

Dylan

The debates were in full swing, and the crowd was perched on every word the candidates spoke. I walked the floor and observed the proceedings, taking note of the reactions to Sylphi’s arguments. It was impossible to not see that she was the favored candidate.

Watching Sylphi, she surprised me. She was determined to win, and her charm sucked in the audience with ease. There was nothing she didn’t seem good at. I doubted anyone could’ve done any better.

Afterward, she approached me. “Dylan, darling. How do you think it went?”

I peered around and shrugged. “Only time will tell. Seems to me you’ve got a lot of brand-new fans now.”

She followed my line of sight and found a gathering crowd, smiling at her in the hope of asking her more questions. I motioned for her to join them and grease them up. It’d look good to have an entourage glued to her side. She straightened and, with an air of confidence, joined the mass of new supporters.

“Please, one question at a time. I’ll be happy to answer them all.”

And so went the rest of her day. She was a natural leader, and I admired her tenacity. I let her sift through the questions with ease as I stood by, supportive and nodding at many of her answers. It wasn’t until she turned to motion that we retire that I realized how exhausted she was.

Let’s get out of here, she pleaded with her eyes.

We did, escaping to grab some well-earned lunch. We took it to the shores of the pools in the Teleen Caverns. There, we sat on a blanket with our impromptu picnic and stared across the expanse of black water gleaming and rippling under the torchlights lighting up the pool from every corner. The inky water calmed all souls, even mine. It’s one of the most serene places I’ve ever known. If only Shade were there with me instead of Sylphi. No matter how bad I felt that I was feeling that way, it was hard to avoid it slipping back into my mind.

“You’re thinking about her again,” Sylphi said, her tone neutral, and yet I picked up an undercurrent of frustrated jealousy.

“I can’t help it. She’s my wife.”

“I’ve never been married,” she muttered, tearing apart a bit of bread. She stuffed a bit of it into her mouth and brushed off the tiny specks spreading across her dress. “If I were her, what would we be doing now?”

I pressed my lips tight, afraid to answer.

“Oh, come on, Dylan. We used to share a lot more than just mere scraps of bread. I miss those days, you know? It wasn’t all that bad, was it?”

I shook my head. “No, it wasn’t. I admit it. I just… so much has happened since then. I’m not the same guy you knew back then. You’re not the same girl.”

“Fair enough.” She sighed, brought her legs up, and wrapped her arms around them. “I dreamed of nights with you, like time was nothing and we never broke apart. I wake up swearing, feeling my heart racing, and the imprints of your hands on my body. But you’re not there. What does it mean?”

“I don’t know, Sylphi. I can’t be what you want me to be.”

She scoffed. “And what is that, Dylan? I ask nothing but what you are and to accept who I am now. Yet it’s not enough, is it?”

I kept silent, afraid to infuriate her more, but mostly out of the fear that my thoughts might betray the urges I had as I watched her scoot closer. Her warmth slid over my glamoured skin, igniting a feeling I’d put to sleep years ago. Women could do so many things with their proximity which men were unable to ignore.

Sylphi wasn’t the only one thinking about our previous moments together. No, she had slipped into my thoughts too, my dreams. I hated it and fought it often, waking in the night sweating, afraid it was real. But sometimes it wasn’t the fact that in my dreams we did things we’d done before but the fact that it felt so good and familiar, like I belonged with her once more. I had to admit, it would be a comfort to feel her by my side when the nights dragged on and my heart remained separated from the one I loved.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything, Dylan.”

She leaned toward me, her hand reaching out to touch my cheek. My senses screamed for me to run, but I remained planted, unable to move let alone breathe. I closed my eyes at her touch and relished the tiny sparks igniting along my body. It was faint, yet there it was, remembering the girl next to me no matter how hard I fought it.

“Just do. Don’t think.” Her words felt heady against my ear, and I opened my eyes and watched her as she pressed her chest to my side. She leaned forward to kiss the tip of my ear then trailed her lips down my jawline and to my neck.

I inhaled as her hand moved along my chin and down my chest. Her scent wasn’t overwhelming; in fact, it was quite pleasant and subtle, like she knew I liked it when she didn’t wear perfume and her natural scent was allowed to dominate. It was far different than Shade’s but just as sweet and enticing. As her face lingered near mine, I reached out and pulled her closer. My lips brushed against hers. They were so soft, warm, and pink. They ignited my inner fire, a natural response of a man to a woman, but it was there nonetheless.

She kissed me back, softly at first, then with a hunger I didn’t know could exist. I let her kiss me feverishly, unwilling to fight any more.

“Oh, Dylan.”

“Shh,” I hushed her. I knew it was bad, but if I closed my eyes, I almost felt as though Shade was there and it was her soft skin and long tresses my fingers were sifting through, not Sylphi’s. If I tried hard enough, I could lose myself in this moment and take in all of Sylphi if I wanted to.

But would I?

Each reverent kiss made it harder and harder to resist. Every caress and heated stroke made it impossible to pull away, even when my mind screamed to stop and run, to think of Shade. The fight to stop dulled with each passing breath. Loneliness had consumed me, and Shade no longer wanted me the way I wanted her.

For a moment, I didn’t feel the heartache paining me at every turn. For a second, I forgot my plight and the endless loneliness plaguing me as the days dragged past, taking me farther and farther away from Shade. For the first time in weeks, the anger slipped away along with my apprehension as my lips found purchase on Sylphi’s skin while she opened her heart, body, and mind to me. Even though she was all I feared and yearned at the same time, it was paradise for this one moment, letting me forget all that was wrong in my life.

“Love me, Dylan. I’ll be yours forever.”