Morning came faster than I wanted it to. I began to wake and my eyes fluttered open. I was warm, embraced by a heat that wasn’t coming from the fireplace. Small kindling still burned, but the body heat coming from Greyson kept me comfortable, and I didn’t want to move.
My right leg was entangled between his and my arm was draped across his body. His arm was across my shoulders and his hand gently rested against my neck. His breathing was slow and deep. Greyson was still fast asleep, and his eyes moved behind his lids. What was he dreaming about? Kissing me again? Making love to me for the first time? Or maybe he was in his dragon form and was flying in the clouds?
Could he shift while he was asleep? The thought frightened me, worried me about what would happen if it happened. He’d destroy not only his house, but he’d break me in the process. Well, I couldn’t think about negative things like that right now. Instead, I cuddled closer and breathed in his scent of woods and musk. If I could only bottle his smell, it was so intoxicating. Was it like that for everyone here? Pheromones were a legit thing for shifters back on Earth. Maybe this was like that. I’d have to ask at some point . . . maybe.
Greyson’s arm tightened around my upper body, and he stretched, then yawned. He turned toward me, and his other arm pulled me closer to his chest. Hell yes, thank you very much.
Too bad I was in my long tunic right now or my body would be pressed against his bare chest. The man was like a sex god. He was sculpted in the very best of ways. There was also a small scar over his right pectoral. I’d need to ask him about that later. Maybe there was a story behind it.
His chest had a light covering of hair that was as dark as the hair on his head. It thinned out into a nature trail to his nether regions. What I wouldn’t give to have another look at his package. That day I’d teased him about it being cold had been completely wrong.
“I’m a grower, not a shower.” His words came back to me and, recalling the touch of his cock against my leg, sent a thrill through my body, and it made me a little wet for him.
Who was I kidding? It made me very wet for him. I wanted to climb up and straddle him, but last night he’d been a gentleman. He’d allowed me to change clothes and climb into bed. He’d taken a seat on the floor in front of the fire until I pulled the covers back, then cleared my throat.
He’d looked over at me, then smiled. He shook his head and turned back to the flames. “I don’t trust myself with you, Cesha.”
That had warmed my belly in a delightful way. “I trust you with me. Doesn’t that count for something?”
It took him a long moment, but he did get up and laid down next to me. He’d been on his back and had laced his fingers behind his head. He’d stared at the ceiling and he looked . . . at peace, maybe? He’d had a hint of a smile and his eyes had gleamed from the light of the fire.
“Come here,” I’d whispered, and he’d looked at me. He’d lifted a brow, and I’d motioned to him with my finger. “I’m cold.”
“Do you need me to build the fire bigger?” he’d asked.
I’d shaken my head and turned on my side. “No, I just need you.”
He’d then opened his arms and I’d moved into his side and rested my head on his chest. We’d lain like that for a few minutes then I’d looked up at him. “Good night, Greyson.”
He’d pressed his lips to my forehead, then whispered, “Good night, Cesha.”
Remembering this, I smiled and nibbled on my bottom lip. This had to be a first for me. To make out with heated desire with a man who set my body ablaze, then simply sleep next to him, with no expectations, no demands. We were simply a man and a woman who’d became friends and were beginning to explore one another on an intimate level. Sometimes changes were hard, but in this case, change was good . . . very, very good. Courtship was new for me, and I couldn’t wait to see where it would lead us.
But what would happen when the time came for this journey to come to an end? Would Greyson want me to stay here with him? Would I ask him to come to Earth with me? And if I did, would he give up everything here for me?
“Good morning,” Greyson mumbled into my hair and pulled me firmly against his body as he stretched. “How’d you sleep?”
“Great.” I slipped my arm around his body and pressed my lips to his neck. “What’s on our agenda for today?” I moved my leg up between his and feathered kisses up his neck to this jawline.
He turned his face toward me and captured my lips. “I could wake up like this every day and be the happiest man alive,” he whispered.
Talk about warming my heart and the ache between my legs. I so needed to get laid and he was the perfect man to do it. But something in me kept telling me to wait. It wasn’t the right time, at least not yet. Soon, it would definitely be soon.
“Me, too, but as a woman.”
He chuckled. “I certainly hope so. All right, beautiful. Let’s get up and get this day started.”
“But I don’t want to get up,” I whined. “It’s so warm and out there it’s so cold.”
“How about I promise to warm you later?”
I grinned. “I’ll hold you to that.”
He tilted his head toward me and pressed his lips against mine. My heart slammed in my chest and I just knew he could feel it from our bodies pressed together. If I listened hard enough, I might just hear his as well.
He released us from the kiss then stood. He removed the pajamas he had on and stood naked before me. The man had an ass like a snack! I wanted to bounce a quarter off it just to see if it was possible.
The suns shined through his bedroom window and it cast him in silhouette. And, oh my, the silhouette of his cock was in full view. The day at the hot springs was nothing compared to what I saw then.
My mouth watered for him and I wanted to take him between my lips and suck on him, swallow his cock to the back of my throat. I wanted to do nothing but pleasure this man before me.
He then pulled on a pair of leather pants and, as he closed the top of them, he turned to face me. He did a double take and raised a brow. “Why do you look like a predator about to pounce on her prey?”
I sat up on my knees and let the blankets fall to the bed. I felt my nipples become erect from the chill in the air, and also from the sexy man who strolled closer to the bed. He stood just in front of me, and I ran my palms up his chest and around his neck.
“Because you look good enough to eat.” I flicked my tongue across his lips, and he chuckled.
“I thought it was supposed to be me eating you?”
I shrugged. “I’m good with that, too.”
He grinned. “Come on, let’s get to the market.”
After cleaning up, more kissing, and a little fondling, we finally made it out of the house. The deer carcass was dropped off to the butcher for processing as well. It was good the man’s shop was near Greyson’s home. It made for easy drop off.
“Today’s visit to the village will be on horseback. Have you ridden before?”
I nodded. “Yes, I have. I used to ride a stick pony as a kid, but when I got older, I rode my first horse when I was seventeen. I’ve not ridden since then. I really loved it, though.”
“What’s a stick pony?”
I grinned. “It’s something we used to do at the orphanage. The ladies who ran the place would have us pretend the broom was a horse. They’d turned it upside down and tie a ribbon to it for the reins. We’d gallop around the floor and make horse sounds.”
He smiled and took my hand in his. “That sounds like fun.”
“To a five-year-old, it was a lot of fun.” I wish we didn’t have to wear gloves so I could feel his touch. We walked down the road a ways, until we ventured onto a fenced area. It was an endless horizon of snow with multi-colored trees grown in sporadic areas.
“Wait here,” he said and walked up to the fence. He then surprised me with a loud whistle. I wasn’t sure what should have happened, but I could hear the pounding of hooves in the distance. Then as soon as they were close enough to really see them, my eyes widened, and excitement rushed through me. Horses came cantering toward the fence.
I laughed—I may have squealed. The horses were in many colors; some were as white as the snow while others were as dark as the night sky. One was a pure onyx color in the front and had a white flank with a spotted behind. He had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen on a horse.
“Him,” I said and pointed to the spotted horse. “The appaloosa.”
“You got it,” Greyson said and called out, “Crimson!”
The appaloosa stepped forward and his head bobbed a few times, as if to say, “I’m here!”
“Crimson? That’s a red color. Why would a black and white horse be called Crimson?”
“That’s the name he wanted,” Greyson answered. He ran his hand over the horse’s face and kissed his snout.
“The horse told you he wanted to be named Crimson?”
He chuckled. “No, I was teasing you. When he was born, his owner said the suns were setting and the sky had a crimson color, so that became his name.”
“Wow, that’s really beautiful.” I turned to the horse and held out my hand, still behind the fence. “So, Crimson, can I pet you?”
As if answering my question, he took a few steps over to me and smelled my hand.
“What’s his favorite food?” I asked.
“Usually carrots and sugar cubes.”
I closed my eyes and fisted the hand Crimson was smelling and the magic rushed through my body and I felt the growth of two long carrots appear in my hand. Crimson snorted in excitement and hurriedly chomped the vegetables.
I laughed as he finished them in about two seconds. Wiping my hands off, I turned to Greyson. He had a beautiful smile that reached his eyes.
“That was very kind of you to do.”
I shrugged and felt my face warm. “It was nothing, just conjuring.”
“Come on, let’s go.” He turned back to the horse. “Crimson, let’s ride!”
“Do we have reins or a saddle or anything?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nope. I’ll be leading him, so no worries on how we’ll get along.” Greyson grabbed a handful of Crimson’s mane, then swung himself onto his back. The horse pawed on the ground a few times, then Greyson held his hand out for me. “Come on, I’ll have you ride behind me.”
“I haven’t ridden doubles on a horse before. I won’t fall off?”
“Only if you let go, so you better hold onto me pretty tightly.” He winked with a smile.
My lips slowly turned up into a grin, and I reached for his hand.
“On three, jump, I’ll pull you up.”
I nodded and gripped his hand. “One, two, three!” I leaped like he had, and Greyson swung me behind him onto Crimson’s back. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist, scooted as close to his body as I could, and rested my cheek on his back.
“You ready?”
“Yes.”
He made a clicking sound, and Crimson began to walk. “Just hold on, princess. Enjoy the view. We’ll be at the village soon.”