Nightbloom (7 page)

“Hey, baby. You’re not ready to go yet, are you?”

“No,
baby
. I’m not ready to go yet, and quite frankly, I’ll never be going anywhere with you ever again.”

All conversations at the bar came to an abrupt halt. A Morgon’s sense of hearing was acute, and they were all tuned in to me. Clayton frowned.

“What do you mean? Are you sick or something?”

“No. I’m feeling better than ever. I think I’m actually feeling better than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. We’re through, Clayton Kerrington. I’m done with you.”

Just as I spun around to my second destination, Clayton grabbed my arm.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Ella?” He hissed low as if to control me. He’d done the same so many times before. But not anymore.

I jerked my arm from his grasp, narrowing my eyes on him. “Don’t you ever touch me again. Don’t call me, don’t come to my house, don’t even look at me. You disgust me.”

“Ella, what are you talking about? We’re going to—”

I laughed. “Don’t even think about it. I wouldn’t saddle myself to you if you were the last man on this planet. If you’re feeling lonely, go
fuck
another waitress in the broom closet!”

He winced. Someone ooohed. Somebody else laughed.

Paxon hadn’t moved. His expression hadn’t changed. He took it all in with seeming nonchalance, but the heat in his eyes said otherwise. I walked right up to him, cupped his face with my hands, my body resting against his, and pulled his head down, strong jaw beneath my small fingers. His body went rigid, but he came with ease, lips parting for me. I touched my tongue to his and let the melting sensation I’d dreamed about for a week spread through my body. He met my eagerness, tasting me just as sweetly. Burning desire flamed. I pressed myself harder against his chest, my tongue probing deeper, a little sound of pleasure escaping me. His heat and mouth and hands were all I wanted, but one kiss would have to be enough. I pulled back, fixed on his eyes, dark and lovely and full of some other emotion. No man had ever looked at me that way.

Conn choked on his drink next to us. Someone whistled. Corbin, I think. I didn’t care. I held Paxon’s gaze. He held mine. I smiled, and then walked off, leaving a number of stupefied faces in my wake. Including Clayton’s. But it was Sorcha’s laughter and voice that made me raise my head a little higher and sway my hips a little harder.

“Woohoo! Bravo, Ella.”

I heard her joyous laughter all the way to the elevator, making me smile all the more, feeling stronger than ever before.

“Excuse me? It’s Kraven, right?”

The hulking figure darkening the door nodded. “Yeah.”

“Would you call me a cab, please?”

I’d left my comm device in Clayton’s car. He could throw it away for all I cared. I’d get another one.

Kraven pulled his out, glanced over my shoulder, and took a step away.

“What—?”

Someone grabbed me around the waist then swept me off the ground.

“Eeeee!”

“Pardon us, Kraven.” A velvet-and-honey voice.

“Sure thing.”

Paxon stalked in long strides away from the doorway, holding me in his arms.

“Paxon. You can put me down.”

His face fell in full shadow from the streetlamp above us. “No. I can’t.” His wings flared open and took us vertical into the night. I buried my face into his neck, clinging to him.

“Omigod, omigod, omigod. Please don’t drop me.”

“I’d never drop you.”

I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck and muffled into his shirt. “Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere we can talk. Undisturbed.”

A cold winter wind billowed around us. I burrowed my face against his shoulder to avoid the blast. “How can you stand this cold all the time?”

“It doesn’t affect us as much.”

I peered up at him. A canvas of gray covered the sky, though faint moonlight shone through, silhouetting his strong profile. I examined the contours of his brow, jawline, his lips. I thought of those lips on mine, wanting him again in a fevered flash. “Don’t look at me like that, Ella.”

“Like what?”

We plummeted. I squealed and held on tight, my stomach flying into my throat. By the time he set me on the ground, I was breathless from a whirlwind of flight. He steadied me by my waist. I swallowed my laughter.

“Something funny?”

“I never—I mean, that was my first time flying.”

“I should hope so. You don’t have any other Morgon boyfriends that I should know about, do you?”

“Um. No.” I cleared my throat, a nervous tick of mine.

“And how was your first time? Not too fast?”

His voice had dropped, caressing over me in that intimate way of his. My heartbeat skittered.

“Not too fast. It was…exciting.”

I could just make out the crease of his smile as he held out his hand.

“Come for a walk with me.”

I put my hand in his, finally noticing where we were—the city park sculpture garden. “Oh, wow! I haven’t been here since college.”

Tall, manicured hedges framed a maze of white marble sculptures. They looked like ghosts in the darkness.

“Have you ever been here at night?”

“No. Does anyone?” I laughed. He didn’t, staring ahead of us, his mood so serious I sobered at once. “So, you come here at night?”

“Sometimes.” It snowed yesterday, leaving a thin sheet on the ground, pillowing around the base of the statues.

The snow crunched under our feet.

“I don’t always sleep so well.” Paxon pulled me closer, shielding me with one wing to block the cold wind.

The gesture was possibly more gentlemanly than anything Clayton had ever done for me. Sure, Clayton had held me proudly on his arm in public and opened doors for me in my parents’ presence, but only to elevate himself in others’ eyes. Now I understood exactly how selfish a creature Clayton was, the kind of man I could never tie myself to. The man who walked next to me in reverent silence, holding my hand and protecting me from the cold wind with his body and wings was not of Clayton’s ilk. He was infinitely better.

“Why don’t you sleep so well?”

A shadowed glance. He tightened his hold on my hand. “Come this way. There’s something I want to show you.”

We wound through the hedges past a line of sculptures—nude bathers, a human rider on a horse, a tree with twining roots. The cloud-cover broke, letting the full moon cast her luminous glow. I paused and touched a branch on the tree, keeping a hold of his hand. The smooth marble appeared like rough bark.

“I remember studying this in class. We came here once. By daylight, the sculpture is so beautiful, but by night it’s…it’s magical.”

Paxon waited while I ran my fingers down to the leafy edge, then gently he pulled me forward. “Come, Ella.”

Winding through the maze of hedges, we eventually came out to an open square filled with winged statues. I froze, taking in the ethereal beauty bathed in moonlight. “I’ve never seen this before. This is a new exhibit, isn’t it?”

“All of the galleries in the Gladium Province donated at least one sculpture for this section. It’s called the Garden of Air.”

“What did Flaming Hearts Gallery donate?”

His eyes glinted darkly. “You know my family’s gallery?”

“No.” I glanced at the sculpture.” I mean, I’ve never been, but I know it’s yours.”

I wasn’t ashamed that I’d done some snooping, mainly just getting what information I could from Jessen and Sorcha. Of course I was interested in Flaming Hearts. He ran it.

“This way.” He beckoned with a soft tug on my hand.

We made our way around a fairy hovering over a flower and a winged horse with forelegs reaching for the sky. He led me to a cluster of three figures. One was a bare-chested Morgon man, his arms reaching upward, his muscles tight for take-off. The second was a Morgon woman, her wings at rest as she gazed down at her feet. The third was the same Morgon man and woman clasped in each other’s arms, partially dressed. Her gown had slipped from her shoulder, baring one breast. He held her as if she were the most precious jewel in the world.

My throat tightened. I knew my cheeks were pink. They appeared as if they were two real lovers, and I should avert my eyes. But I couldn’t.

“Who’s…who is the artist?”

“His name is Marius. He’s extremely talented.”

“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “He is.”

“Come. There’s another I want to show you.”

He pulled me along to a shadowed corner that colored a white marble figure to pale blue under the moonlight. Her arms rested at her sides. One slippered toe peeked out from the hem of her gown. Her face angled up toward the sky, a veil draped over face and hair, billowing in an imaginary wind. From her back flared huge feathered wings, finely detailed to realistic perfection. She was absolutely stunning—a luminous angel of profound beauty.

I reached out and touched her face and marble veil. I marveled at the artist’s talent to chisel this hard stone into soft, lovely lines and create the illusion of this transparent shroud.

I stepped back. Not realizing how close Paxon was, I bumped into his chest. I flinched, but he placed his hands on my waist, keeping me still. The weight of his hands, the tightening of his fingers sent a shivering thrill through my body.

He spoke in a hushed tone. “She reminds me of you.”

A breeze blew a dust of snow from her wing, whirling away into the air. I studied her pretty face tilting in pensive thought.

“Is that how you see me? Veiled? In hiding?”

One of his hands swept my hair over my shoulder then circled my waist, spreading across my stomach. He pulled me against the hard line of his body and whispered into my ear. “I want you to lift the veil. I want to see all of you.”

He had no idea what those words did to me. I wanted the same. I didn’t want just anyone to see me. I wanted him to see me. I leaned back, placing my hands on top of his. When his lips touched the skin of my neck, I tilted my head at an angle. I couldn’t think anymore.

I just wanted. Period. Desire sparked as it never had for me before.

He pressed soft caresses up the side column of my neck, then whispered, “Will you open for me, Ella?”

Hesitant, throat thick with emotion, I whispered back, “Yes.”

He spun me around and took my lips, crushing my body against his. He invaded with desperate need. I felt the same way, clenching a hand in his hair, pulling him closer. He lifted me off my feet. His arms became iron bands binding us together. His lips firmed against my soft ones. I opened wider, inviting him in. Farther. Deeper. A soft sound escaped me. He swallowed it. A warmth spread through my body, pooling at my core. I licked deeper into his mouth with a soft moan.

He pulled away at once, breathing hard and fast. He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to mine, our white breath mingling together.

“Ella, Ella, Ella.” He slowly lowered my feet to the snowy ground and fisted a hand in my long hair. “What are you doing to me?”

What am I doing to him? What was
he
doing to
me
? I didn’t even recognize myself, clamoring all over him like some wanton girl. I still wanted to, but he kept our lips apart.

“What’s wrong?” My voice sounded different, rough.

He grinned. “Nothing’s
wrong
. It’s just a little too right.”

Breathing hard, I clung to him. “What do you mean?”

A rumble of laughter vibrated from his chest to mine, which did nothing to regain my own sense of control.

“Just that I’m doing my best to be a
good boy
.”

“What if I don’t want you to be a good boy?”

What had gotten into me?

“Ella.” A definite warning. He nipped at my lower lip before sliding his tongue inside, giving me a slow, languorous taste. “Your mouth is so beautiful. Please watch what you say with it.”

“Why?” I whispered as he continued to nibble and tease.

“Because I have only so much self-control.”

I slid one of my hands down his chest and abdomen, wishing his nice shirt wasn’t barring me from his skin.

“The things I want…” He seized my hand, stopping its wandering path, twining his fingers with mine.

“The things you want?” I tilted my mouth higher for him, but he’d stopping kissing me.

Dark eyes glinted again with an unnatural luster. I thought it a reflection of the moon-drenched snow. His voice hardened. “I need to get you home.”

He wrapped one arm under my knees, and we shot into the air.

“Eeek!” I squeezed my arms around his neck. “Jeez, Paxon. Give me some warning,
please
.”

A tight rumble of laughter. “Point the way. Where do you live?”

“Well, I’ve never traveled home by air. Head to the south side near the country estates.”

After a rather difficult air navigation where I realized I couldn’t just tell him turn left on such-and-such street, I finally pointed out our family property.

“There, on the second floor. You can take me to my bedroom balcony. I never lock it.”

There was no way I’d be walking in the front door in case my parents were up and about. For all they knew, I was with Clayton, so they wouldn’t be up waiting and worrying about me. The irony was laughable. Clayton was the one they should’ve been worried about all along.

Paxon landed and set me on my feet. “What’s wrong with the front door?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. I just don’t want to wake up my parents and explain the whole thing with Clayton.”

That was partially true.

“About that.” He cupped my face with one hand, his thumb stroking over my cheek. “What you did in that bar took guts.”

I lifted my chin a little higher. “Well, um, thanks. He deserved it. I’m just sorry it took me so long to realize the truth about him.”

“Actually, I wasn’t talking about him. I was talking about the kiss you laid on me in front of quite a large audience. By tomorrow, the story will be all over Gladium.”

The blood drained from my face. Why hadn’t I considered the consequences of my little charade before I acted? If everyone was talking about it, it could easily get back to my parents, to my mom.