Page 125 of Lost Girl

“Something like that.”

My eyes widen like saucers. “Oh my God, you did not!”

“Just get on the stage and play, little wolf,” he chortles, motioning for me to go before him.

I do, but not before tossing over my shoulder a parting, “So bossy.”

“Get used to it,” he counters, smacking my bum as he starts up behind me.

There’s nothing on the stage other than the grand piano. Tavi leans onto the side of it while I make my way to the keys. Stare trained on him, I grab two handfuls of my dress and slide onto the bench. It’s been so long since I’ve sat at a piano, and yet, in the same hand, it feels like just yesterday. My fingers stroke over the keys, first the blacks, then the whites. I was nervous about playing before, but now I’m wondering what the hell I was so worried about.

It all comes back to me in a rush, so quickly in fact, that I just start playing. I’d planned to ask Tavi if there was anything specific he wanted to hear, but I can’t stop myself. My hands simply fall over the keys, bringing one of my favorite pieces to life: Nocturne number one in B-flat minor.

The beginning has always been the part I favored most. There’s just something so melancholically beautiful about it. I’ve played it so many times I could probably do it with my eyes closed, and for the briefest moment, I do. Just a few notes, but I get so wrapped up in it, my entire body sways softly as the melody shifts into something lighter, like the sun rising after moonless night.

When I open my eyes again, I can feel his gaze still trained on me, but I don’t dare risk a peek at him. I’ve always been obsessive about playing perfectly for people, and the man—my man—is no exception. If there were ever a time to play the best performance of my life, now would be it.

And I do, playing all the way to the very end without missing a single beat.

When my fingers fall from the final keys, Tavi begins clapping as he ambles around the piano and slides in beside me, straddling the bench. “Wow. You are just...you’re incredible, did you know that?”

“And you flatter me, did you know that?” I counter, turning to face him with a coy smile.

“No, I’m serious. Tigerlily has skills, but you surpass that by a longshot.”

“Grandad made me practice a lot.” I shrug. “He loved listening to me play, used to sit in the room in his favorite armchair, and read while I went through my lessons.”

“That was me with Lil. She loved the craft, hated practicing,” he chuckles, rolling his eyes. “Practice makes perfect, though, right?”

Now it’s me who laughs. “I’m not perfect, love. Far from it.”

Lithe hands fly to my face, his touch gentle as ever, thumbs caressing my cheeks. “Oh, but to me you are, little wolf. To me you are.”

He really believes that, too. I can see it in his brown eyes, a sentiment that leaves me overcome, overwhelmed even. Reaching up, I secure my grip around his wrists and slide closer to him, hoping the words I’m about to say will translate to him in the same manner. “I love you.”

Tavi’s entire face lights up as he pulls me closer, brushing our lips. “Stop, you’re going to make me hard as fuck on this stage.”

Hewouldsay that, earning him another easy laugh. “I. Love. You,” I enunciate clearly, and seconds later, he’s kissing me, deeply, uncaring of where we are.

“I can’t wait to spend my life with you,” he whispers, melting my heart a little more.

“Newsflash, Mr. Wolf, you already are.”

“I know, but I mean inourhome, where we can do what we want when we want.”

“Mmm, I like the sound of that.”God, do I ever.“How long until it’s done again?”

That grin I love so damn much widens. “Two more weeks. Just give me two more weeks, and we’ll be ready to move in.”

?All of Me - John Legend?

“Are you ready?” I ask Wendy, her bare back to my formally-dressed front, my fingers sealed around the ends of her blindfold.

It’s been a little over two weeks since our night out, and the house is finally done, just as I’d promised. Now, it’s time to show her, and all I can hope is that she loves it as much as I do.

“I’ve been ready since the first time I saw it. Let me see!” she squeals excitedly.

“Okay, okay, here we go.” I’m grinning like a lunatic. “Three… Two… One.” Pulling the blindfold free, I whip the scrap of fabric from her line of sight and let her take it all in for the first time.

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