Page 22 of Mountains of Mist and Magic

Phillippe kissed her again, his passion evident. It was a stark difference from the tender kisses he had given her before, and she felt excited, like they had finally broken out of the pattern and moved forward.

“Are you okay?” he asked in between kisses.

“I'm perfect,” she replied, stroking his cheek with her hand, “but Phillippe...” she murmured against his mouth.

“Too fast?”

“No...I just...let's continue this upstairs.”

The look he gave her was one of unbridled joy. Esmeralda had never noticed his dimples before, and realized it was because this was the biggest smile she had ever seen on him. She was practically giddy as he swung her legs back around and carried her down the gravel path, but in the opposite direction of the lodge.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“A special place I know,” he said, leaving the outlined path and heading into the forest.

The snow continued to flurry around them, so heavy that Esmeralda had trouble seeing more than a few feet ahead. Luckily, Phillippe seemed to know where he was going without needing to look at his surroundings. After a few more minutes, he stopped, and then slid her down until she was standing on her own feet.

A small cabin stood before her, with roughly hewn wooden walls and a thatched roof. A single chimney rose out from the roof, and a large pile of wood was haphazardly stacked next to the door.

“What is this place?” she asked.

Phillippe fiddled inside his tunic and pulled out a key. “It used to belong to one of my ancestors—my great-grandma, I think. I believe she had it built so she could stay on the family property but have her own space outside of the lodge.”

He opened the door and pushed it aside so that Esmeralda could enter.

The small cabin was barely bigger than her room at the Tidal Kingdom, but every single surface was covered with burning candles. A soft bed of fur was made up, and a plate with fresh fruits and cheese sat on a table near the bed. There were lotus petals on the floor, leading to the furs.

“Phillippe...” she mumbled, suddenly nervous about what he had planned.

Phillippe shut the door behind him, his arms full of firewood. He made his way to the fireplace in the corner and stoked the fire until the entire cabin burned bright.

“I want you to know that I don't expect absolutely anything from you tonight. In fact, I'm putting my foot down and letting you know that we won't be sleeping together—yet. But we are going to spend the night getting to know each other more intimately. I couldn't think of any better way than to do it with no distractions around.”

She was somewhat disappointed, but the romantic gesture assuaged her sadness immediately. He had done all this for her.

“Hand me your cloak. I'll put it by the fire, so it dries. If you want to spend all night here with me, you can. If not, we'll have a drink or two and some fruit, and then I'll escort you back to the lodge.”

She nodded and removed the sea star pin that fastened her cloak together. As soon as she undid the pin, he was before her, plucking the little pin out of her hand.

“No,” he whispered, clasping her hand in his. “Now you wear mine.” He pressed his forehead to hers, and then pulled a snowy owl pin from his own cloak, pinning it to the front of hers. “I want every single person in these lands to know that Princess Esmeralda belongs to me.”

His words hit her like a fiery storm, and the heat rose in her stomach once again. She wished she could think of something clever to say to him, something witty or romantic, but nothing came to her. Instead, she just leaned up and kissed him under the chin.

“Fates, you possess me, my Sea Star. I'd swim all the way up to the gates of your kingdom just to be with you.”

He led her to the bed, and she sat down. He sat next to her, holding her hands in his. She looked at his face, noticing how vulnerable and unsure of himself he seemed. It was hard to believe that the great womanizer of the Snow Lands was nervous around her.

Tentatively, he put his arm around her, and then laid his head against the pillow, pulling her down beside him. Her heart raced, but he just held her, looking up at the roof.

“Tell me about your childhood,” he implored.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” he whispered, and then placed a tender kiss on her brow.

Chapter Twelve

Grayden kept his arm around Renya protectively as they entered the sublevels of the lodge. He could feel her nerves through their bond and tried to send calming energy towards her. She looked up at him and then her mouth lifted in an appreciative smile.

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