Page 150 of Stars in Mist

‘This turned out well,’ Élisa said as Riv led her into a smooth spin.

‘It did, didn’t it?’ he said, bending down to sneak a passionate kiss.

‘I’ve never seen you so happy,’ she said with a smile.

‘I am happy,’ he said. ‘Aren’t you?’

‘Beyond.’

‘This is the culmination of everything I ever dreamed of.’

Élisa nodded. ‘More than I hoped. I can’t wait to make new memories with you,’ she said.

‘Woman, I have plans to make up for all the years apart. Get ready to anoint every room in our home, woman. Lights out, stroking and reloading over and over again.’

Élisa cried out in surprise, which Riv silenced with a long kiss as she melted into him.

A little later, Riv took over the mic to serenade Élisa with a rousing poem.

He unfurled a paper from his book of ancient poems and read it out with timbred measure. ‘This time, I wrote this myself. For you, my love.’

‘I yearn for you,

like a ship lost in a storm,

longing for land,

finding only a vast and empty ocean.

I am a man enchanted by a waking dream,

a sorcerer that seeks my heart.

If I attempted to capture this love in writing,

Not even the greatest tomes could contain it all.

Like a withering creature,

I grow gaunt from loving you, Élisa.

Your bright mouth and its loveliness,

Your fragrance, the look of you -

So perfect are your teeth that one might mistake

Their whiteness for the palest flower

Cut from a garden of eternal beauty

Where new rains fell, and the trees of Eden flourish

My love, I want to savor your sensuous beauty and grace.

You are like a place where the new grass grows

Where it sways after the blessing of the rain,

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