Page 51 of Sweet Silver Bells
How could he stop this? How could he tell her, with words too clumsy for a creature like her, that she was the most achingly beautiful thing he had ever seen—that even the moon must envy the way she pulled the tides of his heart?
How could he confess that every glance, every soft sigh, carved him open—only to ask her to wait?
Because he did want her.
God, he needed her.
But not like this.
Not hurried and breathless on a kitchen counter, not tangled in potting soil and powdered sugar, not while the cold dirt of the world still clung to them both.
Their first time, her first time, should be worship. A moment that would haunt him long after the last leaf fell from the trees. She had been his for less than a day, yet already he knew: if she turned her back and melted into the forest shadows once more, he would follow her into that darkness without a single heartbeat of doubt. He would surrender everything just to find her there again.
“Olivia,” he gasped again, her hands moving down his chest, lower and lower, dangerously close to the bulge that made her proud, that told her what a good little tree siren she was, that made him want to show her exactly how proud she should be.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Thank God.
“Come back,” Olivia pouted. Her face slightly scared him, her protruding lip more a threat than something cute and playful.
“Someone’s at the door, and they don’t usually go away.”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“See?”
Olivia sighed. “Do you usually have so many visitors?”
“Unfortunately, yes, no one can ever seem to just leave me alone.”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Hunter, I know you’re in there,” he could hear through the door, recognizing the voice.
Olivia raised her eyebrows.
“See, they never can just go away,” he shrugged, moving out of the kitchen but taking her hand in his, not leaving her alone, not showing any indication that he was rejecting her. It was the opposite; he wanted her by his side. The world should know, the world should meet Olivia.
“I’m coming, hang on,” Hunter yelled, approaching the front door, gently pulling Olivia behind him. The lock unclicked, and the natural light framed Sadie standing there, hip popped out and arms crossed. She looked at him from underneath her glasses.
“You look like shit,” she snorted.
“Ah, yeah, we were potting some plants.”
“We?”
Hunter moved to the side so Olivia was more visible, and Sadie’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You—you have another friend? When did this happen? I thought you were sick.”
“Oh, Sadie, you’ll always be my best pal.” Hunter laughed. “Who knew you were so possessive?”
"I’m too old to be recruiting new friends every time my usual speed dial grows up and moves on. Hi, I’m Sadie."
Olivia stared back, not replying, not smiling. Hunter’s gaze moved back and forth between the two until he couldn’t take the silence any longer.
“Now that that’s out of the way, I really was sick.”
