Page 128 of Hearts of Stone

“So that’s how it went…”

I let out a sigh, one that seemed to come and keep on coming until I was properly deflated, but not in mood. I could soften then, let her mould my body to hers, but that wasn’t enough. She let out a little yelp as I rolled her onto her back, my body pressed against hers, my wing keeping her from scrambling free. But she didn’t make a move, just stayed gazing up at me like I had hung the moon, when I now knew that it was she who had.

“So you liked me so much you couldn’t stand to see me dead?” I couldn’t keep the note of self-congratulation from my voice.

“Mm hmm…” Her amused nod said it all.

“Something you wanted more of then, lassie?” I asked with a grin, but she wiped that off my face as she tugged my head down.

Because then her lips brushed against mine and I’d die a million times over if I got to re-experience this. Her kiss became mine, because I couldn’t just let her take what she wanted, because I needed her so damn much. I slid my thigh between hers and felt her dress ruck up, my knee getting closer and closer to her hot little core. She sighed when I stroked her, though I’m not sure if she knew it, and again when I kissed her throat. Theblasted insects’ song grew louder and louder, half muffling the sounds of our pleasure, right before it happened.

“Wulf…”

I groaned her name back, too caught up in her to remember why I’d brought her here, but Jade clawed at my back, then forced my head up so I could see it.

“Oh my god…” she said, sitting up straight to look at the night turned bright.

When I’d first seen neon lights, I had thought they were fireflies. How else could so many lights stain the sky? Even out here in this field, I could see the far-off glow of the city, but it wasn’t close enough to compete with this.

“What are…?” Jade rolled to her feet, her eyes scanning the whole field. The trees took shape as the fireflies went on across the field, as each blade of long grass started to glow, as the world was outlined by randy little bugs and she… Her mouth fell open before she sighed. “It’s beautiful.”

“They’re trying to find their mates,” I blurted out.

“What?”

I relished the moment when her eyes turned to meet mine.

“That’s why they’re lighting up like a million little candles at once. The males, they glow because—”

“They want the females to notice them.”

Her brow creased then, her happy expression fading a little, and I wondered if I’d said the wrong thing. It seemed terribly forward, but my new flockmates assured me I could be plain with Jade.

“They only mate once a year and so they do this dance, lighting up the sky, frantically signalling to the females to come hither.” I held out my hands and gestured her closer, my eyes widening when she came. “And then…”

“And then what?” she asked, smiling a little now, climbing onto my lap, her hands cradling my face in hers.

I nuzzled into her palms without even thinking, because that’s the way it was for me. Every day was torture since the moment I’d awoken here in the kingdom of Australia, because when I was awake, I ached for my mate, to touch her, get close to her, to hear her voice, to breathe in her scent, but most of all…. My hand went up and grabbed the back of her dress, my wings snapping closed around us. To touch her. She was mine, I knew that deep in my heart, as sure as its next beat. I needed her like the air in my lungs, the current under my wings. I wanted to say that, tell her that, scream it to the heavens, but instead I blurted out something quite different.

“They fuck and then the males die.”

Gods, what the bloody hell was that?

Her face fell for a second, her expression overtaken by that shadow that seemed to fall over everyone’s faces whenever whatever happened before was alluded to, but I couldn't bear for it to exist now. I clasped her hands in mine and then pressed a kiss to the knuckles.

“But what a way to go.” I parted my wings slightly, so we caught a thin glimpse of the world around us. “To strive with everything you have to find the other half of your soul. But what if you didn’t have to die from it?” I asked, my voice growing stronger, my words coming faster. “What if you didn’t have to die at all? What if you lived for year after year, blinking your little light on and off, letting the girl firefly know that she was the one for you.”

“Are you trying to tell me something, Wulfstan?” Jade asked and I swear I heard the smile in her voice.

I let out a big noisy sigh and then shook my head.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make you see that I’m the male for you, lass,” I said. “I’ll wait until you’re ready, but consider this my firefly dance. Wine, food, or jewels, a brace of finehunting hounds and the viscera of your enemy. Whatever you want, I’ll lay it at your feet.”

“Just like that, huh?” she said, reaching up and touching my lips. Oh, I liked that very much, and pressed a kiss to her fingertips. “And what if all I want is you, Wulf? I can buy my own wine, food and jewels, and Mellors would have a fit if I brought a dog home, but—”

I flipped her over for certain now, covering her body with mine. I had to be careful to keep my weight on my knees either side of her thighs, because she was such a tiny little thing. But she was mine, that was as sure as the sweetness of her scent filling my nose.

“You…” Her hands glowed, just like a firefly as she reached for me. “I used what power I had to bring you back to me, because you’re mine, Wulfstan.”

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