Page 70 of Somnium

“Yes!” she assured him, her eyes going wide at the confused look on his face. “Sorry, no it’s not that at all, it’s just … well, I brought mine from home.”

A mischievous smirk curved his mouth. “Now who’s presumptuous?”

Cadi grinned. “At least you know we were on the same page.”

He tipped his mouth to find hers, pulling a soft sound from her at the tenderness in his kiss. His lips moved against hers slow, unhurried, nothing like the wild hunger from before. Just soft caresses of adoration that quietly consumed her. He pulled back, his eyes moving to where his hand now rested against her thigh, partially obscuring the colorful lines of ink embedded in her skin.

“Does this mean anything?” he said, his fingers tracing the details of the design.

Cadi gave a small shrug. “Not specifically. I’ve always liked phoenixes and the way they’re reborn after their destruction. I guess part of me wanted a reminder that I can come back from hard things, too.”

Elias stayed quiet, his gaze lingering a moment longer before his hand skimmed her side, then her arm, before he rolled her onto her back to draw his fingers against the rose on her sternum.

“And this one?” he asked.

Her breath trembled when his knuckles brushed against her breasts as he traced the outline.

“Survival. Strength.” she breathed, the two words all she could manage at that specific moment, prompting a low sound of acknowledgement from Elias.

“They’re beautiful,” he said, running his nose against the petals. “But I think this one is my favorite.”

He pressed his lips to her skin, letting them linger. Cadi breathed a laugh.

“Of course it is.”

His eyes flicked to hers with a smirk. “Can you blame me?”

Shaking her head, she ran her fingers through his hair, and let him continue to appreciate her artwork.

She hadn’t thought it was possible, but Elias had managed to crumble the last of her walls, stepping farther into her life than she had dared risk letting anyone for a long time. And even now, with the heat of his mouth pressed against her skin, he was still peeling back her layers.

Shifting her hand to his cheek, she paused his ministrations to bring his gaze back to hers. He had gently guided her across that sacred line, and now she craved more of who he was. From his smallest quirks to his biggest dreams, she needed him to know she saw him too.

“You never told me your fear.”

Elias went still as his hand paused against her hip. She watched his face change, the soft affection dimmed by the shadow of something old and haunted as he shifted to lie beside her again. For a moment, he didn’t speak, his eyes searching hers. Then, he swallowed hard, and when his answer came, it was barely more than a whisper in the dark.

“Being forgotten.”

Something in the way he said it hinted at more beneath the surface, but she worried that digging would only force it deeper. So she waited.

“It terrifies me to think that one day, everything about who I truly am in this life will be left to the wind. Lost. Like I never existed in the first place.”

His eyes lowered, and a deep ache gripped Cadi’s chest at the pain she found in his voice. It didn’t seem possible that someone like him could ever fade away. Someone who had managed to mean so much to her so quickly. The idea of it was enough to make her eyes burn.

She took his face in her hands, guiding him back to her. “I don’t know what this is worth, but you could never fade from my life. Not now. Not ever.”

Elias smiled, but the sadness that still lingered kept it from fully taking hold. “It’s worth more than you’ll ever know,” he replied.

He opened his mouth again, but hesitated. Almost like there was more he wanted to say, more he wanted to tell her, but something stopped him. Leaning into him, she kissed him again, wishing for nothing more than to take away his pain and replace it with her devotion. His hand drifted to her back before it slowly skimmed lower to grip her thigh.

Her surprised squeal split the silence when he pulled her on top of him, and he sucked in a hiss of approval at her wetness. She grinned when she felt him grow hard beneath her body, his hips moving against her with subtle urgency.

It would seem he was done talking.

“I’m not getting any sleep tonight, am I?” Cadi asked with a smirk.

Elias laughed and slid his hands over the curve of her ass to guide her into place.