Page 53

“This place is magical to us. We come here to pick the Lupins. No matter the season, they are always blooming.” Arden speaks carefully, his voice hushed as if not to disturb the land.

Sweeping an arm through the foliage, Arden leads me through the gap. The snow falls away, the cold nip to the air fading into a pleasant warmth, and the world turns silent.

The sight before me has a gasp escaping from my throat. A sea of purple, magenta and white flowers greet me. Nearly as high as my hips, their petals reach for the sky, dancing and bobbing in the gentle breeze.

“These are Lupins.” Arden runs a gentle hand over a small pink flower. It bobs back and forth as it sweeps from his hand. Like a miniature forest made of vibrant flowers, the Lupins fill the entire clearing.

“They’re beautiful,” I whisper, feeling the way my jaw drops.

Arden’s gaze meets mine as he sinks to his haunches. “I’ll only choose the very best for you.”

I smile at that. I couldn’t see any of these beautiful flowers not being good enough for me. Even the few that are only half bloomed, their stems still green yet filled with awaiting life.

Silently, Arden rises and releases my hand, stepping carefully into the clearing, his eyes tracking each flower as he plucks them from their stems.

My eyes water at the sight. This man, choosing the perfect flowers for my crown. His bulking form looks almost unreal amongst the fragile sea of pinks and purples.

With a bunch growing in his hand, I notice he’s avoiding the white Lupins and instead choosing the richest purples and the most vibrant pinks.

“Why not the white ones?” I ask, my voice echoing through the clearing.

Arden plucks another purple one, adding it to the growing collection in his other hand. “This crown doesn’t signify what you give me. But what I give you. Purple is for admiration. The stronger the hue, the more I admire you. And pink is for gratitude.”

“You admire me? And you’re grateful?” My brows tighten and I chew my lower lip.

Stopping to gaze up at me from the other side of the clearing, Arden nods, a fond smile tugging around his canines. “Of course. I admire everything you are and will become. And I’ll always be grateful to you. Grateful you accepted me when I showed my Sasquatch form. Grateful you didn’t reject me.”

I nod. I guess that makes sense?

“You didn’t answer my question. Why not the white ones?” I prompt him again, my hand reaching to stroke the nearby flower.

Its petals are soft, but the stem connecting each bundle is far sturdier than I thought.

“The white represents innocence.” Arden smirks at me. “And I won’t be giving you any of that, baby.” He winks.

My cheeks heat. Oh. This mountain man sure knows how to flirt. My mind flicks back to this morning. The beam lined with butt plugs, the way I rode each one and stretched my hole. I wiggle my hips but the feeling of gaping wide open has long since left me. I wonder if his cock would leave me gaping all day?

“Something on your mind, baby?” Arden speaks with his back turned to me, but I can hear the smirk in his voice. He knows exactly what’s on my mind.

“Nothing!” I clumsily step backwards, my boot nicking the edge of a fallen branch and I fall to my ass with a light thud.

Arden watches me over his shoulder, yet he shakes his head with a smile. “Mind your ass. Only I get to ruin it.”

I hide behind my hands, unable to look at him. Despite my embarrassment, my body responds as my dick twitches in my pants and my blood heats deep in my stomach. He’s going to fuck me tonight. He’s going to mate with me.

My mind races with all the things that could mean. I’ve never had sex before. Sure, I’ve seen my far share or porn and used my fingers once or twice but no one has ever fucked me.

“Come here, baby.” Arden’s voice carries across the clearing.

I drop my hands, pushing myself up from my spot on the floor. Stepping around the flowers with thoughtful movements, I reach Arden at the center.

“Kneel.”

I gulp. My body listens to him before my mind can catch up and I find myself sinking below the forest of Lupins.

Carefully, Arden kneels too, laying out the picked stems before me. Grabbing two, he twines them together, twisting the stems and bending them into shape. Then he adds another and another, pulling them all together with gentle fingers. One by one the flowers are twisted and tugged into a halo.

It’s beautiful. Like some ethereal crown only a fairy princess would be worthy to wear. Pinching the end, Arden ties them all together, before bunching a few and adjusting others until he’s completely happy with the result.