“I dreamed about you all day.” I take the pot of honeysuckle paste, dip my fingers in, and then begin massaging her shoulders.
“Oh, fuck, Pell. That feels wonderful.”
I grin as I press the pads of my thumbs into her muscles. “Tell me about your day. Was it exciting?”
“You want to talk? Now?”
“Trust me, Pie. We’re just getting started. We won’t be talking later.”
“OK.” She giggles. And she begins. Telling me about Pia and how she can talk. She describes the building where she works and the laboratory. Her new assistant, Talina. And I love the fact that Tarq made her a boss and gave her an assistant, even though Pie complains that she’s not really qualified.
She can’t even imagine the power she’s hiding inside her.
But I don’t interrupt. I’m rather enthralled by her descriptions of the city, and the people, and the clothes. Who knew? She tells me about the coffee shop, and the women she met, describing each one of them as she lists their names.
I make a point to remember these names since they are now her new friends.
Esmah, the judge with the bright green eyes. Mikayla, the baker with the stubby horns and gorgeous hair. A well-dressed fashion designer called Akkaline, a sweet-faced healer called Zantha, and Talina, her nerdy but cheerful assistant.
“Sounds like you have a whole new crew,” I say.
“Right? It’s a little bit cool.”
“Sounds a lot cool to me. I wish I could see it. It would be nice to fit in like that.”
“I know,” Pie sighs. Then she turns all the way around, moving her legs so that she’s still straddling the rock seat, but now she’s facing me.
I want to ravish her right now. And as soon as that thought hits my brain, I grab her hips and slide her forward until our lower bodies are touching in a very intimate way.
Pie places her hands on my cheeks, then leans forward for a kiss. It’s a nice, long, slow kiss. Open-mouthed and with a little bit of tongue. When she pulls back, I miss her immediately.
“Maybe you can see it.”
“What?” I’ve lost track of the conversation.
“The city. Turns out that my assignment from Tarq is to find a way to allow others through the portals.”
“They have more than one tomb there?”
“No.”
“Then what portals?”
Pie appears confused for a moment. “Oh. I guess I didn’t think about that. Is it weird that they have portals without tombs?”
“You’re asking a man who has been locked in a sanctuary filled with tombs for two thousand years.”
She chuckles. “We don’t really know what we’re doing, do we?”
I shake my head, agreeing. But I’m playing with her hair, my fingertips lightly brushing up against her breasts.
“Do you think it’s dangerous to give Tarq that kind of power? He can’t open the portals by himself. He used the spell he gave me, but he knows it doesn’t work. He knows there’s something missing and that something is you, Pell. Your bloodhorn.”
“Do you want to talk about this right now?”
“Do you have better things to do?” She tries to say this with a straight face, but can’t. Her giggle is unstoppable.
I stand up, pick her up in my arms—which makes her squeal—and then carry her over to the hot springs.