Devotion

It’s heaven on a fork, and I moan my way through the entire thing. My belly is fuller that it’s ever been in my life, and between that and the glass of wine, I can barely keep my eyes open. At one point I feel myself shift over in the loveseat with the blanket wrapped around me.

The next moment I feel warm strong arms around me as I’m being carried. I’m so tired that I dream of kissing the exposed skin on his neck and nuzzling into him as he holds me. I don’t fight the sleep or the feeling of him pressing his lips to mine.

Chapter Five

Aurora

I cuddle deeper into the bed, not remembering the last time I slept so well. I don’t even know what time it is. Rolling over, the deep rich smell of Noah fills my lungs as if he was in my bed. Sitting up, I look around to see if he’s in my room, but no one is there.

I crawl out of bed and go over to the window to look out at the vista before me. This place still doesn’t seem real. Nothing is adding up, and I’m not sure I want it to. The last twenty-four hours have been paradise, and I don’t want anything to change.

I hear a soft tapping and turn to see Elina standing in the doorway. “I was getting a little worried. You’ve been asleep for over ten hours.”

“I’m sorry. What time is it?” I ask, feeling bad. I should have been up early and ready to work.

“It’s a little past noon.” She takes a step into the room. “I thought you might like something to eat.”

At her words my stomach lets out a loud growl, making her and me both laugh. “Food sounds wonderful. Maybe I should freshen up first.” I look down, and it’s then I notice I don’t have any pants on. I’m still in my V-neck shirt but my jeans are long gone.

“Your things are in here,” Elina says, walking over to a door and opening it. I follow her and come up short when I see what’s behind the door. It’s a giant closet. A closet isn’t even the right word, because it’s bigger than my old bedroom.

“These aren’t my things,” I say, stepping into the room. Reaching over, I run my fingers down along a silk dress. It’s the deepest blue I’ve ever seen. The material feels so soft against my fingers.

“That one might be a little too dressy for today, but if you’d like to, it’s all yours, my dear.”

I let the dress slide from my fingers.

“How?” I ask, still shocked. My eyes bounce around the room, taking everything in. One whole wall is lined with shoes. The room is filled with everything a girl could want. I feel my eyes start to water. My favorite thing about dancing is when I get the opportunity to get dressed up. I love it.

“Well, you can’t run around without clothes on now, can you?” A teasing smile pulls at her lips, and I feel myself blush at the idea of running around naked. “Or maybe you can.” She shakes her head, the smile still playing at her lips. “How about this one?”

She picks up a white dress and hands it to me. I pull my shirt off and slide the dress on over my body and turn to look in the mirror.

It has little straps to hold the dress up while the top fits close. I feel Elina come up behind me and pull the zipper up, and it’s secure but comfortable. The skirt flares out, hitting mid-thigh, the cotton material cool and pretty. My mom would lose it if she saw me in a dress like this. I always had to get ones that went all the way down to my feet.

“It fits perfectly,” Elina says approvingly.

“Like it was made for me,” I reply, agreeing.

“Probably because it was.”

I look at her in the mirror, our eyes locking on each other. She’s so sweet. I wish my mother was a little bit more like her. She walks over to the far wall and picks up a pair of sandals. They are a soft pink with flowers along the top. “These would look nice with that dress.” She bends down like she is going to put the shoes on me herself.

I try to stop her. “Oh, you don’t have to do that,” I insist, feeling uncomfortable that she’s waiting on me.

“I want to,” she says, smiling. Hesitantly I lift one foot, letting her slide one on, then the other. “I always wanted a little girl to dress up.”

I turn to look in the mirror again, loving the shoes and the dress equally.

“Come sit.”

I sit down at a vanity, and she starts to brush my hair out.