Copyright © 2006 Zinnia Hope
All rights reserved, Freya's Bower.
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His emerald green eyes mesmerized her, and the hunger within them both excited and frightened Honey. She knew she shouldn't feel this way about a stranger, a man who couldn't possibly exist.
He lowered his sinewy body onto hers. His scent, a curious blend of spices and sunbaked leaves, intoxicated Honey like the heady moonbeam wine her sister, Bella, made. His hands kneaded her breasts as his lips traveled from her neck to the valley between them. She gasped as he seized the sensitive peak of one, parting her legs with a knee...
Jerking awake, Honey glanced around. Between her legs, her undergarment felt hot and wet, and her pulse pounded in her ears. She could still feel her lover's caresses, still smell the spicy aroma of his body. Blinking sleepily, she recalled lying down in the grass next to her mother's goldfish pond, thinking of her upcoming birthday, the late afternoon sun warming her bones.
A shadow fell over her. Honey turned to find a pair of scuffed leather boots covered in green embers. More fell on the grass and the toes of the boots, winking out like dying fireflies. She swatted the boots, patting out the... Honey paused, frowning. Where had the fiery green sparks gone?
She rubbed her eyes and looked up, sighing nervously upon seeing her brother. "Oh, Shandy! You frightened me! I was...uh...dreaming." Her face grew warm as the details of her vivid dream rushed in on her. "I had no idea you had returned."
He favored her with a roguish grin that made the townswomen helpless against his charms, and his sisters vie for his attention. "You were dreaming that you were mashing my toes?"
Honey giggled, feeling ridiculous. "I thought I saw green..." She shrugged. "Forgive me. It was silly and childish."
"Mother sent me to look for you," Shandy said, an amused note in his voice. "Our evening meal is ready."
Honey couldn't quite meet his eyes. She felt heat rising into her cheeks again.
"Is something wrong?"
She shook her head.
Shandy reached down and stroked the top of her head. "I heard you murmuring in your sleep, Li'l One. Was your dream a bad one?"
Next to her, several large goldfish disturbed the water's surface. Honey twiddled her fingers in the water, contemplating her dream--or dreams. For the past year, a lover came to her while she slept. The same mysterious man kissed and touched her until she awoke gasping and quivering. Sadly, she could never recall much about him except his riveting emerald eyes, his wondrous touch, and the exquisite sensation of his body upon hers.
When she'd awaken, the scent of spices and sunbaked leaves clung to her clothes and hair. Even the taste of him would cavort upon her tongue.
Looking up at her brother, Honey replied, "It wasn't a bad dream, but it was certainly--unnerving." What had Shandy actually heard? Shame washed over her so intensely that her heart thudded loudly in her ears.
Her brother offered his hand. "Come, Li'l One. Mother will be wroth with us if we let our food grow cold."
She allowed him to help her to her feet, and reluctantly, she met his gaze. A knowing smile danced within Shandy's eyes.