letting his pants fall to the marble floor. “Mary, you mean the world to me. Don’t you know that?” Pulling off the remainder of his clothes, he put one foot in the shower to join her. “Seeing you like this is wearing on me, that’s all. I’m not a monster.”
She faced the wall, the water trickling down her spine, dripping into the cut. He shouldn’t be here. She didn’t want him here. “You’re making me uncomfortable,” she said. “Please get out.”
“Relax,” he whispered, kissing the section where the flesh split. A wing moved underneath her skin.
“I’d like to be alone. You should go.”
“Am I so horrible? My only crime is that I want to be with you.” His hands turned her around so they could face one another. He gazed into her eyes.
“I don’t believe you. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Nothing makes sense.”
“Why would I lie to you?” He pulled her close. Their bodies collided, and the water passed between her chest and his.
“Why don’t I recognize this place? Why can’t I remember marrying you?”
“I don’t know. The universe can be cruel sometimes. But I knew this wouldn’t be easy. Romance never is.”
His words loosened her veins, turning her blood cold. She closed her eyes and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. Then she finished washing the soap and dirt from her back as Lucas put his finger inside the tear in her shoulder. His fingers squished around. A tingling sensation stuttered through her abdomen and lower back. Her thighs moved beneath a quivering center.
“What are you doing? I’m fine,” she said, denying to herself that his hands stimulated her. “You shouldn’t touch it.”
“What is it?”
Vulnerable and unsure, Mary blinked hard, and the wing climbed out, unfurling around their bodies. Part of the shower curtain tore. What stunned her most was Lucas’s reaction to the wing. He wasn’t disgusted. He didn’t think she was a mutant. Instead, he moved inside. He stared into her eyes as if he actually loved her. Her sickly wing twisted around his back muscles. She could feel them too. It was a calming sensation. Maybe the sensation was the love she swore she had never believed in.
They kissed passionately for a long moment.
“It’s beautiful,” Lucas whispered into her mouth.
SHE’D SPENT THE NIGHT IN Lucas’s warm arms. The passion they experienced was the most strangely beautiful thing. Transcendent. A harmony, even, she could not get out of her mind. And she didn’t want to.
His left hand reached over her, covering her breast, the sheets doing the rest. He lay there, content in his sleep, while she simply stared at the ceiling, marveling at the intricate patterns and the way the walls and decorations came together without any effort at all. The way things never used to work.
She brushed aside her hair and glanced at Lucas. New confidence ravaged her. A trust. He moved in his sleep just then, and she noticed a vein in his hand dance above her milky skin. Flesh never looked so smooth. A smile twisted her lips. And for the first time since she’d woken up beside him early yesterday morning, she felt like her world was about to fall into place.
She didn’t care about Joshua or the mansion Lucas convinced her existed only in her dreams. She disregarded the journey, the endless running toward an unknown destination. But I was there , she thought. I was there .
It didn’t matter. The past was the past. Maybe she’d never reached the mansion she claimed was there, tucked away in the woods like this one. Maybe she’d never seen Joshua or his wretched willow tree.
Mary let go of the snapshots of her past. She didn’t want to war with them anymore.
Gently, she dragged Lucas’s hand off her chest and placed it beside her on the mattress, kissing it first. Stepping out of bed, she searched for her nightgown and put it on. She bent over to scratch an itch on her ankle, and when she did, she caught her reflection in the mirror on the other
She faced the wall, the water trickling down her spine, dripping into the cut. He shouldn’t be here. She didn’t want him here. “You’re making me uncomfortable,” she said. “Please get out.”
“Relax,” he whispered, kissing the section where the flesh split. A wing moved underneath her skin.
“I’d like to be alone. You should go.”
“Am I so horrible? My only crime is that I want to be with you.” His hands turned her around so they could face one another. He gazed into her eyes.
“I don’t believe you. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Nothing makes sense.”
“Why would I lie to you?” He pulled her close. Their bodies collided, and the water passed between her chest and his.
“Why don’t I recognize this place? Why can’t I remember marrying you?”
“I don’t know. The universe can be cruel sometimes. But I knew this wouldn’t be easy. Romance never is.”
His words loosened her veins, turning her blood cold. She closed her eyes and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. Then she finished washing the soap and dirt from her back as Lucas put his finger inside the tear in her shoulder. His fingers squished around. A tingling sensation stuttered through her abdomen and lower back. Her thighs moved beneath a quivering center.
“What are you doing? I’m fine,” she said, denying to herself that his hands stimulated her. “You shouldn’t touch it.”
“What is it?”
Vulnerable and unsure, Mary blinked hard, and the wing climbed out, unfurling around their bodies. Part of the shower curtain tore. What stunned her most was Lucas’s reaction to the wing. He wasn’t disgusted. He didn’t think she was a mutant. Instead, he moved inside. He stared into her eyes as if he actually loved her. Her sickly wing twisted around his back muscles. She could feel them too. It was a calming sensation. Maybe the sensation was the love she swore she had never believed in.
They kissed passionately for a long moment.
“It’s beautiful,” Lucas whispered into her mouth.
SHE’D SPENT THE NIGHT IN Lucas’s warm arms. The passion they experienced was the most strangely beautiful thing. Transcendent. A harmony, even, she could not get out of her mind. And she didn’t want to.
His left hand reached over her, covering her breast, the sheets doing the rest. He lay there, content in his sleep, while she simply stared at the ceiling, marveling at the intricate patterns and the way the walls and decorations came together without any effort at all. The way things never used to work.
She brushed aside her hair and glanced at Lucas. New confidence ravaged her. A trust. He moved in his sleep just then, and she noticed a vein in his hand dance above her milky skin. Flesh never looked so smooth. A smile twisted her lips. And for the first time since she’d woken up beside him early yesterday morning, she felt like her world was about to fall into place.
She didn’t care about Joshua or the mansion Lucas convinced her existed only in her dreams. She disregarded the journey, the endless running toward an unknown destination. But I was there , she thought. I was there .
It didn’t matter. The past was the past. Maybe she’d never reached the mansion she claimed was there, tucked away in the woods like this one. Maybe she’d never seen Joshua or his wretched willow tree.
Mary let go of the snapshots of her past. She didn’t want to war with them anymore.
Gently, she dragged Lucas’s hand off her chest and placed it beside her on the mattress, kissing it first. Stepping out of bed, she searched for her nightgown and put it on. She bent over to scratch an itch on her ankle, and when she did, she caught her reflection in the mirror on the other
Similar Books
