Escaping Midnight (Stand Alone Tales Book 8) Read online

  She relaxed and went weak in his grip, and he finally raised his head. Her lips were swollen, and she closed her mouth with a snap. She whispered, “Well, that escalated quickly.”

  The hot look in his eyes turned to amusement, and he turned his mount back toward the castle. “Let’s get you back where you belong.”

  Chapter Four

  He didn’t speak on the ride back but took her to a part of the castle far removed from the lights and laughter of the ballroom.

  She thought he would set her on her feet when he stopped, but he lifted her up when he swung off and held her to him.

  He carried her into the structure and up an arched staircase. Doors opened at his approached and closed behind him.

  Adua blinked as he set her on the bed and removed her shoes. “Um, what are you doing?”

  “You are less likely to run if you don’t have your footwear.” He chuckled.

  She grimaced. “That is true, but now, I need to wash my feet.”

  He nodded. “A bath is a good idea all the way around.”

  She didn’t know if he was insulting her or not, but she nodded before she yawned.

  “Ah, did you have some of the wine?”

  She frowned and nodded. “It was the only thing next to the food.”

  He shook his head. “Tomorrow, don’t drink the wine.”

  He took her by the hand and pulled her up, walking with her to a huge room with a sunken floor tub, which was filled with steaming water and rose petals. She looked at him in surprise. “You bathe in rose petals?”

  He chuckled. “It is for you. With the condition that your clothing is usually in, I imagined that you would not have a lot of access to hot water.”

  She grimaced at the accuracy of that assessment. She wanted to jump in, but there was still one problem, and it was kneeling next to the tub and dragging his hand through the water.

  She swallowed. “Well, as interesting as an audience is, I would rather just step into the water without a witness.”

  He paused. “You don’t bathe communally?”

  She looked at the size of the tub that would fit five people. “We don’t. Do you?”

  She challenged him with a direct gaze, and he nodded. “When motivated, we do.”

  The water was covered with a thick layer of petals. She really wanted to step into it, but he was still there.

  “I will turn my back.”

  She blinked, but that was as good as it was going to get. She agreed. “Sure.”

  When he turned his back, she slid her arms out of the gown and pushed the rest off her shoulders. The nuts that she was carrying had embedded themselves in the underside of each breast, so she removed them, and then, she sat on the edge of the pool and sank to the shoulders before pulling the hairpins out.

  She set all of her things in a pile next to the pool, and with the flower petals all around her, she sank into the warm water over her head. She came out with a gasp and moved to the side of the tub, where she found a carved seat. She pulled her hair out behind her and settled back with a smile that paused when Ledock began to peel off his robes and then sat down to remove his boots.

  Somehow, she had never imagined that elves would need to strip just as humans did. It was a disconnect in the logic that made her blush. Of course, he would need to strip just like she did, he... oh dear. She watched him casually put his clothing aside and walk over to the pool. He stepped into the floral water, and he smiled.

  “It is important that you not be alone in the bath right now.”

  “Why?” She sank down so that her shoulders weren’t visible above the surface. She yawned, and deep fatigue went through her.

  He caught her as she began to sink beneath the surface. “That’s why.”

  Floral-scented darkness wrapped around her.

  There was an arm around her. Adua froze, and she tried not to move.

  “You mutter in your sleep.” The masculine voice was husky and amused.

  “Do I?”

  “You do. You have a lot to say about a sneaky pointy-eared bastard. It has been most educational.” His teeth grazed her ear, and he smoothed his hand from her ribs to her belly.

  The sun was bright outside, and the birds were singing their afternoon songs. “What time is it?”

  “About four in the afternoon.”

  She turned to him. “Why are you in bed with me at four in the afternoon?”

  He smiled as she took in his clothing.

  “Oh.”

  “Yes, I have been attending to the necessary niceties of playing host to so many. I am glad to see you awake and rested.”

  She tried to sit up, but he was holding her in place. She was about to question him some more, but his kiss distracted her.

  While he kissed her, the hand on her belly trailed between her thighs, and his long and elegant fingers carefully explored her sex. Her exclamation of surprise was lost in his mouth as he sought her entrance, and a single finger slipped into her.

  She closed her eyes as the motion of his finger echoed the motion of his tongue. Her focus was firmly on what he was doing between her thighs.

  The finger that had slipped around inside her emerged and slid around the small button at the top of her sex. She gasped as the light touch sent flickers of shocking heat through her. He circled around, dipped his finger inside her, and then circled again. With each rotation, her body grew more tense until she was mewling softly into his mouth, holding him tight as her body fought to achieve something that had escaped it before now.

  The bedding trapped her arms, and she pulled her knees tight to trap his fingers as the first electric surge ran from her sex and throughout her body, causing her to jerk in short, trembling spasms.

  He slowed his kiss and withdrew his fingers. She opened her eyes, and he was smiling down at her. Her face went from warm to on fire.

  He smiled. “Are you going to stay in bed all day?”

  She nodded and tried to pull the blankets over her head.

  He laughed and pulled the sheets down. “You need to rise and eat. Then, we will go for a ride before the continuation of this evening. We will have to begin the party with a formal dance, but after that, we can go for another ride in the moonlight. Oh, also, don’t drink anything that I have not brought to you, just in case. If it doesn’t come from my hand, don’t take it.”

  “Why?” She looked at him in confusion.

  “There are so many aphrodisiacs and sedatives floating around here today, it would not be safe.”

  She leaned back. “Do the women know what is going to happen when they arrive?”

  He cocked his head. “Most of them, yes. The others are sedated and returned to their homes with no memory of going to the castle.”

  “So, the ones who participate...”

  “Do so with knowledge and agreement to the events held today. As pregnancy is a miniscule risk, everyone gets something.”

  “This isn’t something that most people in the village talk about.”

  He grinned. “You have not been speaking to the women out of earshot of the men.”

  She sat up and kept the blankets up across her chest. She gasped, “Where are my clothes?”

  He smiled. “The dress resumed its previous appearance, the orbs that you were given are next to your boots.”

  “Um. Right. You mean your boots.” She blushed. It seemed she only owned the rags that had transformed the day before.

  “No, they are yours until a replacement is given to you. That held true then, and it holds true now.”

  She looked around the room and saw her ragged dress, the boots, and the nuts—or orbs as he called them—were all neatly around a chair, ten feet away.

  Adua flipped the bedding back, and she darted toward the dress, yelling in surprise as it floated up and away out of her grasp. She turned and scowled at Ledock, and he shook his head. “First, I have chosen something more suitable.”

  She grimaced. “Is it mine until someone give
s me another dress?”

  “Something like that.” He gestured, and a wardrobe opened.

  She covered her mouth at the delicate fabrics layered into an opaque robe with a wide sash that accompanied it. She swallowed. “That’s for me?”

  “It is.” He smiled. “Will you wear it?”

  She looked down at her naked self and nodded. “Um, yes.”

  He opened the robe and walked behind her, holding the sleeves for her to slide her hands through. She swallowed when he stepped around her and went down on one knee, tying the right side of the wrap to the left inner seam near her breast, and then, the right was fastened to the exterior of the left.

  He smiled. “Now, we make sure you won’t break your neck.”

  A thin tie was placed around her waist, and another was wrapped a few inches under that. The fabric was pulled up until her toes were peeping out and the hem was even. She was finally wrapped in the wide band, and it pushed her breasts up and made her waist tiny.

  She was finally dressed in the same colours that he was wearing, and he settled her on the chair and slipped the boots on her feet.

  He smiled. “Come on, let’s get you a meal. Eat what I eat. Drink what I drink.”

  He offered her his hand. She grabbed the orbs and tucked them into the wide band around her ribcage. They would be safe in there.

  He led her out of his bedroom and down the hall. “This is my private wing. The party that is going on elsewhere will not spill over. You will be safe here.”

  His words were strangely formal. They entered a room with panels made of glass. The gardens and forest were fully visible from this vantage point.

  A young man wearing a sleeveless tunic brought trays of food and set them out in front of her. Ledock picked up his chair and moved it around the table to sit next to her, and he reached for a lovely flower that appeared to be sculpted out of sugared rose petals.

  The server gasped.

  Ledock looked at him and shook his head. “I will be eating everything that she eats. Now, what is safe?”

  The server took the food to a sideboard, and he picked out certain items but left the bulk of them. The tiny serving was barely enough for one, and she was supposed to share?

  Ledock looked at him. “Now, go back to the kitchens and tell the chef to stop being lazy. I want more clean food, and I want it soon.”

  He took a bite of one piece, and then, he held it for her. Adua leaned forward and took the bite from his fingers. She raised her brows and smiled. “That’s really good. Is the other stuff poisoned?”

  “Not poison, but a number of substances that cause the body to mimic arousal, which then fools the mind into believing that it is aroused. What follows is usually poor judgement.”

  “Oh. Ohh.” She nodded with her eyes wide. She glanced at the food on the sideboard. “So, that is all...”

  “Aphrodisiacs of one variety or another.” He said it absently, picking out another piece of food.

  “Oh.”

  He bit a corner again and gave her the rest. “So, if you are going to be affected, I will share the situation so that you are not left alone and frustrated.”

  She cleared her throat. “Is the food treated often?”

  “No, just during these events. On a daily basis, the food is very normal.” He smiled.

  She nodded. “Can we try the one with the slivered almonds next?”

  He picked it up and took half with a neat bite.

  “Hey!”

  He grinned. “I like that one.”

  She made a face, and they continued the fun game for several minutes until sandwiches cut into fun shapes were brought to them. To her surprise, he still insisted on feeding her.

  She paused as he was nibbling the tip off a triangle. “Why are you still doing this?”

  He smiled slowly, and there was a gleam in his eyes. “I will tell you later.”

  Chapter Five

  “So, what exactly is a spirit steed?” She held his arm without prompting as they walked out of the glass room.

  “When we are young, we are sent into the woods, and we meet with nature. We call out, and our horse or whatever comes to us, generated from the forest around us.”

  “Oh. So that is why mine just appeared.”

  He chuckled. “I believe your mother’s spirit had more to do with that. She was far stronger than I remembered. I guess that she held it in so that your father wouldn’t be nervous.”

  “So, the horse isn’t mine?”

  “Oh, it is yours, but the tree gave you a crash course to link to the forest. Your mother plugged you in.”

  “Why are you talking like she is still here?”

  He frowned. “Elves don’t die. Not all the way, we become trees, mountains, streams, and forests. Our energies return to the soil and enter the living things around us. Why did you bury her body so far from the manor?”

  She sighed. “My father didn’t want her near the house when he was contemplating remarriage. He wanted her close to the forest, and that was as far as I could go after we exhumed her.” She shrugged. “I slept there overnight and was going to bury her again in the morning, but the ground had been disturbed, and there was a new sapling there.”

  He frowned. “That was you?”

  She smiled. “Ah, so you were involved.”

  “The barrier flexed. There was a grubby and sweaty little boy—I thought—lying next to the body of your mother. I was able to assist in her re-burial as her body refused to proceed any further.”

  Adua squeezed his arm. “Thank you. It was helpful.”

  He chuckled. “If I had known who you were, I would have taken you and had you raised in the forest.”

  “Why?”

  “You could have been raised as an elf; it would have made things much easier when you came of age.”

  His horse walked up to him, and he tossed her up onto the saddle, mounting behind her and lifting her across his lap. He urged the horse into a gallop, and they thundered through the woods.

  She was worried about falling for half a second, and then, the iron band of his arm kept her plastered against him. “Um, I could ride behind you.”

  He nodded. “Yes, you could.”

  The horse snorted, and she would swear that he was laughing. She twisted to put her back against his chest, and she felt the touch of his lips a moment before she felt the tracing of his tongue on her skin.

  She shivered, and he moved his mouth on the side of her neck. Her voice squeaked as she asked, “What are you doing?”

  “Did you know that you taste like rose petals and apples?” He murmured it absently as he brushed hair from her neck.

  “Um, no. I wasn’t aware.”

  He chuckled and whispered in her ear, “The faster you get used to me, the easier our coming together will be.”

  She swallowed and nodded. “Right. So, getting over my fear by acclimation.”

  “Yes. And I find the pursuit quite enjoyable.” His words were spoken against her neck.

  Her skin was waiting for every lick, every touch. It was distracting.

  She tilted her head and invited him to do what he wanted. He chuckled and slid a hand into the overlap of the robe. His fingers were cool against the skin of her breast, and she flushed bright and hot when he teased her nipple into a hard peak.

  He murmured against the join of her neck and shoulder. “Where did you get those marks across your back?”

  She paused. “It was when I was much younger, I dropped something, and Madam punished me.”

  “There are more recent marks.”

  “Ah, she uses the switch once a week or so but rarely breaks the skin anymore. I almost died the first time, so now Liv and Delia stop her when she begins to draw blood.”

  His arms tightened, and she made a soft sound of distress as his hand was still on her breast.

  “Sorry. Why did you stay with them?”

  She shrugged. “Where is there to go? I can’t get a job out here; I have
only the education that I have gained from what is left of my father’s library. She has sold off all the books that she knows of. I have managed to hide a few.”

  “How has your household survived this long?”

  “I gather herbs from the edge of the barrier. It is fairly difficult to get what I need, but I manage to create enough lotions and creams to keep Madam’s friends looking younger.”

  He paused and lifted his head. “You have been getting plants from the edge of the barrier? Why not the forest?”

  She snorted. “It takes you less than three minutes to make it to the barrier. The plants are all deeper in than the berry bushes. I wouldn’t have had time.”

  He chuckled. “There is definitely a feeling of urgency when you cross the barrier. I now understand why.”

  “Urgency?”

  “The horse appears and is in a hurry, so I go with him. He takes me to the place where you have entered my forest.”

  He paused and looked around as the horse came to a halt. “Ah, we are here.”

  She looked, and she gasped. There were a pool and a cascade of flowers that guided water from the waterfall into the rippling mirror below.

  He withdrew his hand from her dress and lifted her in his arms while he dismounted. He walked to the edge of the pool and set her down on the moss-covered stones. He sat next to her and trailed his fingers in the water.

  She looked at the water, and her reflection was completely clear. The water was still. There was something unfamiliar about what she was seeing. “What am I looking at?”

  “What do you see?”

  “It isn’t me. It is... I suppose it would be me if I had been born like you.”

  “Like me?”

  She pushed her hair behind her ears and smiled. “An elf. My features are thinner, longer, and the ears are definitely a clue.”

  He moved until he was next to her, and he looked the same but with a weird aura of energy around him. There was one around her reflection as well, but it was much more subdued.

  “What are we looking at?”

  “This is the way I see you. This is the way the forest sees you. You might even change into the being you see in the pool. It doesn’t always happen, but occasionally, what you see in the pool is attainable. The forest will give it to you if you want it.”