37. Florence

Chapter thirty-seven

Florence

Blinking rapidly, Adelbert reaches up with shaky hands, and walks his fingers along his new horns from their base to their highest points.

Jutting out from behind his temples on either side of his head, the taupe-colored horns twist and curve about eight inches high, splitting into two leaders.

They're marvelous and my hands are already itching to capture them with thread.

"You look dapper," I tell Adelbert affectionately. "They suit you."

Adelbert doesn't seem to hear me, lost in thought with the deepest frown I've yet seen on him marring his brow. He tilts his head from side to side, seemingly getting used to the horns' added weight.

"Careful! Don't strain your neck. It might take some time to get used to them," I say and hover my hands in front of him, not sure if he'd welcome my touch right now.

"I've… but… they're…" Adelbert grabs both horns, then lowers his hands again. He starts pacing, pauses, and then paces again, hands flexing at his sides.

I step in front of him and lay two hands on his chest, hoping to catch him before he spirals.

"It's okay. We kind of knew this could happen, right?" I suggest gently.

Adelbert looks at me like I'm the one who has grown horns and shakes his head slowly.

"How could we have known?" he asks, genuinely oblivious.

"Baby, let's sit and talk this through," I coax, feeling like someone trying not to spook a wild animal.

"I can't sit now. I have to… to…" Adelbert picks up his pacing again, his hands waving animatedly through the air as if they're the ones who will give him the answers. "Do… something."

"You don't have to do anything right now. Let's figure this out. Together." I smile warmly at him and push comfort, peace, and love toward my anxious mate.

Adelbert closes his eyes as he receives my emotions, then takes a deep breath in through his nose. On his exhale, his brow relaxes and his shoulders loosen.

"Okay," he croaks out with a half smile. "Help me make sense of this, please, Liebling."

The vulnerability in Adelbert's voice pinches my heart. For him to lower his guard like this for me, is a gift I do not take for granted.

I give myself a second to mentally thank the fates for putting us together. For allowing me to be the strong one and support Adelbert the way he needs right now.

I walk closer and frame his face with both of my hands.

"It's going to be okay, baby. I'm here and I'll be with you through anything and everything. I choose you, with or without horn branches." The final words have their desired effect and Adelbert huffs out a single laugh. I give him a quick but firm kiss on the lips and go to fetch the picnic blanket.

"What did you mean when you said ‘we kind of knew this could happen'?" Adelbert asks as he grabs the other side of the blanket and helps me spread it out under our favorite tree.

Adelbert sits down opposite me and I lace our fingers together.

"During one of our earliest conversations in the kitchen, you explained all your research about the fated bond and how it becomes a mate bond through genuine feelings and choice." I try to prompt him, hoping he's not too overwhelmed to connect the dots that have become increasingly clear to me over time.

"Yes." Adelbert drags the word out, and a line forms between his brows. "Are you saying that this is how the bond manifests for elves? That we grow horns?" He skipped a few integral details, but he caught on quickly.

"I don't know about all elves, but for woodland elves, yes," I confirm, nodding my head emphatically. "That's your basest being. That's what you are underneath all your layers. Just like the portrait of your forefather."

Adelbert goes completely still and his mouth falls open. He blinks blankly at me as it all sinks in. Sitting quietly in front of him, I brush my thumbs over his limp fingers, linking them with mine, and give him time to process this information.

"A woodland elf," Adelbert says slowly, eyes still not focusing on me but scanning the forest around the meadow. "That could be why I'm drawn to this particular spot and why my magic is strongest here. It's not because of a ley line. It's my connection to the forest."

I nod furiously, happy Adelbert's following the thread.

"Yes!" I lean forward and squeeze his hands, my stomach a fluttery mess of excitement as it all clicks into place. "And all your favorite places, the places where you feel most comfortable, they have an abundance of wood."

Adelbert's eyes brighten and a lighthearted laugh bursts from him.

"The kitchen. My study. The library." Each place is said with more enthusiasm. "It seems obvious now."

"Your desk, the kitchen table…" I add, naming his favorite pieces of furniture too.

A genuine smile settles on Adelbert's face, eyes crinkling in the corners.

"They're all made from oak," he says reverently, then his hand shoots up to inspect the bark.

Wanting to get everything out in the open and not lose momentum, I quickly add, "There's a chance that there might be some more woodland elf characteristics."

Adelbert's eyes narrow with curiosity. He tilts his head to the side, then wiggles it a little as he experiments with the weight of the horns.

"How do you know all this? How did you connect it so fast?"

"Firstly, because I always pay attention when you speak." I wink and Adelbert smiles indulgently at me. "And also because of that portrait of your ancestor," I explain. "I loved the horns and wanted to embroider a version of them, so I studied the portrait in detail. I noticed he had some bark on his skin, around the collar of his shirt."

Adelbert reflexively pulls his collar away from his neck and peeks down.

I started the piece so long ago, but I've not been able to complete it. Now I know why. I'd much rather prefer recreating Adelbert's horns instead.

Adelbert's mouth turns down and his throat bobs on a swallow.

"You don't mind patches of barky skin?" The shadow of insecurity in his voice hurts my very soul. This male has no idea how much I love him or how handsome he is to me.

I better remind him.

"Not one bit. Can you lie down for me?" I ask gently.

Adelbert nods and lies stiffly on his back, hands at his sides. I kneel next to him and roll his sweater up slowly. I stop when I find an inch of raised bark on his smooth abdomen.

Leaning down, I place a tender kiss on top of the new skin.

"How does the bark feel for you?" I ask.

Adelbert runs a finger over the patch I just kissed. "The texture feels smoother than I thought it would, similar to my horns. But it's as if it's more sensitive to touch than my elf skin."

I repeat the process on the other three spots I find scattered across his torso.

"I think this new look makes you even more attractive," I say honestly as I lower his sweater again and boop his nose.

Adelbert exhales sharply and as the stress visibly leaves his body. A soft, slow smile tugs on his mouth, and he sits up. His fingers tunnel into my hair and he looks me in the eye with so much affection that my heart will be full for days to come.

"I love you, Florence. Thank you for being here with me. For seeing things I wasn't ready to see, for speaking them. I am ashamed to admit that I might have underestimated you in the beginning. Never again."

"I love you too, Adelbert. Just because I'm more reserved to speak my mind, doesn't mean I don't have a mind to speak. I'll give you a reality check whenever you need one," I joke but also really mean if I'm spending the rest of my life with this male. "Now, are you ready to talk about the horns?"

Adelbert raises a hand to his temple and glides a finger along the curves of the horn.

"Can you tell me what they look like?"

"I'll do you one better. I'll sketch them for you," I say brightly and reach for my supplies.

Adelbert rotates his neck, getting used to the weight of his horns, while keeping his eyes on me as I stretch a new piece of fabric over a hoop and tighten it.

"Thank you. I should've brought my phone but I've gotten into the habit of forgetting it lately," Adelbert says as he presses his fingers against the tips, testing how sharp the ends are.

With my erasable pen, I sketch out Adelbert's face and attempt to draw his stunning horns. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

Forearms propped on his bent knees, Adelbert looks out across the meadow. "I think it might be. I used to be anxious about not being able to be reached. What if a friend needed me? Or if my father had to contact me?"

Adelbert trails off in thought and my heart pangs at how he's always putting others first, even in his small actions like keeping his phone on him at all times.

Gaze shifting to me, Adelbert says, "When I'm with you, it feels like other things don't matter as much. The cloud of worries and stress that's always present just kind of dissipates. It's like you're a ray of sunshine piercing through it all. Just like now. For a second, I was ready to rush to the Alberad library or scour the books I have at home, but then you, my mate, were simply here for me, and your sweet, calm demeanor brought me back and kept me from spinning out completely."

Goose bumps race across my skin at Adelbert's unguarded honesty. I appreciate how hard he is working at communicating with me, ensuring there aren't any more misunderstandings and that I know how much he values me.

I pause my pen and blink the moisture in my eyes away.

"I'll always be here for you, just like you are for me. And I do love me some cloudy weather," I add and wiggle my eyebrows, then finish the last couple of lines of the quick sketch.

"Only you could crack a joke and make it sound endearing," Adelbert says fondly with his mouth curving into a grin.

I hold the hoop to my chest and take a fortifying breath.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes. No. Maybe?"

Adelbert worries his bottom lip and the need to comfort him propels me forward. I put the embroidery face down on the blanket and I crawl over his legs, straddle his lap, and place my hands on his shoulders to look him straight in the eye.

"Baby, these horns are so sexy, it makes me want to sit on your face and use them as handles so I can ride your mouth," I say bluntly, feeling like a boss for speaking my mind so succinctly. My nipples pebble and my pussy grows slick as the image roots itself into my brain.

Adelbert's pupils dilate and his face morphs into something between amusement and desire.

"Oh, really? I think you might have to test them out, then," he says with a feline smile that sends a shiver down my spine.

Note to self—use sex to distract him from anxious thoughts.

"You'll have to see them first," I counter carefully, pausing my lusty thoughts and shoving all my love and support toward him.

Adelbert gives me a singular, definitive nod and I reach behind me for the sketch.

"I'm ready."

I turn the hoop around and Adelbert stares at it, tracing the lines with his index finger.

"You're really talented," he says, awe and admiration thick in his tone. "This sketch is so lifelike."

"That's your first comment?" I laugh, then ask more insistently, "What do you think about the horns?"

"They're not completely unattractive," Adelbert says slowly and brushes his fingers from his temples up to the highest shoot. "They're quite similar to that portrait back home."

"They are. But yours are longer. And thicker," I purr and swallow down some excess saliva.

Adelbert laughs, then grows serious again.

"Thank you, Florence. I wouldn't have been able to handle this without you."

Taking extra care not to graze me with his horns, Adelbert tilts my head and kisses me sweetly. He trails soft presses of his lips along my jaw and neck, activating my horniness again.

Horny!

"Can I touch them?" I ask. My fingers are longing to explore this new part of him.

"Please do," Adelbert says earnestly and rests his hands on my waist.

I start at the base protruding from his right temple and run my fingers up the stem. The bark is thick and rough, but with a smoothness to it that doesn't make my fingers snag.

"Mmm, that feels good," Adelbert says on a groan and slips his hands under my sweater— his sweater. "A little harder."

I shift on his lap and add my left hand so I can study both horns. I map every inch I can touch, experimenting with light skims of my fingers and stronger grips. The moment is intimate, delicate, but an undercurrent of lust flows between us. Feeling daring, I fist the horns a little more roughly.

The effect of my touch is evident in the increasingly hard length pressing into me from below, causing my own arousal to seep into my panties.

Adelbert lets out a manly rumble from deep in his chest and tightens his grip on my waist. He pulls me harder against him and I rock my hips in search of that delicious friction.

My mate knows what I need.

Adelbert pops the button on my jeans and pushes two magic fingers into me.

"Yes," I cry out and arch my back, rolling my hips into his mage hand, feeling grateful that this is the male I get to spend the rest of my life with.

Adelbert shoves my sweater up and mutters, "Off," before carefully angling his horns and lavishing my tits with attention. I momentarily let go of his horns to chuck the sweater out of the way, then grasp them at their base so I can direct him where I want him.

They really are like handlebars.

The brisk fall air against my skin wars with the pleasant warmth of Adelbert's mouth as he laves my nipple. He sucks the nipple into his mouth and flicks it with his tongue, making me mewl with pleasure. My other breast is kneaded and he toys with that nipple too, rolling, pulling, pinching it—all while fucking me with his phantom fingers.

Panting and whimpering, mewling and moaning at the symphony of pleasure Adelbert is conducting in my body, I come so fast and so hard, it catches me off guard.

"Adel-baby," I scream before my orgasm robs me of my voice and seizes every fiber of my being.

When my spirit returns to my body, I find myself laid out on the blanket, staring with hazy vision at the beautiful mustards, ambers, rusts, and gingers of the oak tree above me.

"Oh… my… goodness," is all I manage as a very self-satisfied Adelbert stares down at me with an arrogant smirk adorning his face.

"I think you blacked out there for a second," he says and brushes some hair from my forehead.

"Holy shit." I blink lazily. "That… has never happened before." A grin creeps its way across my face, and I roll my head to the side to get a better look at Adelbert.

"Wow. You really are something," I mumble. Even my mouth feels sluggish.

"Something special, I hope." There is zero insecurity in Adelbert's voice.

"Very," I affirm. A mental switch flips inside me and I summon my strength to sit up. "Now, lie down so I can show you just how much I appreciated that."

"You don't have to—"

Before Adelbert can finish that sentence, I press lightly against his chest and he lets me push him down onto his back. The desire to give him even an ounce of the satisfaction he gave me burns under my skin. I want my male to have his own out-of-body experience and I'll try my best to make it happen. But first, I need to get him out of his head.

"You just lie back and enjoy this. It's about time I tasted you," I say as I climb on top of his thighs, my damp crotch making me very conscious of the massive orgasm he wrung from my body.

"Taste? You—"

I cut Adelbert off with the fiercest look I can muster and he grins sheepishly back at me.

"Let me rephrase," he starts. "Can I hold your hair?"

"That would be lovely." I smile sweetly before returning to my wanton hussy state and slowly undoing his pants.

Adelbert gathers my long hair away from my face and keeps his eyes fixed on me while my sole focus is his cock.

I tug at his pants and he lifts his hips for me to pull them down enough to free his erection. I fist him through the fabric of his underwear, then pause.

"This is new."

Adelbert picks up on my intrigue and raises himself up on an elbow.

"What is?"

Carefully, I lower his underwear enough to let his cock pop free.

His bark-covered cock.