The Light of Elysium

36 - Temptation

(Aren's PoV)

There has been torrential rain for too many days now and it is driving me to distraction. I have not had a moment alone with Elissa since Samhain and this accursed weather has kept me from my nightly ritual of flying up to her balcony to kiss her goodnight.

Moodily, I stare at the sheets of rain. Enough!

Determined, I step outside and transform. The powerful wings of the eagle battle against the elements and win, carrying me at last to her balcony.

Surprise is evident on Elissa's face as she opens the door wearing a floor length nightgown. Shivering, she rubs her arms and looks warily up at the sky.

"Come in."

"It would not be proper." I shake my head, scattering droplets from my sodden hair and causing her to jump backwards.

"Well, I am not coming out and you are going to drown if you stand there much longer. At least come in briefly, since you made the effort to fly up." She shivers again, goosebumps peppering her skin.

I step through into her room and close the door on the inclement weather. Elissa takes my dripping cloak and hangs it up by the fire, then stoops down to put another log in the grate.

"Please take a seat." She indicates to a settee by the fireplace.

I stand there hesitant, for I really should leave.

No, I should join my beautiful female by the warm fire, the tiger urges.

My legs make the decision for me, walking over and sitting down. Elissa hovers, her eyes dilating, seemingly mesmerised by the rivulets of water snaking down from my hair and soaking into my shirt, making the material transparent and plastering it to my skin.

Flushing prettily, she darts off into another room and comes back moments later to offer me a towel. "You appear a little damp."

Sitting down, she leaves a healthy gap between us and seems unable to look at me properly.

"Perhaps you should remove my shirt and place it by the fire." I only mean to tease her and as I predicted it causes her to blush.

But then her eyes rise to mine and they glitter dangerously in the firelight. "If you insist."

I give her a full-on smile, dimples and all, then lean towards her, reducing the gap between us. I up the ante, agreeing, "It would be the hospitable thing to do."

Reaching out, she undoes the first button, then torturously slowly works her way down, button after button. I am unsure whether I have the upper hand in this game anymore.

I want this annoying barrier gone now, the tiger grumbles.

Taking her sweet time, her fingertips smooth over my abdominal muscles and up to my chest. I shiver, not from the cold, but from the tingling currents running through me at her touch. Her hands glide over my shoulders and then ever so slowly down my arms, pushing the sleeves of my shirt down.

Done with the teasing, I impatiently shuck out of the shirt and carelessly fling it onto the floor. She is a temptation that I am unable to resist.

"My turn, kitten."

Warning issued, my fingers thread through her hair and hold her head in place, whilst my mouth falls upon hers, demanding attention. I am driven by a hunger I have not felt before and without meaning to, manoeuvre her beneath me.

Breaking apart, both our breaths ragged, my lips move to her neck, teeth grazing her skin, while my hands skim over the soft contours of her body. She mews like a kitten and I growl, needing to feel skin on skin. Shifting position slightly, I grasp her nightdress in two fists and pull, ripping it open, the white undergarments the only protection to her modesty.