The Silver Rose (26 page)

Aden's breathing altered, and his heart skipped a beat. Could he feel the love streaming from her pores, encompassing them in a spontaneous spell as they swayed sensuously across the dewy grass? His fingers tightened over hers, and she lifted her head and captured the stark determination in his eyes.

He did not falter. His gaze held hers, and she knew this time he would not run away. Enthralled, her heart hammered against her breastbone. Elation swept through Rosa. He had changed his mind. Her cheek brushed his, and she damped down the butterflies fluttering in her stomach when he lowered his head, his lips a whisper away from hers.

“Tonight,” he said fiercely. “Tonight is ours.”

• • •

Goran never returned to reclaim Rosa. He watched them for all of ten seconds and knew there would be no reason to return. Looking around, he caught Beth swaying her hips in time to the music and smiling as she quietly observed her sister dancing with Aden. The gentle one. The one who made him soft when he should be hard. He contemplated asking her to dance, but Alanna stepped into his vision and a growl rumbled in his throat. He had his work cut out for him with that one.

Aden stopped outside Lavender Cottage's gate, his hand in Rosa's. He kissed the knuckles of her hand and looked into her eyes, assuring himself she still wanted this. “Are you coming in?”

He had good reason to think she would turn him down, but Rosa shot him an
are you kidding me
look. “I'm convinced you're the one for me. I'm not about to change my mind now. It's you I'm expecting to say this isn't going to happen. Why the change of heart now at the eleventh hour?”

“I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I'm not promising you anything other than tonight,” Aden uttered. “There is so much I need to tell you. Do you still want to come in?”

She prayed the Goddess that one night would be enough. “I'll not pass this moment up. I'd be a fool to turn away now.”

Aden squeezed her hand tight and pulled her into him, his arms circling around her, gripping her tight. “Hold on, then.” The air shimmered around them both, and he translocated Rosa directly to his bedroom. Another quick spell illuminated the room with a few well-placed orbs, just enough for Rosa to see the fierce desire burning in Aden's eyes — for him to see the truth of her love in hers.

Aden smoothed a shaky hand over her curled tendrils. He caressed her cheek with his knuckles and whispered the words Rosa had longed to hear. “I want you.” Soft and gentle, the sound of his voice floated over her in a caress. “I crave you.”

Rosa whimpered a weak, “Oh,” as the air shimmered in arcs of silver around them, entwining their auras and offering her a link to his soul. It was as close as they could possibly get without actually officially binding their souls as one. As they tentatively melded, she was presented with an intimate glimpse of how tortured Aden had once been and how, only recently, he'd begun to mend. That she had been instrumental in effecting that change filled her with elation. His heart beat fast and sure within his chest, the nourishment of her love making him stronger with every breath he took.

His was a love so new and still so very, very fragile. Tomorrow might very well bring sadness, but now there was an incredible arc of magic building between them. She let down her defenses, the guards she'd put in place to prevent her magic from flaming out, knowing Aden would balance the flow of uncontrollable energy she could no longer harness by herself. She would give him everything, show him just how much she believed the blending of their union was the only way forward.

Whether she won or lost in this final gamble, she would have this night to remember always.

Rosa's sandalwood and rose scent enticed and lured him in. He inhaled as his fingertips trailed down the smooth plane of her neck, over her shoulders and down her back. He held her closely against him. Nuzzling in, he traced a row of kisses down her neck and slid one of the thin, diamanté shoulder straps aside to continue his plunder. Barely able to stem the urgency thrumming in his veins, he paused long enough to provide Rosa the opportunity to stop. He looked at her, a question in his eyes, and was overwhelmed by what he saw. His past, his present, and his future, if he wanted it, all bundled together in one heart-stopping prize.

Rosa. All his for the taking.

“Warlocks' Oath.” Aden shoved aside the second shoulder strap. The material slid to pool at her waist, leaving her breasts bare. “I've never met anyone like you,” he admitted. “You undo me.”

He dipped his head, lathed the hollow of her clavicle with his tongue, and trailed a series of butterfly kisses down between her breasts. He knelt, his hands smoothing over the slight curve of her narrow hips and down until he reached the hem of her long gown. Bunching the diaphanous folds, he shoved them upwards, baring her legs. Rosa's head rocked back. Her knees threatened to buckle.

“If this isn't heaven — ” she uttered, her voice heavy with heartfelt emotion, “ — then I don't know what is.”

Cupping her buttocks, Aden pressed his lips to the material covering the apex of her thighs. Oh, yes!
That
was heaven! She collapsed to her knees on the hardwood floor, the sensation of her skin brushing against his tuxedo heightening her desire to be touched, skin against skin. Rosa tugged his shirt from his trousers and fumbled to release the buttons. She grasped the ends and tore them open. Buttons popped and flew in different directions. Aden growled when her hands touched the hard planes of his chest. She leaned into him, arching her body, deliberately scraping her breasts against him. Skin against skin. Exquisite torture.

“You're my heaven,” Aden breathed, his voice husky and ragged. “You're everything I imagined you'd be. And then some.”

Rosa's heart leaped in her chest. She lost herself in Aden, her sole focus, her one desire, the warlock she intended to love for the rest of her life. “Show me how much you love me, Aden. Show me how you feel.”

He didn't need further invitation. Aden eased the rest of her dress down past her hips until it bunched in a heap at her knees. Rosa worked his belt free and slid the fastening open and the zip down. Her sensitive nipples pulsed an exquisite urge to her womb. Rosa's hand smoothed down to cup Aden, feeling the weight and length of him. She felt empowered by the gruff moan Aden released at her touch. He rocked into her hand. He cupped a breast and slid to his knees, bending his head to lave the other nipple while she continued her exploration.

No magic, no imagination, no homework had prepared her for this. Her eyes drifted closed as his lips and teeth tugged, pulled on her breast. His free hand skimmed a wayward trail over her stomach until his fingers slipped into her barely there underwear and cupped her intimately. A mere flick of his finger as he slicked his way to her entrance triggered an unexpected, pulsing orgasm before they'd even fully started. Her skin took on a rosy hue; she felt her cheeks and chest flush. Her eyes popped open, and she stared into eyes that glowed with triumph and red-hot need. He stood, held out a hand, and when she grasped it, he tugged and picked her up in his arms, leaving her dress in a puddle on the floor and carried her to the bed. Divesting himself of the rest of his clothing he pulled out a foil packet from his tuxedo pants and started all over again, until she was a screaming mass of need.

So exquisitely he played her until it was clear he could no longer hold back. He ripped the condom packet open with his teeth before taking the protection out and easing it on. Rosa took over, rolling it down, hugging the shaft, wanting him inside her. Now. He was hard. Strong. And he was hers. All of him.

He positioned himself between her thighs and she wrapped her legs around him. Their eyes met and locked, as if they both wanted the moment to last forever, and then he moved, slowly at first, each thrust more intense than the last. She held on, arching her body to his, lifting her hips to match his rhythm until she begged for release and he pulsed his seed into her and cried out her name with an exhilaration that sent tears cascading down her cheeks.

• • •

Curled in Aden's arms in the wee small hours, Rosa asked Aden about his past. “Something happened to you to be so guarded. I'm guessing it was a woman. Tell me about her. What was she like?”

Aden did not pretend he didn't know to whom Rosa referred. “Her name was Lydia. She was my beloved. She was mortal without an inkling of potential whatsoever.”

It never occurred to her he would fall in love with someone without potential. “How is that possible?”

Aden played with the ends of her hair, letting it fall through his fingers, over and over. Oh, how she could get used to this. “How is anything possible? Do you know anything at all about my story? Has Goran told you anything?”

“Nothing. He said I should ask you.”

“Yet he had every right to reveal the truth. Lydia was Goran's baby sister, an anomaly in the immortal magical world: born without magic or an ounce of potential in a family of immortals. Her lack of magic set her apart from everyone else. As a result she didn't venture out into the world but remained at home, hidden mostly from everyone so as not to draw attention to the fact she aged while everyone else in her family did not. When she was eighteen, Lydia convinced Goran to let her assist him on market days in old Londontown by helping to sell his services as a scribe. One day they set their stall next to mine.”

Aden smiled softly, his memories no longer laced with pain. “I was struck dumb by her beauty. You could say her looks and her sweet nature were her potential. After that, I looked for every opportunity to attend market day. With a few well-placed spells, our tables were always set next to each other. I should have known better than to continue seeing her, but from day one, I was infatuated. Maybe I thought things would change. That Lydia would develop potential.”

“You were blinded by your love for each other.” Rosa understood immediately.

“Blind to everything and everyone except ourselves. At first, we hid our romance, or so we thought, meeting whenever we could, but it appeared everyone already knew. Marylebone called a meeting between our two families. They instructed that our liaison could not possibly continue. Heartache would ensue if we followed our current path. Goran did not agree with their decision. My mother was ambivalent. Marylebone was adamant a union between us was unacceptable. Their actions only served to make the two of us a tighter unit. Lydia was inconsolable. I was furious. Within days of the ruling we crept away in the middle of the night, eloping the next day before they could find us.”

Rosa bolted upright. His story was far more disturbing than she'd thought possible. “How did Marylebone handle such blatant disregard of their ruling?”

Aden tugged her down into a fierce hug. “How do you think? I was stripped of my status, made Earthbound for the duration of Lydia's life. I was lucky they did not bind my magic for the duration. Even so, I was beyond angry and refused to see reason. I suppose I didn't want to hear the truth. I stopped speaking to my family, virtually ostracizing myself from them. They tried repeatedly to speak with me, but I was furious with everyone. In the end I not only cut my family out of my life, but Marylebone as well as punishment for their lack of support.”

“Oh, Aden.” Rosa pushed his long hair away from his face, peppering kisses over his brow. “I can't imagine what that must have been like.” Her heart broke for Lydia, a woman she had never known, a woman who had captivated the heart of a young idealistic warlock. Life had done much to harden him since then.

“Don't get me wrong. I was happy too. We both were. We were together and that was all that mattered. I had earth magic so I crafted silver, made affordable trinkets, and opened a small shop well away from Marylebone and our families. Lydia worked at my side, my partner in every aspect. We did well financially. We wanted for nothing in the material sense.”

Aden hesitated. Rosa thought nothing else would surprise her, but what he said next shocked her to her magical core. “When Lydia fell pregnant, we were overjoyed.”

“You had children?” Rosa didn't know the outcome, but she knew denying the Fates brought doom. Warlocks' Ruin!

He shifted his weight slightly, pausing in his explanation, a faraway look in his eyes. “I would not change anything about my past actions. Although I can't truthfully admit I always thought that.”

Rosa gripped his hand until her knuckles hurt. “You acted out of love.” A blinding knowledge that she could never coerce Aden into binding his magic with hers slammed the gates of her hope shut as he revealed his painful history. “Tell me the rest,” she insisted, knowing there was more.

“We had three beautiful babies. Two girls. One boy.” Aden‘s voice trembled and moisture formed in the corner of his eyes. “None of them born with potential.” His words were raw, wrenched from his heart. A single tear streaked down Aden's cheek. She thumbed it away, knowing it cost him to tell her the absolute truth.

“You watched them all grow old and … and die.” The man had endured so much. “What about their children?”

“They all were childless in their unions with others. Another punishment by the Fates, it seems.”

To have your children die while you still lived. It broke Rosa's heart. She stifled the ache in her throat, fighting back the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

“There's something else you should know.” He turned on his side, facing her, resting his head in the crook of his elbow. His free hand smoothed a path down her arm. “About the rose.”

Rosa mirrored his position. Their fingers intertwined, Aden brought her hand to his mouth to kiss her knuckles one by one. “It was mine. I made it.”

“I kind of guessed.”

“I made it for Lydia as a symbol of my love and gave it to her on our first wedding anniversary. A magical rose to bloom for a magical love.”