Page 176 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

“For when your heart longs for a piece of home.”

“But, how?” I splutter in disbelief as I walk up to one of the magnolias and run my hand over the glossy leaves; the gnarled branches. The tree is huge and appears old. But I walked past this park with Cescily only a week ago, and I still saw the leaves of palms peeking curiously over the fence walls.

“I bought the property from the city from my personal coffers, cleared it, and hired the most powerful Growers and Landscapers to prepare it for you.”

Alec drops this information like it’s simple—unimportant.

Laughing hard, I walk further in. A firefly lazes past my face, flashing its luminescent light. The air even is different, more balmy and less dry. More like Brhadir.

“Alec,” I walk swiftly back to where he stands, hands clasped behind his back as he takes in my reaction. “This is extravagant.”

It dawns on me that this is what Alec was busy with the morning he left early, saying he had something important to handle. The weight of the work he put into building me my own forest to ease my homesickness hits me hard. Nothing I could ever do would be adequate enough to thank him for the thought and care he puts into my happiness. I continue to look around, clutching my hand at my tightened throat. Putting my face to one of the white blooms of a magnolia, I inhale deep while Alec’s warmth comes to rest at my back.

“Do you like it?” The softness of his voice gives an air of nervousness. His heart hammers against my shoulders.

I turn around and wrap my arms around his waist. Alec’s eyes search mine as he waits for an answer. My eyes well, and I hiccup loud when I open my mouth to respond. “Thank you,” is all I can manage to choke out. “Thank you,” I breathe again and bury my face in his chest, digging my hands into his back trying to pull him closer. He holds me tight and strokes the back of my head while I sob into his shirt.

“My mother had that house built for her to retreat to when she missed her home. She willingly chose her life with my father and all that came with it. You did not have that choice, and for that Iam sorry.” Alec kisses the top of my head before he continues. “All these years, we thought that house would be everything to you that it was to Mother.”

Alec pulls at the ribbons of my mask before removing it. When I pull back and look up at him, he’s removed his glamour, and I take in the striking angles of his face.

“You deserve to always have a piece of home available to you. You deserve to have everything, Ellya.” He pulls me back into his chest and holds me tight for an eternity—for not nearly long enough.

“I was hoping that we would sleep under the stars together tonight,” Alec finally says as he pulls away from me.

Turning my head, I’m met with a fluffy pallet bed set up in a clearing. I smile at him and lead us to it. The large pallet has several pillows and blankets in shades of tan and cream. Beside it is a table laden with drinks and food. I kick my shoes off and flop onto the mattress ungracefully and moan as the bedding swallows me.

Alec sinks in next to me and brings his hands to my lower back. “May I?” he asks me, tugging on a painted silk feather.

I sigh gratefully. “Please do.”

He lifts a row of feathers and begins slowly popping each button free. The fluid movements paired with the image of his skilled fingers working to free me makes me clench, and I shimmy, anxious for him to finish. Alec laughs as he pulls the delicate silk down my legs with deliberate ease and tosses it on the ground.

I roll over on my side to face him and stroke my finger down his cheek to his full lips.

My heart hammers with excited nervousness, both of us knowing that this evening has been leading up to this.

“I’m ready,” I whisper.

Alec offers me a searching look, giving me a moment to reconsider. “You are certain?”

When I nod my encouragement, Alec removes his suit jacket, dropping it to the ground with my costume train.

He pulls me up to my knees, facing him, and reaches into my hair, sliding out each pin one by one until my waves fall free. He pushes my hair behind my shoulders and brings a hand to my back, unbuttoning my dress, working his way down slowly, his face both heated and serious. My breaths quicken the farther south he gets, at the idea that this is truly about to happen.

My hands move to the front of Alec’s shirt, untucking it from his pants before my shaky fingers work to pop free his fastenings. When it opens, I graze my hands across his bare stomach, around his hips and to his back. He flings it off behind him and moves a hand to undo his pants.

My chest heaves as I watch him, the neckline of my dress loose and gaping.

“You are stunning,” Alec says as he inspects the blushed swells of my breasts rising and falling rapidly.

He reaches to the hem of the black dress and begins to gather it at my waist, kissing me before he pulls it above my head in one fluid motion, finding my breasts bare beneath and my nipples peaked.

Alec grabs me in his arms, holding me tight against his chest as he eases me onto my back, nudging my thighs apart with his knees to rest between my legs.

He lands several kisses against my parted lips before he leans down to take a breast in his mouth, working his tongue with deliberate tenderness, worshiping me with his lips and tongue. He kneads the other and rolls my pebbled nipple between his fingers, bringing forth soft moans from my throat.

He pops free and kisses my nose, my mouth, my chin, my throat, before sliding down the length of my body, his hands running down my sides, his lips snagging against the skin of my stomach.