Honey Wine

Excerpt

The way he spoke made shivers work along her spine, and she gave a breathy laugh. “Yeah, fighting a dragon! What an adventure! Are you ready for that?”

His flirtatious smile faded and he sobered, his brow creasing just slightly. “I’m not sure I want to do it.”

Autumn frowned. “Why not? It’s the only way you can get home.”

He met her eyes and stared at her for a long moment. “I don’t know if I want to go home. I’ve been gone for five hundred years, Autumn, and I don’t remember much from before I was separated from my people. I don’t actually have a home. Why should I return to something that I’ve never really known?”

Narrowing her eyes in thought, she saw and understood his reasoning and his apprehension. Truth be told, she didn’t want to see him go back either. Once he returned home, she would have to do the same. What did she have to go back to? An empty castle full of memories that would make her sad? A life of drudgery and isolation? It was one thing to live that life when it was all you knew. But how could she go back now? Now that she knew statues could come to life and worlds existed beyond her own? How could she go back to what she had thought was normal when she had been forced to see the world through Uncle Sal’s eyes?

She looked up at Gabriel and sighed. But…

She placed her hand on his chest lightly. “You have to go home, Gabriel,” she murmured, the words sticking in her throat. “If you don’t, you’ll always wonder who you are.” Something flashed in the depths of his eyes, which let her know he understood that truth.

It was quiet for a few moments, the only sounds being the distant merrymaking of the village and that of the night birds and insects of the forest. Gabriel turned his attention into the trees, and Autumn studied his profile. His jawline was so strong, so defined. She fought the urge to reach up and run her fingers along it.

Suddenly, he heaved a sigh and turned to face her with a completely wicked grin. She raised her eyebrows and took a step back.

“Would you like to taste honey wine?”

She frowned, and he held up an ale horn that she hadn’t even noticed he’d been carrying. She smiled. “Okay.”

He stepped closer, making up for the step she’d retreated. “Close your eyes,” he whispered.

She gave him a questioning look, and he feathered his fingers across her cheek.

“Don’t you trust me?” he teased.

She was sure her expression was completely bland, but she obeyed and closed her eyes. For several heartbeats, she felt nothing, only the cool night air. Then she felt his warm, supple lips press very softly to hers. She gasped in surprise and he used it to his advantage, slipping his tongue in between her parted lips. Erotic sweetness filled her mouth, the taste of the drink he had sipped still clinging to his tongue. Fire raced throughout her, and she went pliant against him, kissing him back with a groan of bliss.

He cradled her face in one hand while he slipped his other arm around her waist, exploring her mouth in the most unhurried, deliberate manner. Autumn’s head spun. She’d kissed men many times before, but this was nothing like anything she had ever experienced. This was passion, gentle seduction, and encompassing eroticism all rolled into one.