Capture of a Heart by Mya Lairis

a subtle gloss over her eyes, appeared as she reached out to cup his cheek. “I will miss you.”
    Gavenas began to tremble, dealing with the foreign sensation of a weakness he could not battle overtaking him. He fought against it, clasping his arm about her shoulder and hugging her close. With her head against his shoulder, she would not be able to view the agony he was sure his features could not disguise. He rested his head upon the crown of her head. “And I will miss you,” he said. “But I will look forward to your visits.”
    “I warn you that I will make them. And I hope not to find your bed occupied, at least not when I arrive.”
    “You have little to worry about in that respect,” was his reply, even as she embraced him back. The confession that yearned to spring from his lips, his selfish dreams of dragon-kissed skin, of tending to her every need, and of sleeping soundly in only her arms need not foul her free spirit.
    True love was freedom, not oppression, he forced himself to recall…and to believe.

Chapter Thirteen
    Shoraya had told Gavenas that she was leaving soon but did not know how swiftly she would need to leave until she slid into the bed that night and welcomed him beside her.
    The night had started off melancholy, with him giving her gifts for a journey she was not yet ready to take. While he went to tend to the food, she had placed the items inside her pack, but even then, she wasn’t sure if her trip would begin the next day or days after.
    To assuage her lack of motivation, she made a joke about never receiving a tour of his larder. At that the mood within the den changed from heavy silences to laughter and mirth. He summoned her to his side and started at the far wall, detailing the variety of components stored in bottles, jars, and pouches while the space steadily filled with the sumptuous smells of their meal. He beamed with pride as he detailed how he had procured some items from wondrous sources and chuckled as he relayed the more mundane locales that he had discovered others from.
    While there were several items he skipped over and many that she was sure her memory would not easily recall, she was pleased just to see him so invigorated in the display of his collections.
    Dinner cut the tour short, but the mood was still light. The leaf-wrapped fish was so juicy and yet firm, flaking into portions at the slightest brush of her fork. The wine was subtle and fragrant with mixed complements of stout oak and berries. Gavenas regaled her with his knowledge of the mountains, and she confessed the wonders that she had learned during her travels.
    Late into the night they talked as if there were no concerns for the next day, but the specter of the bed and a need for slumber eventually haunted every word.
    It was she who took to the pallet first at Gavenas’s insistence. He would be the one to clear the table and wash the dishes. While she tried to protest, she eventually stripped off her clothing to settle beneath the warm covers. As she watched Gavenas move about from the table to the stream that ran through the den, her emotions flared anew. The thought that every night could be spent enjoying meals, conversation, and his generous presence filled her with a covetous longing.
    As he gathered the table linens into a basket and made to take them to the washing pool, Shoraya’s patience grew short. She knew procrastination when she saw it as well as recognized the return of the awkwardness between them and would allow it no longer. “Gavenas. The linens can wait. Come and rub this belly which you have so well filled.”
    He turned with the basket in his hand and looked at her longingly.
    She made the offer sweeter by shoving the covers off her frame and displaying her nudity.
    Gavenas’s gaze drifted over the length of her frame. She could almost feel the warmth of his attention as it traveled over her from her head down to her thighs.
    He set the basket down, never taking his eyes from her,