Second-Hand Dresses

Chapter 30: Morning Embrace

The quiet slumber of her beating heart is woken by a hardened beast rising from the shadows.

—Mistin de Romins, "Her Morning Embrace"

Lily woke up to the smell of old fish and moldy fabric. It was starkly different than the scents of her bedroom with the perfume and lace surrounding her. She wasn't sure she liked it, no lady would ever get used such a stench. The only thing that made it tolerable was the musky scent of a man teased her senses. It was a warm smell with just a hint of rain on the edge of her perceptions.

It reminded her of the night a week ago when she was hurrying home before the storm hit. The scent brought fond memories, of walking quietly next to Kendrick as they headed home, the feel of his arm underneath her palm, and even the smells of lightning that surrounded him whenever he did magic.

Lily smiled to herself and took a deep breath of man and ozone.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a small inn room barely half the size of her closet. The only exit was a rotted wooden door on the opposite wall. It had three shiny locks on it and a bar crossing over the middle. A small dresser, no more than a yard tall, stood next to the door. Two bags rested next to it and she could see clothes sticking out of both.

The bed she was on was narrow and cramped. The straw bale underneath the sheet was hard in many places but her left leg rested in a furrow made by the previous tenants who had worn it down over the months. She tried to shift to a more comfortable position but a heavy weight pinned her down and into the groove.

Kendrick shifted and a warmth flooded across her senses. A low groan rose up, muffled by her thigh. His body, heated and heavy, spread her thigh slightly further apart. His muscular body was stretched out across the bed with his head on her lap. The black hair quivered with their heartbeats. His shirt had dried overnight but the unnatural creases told her that it had dried while he slept.

Lily stared down at him with the shadow of regret hanging over her. Last night was exhausting but it was also a night of revelations. Did she say too much? Had she made a mistake by revealing that she wanted Kendrick? Not only in her bed but maybe for the rest of her life?

Her emotions rose in her throat. There was nothing she could do to erase her words, except maybe hope that Kendrick had drunk himself into a blackout.

Immediately, she felt guilty. She had meant the words, she wanted Kendrick just as much as she wanted Hasan and Mindil. She just wasn't sure if her confession was entirely honest. She had just made the decision to not fuck Hasan again. Did she confess her passion for Kendrick to distract herself? Was he nothing more than a bandage for a lost passion?

Lily worried her lip and reached down to stroke his hair. It was damp under her touch and she smiled. It was always damp, even nine years ago when they were kissing on the gazebo. She caught a strand of his hair and ran it along her finger, enjoying the way the scent of lightning rose up from the touch.

It was the same smell from so many years ago, the decade had done nothing to fade it. A deep breath brought her back to the gazebo where Kendrick first kissed her. She was so young them, excited and wide eyes as she was passed from one dance to another. Kendrick had started as just a random man who danced stiffly but then they got to talking.

She smiled as she remembered skipping out of her dance card to follow him to the gazebo. That was where she had her first kiss, right as the rain started. The air had the same smell of lightning.

Her body grew warmer. The first kiss ended with his hand on her hip and the other cupping the side of her face. It was warm and tender. She didn't know the strange feelings that filled her now, but as the years passed, she could remember the flush that coursed down her spine and pooled between her legs.