Daylight

Chapter 45

Lucien's own eyes pricked and burned. He squeezed them shut and took several deep breaths, the bitter cold air burning his lungs. How long he had dreamed of this moment. Gods, if this was just another dream, he prayed he never woke up. When he opened his eyes, Elain was there, smiling broadly at him. Mother save him, it wasn't a dream.

This was real.

Lucien let out a shallow breath and swiftly took her into his arms. She let out a tiny shriek as he wrapped his firm muscular arms around her waist and hoisted her up into the air. And on the middle of that bridge, with all of Velaris as his witnesses, he kissed her hard and deliberately.

Elain threw her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with just as much enthusiasm. All his exhaustion instantly melted away, along with his silent complaints about not wearing a cloak to shield him from the cold. He was still disheveled from traveling, the laces on the sides of his rough spun tunic were untied and coming loose, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except the female in his arms.

His mate.

Lucien held her tightly, stumbling backward slightly as she wrapped her arms tighter around him. The small of his back collided painfully with the bridge's stone railing, but he couldn't be bothered to care. He lowered her back to the ground just as her kiss turned ravenous and possessive.

Feyre softly cleared her throat and with an enormous amount of self-restraint, Lucien pulled back from Elain. He had all but forgotten that Feyre was still there. In truth, he had forgotten where they were and was mildly surprised to remember they were on a very public bridge in the middle of the city.

"You were starting to get quite the audience," Feyre warned with a smug smile.

Sure enough, more than a few onlookers were gazing at them with expressions ranging from approval to distaste to amusement. A group of matronly faeries were shaking their heads and tittering furiously amongst one other while a couple of younger fae males—older adolescents by the look of them—were calling out a mixture of catcalls and wolf-whistles.

Elain's cheeks were flushed and she was breathless. Lucien was surprised to see that instead of seeming mortified by the public attention, her eyes danced with mischief and desire. She drew a corner of her lower lip between her teeth and gave him a wolfish grin.

Stop that.

Stop what? Even through the bond, her voice was coy and teasing.

Stop looking at me like that.

Or what?

Or I'll really give these nosy spectators a show they won't forget.

"Hey," Feyre said sternly. "Stop seducing each other through your bond and let's go."

"Hypocrite! You and Rhys do it all the time," Elain protested. Even so, she took Lucien's hand and begrudgingly followed her sister off the bridge.

Feyre laughed. "Yes, but not in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street!"

Lucien never took his eyes off Elain... until he nearly tripped over a basket of fruit a merchant had sitting in front of his cart. Elain had crinkled her nose and tried not laugh but Feyre hadn't made any attempt to conceal her delight. The walk back to the townhouse seemed to take a lifetime. He shivered when they finally walked through the front door, the wave of heat from the magic that kept the house warm an abrupt change from the frigid temperatures outside.

"Oh, good," Rhys said conversationally as they filed into the sitting room. "You're back."

"As if Feyre didn't tell you we were on our way," Elain chided.

"Irrelevant," Rhys said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Come on, we're all going up to the House."

"The House?" Lucien repeated warily. He tried to do a mental tally of the number of days he'd been gone. Surely, it wasn't family dinner night...

All he wanted was to go up to his room and have a few moments alone with Elain. Though it seemed that would have to wait, since Rhys was hell bent on ensuring everyone knew he'd returned safe and sound. He knew he ought to be more appreciative, since all he'd ever wanted was a proper family. And now he had one. One that never wanted to give him a moment's peace.

"We're altering family dinner to tonight," Rhys said, guessing at Lucien's confusion. "A welcome home dinner."

"Can't I be welcomed home here?" He groaned.

"No," Rhys said firmly. "I have my reasons."

And Lucien knew better than to ask what those were. Rhys would keep his reasons to himself until he was ready to divulge.

"Fine," Lucien grumbled. "Can I at least go change?"

Feyre looked him over and made a show of pinching her nose. "And take a bath. You stink."

"Oh, you're hilarious," Lucien deadpanned.

From his golden mechanical eye, he noticed Elain giving Feyre a pointed, deliberate look—as if she was trying to talk to her without speaking. Her sister swiftly glided over to her and linked her arm through Elain's.

"Come on, I need your help with something up at the House," Feyre said.

Elain let out an indignant noise of protest—though to Lucien it sounded insincere. But whether it was to misdirect her sister or him, Lucien wasn't sure. Either way, Feyre ignored it, ushering Elain up the stairs toward the rooftop balcony. She was already out of sight when her voice came through the bond.

Can you believe them?

Honestly? Yes... Yes, I can.

Elain's giggle made him smile as Lucien climbed the stairs and pushed open the door to his room.