Leira [Completed]

Chapter Thirty Six (END)

ARIEL'S POV

A wave of nostalgia washed over me as the cool breeze kissed my skin, mixed with the fragrance of the earth. The soft sound of forest leaves from the whisper of wind caused a shiver to trickle down my spine.

I was not in my forest, though it certainly felt like it. It felt like the years under the care of Andrew Spencer. A dead father, voices reminded. I dismissed them, and they flashed memories that made me cherish those years, despite what pain it caused.

The voices. Always there, always listening. I loathed them and their infuriating screaming. They had controlled me then. Now, I held the leash instead.

I glanced at my reflection in the pond, then at my most treasured boots atop the wooden bridge.

I stood in a familiar area. Just not a forest, but a park. The park, Justice called it, our little not-so-private sanctuary.

"Close your eyes," Justice repeated for the third time.

I scowled. "What is it?"

I could hear his smile in his tone as he said, "I need to give you something before we return to the others."

"What?" I pressed.

"Turn, Ariel."

I glanced behind my back before obeying, and my breath hitched in my throat. So typical, yet so rare. In his palms, a bouquet of irises rested. They seemed to respond to the wind in a dance, twirling almost imperceptibly in a tune silent to anyone else. Justice knew me, perhaps more than I knew myself. Dangerous, my father would have warned, but I would rather not have it any other way.

"Wow," I muttered breathily before a playful smile landed upon my lips. "So romantic, aren't you?"

The unconcealed twinkle in his eyes showed that he already knew that. Did it make him adorably charming or arrogant? I could not choose.

Glancing down at the glamorous flowers he grasped, I felt breath slip away again.

"Nobody has ever..."

"Now you have." Oh, to find a man like him.

He nipped the tip of my ear, and the mere touch of it caused a surge of desire to coarse through me. He turned me around and urged me to grab what was now mine.

"You're a person of nature. I could have gotten a centipede, and you'll like it."

I snorted, but my eyes remained on the stunning bouquet. It was so thoroughly decorated. The effort was palpable; I could sense it even if I were sightless.

I turned back towards the pond and treasured the sensation of having a body pressed against me. Like a blanket of satisfaction as I finally, after years of not knowing, found home. I could barely concentrate on anything else but the merciless hand brushing my arm. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Justice." I intended for my voice to be firm but I was not mystified when it betrayed me. Not when his hand trailed down, down, down.

"What?" he muttered innocently before burying his face in the crook of my neck.

I let myself melt into him. I let the heart that was previously transformed into gelid ice under the tutelage of Andrew Spencer melt.

I should be afraid. I had something more significant to lose, and the world would do anything to seize it. It was not lost on me that with something to lose, I had something. That was most important.

Important, I thought. This moment, the feel of tingles on my skin as the man I loved held me with such adoration.

I was so young. A world was in front of me, and if I wished to be pretentious, I would assume it was bowing to my very presence. I had choices, I had a fortune, and I had Justice.