#neady02

“We just came from Rita’s,” I pointed out. The mere thought of doing anything else tonight did not seem appealing.

“All the more reason. Besides,” he gestured back towards The Rainbow, “they are playing our song.” Indeed, I could hear the sounds of the sweet melody of the song Rhys had sent me Under the Mountain, the song that kept me from breaking floating through the air. Before I could protest further, he plucked my shoes out of my hand and set them aside, leading me into the middle of the square. He bowed and looked up at me, eyes shining in the moonlight and a slight smile. “Humor me.”

“Rhys—” I complained halfheartedly, but that didn’t stop me from taking his offered hand almost automatically—muscle memory, really. I placed a hand on his shoulder as he gripped my waist, and before I could say anything else, he swept me away, my feet feeling like they were barely touching the ground. It was like we hadn’t just spent the entire night dancing already—there was something far more charged and elegant about this dance than the raucous partying of Rita’s. I could hear the music more clearly as Rhys hummed the song, sending the sweet melody over our bond, the sound giving me a burst of energy and the tiredness I’d felt fading away. I felt content to be waltzed around the square for as long as we could stand, and maybe a little longer.

Rhys dipped me down, his trademark smirk spread across his face. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but a frown suddenly crossed his face. He looked up at the sky, searching.

As I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong, I felt a drop of water on my cheek. And then another. Rhys quickly hauled me into a standing position and turned back to look up at the sky, which had grown cloudier.

“We should—” Before he could finish his sentence, a few more droplets fell from the sky.

“This way.” Rhys pulled me quickly toward a building on the other side of the square, trying to find some kind of shelter as the rain began to fall faster. There wasn’t much room under the small ledge over the door as we huddled as close to the wall as we could, and despite the little cover it gave, the water that dropped down still was getting us almost as wet as standing out in the middle of the square.

The water now poured from the sky in sheets, and didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. I could feel my teeth chattering as my now wet dress stuck to my skin uncomfortably, chilling me to the bone. I shivered a little as more droplets fell onto my arm, dripping from the brick above me.

Suddenly, Rhys tugged me out into the rain again. Despite already being wet, the shock of the sudden water was startling.

“Rhys, what are you—” He pulled me flush against his chest. He felt blessedly warm, despite being just as soaked as I was. I felt something wrap around me, the water pouring around me. I looked up to see a red-gold filter over my head—Rhys’s wing. He held one partially over my head, keeping me from getting further drenched by the rain, the other settling over his shoulder.

Before I could ask what he was doing, I suddenly felt his lips on mine. Despite the initial shock, my eyes fluttered shut as I let it consume me. It was unhurried—gentle—but I could feel a wave of love behind it across our bond threatening to crash over me, held back only by Rhys’s tight control. The world around us narrowed just to us, the sound of the rain merely background noise, the feeling of it an afterthought. Nothing else existed, and nothing else mattered—only him and me.

When we finally broke apart, I didn’t want to open my eyes—I was still riding the high that his kiss had risen me to, and I didn’t want to come down. As I tried to catch my breath, I felt him run his thumb over my bottom lip and I cracked my eyes open. I was met by the sight of Rhys’s heartbreaking smile, looking at me with such love that I wondered how I had gotten so lucky to have such a man as my mate.

“You’re getting soaked,” I said hoarsely, watching his hair plaster itself against his scalp, rivulets running down his face, and I couldn’t help but notice his clothes sticking rather flatteringly to his skin. “Why not just winnow us home?” It occurred to me suddenly that we could have done this all along, and avoided getting drenched in the first place.