In a Brave New World (Brave New World Book 5)

Chapter 4

Ris

I dove across the sky with my wings tucked in and my head tipped forward, my tail almost straight behind me to ensure the highest speed possible. As I neared the puffy roof of our home, I spread my wings to reduce my speed and landed heavily on the soft cloudy surface immediately before the garden floor.

There was no sign of my Deidre here.

Then that reflection caught my attention again and I saw her - my mate, half-lying on a low branch of our young apple tree. Her head rested on the trunk and her calves and toes were hanging from the edge of the short branch, swinging back and forth in a leisurely manner.

A smile spread her lush lips. "Hey there, tiger."

I couldn't tell if she'd seen me or had just sensed me, because she had those human-made black sunglasses on that kept her beautiful eyes hidden. All I knew was that she hadn't passed out under the direct sunlight and was in a good mood.

Still, I grumbled, "You shouldn't be out at noon, my Dei-dre! The leaves offer little cover. Your skin–"

She scoffed. "I'm not a blood-cursed, tiger, I won't burst into flames in the sun." She sat up, turned my way and moved her head up and down.

Was she ogling me? Had she missed me? The scent of her arousal made my nostrils flare, but I wouldn't be distracted from the issue at hand so easily.

"Your skin will hurt. You should be inside," I insisted, making sure I didn't step on any flower as I moved onto the garden floor towards the tree.

It had grown from the first seed we had planted together in our garden. She missed trees so much... If only I could give her an entire forest, but this small patch of a garden was all I could offer.

"It's been just ten minutes." She pushed the glasses to the top of her head and raised an eyebrow at me. "Maybe the real reason for the concerned look on you face is the fact that other men can see me shining while they're flying over our garden. And might decide to come explore–"

I growled low and stopped in front of her, one hand going on her thigh and my tail encircling her ankle. My face was at the level of her chest, so I had to look up to meet her amusement-filled gaze.

"Do not toy with my fears, Dei-dre. Deny me claiming for refusing to take you to the war room, but don't do... this!"

"This? Oh, tiger!" She cupped my face with both hands, callused from the use of her bow but exactly as I had always imagined my mate's hands would be like: the hands of a warrior. "You think me so cruel? If I should punish you for something, it's for suspecting me of such forms of payback."

She did give a lock of my hair a light tug but quickly went on. "I was angry that Sue is allowed on the war council but no other woman is, so I didn't put on those pieces of useless clothing you call a 'robe worthy of my mate'. But this – me enjoying the garden in daylight, without fear of being attacked or being seen by a human like in the old days – is exactly that: me enjoying the garden."

I grunted disapprovingly. Even so, her skin was not meant for such prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. I didn't want her to be in pain! As for her decision not to wear my clothing, it was hardly surprising since every day she found a reason to deny me the splendid sight of her silvery curves outlined by the robe. That was a sight I'd had the pleasure of beholding only once, on day two of the christening of our new home.

"Is this dress so bad?" she teased, pretending my grunt had referred to her clothing, and not to her statement about the garden.

The dress was the opposite of bad. It was the formal wear of her brethren. She had been wearing it before sunrise this morning when I had picked her up from the Elvish kingdom we'd freed from the moon-cursed a month ago. Formal talks required formal clothing, I knew as much. Yet, I found this dress far more enticing than the combat one my Deidre usually wore.