I might have stretched the truth a bit when I’d told Vienne my back wounds were fine. The fact was they irritated the hell out of me. The skin that had knitted back together stretched and burned every time I overextended my arms, like lifting them to remove my tunic.

Wincing, I discarded the shirt and spent another minute rotating my shoulders to get the scar tissue used to movement.

The first day I’d returned to the back bailey for training, I’d torn one cut open and it had started bleeding like a son of a bitch, so I’d mostly been yelling instructions since then. But I was getting tired of that. I needed action, combat, especially after I’d just watched my one true love depart to her room for the evening with her husband.

Convincing myself they were only tucking Anniston into her crib together before Soren went off to his own room far, far away from Vienne’s, I collapsed onto my back on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, feeling empty, only to wince when the mattress’s contact with my scars started to smart.

What had started as a restless evening had turned into revitalization in so many ways, only to switch to defeat by the end of the night.

Was this honestly how I was going to spend the rest of my life, aching for innocent games of chess in the evenings and yelling the same instructions over and over again to a group of sweaty soldiers during the day?

I wanted more than that. Yet I couldn’t break this hold I felt to stay close to her.

I’d already forgotten about my original goals to protect Allera. She’d settled in quite nicely with Brentley; she could take care of herself. And of course, I knew Vienne could see to herself as well; she was more competent than many gave her credit for. But I still wanted to remain close, witness her life, share her joys, grieve in her sorrows; I ached to be a part of all of that. With her.

So any ideas I might’ve had to leave this place and start fresh somewhere else drifted away as sleep claimed me.

I didn’t dream about the sand-heaped mounts of Donnelly or its darling little oasis in Mandalay, though. I transported myself to High Cliff, at the edge of the sea. Sitting on a lush green carpet of grass with my elbows resting on my bent knees, I watched the water froth and foam with a fascination that enthralled me. It was so savage and wild, yet majestic and poetically peaceful.

When I felt her presence nearing me from behind, a ripple of pleasure raced across my flesh. She sat beside me, close enough for our elbows to brush, her skin warm and dry. Inviting.

“Where is this?” she asked, wiping her windblown, blonde hair out of her eyes as she gazed at the sea as well.

I glanced at her, smiling softly as I watched the appreciation in her gaze. “It’s my childhood,” I said. “The Bjorn Cliffs.”

She looked up at me before returning her attention to the water. “So, that’s the Great Sea? I’ve never seen it before. It’s quite angry, isn’t it?”

I laughed and shook my head, amused by the description. “Angry?”

With a shrug, she grinned up at me. “Well, what would you call it?”

Biting my lip, I looked upon the sea as well. “Powerful,” I finally decided, flicking out a finger to point. “That there is just a little show of intimidation, flexing its muscles so you know who the alpha is.”

“Arrogant, then?”

“Definitely,” I agreed. “But it can afford to be. It has the clout to back up its roar.”

“Hmm. You really can’t see to the other side of it,” she mused. “I could never envision it whenever I’d heard the tales; I’m so used to sand, but now that I’m seeing it…” She shook her head. “It’s breathtaking. Do you really think there are other lands out there beyond it?”

I glanced at her curiously. “What? Didn’t you believe the explorers from Near Shore who claimed to have been to the Great Beyond?”

She only shrugged. “I’m not sure. I know they returned with artifacts, proving they’d been elsewhere, but the artifacts could’ve come from Corandra for all we know. The explorers were so sick and delirious, and they died soon after arriving home. It makes me wonder if one can truly believe the ramblings of crazy men.”

I smiled. “I don’t know. Sometimes the insane speak with more clarity than those lost in reality.”

She bumped her shoulder into mine. “Oh, so you’re a philosopher now, are you?”

I winked at her. “Just trying to impress you.”

She rolled her eyes but kept grinning as she sighed and returned her attention to the sea. “I wonder why we named ourselves the Outer Realms. Maybe whoever it is over there is the outer parts of us and not the other way around.”

I nodded. “Possibly. I mean, none of their explorers have ever made it over here to gather artifacts from us, now have they? It only makes sense that we’re more advanced and capable than them.” With a nod, I added, “Yes, I think you’re right. We should petition to rename ourselves to the…the…”

When I couldn’t come up with a suitable name, Vienne threw out a suggestion. “The Inner Realms?”

I laughed. “Yes. Exactly. I hereby rename us the Inner Realms.”

Chuckling as well, Vienne hooked her elbow through mine and scooted close enough that our sides pressed together. Then she rested her chin on my shoulder as she let out a delighted sigh. “You can be the one to petition that suggestion to Caulder.”

“Oh no,” I murmured, bumping against her playfully. “I believe that should fall to you. You’re the unassumingly persuasive one, after all.”

She started to roll her eyes before she looked up at me with a slight frown. “Wait. How did you know Nicolette had called me that?”

“Because I was hiding behind the curtains in the East Salon when she did.” The confession came easily, probably because this was a dream, I was sleeping, and my thoughts were utterly unfiltered. “I was watching you nap that day when she barged in.”

Her eyes widened. “Were you? Is this a habit of yours I should be concerned about?”

Shaking my head, I reached out to softly trace the outline of her face with my fingers. “Not at all, my lady. I’ve already decided not to spy on you like that again. It felt…invasive and wrong.” My gaze slid to hers. “And I don’t wish to wrong you. Ever.”

She had such dark brown eyes. They seemed to peer straight inside me as if reading every intimate facet of my soul. Then, with a small smile, she reached up and touched my mark. “Why do your people do this? Really?”

My eyes closed at the feel of her touch before I reopened them. Watching her study me, I said, “I’ve always teased that I have no idea why. But actually, I think I do know. A part of me understands, anyway. There’s just something about pairs that make things run more efficiently. Whoever started the custom wanted our kingdom to last as long as it could. I mean, don’t we move better on two legs? See better with two eyes. Hear better with two ears?”

Grinning, she slid her finger down from the corner of my eye to tap at the end of my nose. “Then why don’t we have two noses?”

“Ah, because we have two nostrils in each nose,” I answered before I nuzzled my nose into her neck.

She laughed and gripped my hair, controlling the tickle.

Not able to tease long before desire swelled, I moved my mouth to the flesh under her ear and gripped her hips in my hands. “Two hearts beat stronger than one,” I murmured. “We’re supposed to complement each other. Like night and day doling out the measurement of time, fire and ice to tell us the difference in temperature, black and white to give each color variety, salt and pepper to season our food, thunder and lightning to warn us of a storm—”

“Hugs and kisses to show the best affection,” she added, wrapping her arms around me and resting her cheek against my heartbeat.

“Exactly.” I hugged her back and kissed her cheek. “Being matched to you doesn’t take away what you already are. It can only add to it. You are still you, and I am still me. This will always be. We can take care of ourselves, live our own lives, go on our own journeys, but together…together, we make us, and traveling as an us down one road on our separate journeys... Well, we can help the other along the way, share our unique perspectives, encourage and entertain one another, combat the loneliness, love unceasingly.”

She lifted her face, her brown eyes solemn. “Except we can’t be together.”

I only smiled. “We’re together now.”

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “But this isn’t real.” Then she had to wrinkle her nose as if unsure whether she supported her own claim or not. “Right?”

Leaning in, I let my breath whisper against her ear. “It certainly feels real.”

She shuddered from the sensation, and goose bumps appeared on her arms. Looking up, she shook her head. “No. I would never feel this comfortable with you in real life. I certainly wouldn’t be so familiar with your person or act as if I knew you so well. It’s a dream,” she insisted with certainty.

“Then let’s never wake up,” I encouraged, kissing her jaw once, twice, then working my way to the side of her throat and moving down.

“Urban,” she said in a halfhearted protest even as she tipped her head to the side, allowing me more access. “We shouldn’t.”

“But it’s a dream,” I cajoled. “We can’t control what we do in our dreams. You certainly couldn’t seem to control yourself in that dream you had about me taking you against the wall, now could you?”

“No, but…” Her eyes flared open and she straightened to look at me with a slight frown. “Wait, you’re right. I didn’t seem to have any control in that dream? Why is this one so different? Why do I feel the sense of rationality to even protest this?”

I shrugged easily before saying, “Probably because this one is my dream and for some reason, I wish you to have your wits about you.” Then I frowned at myself and scratched my temple. “Though, for the life of me, I can’t imagine why I’d want that. I’d much rather you be stretched out naked and under me on this grass right now. Damn.” I snapped my fingers and waved my hand around the air over her head. “Okay, new dream. Lose your mind to lust for me, starting…now.”

She blinked at me before wrinkling her nose. “I don’t think it worked.”

“I don’t think it did either,” I grumbled. “Fuck. I was really looking forward to commanding a sex dream with you, too. Because oh, my sweet Vienne,” I told her with promise glittering in my eyes. “The things I would do to you…” Letting out a low whistle, I shook my head sadly. “You wouldn’t have been able to walk right the next day.”

Interest glittered in her eyes. “Really? Like…” Licking her lips, she glanced down demurely. “Like what would you have done?”

“A little bit of everything, I expect.” Reaching out, I cupped her jaw in my hand before sliding my fingers down her throat to the top button of her dress. “But I probably would’ve started slow. Soft.” Popping the top button at the base of her throat, I slid my fingers under the cloth so I could caress her collarbone. “Explore the terrain first, appreciate every dip and groove. Discover and learn.”

When another button released on its own, opening the cloth at her throat wider, I leaned in to press my mouth against the center of her breastbone. “The first journey to a new place should never be rushed, don’t you think?” I opened more buttons to reveal the top swell of her breasts. “It should be savored. Treasured.”

When her nipple came into view, I clasped it greedily between my teeth. She groaned and sank all ten fingers in my hair before gripping and shifting closer, climbing into my lap until she was riding me, the thick ridge of my erection fitting right up against the notch between her legs.

“Oh God,” she moaned, tossing her head back and clutching me harder as I shifted my attention from one breast to the other. “Oh God.”

She ground down until I let out a strangled grunt. “Or you could call me Urban,” I teased, lifting my face to trail kisses up the side of her throat.

“Urban,” she gasped, clutching at me with hard fingers as she clamped her thighs around my hips and rode me with a rhythm that was growing increasingly too hot way too fast.

“Easy, my love,” I murmured, clutching her waist and easing her onto the grass before I urged her to lie back and relax.

“But I want—”

I placed a finger against her lips and smiled into her brown eyes. “I know,” I said. “And I’ll give it. I’ll give you everything.”

“But—”

“Starting here,” I went on, reaching just under the skirt of her dress to catch her ankle in my hand.

Vienne fell silent and went still as she watched me caress the underside of her foot before I placed a kiss to the arch and then the heel, then the ends of her toes.

“You’re very good at that,” she said.

I smiled, meeting her gaze as my mouth moved up, over the notch at her ankle and toward her knees. Her breath caught, chest heaved, and eyes glazed with interest the further I moved, one kiss at a time. I liked watching her watch me, her awe and delight was palatable. I could almost taste her pleasure, which was actually the ultimate goal here. Tasting her one lick at a time.

“Urban,” she said with much hesitation, her eyes widening as my attention moved above her knee to the tender inside of her thigh.

“It’s okay,” I assured her, my smile soft before my tongue came out to slide along warm flesh. “It’s just a dream, remember?”

“Oh my God!” With a yelp of shock, she tried to sit up, which dislodged me from my path. Her breaths were unsteady, chest heaving, and expression dazed. “What were you doing?”

No one had ever tasted her there before. The realization gave me a jolt of power; I was more than eager to give her her first experience.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I murmured, sitting up myself so I could take her hands and press my brows to hers. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

But I was determined to continue.

She sucked in a breath and shook her head. “You didn’t. I just… It’s just that… It felt like more than I could handle.”

With a nod of understanding, I kissed the tip of her nose. “Do you trust me?”

Looking up into my eyes, she stared at me solemnly before whispering, “Yes.”

“Good. Then lie back down, my lady. I’ll show you just how much you can handle.” When she did, slowly, her eyes never leaving mine, I smiled slowly. “Now open for me.”

Her eyes widened, but when I set my palms on her knees and moved them apart, spreading her before me, she let me, watching me take in all the treasures I exposed.

Nodding, she gulped in an audible breath, even as she repeated, “I trust you.”

“You should. I’d die before ever hurting you.” Then I pressed my mouth back to the spot where I’d left off on the inside of her thigh.

This time, she let out a sigh of pleasure. As I worked my way up her leg, she didn’t stop me, but her muscles tensed. When I was inches from my goal, her fingers found my hair and latched on. I covered them with my own hand, reassuring her as best I could, and then…then I lapped at the tangy nectar that seeped from between her legs.

God, she was already wet for me, her flavor strong and intense. I moaned from the experience while she gasped and bowed up her hips sharply against my mouth. My tongue dove deeper between fleshy folds, flicking over the muscled nub I found inside.

“Oh, mother of all mercy,” she shrieked, clenching my hair tight, tugging even harder as her hips strained against my mouth.

Then I slowed things down, stroking the area completely with the flat of my tongue in long, languid strokes. She moaned low, undulating against me. My cock was so hard in my trousers, I squeezed my eyes closed to focus more on her. And just when she accustomed herself to my rhythm, I changed it up with a couple more short teasing tongue-flicks before sucking hard on her clit and thrusting a finger inside her.

“Oh my God!” she yelped. “Urban. Urban.” My name was fast and seeking, quick jabs of sound from her lips. She thrashed her head back and forth, chanting, “No. No. You can’t. What’re you—Oh… My… God…Yes.”

The orgasm was potent. It came like the sea that watched us, crashing violently against the walls of her womanhood, flooding her channel and invading her with a wet wash of power. It was a thing of beauty. And tasting all that against my tongue was an honor I’d never forget.

When she finished, like a tired tide drifting sleepily back out to sea, she sighed and went lax under me.

I took a moment to lap up the last of her juices before lifting my face and watching her set her arm over her eyes and begin to laugh.

“Oh my God,” she admitted in a somewhat bashful voice. “That was… That was…”

“You liked?” I asked smugly, certain she had. Untying the laces on my trousers, I watched her bite her lip and remove her arm from her eyes so she could meet my gaze. Before she could answer, though, her attention fell to where I was pulling myself from the opening of my pants.

I wrapped my hand around the base and pulled the skin in tight so the length of my cock could jut out proudly for her perusal. When she took too long studying me, I slowly began to stroke myself until a drop of precum beaded from the tip.

This must’ve found favor with her because she licked her lips hungrily and opened her legs for me, all of her own accord this time, before shifting her gaze up to my eyes.

I smiled and crawled over her until I was staring down into her face. Bracing myself with one hand in the grass by her cheek, I lined up my erection with her moist opening. Her lips parted and she breathed deeply, waiting for me to continue.

She was so goddamn beautiful it made my chest hurt.

“I think I understand now why I wanted you to keep your rational thought in my dream,” I said.

Her lashes fluttered as her gaze moved down my throat and chest before she looked up into my face again, her eyes dazed with spent lust. Then she shook her head slightly, not quite recovered from her orgasm, I think. “What?”

I twined our fingers together and pressed my forehead to hers. “I wanted you to accept me not only with your body, but with your mind. I wanted you to want this—want me—in every way. Just like I want you in every way.”

Her gaze held mine steady as she whispered, “I do.” Then she kissed me, her mouth opening and tongue coiling with mine. Breaking away with a gasp, she gripped my hair and rasped, “I do, Urban. I want you. In too many ways. Just please… Finish it.”

I pushed inside her, granting her wish.

She cried out, surging up to meet me. Silken wet heat enveloped me in the most intimate of hugs, and I groaned before slanting my mouth across hers and kissing her hungrily.

“Vienne.” I couldn’t stop moving, burying myself over and over again in her heaven. “Are you…? Is this…?”

“Yes!” she gasped, accepting me deeper, holding me tighter, kissing me harder. “Yes!”

It was more than I could take. Hiding my face in the nook of her neck where the scent of her hair coated my face, like thick golden sunshine, I emptied into her, mashing my hips to hers and filling myself with a joy that transcended joy. She clenched around me, gasping through her own pleasure as her body contracted around mine. We came in shocking waves, rolling over and over again, tumbling into each other, merging in only the way lovers can.

Finishing with a groan, I collapsed on top of her, and burrowed myself into her waiting arms.

She held me like I was a lost soul that had just found his way home.

“My lady,” I rasped, petting her hair, unable to stop touching her. “My Vienne. How I’ve waited for this. For you.”

“And I you,” she murmured, stroking me slowly in much the same manner I was her.

I lifted my face, surprised for some reason.

She smiled softly, tears of joy matted in her eyelashes. “I’ve always wanted to feel…close to another. But I never thought it would happen.” Pressing her palm gently to my cheek, she gazed adoringly at me. “I never thought you would happen.”

More pleased than I had been moments ago while I was pulsing and jetting inside her, I grinned and crushed my smile to hers.

For that moment, we were one. One true loves. Until the cry of an infant interrupted us, and the dream began to fade into wakefulness, where I came awake with a curse of denial on my lips as I lay alone in my own bed, staring up at a cold, stone ceiling.