Page 119 of A Sanctuary from Shadow
And drinking them by the gallon.
When Tansy cringed, I realized I’d made it seem like Briar needed the moonberries to get in the mood to screw me.
“It’s just a custom. Okay?”
“Dananns,” Ox muttered. “Can’t even let Beltane happen naturally.”
Right then, I shared his contempt.
I set my supper bowl beside my seat, Sionna already there to gobble my leftovers. “Anyway, toward the end of the night, Briar led me from the party, took me to a pretty little cabin he’d rented.”
Aunt Aylie rented, you mean.
I forced a dreamy smile. “He’d lit candles, brought us a fruit basket, some wine. And—uh—that’s where it happened.”
“Who initiated it?” Tansy probed. “And how?”
“He did.” I swallowed again. “He told me he wanted me, then he—uh—stripped off my clothes.” If I continued much longer, I was going to spontaneously combust.
Tansy wasn’t afraid of fire, however. She grinned, settling into the story. “Smashing. Then what happened?”
“Then—he kissed me, lifted me up, and laid me on the bed. He undressed himself and then—” My hand shook as I smoothed an eyebrow. “Then he laid down on me and, uh, just—” I made a flustered hand gesture, clicked my tongue. “Into me.”
The silence that followed was worse than the personal inquiries.
“He didn’t spend any time petting you?” Olea finally spoke, balancing the wine bottle on her knee. “Touching you? Readying you for such a pivotal moment?”
How could I say that I’d had sex but had never even felt my lover’s lips on my breasts? “Well—”
“Did he even check to make sure you were ready?” Tansy clutched her bulging cleavage, bereft for me.
“I—I don’t remember.”
Another lie. He totally hadn’t.
“My goddess,” Tansy breathed. “I imagine it must’ve hurt then.”
I coughed. “Yeah, it did.” Didn’t a deflowering always hurt? “But it didn’t last that long, so it wasn’t that bad.”
Their horror only compounded.
Olea looked sad. “You didn’t get the chance to learn the full joys of your body?”
I laughed at the verbose euphemism. “Not with Briar, but I’d already learned the full joys on my own. Trust me.”
That last spoken thought immediately embarrassed me. Nobody else minded, of course.
“Ah,” Sedge remarked. “Then you knew what you were missing. More’s the pity.”
I exhaled, seeing no point in disagreement. “Yeah.”
“Would this Briar be the bloke you were traveling with?” Pete’s voice sounded deeper, rougher.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him as I nodded.
“The one you’re meant to marry?”
I nodded again.
