The firelight flickered across the stone walls of the
castle, casting long, shifting shadows that danced in the dim light. James lay
back in the large bed, the covers tousled around him as Lynara curled beside
him, her fiery blue hair cascading over his chest. Her breath was slow and
even, her hand resting gently against his side, the heat from their earlier
passionate encounter still lingering in the air.
James stared up at the ceiling, his mind drifting in and out
of a haze of satisfaction and contemplation. Lynara's intensity was something
he had never quite experienced before, and the connection they had forged felt
powerful, almost primal. Yet, as his body relaxed, his mind turned to something
else, something that had stirred deep within him as they made love, something
old and forgotten.
He gently untangled himself from Lynara's embrace, careful
