To Love, Once Again

Chapter 65

"Awaken, my Queen."

Lucien kisses Sera's quivering eyelashes, making her sigh, so comfortable in Lucien's arms.

Warm water lapped at her skin, surrounding her in a soothing warmth. She giggles when he runs his nose over her sensitive, delicate neck, finally opening her groggy eyes.

"Where are we?" Sera looks around her to see that they were in Lucien's room, in the same bath she'd bathed him in before, this time together. The bath was a perfect luxurious temperature that made her warm up from the coolness of the rain outside. Sera was still sleepy, but the lather  Lucien was working into her hair with his thick fingers felt amazing.

Falling asleep in a small stable while the rain fell around them, and then waking up in a soothing bath was a bit jarring to her. It was like teleporting from one spot to another.

Or maybe this was a dream she was having in her sleep? That couldn't be right. 

The water trickled over her shoulders and swirled around her body with Lucien's slight movements washing her hair behind her. Two of them in the porcelain claw-footed bathtub, Sera sitting atop Lucien's lap with eyelids drooping when he dug his fingers deeper into her scalp, massaging the soap in.

The feeling the length of Lucien's body under her was making her hyper-sensitive. Her body might melt like butter if she went another round with Lucien tonight.

"In the castle" He chuckles in a low voice. Looks like his Sera was still groggy, to not recognize this room when she awoke.

Lucien picks out each varying piece of straw that had woven itself into her hair.

"Does your face still hurt?" He asks, tracing his tongue ever so gently over the bruise, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Sera shakes her head, a clump of soap bubbles falling from her hair. "Only a little" 

Humming in response,"Close your eyes" Lucien begins to rinse her hair, using a bowl to splash water on her while his other hand laid atop her forehead to keep the soap water from getting in her eyes.

"I'll put some ointment on it once we're all clean." He kissed her other, uninjured cheek.

Sera lowers her lashes, playing with Lucien's hand that circled her waist, weaving their fingers, large and small, together.

"I'm so glad you found me, Lucien."

With the danger behind them and the roaring fire of need slightly appeased by their violent lovemaking, the couple talked over what had happened to them during the separation.

"How did you do it?"  Her Lucien would act like a big, red dog at times, so friendly and mischievous with her....Did Lucien have the scenting capabilities of a hound, too?

"It's this, the ring." Lucien holds up her left hand, the jewel on her ring catching the lamplight as it glowed on her finger.

"There's a search mechanism on it." Sera could feel a slight pressure in the room as the glow in the ring began to burn brighter.

"You don't have to do that, Lucien! You're using your mana now, aren't you?" Lucien had never used his magic so easily, indiscriminately like this before. The fights in the Great War too, he'd barely used mana, relying on his swordsmanship to survive. Because he hadn't had the vast mana pool. It wasn't that he wouldn't but simply, he couldn't.