Jasper’s explanations helped everything to fall into place in her mind. Dawn rolled over onto her stomach. Her hand itched for a pencil to write down her thoughts before she lost track of them all. “Avarice. She seems more like a succubus, stealing the essence of men to use for her own purposes.”
Jasper pushed down the blankets to rest a hand in the small of her back. She hated reminding him of what Ava took from him, but they needed to openly discuss the matter. No more misunderstandings, he had said. Jasper’s hand followed the line of her vertebrae. “Perhaps that is how she twisted her trait. The definition does fit her – an insatiable desire for more, an extreme of greed and covetous. The larger question is how does that help us defeat her and remove her from our sanctuary?”
When Dawn tackled enemies in her garden, she looked at how they thrived and then removed that element. If only they could rid the estate of Ava in the same way. She doubted a spray of hot water and soap would do it, even though it worked on black mould on plants. There was a further clue in Jasper’s words that even a personality trait has an opposite. “The opposite to greed or avarice would be selflessness; perhaps the antidote lies in that?
“My name reflects my trait. In me, Dawn has meant nurturing, for on a fundamental level that is the giving of life, the first blush of a new beginning. What if the opposite of my trait was dusk, the death of day and the ability to extinguish life?” Did she have a black thumb to balance her green one? The idea of taking a life fell cold through her stomach. She couldn’t even comprehend how to do that, let alone whether she could do it, no matter the stakes.
Jasper pulled her closer. “I would prefer we found a way to kill Ava with kindness.”
Dawn’s fingers rapped on Jasper’s chest as she thought. “I think Lettie has a role to play yet. You said Ava targeted her from her first day in the house. I think Lettie threatens her, so Ava has to keep her weakened.”
“Or it could simply have been jealousy. Julian and I both adore Lettie, and Ava couldn’t stand sharing him.” He picked up her hand and examined her arm. “The scratches look less angry on your body, as though the Cor-vitis has soothed them.”
Dawn glanced down. The cuts did seem to have lost some of their heat, and the itch had almost gone. “I hope the heart grape is fighting the python vine for me.” She wanted to live. Please God or Gaia or whoever, let me live. “Water is Ava’s weakness, I am sure of it.”
Jasper placed her hand back on his chest. “How do we use that to our advantage? Lure her out to the lake?”
Dawn sat up as ideas exploded in her head. “First I need to claim the Ravensblood tree from her, before it suffers any more. To do that, I need a moat.”
“A moat?” The frown was back on Jasper’s face.
This time Dawn did reach out and try to iron out the wrinkles. She rubbed her thumb between his eyes and pulled the skin taunt. “Yes. If we surround Ava with water, it may weaken her further. It should mean she would be trapped for whatever we decide to do next.”
He made a noise as he considered the idea. “Let’s discuss where and how you want a moat in the morning. We can’t do anything until it is light. Now, while the estate slumbers, there are other things I would discuss with you.”
“Like what?” Dawn didn’t know what was left to discuss. She thought they had done admirably well at ironing out all the wrinkles in their fledgling romance. Well, all wrinkles except for the one permanently etched in Jasper’s forehead.
“Let us discuss how many times I can make you gasp my name.” Then he rolled her under him and kissed her firmly even as his hands explored her body.
She quite approved of where this particular discussion was heading.
26
Dawn awoke the next morning refreshed, overheated, and somewhat squashed. Jasper clutched her tight to his chest and had partially rolled on top of her. She wondered if this was what every morning would be like from now on. Probably not, as Jasper no doubt had some enormous suite in the manor house. Did he have an equally large bed? Or perhaps he stood out in the garden like a statue at night. She should really ask.
As she squirmed in his tight grip, he rolled to his back and dragged her over with him.
“Does your skin cover your stone construction? You are as heavy as a brick wall,” she muttered as she draped herself on top of him. He seemed to maintain a constant temperature like a sun-heated wall. That would have benefits in winter, particularly if she could warm her cold toes against him.
“I didn’t want to let you go in case it was a dream and you were gone in the morning,” he murmured. Then he slid out from under her and reversed their positions, pressing her beneath him as she lay on her stomach. He trailed a line of kisses up the back of her spine that made her shiver. Then his tongue swooped over her skin and she imagined he followed a pattern laid by the Cor-vitis.
She clutched the pillow and stared at the marks on her arms. Once again the black spidery ones crept forth. “The lines are fading and Ava’s vine returns.”
“I know how to make the Cor-vitis mark come back.” His tongue licked lower to the small of her back and over the curve of her bottom. His teethed nipped her skin on the way down.
“Oh,” was all Dawn managed to gasp before she was fisting the pillow, unable to remember what she had been about to say.
Some time later, as Dawn’s outstretched hand flopped over the side of the bed, a wet nose pressed to her skin. She opened one eye and peered out to find Mouse sitting patiently by the bed. The wolfhound had nudged the bedroom door open and let the couple know he was still in the cottage.
“Mouse wants out,” Dawn said as she sat up.
Jasper laid a hand on her shoulder. “Before you go, you should know that unlike my brother, I have every intention of marrying my heart. I don’t want to overwhelm you. I know events have given you much to come to terms with, and I will not add to that until you have had time to grow used to life with me. But do expect a proposal in the near future, Miss Uxbridge.”
“Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed him. Then she picked up her discarded nightdress from the floor and pulled it back over her head as she walked to the front door.
Mouse took off with some speed, and Dawn suspected he had waited as long as he could before he let his needs be known. When she returned to the bedroom, Jasper had dressed.
“We have much to discuss, and we probably both need a decent breakfast. Will you join us in the manor house?” He reached out and pulled her to his chest.
She breathed him in and took a moment of peace and quiet before they faced the rest of the wider family. “Yes. I am famished for some reason. I just need a chance to wash and dress so I am presentable.”
“I find you entirely presentable with nothing on at all.” He kissed her throat and then let her go.
Dawn touched her fingers to her neck to press his kiss into her skin. She didn’t think she could ever get enough of his touch. And at long last she had found a way to remove the frown from his face.
Cor-vitis – drunk on love. She had an inkling of what that meant now as it fizzed in her veins and made her feel more alive than ever before.
After breakfast, the entire extended family gathered in the library, including Dr Day, who had been summoned.
“You didn’t think I would be left out did you?” The doctor winked at Dawn, and then he scanned the room before fixating on Lettie.
She followed to where his attention lay, sitting beside Elijah. “Lettie seems much calmer this morning. I hope it is the first sign of real progress for her. My scratches have also settled down today.”
The doctor’s attention slid back to Dawn. “That is good news. Perhaps there is something in your theory of a vine scratch affecting Lady Letitia also, although from what I researched over the last few days, there is no way to remove it from her head without inflicting more damage.”