Chapter Ten #3
She lay back and just relaxed. She shifted her thighs and listened to the roar of the ocean. When the distant scent of food reached her, she smiled. Kaz knew she was back. He hadn’t rushed. Decompression time after being with people was important.
She took a sip of fruit juice and smiled. Meeda was three miles off the shore playing tag with some dolphins. Kaz was three minutes away. The baby was here, and Eudora was going to make their ads. It was a very relaxing day.
Becoming Mia’s silent partner was one of the best decisions she had ever made. She wondered what decision she would make next. Her instinct for her life’s choices always astonished her.
She heard the rustling of the bags and turned her head toward Kaz. “Hello.”
He smiled and walked over to crouch next to her. “Hello, beautiful. How was the delivery?”
“Xiroth did good, and Jennika did amazing. The little boy is beautiful, and I can hardly wait until his ears get pointy and he goes dark blue. Oh, he has pixie marks on his back.”
Kaz looked at her and smiled. “It is good to see you.”
“I was gone for twelve hours.”
“And I missed you every one of those hours.”
“But I saw a cute baby. Do all the guys on a colony mission get training on how to be a good birthing partner?”
He grinned. “Training? No. Are we old enough to be smart enough for that? Yes. There is a basic coverage for how our physiology will impact the local population.”
“Oh, that must have been an interesting lecture.”
“It was fascinating.” He trailed his fingers down her neck, and he moved them over her torso, across her belly, and he flattened his palm below her navel. “Our entire future will begin here.”
“Will it?”
He grinned. “It will. When you are ready and not before.”
“Ah, finally made it through the squid brain.”
“Octopus. They are very smart. Rather, we are smart.” He wrinkled his nose. “You are a lovely gold colour, but you had best go in before you burn.”
She laughed. “I have been out half an hour.”
“Yes, but you were gone for twelve hours. You need to spend some time in bed.”
Vine looked at him and smiled slowly. “Do I?”
“As your physical therapist, I would have to say yes. As your lover, I say definitely.”
She grinned. “I suppose that’s good enough for me.” She sat up, and he lifted her, carrying her out of the sun and into the shade. “Another swim this evening?”
He laughed. “Of course. My friends arrived today. I think that one out of the three is a match for Meeda.”
“So, a cadre of ocean mermen have landed on Wonder, and I am stuck in this villa with you?”
He snorted and kicked the door to their bedroom shut, sending magic to lock it behind them. “I am thinking I need to keep you with me, possibly until we return home.”
She laughed brightly and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I want to see more of the island. I need to find something for Tuvel.”
He slid his hands behind her, and the clasps gave way. “Tomorrow, we can shop, but tonight, I want to make sure you are fully invested in me.”
“I see.”
He chuckled. “While you were gone, Meeda helped me with something.”
“Now, who is after merfolk?”
He grinned and reached into his loose trousers. He pulled out a box and set it on the bedside table before he slid the bathing top off.
“Um, I am either under- or overdressed right now.” She looked down at naked skin and swim briefs.
“I am a half-in, half-out person myself, as you know.” He chuckled.
“Not after we got you to fit.”
He groaned and pressed his forehead between her breasts. “Vine Apricot Lane, will you marry me?”
Vine blinked. “What?”
He lifted his head and looked at her. “Will you marry me? You don’t want others, and even if you do, we can deal with them after I come up with a complicated enough qualifier.”
She laughed.
He held up the box and opened it with his thumb. A large black pearl was the centrepiece, and she could feel a dozen little pearls in the settings. They each had a different signature, and she could feel the welcome to power that it offered her. “Oh, Kaz, it’s lovely.”
“Is that a yes?”
She grinned. “Yes.”
They kissed, and her briefs disappeared as well as his clothing. They slid against each other until he worked inside her, and then they moved together in celebration and spent the evening repeating the confirmation that she had said yes.
Seated with some fresh food, Mia and Meeda were waiting for them. Congratulations all around, and after they had eaten, Meeda said, “What was the best piece of advice you got when you thought about a mate?”
Kazuya grinned and sipped at his drink. He waved for her to be honest.
Vine shrugged. “Well, when I asked Jennika about intimacy with Xiroth compared to previous lovers, she simply said, it varies.”
Meeda frowned. “It varies?”
Vine sighed. “It varies.”
“Oh. Oh! ”
They all laughed. Kazuya looked a little sheepish, but then, even his elf penis could move on its own. If it started cleaning up in the bedroom, they were going to have a chat. There were only some things a mage could put up with, and she drew the line at tentacles in the bedroom.
They had a lake after all.