Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
PENNY
“Silver, I was wondering if you’d like to go for a walk with me?” I ask Silver nervously as we finish our breakfast the next morning.
He looks at me with a bit of surprise before licking his lower lip and nodding his head. “I’d like that.” I smile at him nervously as Ryker takes my plate and Apollo takes Silvers.
“All right, be off with you both, have her back before dark,” Ryker says, making us both laugh as we exit the room.
We walk down the hall as we both stare silently ahead. I can feel my hands nervously gripping at the skirt of my dress. Why can’t I just reach out and grab his hand? Why does this man always make me so nervous?
As soon as we step out of the inn and onto the street, Silver reaches down and grips my hand firmly in his. My eyes meet his with surprise and he gives me a small smile, which I return.
“Where did you want to go?” he asks.
“Let’s head down to the docks,” I suggest.
We walk there in silence and head down the longest pier, stopping at the end to stare out into the ocean.
“Silver—”
“Penny—”
We both start talking at the same time.
We chuckle as we turn to face each other. “You go first,” I tell him.
He sighs, taking a deep breath before speaking.
“Penny, I’m sorry, I’m fucking this all up again.
I just feel so… confused? No, that’s not the right word.
I think I’m just afraid of your response to what I told you in the forest. I’ve been avoiding you, so I don’t have to hear what I think you’re going to say.
I’m terrified of what you’re going to tell me, I—”
“Silver,” I say firmly, cutting him off so he looks at me. “I love you.” I let out a long breath as he stares at me in shock. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for ages, but we always seem to get interrupted.”
“It’s what you were going to say in the oasis, wasn’t it?” he asks, his eyes alight with hope.
“It was, and when my throat was cut. I love you Silver,” I dig into my pocket and pull out a small leather pouch handing it to him. “Here, this is for you.”
“What is it?” he asks, staring at the pouch.
“Open it.”
He does, and he pulls out the ring. “Is this…”
“A wedding band.”
“But… we’re not married.”
I tilt my head as I look at him, he isn’t really this dumb is he?
Did he not get what I was trying to tell him?
I guess he clues into my thoughts when he sees my exasperated look, and his eyes widen with realization.
He puts the ring back in the pouch and shoves it in his pocket before reaching into a different one and pulling something out.
He grabs my hand in his before promptly dropping to one knee, making me gasp. Holy shit!
“Penny White, you are the love of my life. You’re the sun in my day, the moon in my night, and there hasn’t been a moment that’s gone by since I met you that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.
I love you, Penny, will you make me the happiest man in the world by marrying me and becoming my wife? ”
He opens his palm and I see a beautiful engagement ring there, making my jaw drop open.
Somehow I married five men but was never given an engagement ring before now.
Probably due to getting engaged in the most remote places imaginable, like the middle of a desert or inside a mountain.
But it makes this moment so much more special.
“Yes!” I gasp, holding out my hand and showing him which finger to place it on.
It fits perfectly and as he stands up, he clasps my face in his hands, his eyes dart to my lips as I do the same to him, realizing we’ve never kissed before.
How is that even possible? His lips slowly descend to mine as if he’s nervous, so I quickly take control and push myself up on my toes to close the gap.
After a moment, when I feel him relax I press my tongue into his mouth.
Luckily, he’s a quick learner and soon his tongue is pressing back into mine, making us moan together as our arms wrap around each other.
“Holy crap, is that Silver? Did he just propose to someone?” A female voice startles us and we turn to look down the pier.
I stare at the beautiful woman in shock. She wears a beautiful burgundy dress that hugs her figure perfectly. Her straight brown hair sits well past her shoulders. It’s a lot longer than it was the last time I saw her.
“Ria?” I ask, barely above a whisper.
I see her frown in confusion as her eyes roam over me. It takes her a full five seconds before she seems to realize who I am.
“Holy shit balls, Penny?!?” she practically screeches as she launches herself down the pier towards me, I take off running towards her and we crash into each other in the world’s biggest hug. We’re both crying as we try to speak to each other, but we just end up a blubbering, crying, laughing mess.
Eventually I notice the three men standing behind her, and I assume they’re her husband’s. Silver grips my shoulder as he pulls me back and offers me a handkerchief to wipe my face.
“Thanks,” I tell him as I try to clean my face up and get myself under control.
I notice Ria doing the same, one of her men offering her a handkerchief, before the cry of a baby draws my attention to the third man, who’s cradling a tiny infant against his chest.
I stare at it for a moment until my eyes widen in realization and my head snaps around to look at Ria. My jaw drops open, and I don’t know what I want to ask first.
She just laughs before saying, “Yeah, so, a lot has happened since I last saw you.”
“Is… is it yours?” I ask tentatively. She nods her head and I can see the happiness radiating from her smile.
“She is, this is little Bella Rose.” I hear Silver gasp and she takes the baby so I can see her tiny face.
“Ria… oh my god! I had no idea you were pregnant.” I turn to Silver, pointing my finger at him. “Why didn’t you tell me she was pregnant?!” I whisper yell, not wanting to disturb the baby.
He puts up his hands in defense. “I didn’t know! I swear.”
“Hmm… Okay, I guess I believe you.” He smiles with relief before bending down to give me a quick peck on the lips, making my cheeks heat. It might take me a little time to get used to him kissing me so freely.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute! Did I just see Silver propose to you?”
“Umm… Yep!” I say, popping the p.
“Wow, that’s amazing! I always said he deserved a good woman, he’s a really great guy.”
“Darlin’... don’t say things like that about another man, you know how it annoys us,” the slimmest of the three men whines at her.
“Oh hush, Huxley, you know I only love you three. Besides, Silver has Penny now.”
She frowns before looking at me. “You might want to think about getting more mates though, it’s not the safest place… this world. You do know about multiple mates, right? How long have you been here?”
I laugh at all her questions. “Ahh… yeah… about that. Silver’s actually my last mate.”
“Oh! Do you have a couple others around somewhere?” She looks around her husband’s as if my men might be hanging around nearby.
“Yeah, something like that,” I tell her as I look over my shoulder at Silver and smirk.
I can’t wait to see her face when she sees how many mates I have.
“I’ve been here for around six months… I think.
I’ve been looking for you this whole time.
Unfortunately, I ended up on the wrong side of the kingdom and had to make my way across it.
Luckily, I ran into Silver, who recognized your name and promised to take me to you. ”
“Okay, wow, it sounds like you have quite the story to share.”
“As do you, I’m sure,” I say, smirking at her as I motion to her three pirate mates.
She laughs before smiling affectionately at her mates. “Yeah, I do.”
I pull her into another hug before whispering in her ear, “Just tell me you are happy here, right?”
I feel her nod as she whispers back, “So happy, and you?”
“Yes, the happiest.” We hug each other a little tighter before letting go.
“It’s good to see you guys, but where is your ship?” Silver asks the other men.
“We decided to take shore leave for Ria to have the baby and make sure she was doing well, before we take her onboard. The men wanted to keep sailing, so they are coming back for us in three months.”
“That explains it then, we were a bit worried when we heard it left a few weeks ago.”
“Yeah, the men wanted to stick around for the birth, then stayed for another two weeks to make sure we were okay before leaving.”
“You’re going to raise the baby on the ship?” I ask, a bit surprised.
“For now. If we don’t think it’s working, we can always change our minds and find somewhere to live. What about you? Where are you going to be living?”
“We’re going to try living in Maplewick, one of my mates, Ryker, is from that village.”
“Oh good! That’s not too far from the dock at Westhaven Harbor, so we’ll be able to see you whenever we dock there.”
“Why don’t we make arrangements to meet up later for dinner?” Ria asks, looking around at everybody there.
“Actually, your timing is rather perfect,” Silver says, his arm going around my shoulder as he pulls me into his side. “We’re getting married, and I’m hoping one of you could officiate our wedding, as the captain of a ship.”
“Oh yes! Bazz, you should do it!“ She turns her pleading eyes to one of her mates.
“Of course.”
He nods and Ria throws her arms in the air yelling, “Woo hoo! Oh my god!” She spins to me with wide eyes. “I’m going to get to go to your wedding? Oh my goodness, this is so exciting! You need a dress, and flowers, and something blue…”
I laugh at her enthusiasm. “Calm down girl, I’m a pro at this, this isn’t my first wedding after all.”
“Damn girl, good for you!” I laugh, thinking how amused she’ll be to see my full harem.
“So, when do you want to do this?” Ria’s mate, Huxley, asks Silver.
“Tonight,” Silver answers straight away, surprising me with his eagerness. When I look at him with my eyebrows raised, a slow smile crosses his face. I have a feeling I know what his rush is, and I feel the blush rising in my cheeks again.
“Well, we better go get ready then, but where will we do it?”
“How about right here, on the pier?” Silver suggests.
“Oh, yes! That’s perfect!” I say as I clap my hands together. Ria and I hug goodbye and make plans to meet here for my wedding later that day.
Silver and I head back to the inn, our hands clasped together as I swing our arms back and forth, humming a happy tune to myself.
“I’ve never seen you this happy,” Silver comments.
“What’s not to be happy about? I have you, I’ve seen Ria and know she’s alive and well, now there’s nothing else I need to worry about.”
I guess I was lucky that all my other wedding days were sunny, because as I walk down the aisle with Drake and Apollo escorting me, the heavy rain pours down on us. They suggested we do it inside the lobby of the inn, but I refused. My stubbornness won out in the end.
One of Ria’s mates, Calix, stayed back at the place they’re living at with the baby while Ria, Bazz and Huxley came to join us.
Because of the rain, I didn’t get a chance to introduce my mates to Ria yet, so I don’t think she’s aware of how many I actually have.
Once we’ve said our vows, Silver carries me all the way to the inn and when we get inside with my other mates and our three guests, I start the introductions.
“Ria, I’d like you to meet my other mates and husbands.
This is Ryker, I met him when I first arrived and jumped on a giant eagle.
He jumped on behind me and saved me from falling off.
Then we were dumped on top of a snowy mountain where we met Braxton.
” I point to my next mate. “He saved us from a snowprowler, which is like a giant white saber-tooth tiger, before carrying me back to his cave all caveman style.
The two of them basically told me how things work here and that they wanted to be with me and that was that.
“Then we headed down the mountain and an avalanche trapped us inside. When we came out, I fell down the mountain where I met Indy.” I point to him.
“He saved me from a bullicorn, yes that’s a cross between a bull and a unicorn, before sweeping me up on his horse and carrying me to safety.
He then helped save me from bandits, along with Drake.
” I point to Drake at the end. “But at the time, Drake was wearing a mask and I just thought of him as my masked savior as he disappeared right after saving me.
“Then I met Silver as he and his friends helped Braxton and Ryker find me in the forest. We stayed at his tavern for a while after we realized that he knew who you were and that you were okay. We finally decided to cross the desert, and I was sort of attacked by a giant sand worm and ended up in the middle of the desert alone for several days. Apollo here saved me.” I point to my last mate.
“He has a super cool water power and brought me back to his oasis, where he nursed me back to health until the others could find me. But then I was taken from them by a group of bandits who used some sort of magical knockout gas and when we arrived in the eastern woods, Drake saved me by taking them all out.”
I watch as Ria’s eyes get bigger and bigger with each part of my story. When I finally finish, she just stares at me silently for a full minute before she speaks. “Oh damn, that is a lot. It sounds like you need at least six mates to keep you safe, Pen!”
“That’s what we keep saying,” Ryker says, pulling my wet body against his.
“Yes, and as much as we’d like to keep chatting, everyone is soaking wet and Penny and I have business to attend to,” Silver states as he moves in front of me. He bends down and throws me over his shoulder, taking me by surprise as he marches up the stairs.
I lift my head and wave at Ria. “Bye Aquaria, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Silver slaps my ass and I add, “Let’s make that a few days!” She laughs as I’m carried up the stairs and out of sight.
Silver opens the door before pushing it shut and setting me on my feet.
“Now, Sweetheart, you have been teasing me with this body for months now. I’ve had to watch all of your mates touch you time and time again, so tonight…” He grabs a chair and wedges in under the door handle before stalking towards me with a predatory gaze in his eyes. “You’re mine.”