Chapter 20
Twenty
Keoni
"This is nice," Zephyr said with a soft sigh, and I smiled as I glanced over at him. He was spread out on his front beside me on a large blanket, with his arms folded under his chin.
The sun was bright and warm above us, the breeze thick with the scent of salt and sea.
We were in Ocean, one of my favorite areas in the Sanctuary.
It'd been a few days since Zephyr and Rei's reunion, and I'd dragged him here today for a do-over of that date.
Instead of going out into the human world again, I'd figured we'd earned a relaxing day at the beach, so here we were.
Jacinta had helped me arrange everything with a blanket from their own collection, as well as a huge basket full of food to snack on.
They'd also found a vast parasol, and it offered just enough shade for us to sit comfortably.
I ran my palm over Zephyr's bare back, and he hummed. If he was a cat shifter, I was sure he'd be purring.
"Maybe you should put on some sunscreen," I mumbled, feeling the warmth of his skin.
"I don't get sunburn. Don't worry," he mumbled, sounding sleepy. Then he turned his head to look at me, his eyes soft and glowing bright in the sunshine. "Are you comfortable?"
Sitting in the blanket-covered sand was a new experience for me. When I had to use the cart, sitting wasn't an option, but now that I could control my back legs, I could sit the way other centaurs did, with my legs folded under me.
"I'm good. This is much more comfortable than lying on my side," I said with a grin, making him smile.
We sat in silence for a while, and I watched the waves as I ran my palm up and down his back to their tempo. This part of the beach was communal, so there were no homes in the stretch of water before us, and Jacinta had promised we'd get privacy for as long as we wanted to stay.
It had still taken Zephyr a while to relax, but he'd finally melted into the blanket. If he let me, I'd drag him here every day, because after all the stress of the past year, he deserved some R and R.
"Wanna take a dip?" he asked as he leaned up on an elbow, and I grinned.
"Sure!"
Thankful that both our aids were waterproof—Draven took care of everything—I stood up, then offered Zephyr my hand.
He pulled himself up, and we padded over the warm sand.
I hummed as the water washed over my hooves.
It was cold, but not too bad. Enough to be refreshing without chilling us to the bone.
We held hands as we waded deeper, stopping when the water reached our chests. There was no risk of getting swept away, since though the water looked unending just like an ocean, there was an edge. Plus, Zephyr would never let either of us drown.
I pulled Zephyr close, wrapping my arms around his waist as he slid his around my neck, his blue eyes sparkling with sunlight. While we both had blue eyes, the color of his was much closer to that of the water around us, and when he smiled, they lit up like the water did when the sun made it gleam.
"Thank you for arranging this," Zephyr murmured as he rested his forehead against mine, and I smiled.
"It was my pleasure. Though I should probably tell you Jacinta helped, or they'd make me pay."
Zephyr chuckled, then brushed his lips over mine.
I opened my mouth and ran the tip of my tongue over his lower lip, tasting salt and warmth and joy.
We kissed slowly, like we had all the time in the world—which we did—and warmth suffused my whole being, though I couldn't tell if it was because of the sun or Zephyr's closeness. Maybe both.
My crush on him from when we first met felt childish compared to the way I felt about Zephyr now, maybe because back then, I'd only seen one facet of him.
I'd looked up to him, seen him as the man who saved me.
He'd been bigger than life, and while he was still that, he was also much more. .. human, for want of a better word.
I could see the other sides of him now. The insecurity about his arm that he'd hidden so well, the way he would let me do anything I wanted to him in the bedroom if I allowed it, the way he was still haunted by his past, the way he was so fucking bad at asking for help.
The more I learned about Zephyr, the more I fell for him, the words dancing at the tip of my tongue.
I wanted to tell him, but I didn't want to rush him.
I'd wanted him for a lot longer than he'd wanted me.
Hell, until I came clean about my age, I hadn't even been on his radar.
It would take him a while to get where I was, and I didn't want to push him into saying something he wasn't ready to admit or, worse, didn't feel.
Not saying it didn't make my love for him any less strong, so I didn't care. Just knowing I loved him was enough, and just because I couldn't tell him didn't mean I couldn't show him.
We separated with soft, gasping breaths, holding each other as the waves moved around us.
An idea popped into my head, and I released my hold on Zephyr, prompting him to do the same. I took a few steps back, putting some distance between us as he watched me with a confused frown, clearly disliking the space I'd put between us.
Before he could question it or come closer, I dipped my hand into the water and jerked it toward him.
Splash!
Zephyr stared at me, wide-eyed, as water dripped from his hair, and I laughed loudly. His eyes narrowed, and his hand went under.
I tried to duck, but couldn't avoid the giant splash he sent my way. Another laugh spilled from my lips as I splashed him again, and we devolved into a bunch of kids as we splashed and threw water at each other until we were both soaked.
Zephyr
Gasping for breath, I grinned at Keoni as we finally tired ourselves out, and he shook his head, releasing water from his hair like a puppy. An adorable, blue-eyed puppy.
"Come on, I'm hungry. Let's dry off and see what Jacinta packed for us," Keoni said, and my stomach growled in answer, making him chuckle. He took my hand in his, as always uncaring about which hand he held, and we waded back toward the beach.
The sand stuck to my feet as I walked toward the blanket, and Keoni's hooves didn't seem to be doing much better. I waited until we were seated on the blanket before removing every grain of sand from our bodies and the blanket, and Keoni shot me an appreciative smile.
I'd realized that Keoni always noticed when I used my magic to make something easier for us, no matter how small the action was.
For me, my magic was like another limb, and I didn't think twice about using it.
But I still liked it when Keoni noticed the things I did, and I felt embarrassed by just how much.
"Okay, let's see," Keoni mumbled as he opened the basket and peered inside. "We have sandwiches, veggie wraps, some pasta, and for dessert-slash-drinks, we have juice boxes!"
Chuckling at his enthusiasm, I helped him take out the food, and split it between us, giving him the larger share since I didn't eat as much. Centaur appetite was on a whole other level.
We ate in companionable silence for the most part, though Keoni paused between bites to wax poetic about Jacinta's cooking, which I had to admit was better than any I'd tasted in the last two centuries.
Once we'd demolished most of the food, Keoni packed the rest away—the basket was spelled to keep the food inside fresh—and I moved closer to him, leaning into his side as I stuck the straw into my juice box.
He was already sucking away on his, and I'd gotten distracted by the sight of his lips wrapped around the slim straw.
While we had slept in my bed every night since the nipple-play night—I'd started calling it that in my head at some point, and now I was just hoping I wouldn't accidentally say it out loud—something or the other had kept us from getting intimate.
My gaze slid to Keoni's nipples as I drew in a mouthful of the fruit juice, and my cheeks heated as I imagined sucking on them again. I knew nipple play could be fun, but I'd never thought it could be fun for the player and not just the playee.
Shaking my head, I pushed that thought to the back of my mind for the time being. We were in a public space, and while Keoni had assured me we'd have privacy, I didn't want to test it.
Searching my mind for a different topic, I remembered the thought I'd had yesterday. I'd meant to talk to Keoni about it, but it'd slipped my mind.
"I was thinking..." I started, and Keoni turned to look at me, giving me his full attention.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it's time to invite a new member into the Sanctuary?" I asked, chewing on the straw as I thought about it. "It's been almost a year since a new supe joined us. The last was Alaric."
"Has it really been that long?" Keoni asked, giving me a surprised look.
"Yeah. I mean, we've had new members since, but they've all been human. And with all the problems, I'd figured it wasn't the best time to add new members. But now that the place is fixed..."
"We can help someone!" Keoni finished my sentence, and I nodded.
"What do you think?"
"It's a great idea."
"I'll talk to the others at dinner today, and if everyone agrees, I'll get to it tomorrow."
Keoni's eyes lit up, and he took my free hand in his. "Can I help in any way?"
"The spell is pretty easy," I said, then squeezed his hand before his smile could fall, "but I'd like to have you there with me. If you want."
"I want," he said simply, a soft smile on his lips, and I glanced away as I felt my cheeks heat up. Why did the simplest words from him make me react this way?
"What kind of supe do you think they'll be?" Keoni mused, and I turned back to look at him. "What about a vampire? We don't have one of those. Then again, what kind of vampire could we help? One allergic to human blood?"
I chuckled, and he grinned at me, his eyes sparkling brighter than the sun that shone above us.
After a few minutes, Keoni declared he needed to stretch his legs and lay down on his side, splaying his legs over the edge of the blanket and into the sand. His brown coat gleamed in the sun, the white and silver of his stockings even brighter.
Moving closer to him, I placed my palm on his coat over his stomach, then ran my palm all the way to his tail.
Thanks to magic and centaur physiology, his back legs were just as strong as his front ones, even though they hadn't been used until now.
His tail was long and glossy, though I'd spent an hour combing it the other week to get out all the tangles from being stuck in the cart for years.
Keoni leaned up on his elbow to peer at me, and I gave him a smile as I moved my hand higher so he could feel it.
"I realized the other day that I don't get to touch this side of you much. Though I probably should've asked before doing it."
"You can touch me anytime, anywhere, Zephyr," Keoni murmured, and I closed my eyes as my cheeks heated again. If this went on, I would end up looking like I had sunburn.
Grumbling something even I couldn't understand, I pressed my face into his side, hiding away in his soft, warm coat. It reminded me of Rei's coat back when she was a dog, and I found it comforting. The fact that his coat had the same sweet Keoni scent as the rest of him just made it better.
We lazed around on the beach until sunset, and then we packed everything up, leaving the blanket and parasol for Jacinta—as requested—and taking the basket with us to leave at the kitchen later.
"We need a shower. I cleaned off all the sand, but I still feel like I'm coated in it," I said as we stepped out of the Ocean area, and Keoni chuckled.
"I agree."
"Well, my shower is big enough, if you want to join me," I suggested, feeling bold after the day we'd had. Or maybe the sun had gotten to my head.
Keoni grinned, then made a beeline for the office as I followed after him, shaking my head at his enthusiasm.
I had a feeling we'd end up dirtier than we were now once we got into the shower.
I ran to catch up.