Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Zephyr
"Look at her! She's so cute," Keoni murmured as he pressed into my side, and I glanced down at the baby cradled in his arms. Reign peered up at me, her eyes the same blue as Dustin's, but with Khush's vertical pupils.
She already had a full head of wavy black hair, and she returned my smile with a cute, gummy one.
"That she is," I said as I booped her nose, chuckling when it made her eyes widen.
It was around five in the evening, and the Forest residents had gathered for their daily 'baby appreciation' meeting.
While someone was always helping Dustin and Khush out with the babies, they'd started doing this so the couple could have some adult conversations with their friends while the babies were passed around the group to be looked after.
Rei sat beside Dustin with Aspen wrapped around her arm, softly petting his head while she chatted with Dustin.
She spent more time around them than me these days, but I didn't mind.
She was motherly by nature, and she was clearly drawn to the babies.
If she wanted to look after them like she had me all those years ago, that was perfectly fine. I just wanted her to be happy.
"Here, you wanna hold her?"
Even though my arm had worked perfectly since a month after Draven gave it to me—it'd taken a month to fix all the glitches—I was suddenly afraid it would stop working and I'd drop the baby.
"Hey, you'll be okay."
I swallowed dryly and nodded, then carefully took Reign from him, holding her close to my chest. She peered up at me, then grabbed my cloak in her tiny fist, making me smile.
"Hey, Reign. That's your grandpa," Khush said as he appeared on my other side, and I blinked, then glanced over at him, surprised at the statement.
Khush raised a brow at me. "What? I'm not having her call you Headmaster."
I shook my head, then glanced back at the little bundle in my arms. Grandpa, huh? I liked it. I certainly liked it much better than my other title, 'Headmaster.'
I glanced over at Keoni to see what he thought, and found him watching me with a soft look.
"What?" I asked as my cheeks flushed under the intensity of his gaze, and a smile bloomed on his face as he stepped closer to me.
"I love you," he said, his voice strong and loud enough I was sure everyone around us heard him, but he didn't seem to care. When I just blinked at him, he smiled, and repeated, "I love you."
I sucked in a breath, then turned to Khush, carefully returning his daughter to him. Once he had her, I faced Keoni again, my heart racing in my chest. My mind was completely blank, but even so, I knew exactly what I wanted to say.
"I love you, too."
"Kiss! Kiss!" Dustin shouted from the side, and Silas joined in with a "Hell yeah!"
Keoni chuckled, then stepped closer. His hand slid to the back of my neck as he pulled me in, and then his lips were on mine, soft, warm, and so so right.
Since there were people around, Keoni kept the kiss chaste, and rested his forehead against mine when we separated.
"Thank you," I murmured, and he gave me a questioning look. "For loving me. I know I haven't made it easy."
"Trust me, Zephyr. Falling for you is the easiest thing I've ever done."
That made me kiss him again, and I only pulled back when someone shouted, "Get a room!"
"Come on," Keoni said as he took my hand, and then without a word to anyone else, he dragged me off, not to his place, but to mine.
"I know mine is closer, but I like yours better," he said as if he'd read my mind, and I glanced over at him as we hurried down the hallway.
"Do you want to move in with me?"
Keoni stumbled, then pulled me to a stop. "Are you serious?"
I nodded, and he grinned, then threw his arms around me in a tight hug. "Yes! Let's go back and get my stuff. I don't have a lot of things."
I chuckled as he pulled back, then glanced at the office door two steps away. "I thought you had some other plans."
Keoni glanced between the office and back the way we'd come, a conflicted look on his face, and I smiled as I leaned into him.
"I'm not going to change my mind."
"I know," he mumbled, then sighed. "Okay, I'll bring over my stuff later."
The disappointment in his voice made me wonder if I should've just gone back with him, but before I could say anything, he shook his head and continued walking.
We walked through the empty offices to my bedroom, and Keoni closed the door, flicking the lock into place. Not that anyone would try to come in. I was sure everyone in the Forest knew exactly what we were going to do. I didn't know how I felt about that.
"I was surprised," I said as he walked closer to me. "When you said it in front of everyone."
Keoni smiled, a tad sheepish as he slid his arms around my waist. "Well, I said some really mean things to you in front of everyone that day, so I felt like it was only fair to tell you I loved you the same way."
My heart felt like it would swell right out of my chest, and since I didn't know what to say, I leaned forward and kissed him instead.
Keoni's lips curved against mine as he kissed me back, his palms moving up and down my sides as he walked me backward toward the bed.
Nothing felt better than being touched by Keoni, and I had no idea how I'd gone so long without knowing what it felt like to be touched by someone who truly loved you. I was so grateful to have Keoni, and I planned to hold onto him for the rest of my life.
Keoni
"If there's such a thing as a dry orgasm, I just had one," I gasped out as I stared at the wall behind Zephyr with unseeing eyes.
After I'd made him come with my mouth, he'd spent the last thirty minutes lavishing my nipples with attention. He clearly got something out of it too, which just heightened the sensations even more for me.
I turned my gaze back to him, and found him watching me with a satisfied look on his face.
"Are you feeling smug, Zeph?" I asked as I brushed my hand down his front before cupping his spent cock.
Zephyr shivered, then shook his head, and I chuckled as I gave him a squeeze, then released him. He was so easy to tease, and I loved it.
"I've been thinking," I said as I slid closer so I could hold him in my arms. Sensing what I wanted, he threw his arm over my middle and shuffled forward, erasing the distance between us as he tucked his head under mine.
"Yeah?"
"I think... I think I'd like to track down my father."
I'd thought about it a lot over the last few days, ever since I asked Zephyr if it was possible, and the more I'd thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. Seeing Dustin and Khush with their kids just made me want it more.
I hadn't allowed myself to go down the rabbit hole of what could've happened if my father had stuck around after his one-night stand with my mom, or if he'd found out about me and come to get me. I didn't—couldn't—think about what my life would've been like if I'd grown up with him.
But I would like to find out what my life could be like now with him in it. I had a family in the Sanctuary already, so I knew I wouldn't be too disappointed if my father turned out to be a less-than-nice man.
"You've thought about it?" Zephyr asked as he leaned back to meet my gaze, and I nodded.
"Yeah. No one in my herd had any way of tracking him down, so he doesn't even know I exist. At the very least, I'd like to meet him once."
"Of course. When would you like to do the spell?"
"Tomorrow?" I asked, wanting to get it over with now that I'd decided to try.
"Sure. Come to my office after breakfast tomorrow, and we'll do it then."
"Thank you."
Zephyr gave me a squeeze but said nothing, and I nuzzled into his hair, breathing in his familiar scent. We stayed like that for a while, but I felt too wired to take a nap, so after a few minutes, I pulled back.
"Can we bring my things over now?"
Zephyr chuckled, his eyes crinkled into a smile as he gazed at me. "Yeah, let's do that."
I got to my feet and pulled my shirt on as Zephyr got dressed, and then he took a minute to charge my stockings.
Finally, we went back to the Forest, and I picked up the pace as I rushed toward my house, much to Zephyr's amusement.
I went straight to my closet and started packing up all my clothes in paper shopping bags since I didn't have luggage of any kind. Why would I, when I never traveled?
Other than my clothes, some blankets, and some books I'd gotten from the Library, I didn't have much here because I kept knocking things over when I used the cart.
It was much easier to move around now, so maybe I'd start buying things simply for decorative purposes now.
Zephyr's bedroom and office could use some brightening up.
When we came out of my place with our hands laden with shopping bags, we found Zamir and Silas waiting for us.
"Keoni, are you moving?" Silas asked, sounding serious, and I hummed.
"Yeah. I'm going to live with Zephyr," I said, unable to hide my smile.
Silas groaned, and Zamir grinned at him. I narrowed my eyes at them. They were up to something.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing much. Silas just won a week of my chores," Zamir said with a smirk, his eyes bright. "Oooh, maybe Nolan and I can go on a vacation or something."
"Were you betting on when we'd move in together?" I demanded, and Zamir's smirk turned into a sheepish smile. I turned to Silas. "And you thought it would take longer?"
"It took you years to get together! I figured this would be the same," Silas practically whined, and I rolled my eyes.
Before I could delve into why it'd taken us so long, Zephyr leaned into me, reminding me I had much better things to do than argue about this.
Shaking my head, I hiked up the bags higher on my arms, then patted Silas's shoulder. "That's what you get for betting against me. Enjoy the extra work. I'll see you at dinner."
"I'm confident that wasn't the only bet people have made on our relationship," Zephyr said as we left the Forest, and I glanced over at him.
"Does it bother you?"
"Not really. I know they don't mean anything by it."
"Yeah. I've taken part in a few bets myself in the past," I admitted with a grin, and he chuckled.
"Trust me. I know."
I discovered Zephyr had made his closet deeper and added more shelves so there was space for my clothes, and it made me pull him into a deep kiss before I put all my clothes away.
Once that was done, I placed my blankets at the foot of his bed, then deposited the empty bags in a dresser drawer for future use.
"There. I'm all moved in now," I announced, and Zephyr wrapped his arms around me as he stepped close.
Hugging him back, I rested my head on his shoulder, and let out a soft exhale. I was home. Finally.