Chapter 4 #2
And just like that, we all burst out laughing.
It took a second, but when I was finally able to breathe again, I quickly explained, chuckling all the way.
“Well, you see. The name of the town had always been Dragon Bounty. Like on maps and shit. It was named by some pirate or ship’s captain or something.
” I pushed the curls that had fallen out of the messy bun atop my head behind my ear and cleared my throat.
“Anyway, when I was about eighteen months, or so the story goes, because I don’t remember, Fate showed for an impromptu visit.
Apparently, she asked me how I liked living in Dragon Bounty, and I said, with my lisp and all, ‘You mean Dragoon Bootay?’ Well, she laughed and laughed, saying that would be the new name.
Of course, my parents thought she was kidding until they woke up the next morning.
Walking to get a loaf of bread and some oranges for juice, they saw that every welcome sign, street sign, and any other placard that had originally said Dragon Bounty was changed to Dragoon Bootay. ”
Feeling my cheeks heat and knowing they were turning red when Kai smiled a special smile, I knew was just for me, I stammered, “And... Well... Yeah, that’s how it happened.”
“And we’ve been kickin’ her in the bootay ever since!” Maeve burst out laughing, then she added, “Ba-da-ching! I got another one!” Complete with motions that made it look like she was hitting a snare drum and cymbal.
I was never so glad for an interruption in my whole life when Maisie snapped her fingers and pointed at Maeve. “Look at you. Two in one day. You are on a roll.”
Yep, I was sure no one had witnessed my embarrassment until my babu sister turned her attention and her wagging finger my way.
“You are so not off the hook, Big Sis. I saw those cheeks turnin’ red.
” Shimmying her shoulders and wiggling her pregnant belly, she singsonged, “Martha got embarrassed. Martha got...”
“Okay, okay, okay, you win!” I reluctantly relented with a wink and smile. “You might be right. I might have been...”
“Might have been?!” My sisters squealed in unison, making everyone burst out laughing, and thankfully, forget that I could have been, just maybe, a little embarrassed about telling my Mate that I had a lisp and named our little town with the goofiest, silliest, most outrageous moniker ever when I wasn’t even two years old.
Looking back, it was really hilarious, but what warmed my heart– and the rest of me– was when Kai leaned into my side, put his arm around my shoulders, and whispered directly into my mind, "Wanna get out of here, Hot Stuff?”
Then it was my turn to lean into his embrace.
As I inhaled his intoxicating scent and looked at all the people I held dear, I tried to pretend to be irritated, but in the end, I had to give up and laugh right along.
“OH! And just to be clear, my new superpower is sneezing Fireballs. I’m thinkin’ about adding burping smoke and hiccupping flames to my repertoire. Whatcha think? Should I go for it?”
As everyone cheered a resounding YES, I looked up at the man, the Fae King the Universe had made for me, and I just couldn’t believe it was finally happening.
I had found my other half, the one man in all the universe who completed me– and I completed him.
My heart did a happy little pitter pat when I found him looking back at me with so much love and adoration in his eyes that I just had to telepathically answer his question with, "Lead on, Fairy King. Lead on."
Right in the middle of turning around with his arm still around me and my mind awash with our shared images of being together for the first time, I came to an abrupt halt.
Snapping my eyes back to his, I sighed aloud, “Well, shit, I live above my shop, and my bedroom is right above the storeroom.
It has to reek of smoke, if there is even still a floor. I have nowhere for us to sleep."
Waggling his eyebrows as the wings he’d been blessed with from the Goddess Danu magically sprang from his shoulder blades, Kai purred, “Who said anything about sleeping?” Kissing me on the cheek, he added, “Besides, we’re going to my house– our house. That is, if you'll have me."
"Oh, yeah, I'll have you and then some, Kai Rí. All day, every day, for all of forever."
A single flap of his gorgeous blue and silver wings, and we lifted off just as Maisie hollered, "I'll call Zelda as soon as I've had three showers and performed four of the Cleansing Rituals–as soon as I figure out what the hell a Cleansing Ritual is and how a Dragon Queen does such a thing.”
“Ask Zelda,” I offhandedly replied, falling even deeper into the love I saw in the eyes of my Fae King.
“Oh, yeah,” Maisie giggled. “And while I’m talkin’ to her, we’ll put together a plan to rebuild Marvelous Martha’s.
” Before I could so much as nod, she added, “Don’t you worry one little bit, I’m sure she can convince the Baba Yaga that they need to use Magic to get your shop ready to open tomorrow morning. ”
“No hurry,” I grinned. “No hurry at all.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Theresa snickered. "In other words, do it all, girl. Do it all!"
“Have fun, y’all,” Maeve beamed.
“Be happy, Martha. Make that Fae King yours forever,” Maisie added.
Then I remembered three very important ‘people’. Turning to look at my boys, my lovely furbabies that I adored with all my heart, I smiled and asked, “Y’all good with stayin’ at Aunt Maisie’s?”
“Does she have turkey jerky?” Otis’ thick Irish grumbling baritone brogue asked.
“She better have some of those peanut butter bars,” Chewy added, his tough guy Bronx accent making Kai’s eyebrows raise, to which I whispered into his mind, “I’ll explain later,” and he nodded.
Of course, before I could reassure two of my three boys, Arthur, King Arthur to me and all who loved him, stepped in and took control.
With this deep rumbling voice and touch of the Irish Highlands, he instructed, “You both know that Momma Martha would never leave us without everything we needed. Now, tell her goodnight and let’s go have a slumber party with Aunt Maisie. ”
“Wooohoo,” Maisie whooped. “Sleepover at my house! It's gonna be a blast. I might even whip up some of her famous salmon jerky." Smacking her lips, she added, “Oh, yeah, the babies think salmon jerky with peanut butter and hot sauce sounds like just what we need.”
“Don’t give my boys anything but the jerky,” I warned. “If you do, you’ll be performing Cleansing Rituals on your house with hot water and bleach.”
“Noted!”
Taking off at top Fae speed, a chorus of, “We love you, Martha Dellencourt,” filled my mind. Immediately followed by Maeve giggling, “Maybe more than Quick Silver Suzie and the bedazzled bougie monogrammed bag you gave me for my three hundred and twenty-fifth birthday!”
Then, Maisie giggled, “More than a roasted turkey leg with grape jelly and butter pecan ice cream. Oh! Did I mention that the cravings have taken a weird turn?”
It was my turn to say, “Noted.”
Ending with Theresa’s tittered, “Definitely more than my special blend coffee that only you can make.”
See? I told you I had the best family in the world, even the one I just added to the Clan. Damn, I love it when a plan comes together.
*****
Kai’s house, the perfect little cottage on the bright side of Wikiwatchee Watering Hole, where the flowers bloomed in a rainbow of colors pretty much all the time, and Crocodile Cock was completely hidden by trees and tall grass, was everything I’d ever imagined the home I shared with my Mate would be.
Well, shit, of course it was. After all, Fate had Magicked into existence–and no matter how much she made my ass twitch, that rainbow-haired Omnipotent Being was a good egg.
True to his word, my feet never touched even an inch of the idyllic wraparound porch.
Nope, my Fae King knew what he wanted. It was me, and he was done waiting.
Pushing the door open with a strong Magical breeze, we had just flown over the threshold when he did the reverse to shut out all intrusions.
I could wait no longer. Every fiber of my being was pushing me to kiss the man made for me, and who was I to say no?
Kissing the side of his neck, the tip of my tongue slid along his jugular, and in an instant, our hearts beat as one.
Steady, strong, and faster with every passing second, passion went from a slow, simmering burn to a raging fire.
It was uncontrollable. It was unfathomable. It was absolutely mind-blowingly wonderful in every way possible, and some I never imagined.
Turning to face Kai, I wrapped my arms around his neck and molded every single one of my curves against the hard, gorgeously sculpted muscles of my man’s body.
The electricity of our connection, the sparks of the bond we shared, the undeniable fact that we were literally made for each other crackled, popped, and sizzled.
Arching between us, solidifying and strengthening the link, the tie, the irrevocable, all-encompassing tether that joined my soul with his, locked into place.
And then our lips met, and it was an explosion of emotions, love, and utter commitment.
The mental blocks I’d always prided myself on, the Magical gates I’d built as a young Dragon Queen and Aideen and I had maintained for all our years together, burst open.
My heart, soul, and my very being were laid open for my Mate– and his were there for me.
There was nothing we could hide from one another–nothing we wanted to hide.
We were one in every sense of the word.. .
Except physically, and I had every intention of remedying that oversight just as quickly as possible.