Chapter 3 Amari #2
I close my eyes and focus. I filter out the sound of the wind, the small animals, the distant rush of the creek.
I search for her heartbeat. There. Multiple heartbeats, actually.
The other children are watching from their hiding spots, curious about our hunt.
But Tofi’s heartbeat is distinctive, faster than the others, excited.
She’s directly above me.
I open my eyes and look up. Still nothing visible, but I know she’s there.
I grin when I look up at the web where Carla is resting with Moria and Kemnebi.
The web stretches between three massive oak trees, swaying gently in the breeze.
Carla lies in the center, her dark curls spread across the silk around her.
Moria rests on her shoulder, Kemnebi near her hip.
Both spiders are alert, their eyes watching me approach.
“Mind if I join you?”
Carla sits up and looks down at me. Her purple dress drapes around her. Memories hit me of when I tried to get her to come down from a similar web over a year ago. She wouldn’t. She was so angry with me then feeling rejection when she hadn’t know I just discovered she was my fated mate.
How foolish I was.
Carla smirks, seemingly sharing the same memory.
Pink magic swirls around her fingers, delicate and beautiful.
She uses her magic to create a rope of pure energy, letting it down toward me.
The magical web glows softly, pulsing with power.
I wrap my hand around it. The magic tingles against my palm, warm and alive.
She uses her magic to lift me up into the web. The ground falls away beneath me. I pass through the lower branches, leaves brushing against my shoulders. Then I’m at the web, stepping carefully onto the silk strands. They hold my weight easily, stronger than steel despite their delicate appearance.
“Scoot over, kiddos. I miss Mommy too.”
Moria and Kemnebi skitter off to the trees, giving us privacy. I watch them disappear into the branches, their forms melting into the shadows. Kemnebi sends me a brief image of approval before vanishing completely.
I lie back on the web. The silk conforms to my body, surprisingly comfortable.
I can feel each strand beneath me, supporting me.
Carla lies down beside me, then shifts closer until she’s resting her head against my chest. Her warmth seeps through my shirt.
Her hair tickles my chin. I wrap my arm around her, pulling her closer still.
Both of us stare up into the now afternoon skies.
Carla breaks the silence. “I’m sorry for getting weird with you earlier.”
She sits up and looks at me. Her green eyes search my face, reading the worry there, the fear I try to hide. “You need to understand that I miss you too when I’m away from you.”
“But...”
Carla puts a finger to my lips, quieting me. Her touch is soft, gentle. “Yes, time might be different and I can’t feel the mate bond in limbo, but you need to remember I loved you before the mate bond. The mate bond is just a bonus. Our love is more than that.”
My heart clenches at her words. She’s right.
She loved me when I was cruel to her. She loved me when I pushed her away.
She loved me when I was terrified of losing her.
The mate bond only confirmed what was already there, what had been growing between us since the moment she fell into my arms from that web so long ago.
I pull her on top of me and sit up, my hands cupping her face. Her skin is warm beneath my palms. I trace my thumb across her cheekbone, memorizing the curve of it. My other hand slides to the back of her neck, tangling in her curls.
“I love you so fucking much.”
Carla giggles, bright and infectious. Her eyes sparkle with joy, with mischief, with that fire that drew me to her in the first place. “Now shut up and kiss me.”
And I do.
I capture her mouth with mine, pouring everything I feel into the kiss. All the fear of losing her to limbo. All the longing when she’s away. All the relief when she returns. All the love that fills every corner of me. She tastes like magic. Like home.
Her arms wrap around my neck. She presses closer, her body molding to mine. I deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers. She moans softly, the sound vibrating through me.
I break away just long enough to trail kisses along her jaw, down her neck.
She tilts her head back, giving me access.
I find the spot where her pulse beats strongest and press my lips there.
Not to feed, never that, but to feel her life thrumming beneath her skin.
To remind myself that she’s here, she’s real, she’s mine.
Carla whispers my name. “Amari.”
I pull back to look at her. Her lips are swollen from my kisses. Her eyes are half closed, heavy with desire. Her breathing is quick and shallow. Beautiful. She’s so damn beautiful it hurts.
I brush a curl away from her face. “I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiles and rests her forehead against mine. We stay like that, suspended in the web between earth and sky, wrapped in each other.