Chapter 39 Eryx
ERYX
THREE MONTHS LATER. OTRERA.
The wind was warm, and smelled of lemons.
Bright purple bougainvillea wound around the columns that supported the arched openings to the covered porch.
I set down my book, watching as Rhiannon finished Briony’s hair in the sunshine a level below me.
She kissed the teenager’s forehead before Briony rushed down the ancient stone stairs to meet her new friends.
In the distance, the midsummer sun glinted off the sea.
My love leaned back in her chaise, smiling up at me.
It had been nearly two months since her coronation, and we’d decided to spend the entire summer here with Briony.
It had given Rhiannon time to rest and recover, as well as time for her to reacquaint herself with the Otreran court.
That had been a complex project, but they respected her, and understood that she was here for healing before returning to the outside world.
I was surprised at how easily they’d accepted the changes she wanted to make, especially the fact that she’d invited all of the Trinity leaders to come here, along with everyone closest to us.
Quietly, she had been moving the former Asylum inmates here, disappearing them from the outside world in a series of small moves the Authority wouldn’t notice. Both the Authority and the Corps were still struggling to get back on their feet after the chaos she’d caused.
All in all, though things were not perfect, they were good.
Below me, she’d closed her eyes, stretching her long legs out on the chaise as she breathed deeply.
The white gown she wore was pulled up to her waist, so her legs could feel the sun.
Being on Otrera seemed to have revitalized her.
Showing the island to Briony had healed something in her that changed my girl for the better.
Rhiannon’s eyes opened and she grinned up at me. “Want to go for a swim?”
“I’ll be right down.”
I stood, stretching before taking the stairs to the level below us. The queen’s quarters weren’t huge, but they were luxurious, and had access to a private lagoon. With Briony gone ‘til nighttime, and nothing else on the agenda for the day, I was happy to take advantage of the privacy.
Rhiannon met me on the stairs, unclasping the pins that held her dress up. She let it fall behind her as she gazed back at me, love in her eyes. I caught the dress as I followed her down the winding stone staircase, shedding my own clothes as I went.
At the bottom of the stairs, she was already in the warm, crystalline blue water, waiting for me. I placed our clothes on one of the two chaises on the swim deck, and then dove into the water. She screamed in delight as I splashed her, scrambling away from me as I swam towards her.
She let me catch her on the lowest level of the sea stairs, wrapping her legs around my waist. We were three-quarters of the way submerged under the water, and her body was warm against mine as she kissed me.
“Autumn will be here before you know it,” she whispered when she pulled away. “I’m not ready to leave.”
“We’re still six weeks out from the Board of Directors meeting,” I reasoned.
She sighed. I knew she was nervous about this, but we had a plan. A plan I had no intention of discussing today. It was a good plan, solid, vetted by everyone who could possibly weigh in.
Rhiannon had done well these past months.
She’d done more to change the ways things worked than her mother ever had, and she’d managed to do it all while getting plenty of rest, eating real meals, and overseeing the renovations of Oleander Cottage from half a world away.
And parenting a teenager. I’d helped, of course, but it was remarkable what she could do when she was feeling better.
Rhiannon opened her mouth, as though to argue with me about the plan, then shut it. Instead of fussing, she kissed me again, deeper this time. When she pulled away again, I expected her to suggest we make love on the sea stairs again. We’d done it a week ago, and it had been exhilarating.
Instead, she shocked me with her words. “Will you marry me?”
I brushed a teasing kiss to her jaw, near her ear, tasting the salt of the ocean and her sweet skin. In her ear, I whispered. “You are ruining my surprise, love.”
“Oh,” she said softly, her breasts pressing into my chest as she breathed. “Oh!”
I wound one hand into the wet mass of her hair, pulling her head back so her blue eyes met mine. “Briony and I had this all worked out. The ring is upstairs. I was going to ask after dinner tonight—under the stars.”
“What are we having for dinner?” she asked, as though I hadn’t just told her I planned to ask her to marry me.
Rhiannon moved in her own time. This was something I’d learned to roll with in the past months, loving the way her clever mind worked. If I answered her, played along, I would be rewarded. So, I answered her. “All your favorites.”
She hummed against me. “Under the stars, you say?”
I nodded.
“Well,” she answered, pulling closer to me. “You should know that I will be saying yes.”
I laughed, and her soft belly pressed into mine, stirring my cock. “That takes some edge off my nerves then.”
“Now,” she said. “What should we do in the meantime?”
I lifted her higher. “I think I’d better make love to you.”
“Oh yes,” she breathed as I fit myself to her entrance. “I agree.”
An hour later, she was in the bath, drinking a glass of white wine, staring out over the ocean. I watched from the doorway of the bathroom as she took one deep breath, and then another.
It took me a moment, but I realized she wasn’t looking at the water at all, but the cypress below the window as they swayed in the wind. When her breath returned to normal, she set her glass on the windowsill and sank deeper into the enormous tub.
“Can I wash your hair?” I asked.
She smiled at me. “Yes.”
I gathered her shampoo and conditioner, pulling the rustic wooden stool from the shower next to the tub. She made the most delightful noises as I rubbed the floral-scented shampoo into her scalp. Her skin had deepened to a light bronze after so many days swimming in the salty lagoon.
Her skin was too tempting. I ran a soapy hand down her neck and decolletage to cup her breast. She moaned a little, her back arching. I pulled her head back and kissed her, tasting salt on her lips, mixed with the sweet taste that was all her own.
I moved slowly, rinsing her hair with a pitcher that sat next to the tub for this exact purpose, then conditioned her hair. When the thick liquid was in her hair, I reached down with both of my slippery hands to massage it over her breasts, pinching her nipples lightly as I kissed her again.
“You’re teasing me,” she said when I moved to rinse her hair again.
“Yes,” I agreed, motioning to my cock, which stood at attention, bare in the warm light of the bathroom. “And myself.”
She took the pitcher from me and stood, turning to face me as she finished rinsing her hair. And then she stepped carefully out of the tub, placing her feet on either side of the stool so she hovered above me.
Rhiannon slid down my body until my cock fit perfectly at her entrance. She sank down on me slowly, not taking her eyes from mine. “I love you,” she said as I filled her.
Her words brought out an intense reaction in me as she moved slowly on me. She knew I would ask her to marry me tonight. And I knew she would say yes. We were here, in the most beautiful place in the world, and for even this short amount of time, we had respite.
I pulled her tighter against me, emotion catching in my throat. “I love you, Rhiannon. Now and forever.”
There were tears in her eyes as we found release together. I cleaned her gently, wrapping her in a towel and carrying her to our bed. “Wait here?” I asked.
She nodded, her face soft with love, relaxed from an afternoon of swimming, lovemaking, and bathing. Rhiannon was always beautiful, but I loved her like this. I walked to the wardrobe, feeling more certain than ever. Under the stars would have been lovely, but this was perfect.
I found the little velvet box and made my way back to the bed, my feet warm on the cool terracotta tiles. Once in bed next to her, resting comfortably in a cloud of impossibly soft white linens, I showed her the box.
“I have loved you since the night you returned to Orphium. I have seen you do wonderful and terrible things, and loved every one. I have seen you sad and loved you. I have watched you grieve and loved you. And now I have the pleasure of watching you grow into this next phase of your life.”
I paused because she was crying. But Rhiannon smiled through her tears, stroking my face with her soft fingers. “Don’t stop, baby. Please.”
“Will you please be my wife, Rhiannon? Will you marry me and spend the rest of eternity letting me care for you as you care for this broken world?”
Her answer was a kiss so sweet I never wanted it to end. But the kiss was a ruse, a wicked distraction as she pulled the velvet box from my fingers. “Ah-ah,” I chided, tapping her nose. “You haven’t answered. No peeks at the ring until you do.”
Rhiannon smiled. “The answer is yes. Forever, yes.” She started to open the box, and then stopped, looking back up at me, her blue eyes searching.
“You are, by far, the best man I have ever known. I don’t have all the beautiful words you do, but I am so grateful to know you, and even more grateful that you love me as I love you. ”
“Those words are plenty beautiful,” I said. “Now please open the box.”
She did, gasping at the giant aquamarine ring within. It was the color of her eyes on a sunny day, and reminded me of the sea. Of this place where she had been born and died and been made queen. She seemed stunned, so I pulled it from the box and slid it onto her finger.
“It is so perfect,” she finally whispered. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for being my home,” I breathed. “Thank you for letting me finally be myself.”
Rhiannon’s arms flew around my neck. “This is everything I thought I could never have,” she whispered against my neck. “Can we get married in the garden? In the place where it happened?”
I knew what she meant, and a lump formed in my throat. It was a sad spot to marry, but I knew exactly why she wanted to do it there. “It would be a good way to close that chapter for the cottage,” I said.
She laid back on the pillows, gazing up at me. “Yes, with all our friends and family. It would also be a fresh start for us.”
“Then that is what we will do,” I agreed, pulling her against me.
We stayed like that until the sun began to dip closer to the horizon. “Come on,” she said, slipping out of bed. “You have dinner to make me, and I think the stars are going to be lovely tonight.”
I got out of bed behind her. And because I would follow her anywhere, I became her shadow as we walked into the next phase of our lives together. With Rhiannon, I was exactly where I belonged.
Thank you for reading The Swan, the second book in The World of the Orphium Maere.