Chapter XIV #2
Mariam takes a breath. “And I want us to take a little while to get to know each other better before we talk any more about being mates. To spend time together and see how we work together as a couple outside of a super scary, life-threatening situation. Is that fair?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” Sable grins before pecking another kiss on her leg. “I’m more than happy to do that, sweet. I’ll try to be… normal, I guess?”
Mariam laughs softly, tweaking Sable’s ear tip. “I just want you to be yourself. Think you can handle that?”
“I definitely think I can.” Sable stands up, then offers her a hand. “Now, I propose my lovely Mariam showers. I’ll even get your clothes out.”
Mariam laughs again, taking her hand as she stands from the couch. Then she scrunches her nose up in mock offense. “Are you saying I stink, my lady?”
“Never. But you do have dried blood on you, and you need to get it off.” Sable shudders. “I hate blood.”
“Fair enough.” Mariam kisses her sweetly, and before she can pull away, Sable winds her fingers into her hair, deepening the kiss. They stand there, kissing deeply for a few moments, before Sable releases her, leaving Mariam breathless.
“Go on,” Sable says, “before I get some ideas about ravishing you on the floor.”
“You are welcome to,” Mariam teases her.
Sable playfully swats her on the behind. “There’ll be time for that later.”
~§~
“Fiiine.” Mariam heads for the bathroom, closing the door behind her as she strips off her sweat-laden clothes.
She is surprised Sable could stand to kiss her; she really does stink to the high heavens.
She tosses her clothes into the dirty laundry hamper with a grimace, then starts the shower.
She heats the water to as hot as she can stand it, then sits down in the tub, letting it wash over her.
She has a lot to think about. A lot. So much has happened over the past month, and she just has not had the time to sit down and think. To process.
She cleans the dried blood off of her arms and hands, watching the last remnants of Caedren flow down the drain. Then she dunks her hair under the water to let it pour down her back.
Just then, Sable pops in. “Got you some clothes here, my love. Enjoy your shower.”
“Thank you,” Mariam replies, and Sable closes the door again without another word.
Sable. Sable, Sable, Sable. Her love. Her mate. What a whirlwind their romance has been. But it feels so natural. So right. Nothing in her life has felt as right as falling in love with the woman out there in her home. Their home now.
What a strange thing. Mariam is not exactly new to dating, but it never went well enough for her to consider that she might settle down.
Marriage has always been a distant fantasy, something that happens to other people.
She was sure she would end up a crazy cat lady of an author, spending the next seventy or so years settled in her cottage until finally dying alone.
But now… it looks like there is a real possibility of her having the kind of fairy tale “happily ever after” ending she wouldn’t even write for one of her characters.
Emphasis on the ever. Poor Jimmy had been wrong about her and Sable; he hadn’t known they were mates.
All those times she’d imagined herself as an old crone next to an eternally youthful Sable, that was never really her future.
If Mariam chooses her, she’ll become immortal.
Which comes with its own dizzying implications…
Mariam would outlive everyone she’s ever known.
Oh, hell, Sable still needs to meet her mom.
And her sister. Before she can even think of getting hitched, Sable has to pass the family test. She hasn’t spoken to any of her family since before The Champion whisked them off to the first safehouse, and she had no idea what to tell them back when Sable was just an unconscious woman covered in wounds she found on the street, so they haven’t heard of her at all yet.
It’s not out of the ordinary for Mariam and her family to go a few weeks without checking in, but there has never been so much to catch them up on as there is now.
Mariam’s mother and sister aren’t aware of the supernatural, so when Mariam started showing signs of having magical prowess, she kept it quiet. And now, her partner is a whole walking supernatural case. A Fae, even.
Lathering her hair with shampoo, she considers what their first meeting might be like.
She needs to make sure Sable knows not to use magic or mention anything supernatural around them, and the two of them need to make up a past for her…
to explain the scars, if nothing else. Maybe they could say she’s a mercenary?
A soldier from another country? Sable does have a foreign accent… It could work.
Mariam never knew her life could be so complicated and so happy at the same time. She would not have it any other way; that much is for sure, but she’s also realizing how much of a mess she’s still in, even with Caedren behind her.
And how much she is going to have to hide from her family, probably for the rest of her life…
or their lives, at least. That part hurts the most, but what can she do?
Could she even convince them of the truth if she tried?
Would it be a good idea? Leandra would say keeping secrets about things like this is the kindest way to handle it, because what folks don’t know won’t ever hurt them, but there’s a million ways curiosity could kill the cat.
Sighing, Mariam stands and finishes her shower.
She dries herself off with a towel while inspecting what Sable has laid out for her.
A comfy black sports bra, a pair of matching panties, black leggings, and a cream-colored sweater with a cable-knit pattern.
Mariam dresses quickly, then heads for the living room, where she finds Sable reading a book on the couch.
She recognizes the cover; it’s Mariam’s first-ever novel.
“Enjoying yourself?” Mariam teases as she walks towards her.
“Mmmm. You’re a good writer.” Sable turns a page before peering up at her with a smile. “I’m quite enjoying this book.”
“Damn, you’re a fast reader.” Sable has already engulfed almost a quarter of the book in the time it took her to shower.
Sable shrugs. “I rarely got books in my home realm, but when I did, I read them like crazy. My hut was full of whatever I could scavenge. My father hated it, but my brother, Fang, would have me read to him sometimes.”
“That’s a sweet memory.” Mariam lightly pats her crossed leg. “Well, there’s plenty more of my books after you finish that one. And most of them are a lot better. That’s the first one I ever wrote. Care for breakfast?”
“Yes, please. You must teach me to use the… thing in there. The stove. I want to be able to make food for you, too.” Sable quirks her lips up. “I have to give you time to write some more of these books for me, after all.”
Mariam smiles at that. “I think we can manage that. But, for today, I’ll cook because I’m starving.
” Mariam leaves her to read. She thinks of the figurine Sable whittled, and decides to make the same breakfast she made that day: eggs, bacon, and grits.
She looks over her kitchen counter, catching Sable tapping her foot as she reads to the beat of some song in her head…
She realizes she could do this every day. Easily. She could do this every day for the rest of her life.
Maybe she just will.