Syn
I was breathless as his lips touched mine. His tongue slid into my mouth sweetly. This wasn’t the dominant kiss I was used to from him…but it was just as effective. I was melting as he intertwined with my tongue, a soft flush of arousal floating through me. It was a sweet, slow, dragging kiss that sent shivers cascading across my skin, as if his kiss was actually all over my body…and not just my lips.
I was giddy as he pulled away, a glow emanating from my insides in wonder at what had just occurred.
He loved me.
And more importantly…I loved him.
I hadn’t actually thought it was possible, honestly. I’d thought the part of me capable of such a feeling had been killed off. First by my father and the loss of my family…and then by my asshole of a mate.
But here I was, in love…
And not just with him. I pushed that thought away. I definitely wasn’t up to admitting that at the moment.
“I’m pretty sure I’m addicted to your lips, love,” he murmured as he dragged his against mine once more.
The endearment suddenly had a whole new meaning. “I’m pretty sure I don’t mind.”
We were both grinning like loons when we finally separated and continued walking along the gold-burnished path. The stars were coming out, faint twinkles of wonder shining in the inky black sky.
“I’d forgotten how beautiful it was here,” I whispered, wondering at how everything just seemed…more right now. It was like every possible sensation had burst across my synapses and I’d become truly aware of my surroundings for the first time.
“Did you ever go to the beach in the city?” Caspian asked curiously, his eyes on me instead of the beautiful view spread out before us.
“No,” I admitted, frowning as I thought about how lonely I’d been in that city surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people.
I guess I knew that already though, that it didn’t matter how many people surrounded you…what was most important was who the people were. I was pretty sure I could be stranded alone with Caspian for the rest of my life, and be ridiculously happy.
Well, Hendrix and River should probably come along too.
“I don’t think I care that we started out wrong,” I told him haltingly. “I—ached for you, thinking you were gone. Maybe the moon goddess knew the only way for us to get it right, was to get it all wrong first.”
Caspian gave me a lazy, sunny smile that made my heartbeat quicken, and then he kissed me again before we continued walking.
As we strolled, he told me stories of how terrible River and Hendrix were as patients, making me laugh at his impressions of them. I noticed he didn’t say anything about how he’d been while recovering. And I couldn’t help but observe his very pronounced limp. When it grew more noticeable, I suggested we head back, and I didn’t miss the flash of relief in his eyes at my offer.
Fuck, I needed to pay attention to that. Knowing him, he’d never tell me if he was in pain. The words burst out of me before I could stop them.
“How badly does it hurt?”
He stiffened, and then I watched as he forced himself to relax. “Here and there,” he lied.
I frowned. “Okay….”
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath, before pulling me to him once again. “It hurts right now. As you obviously noticed. It’s just—hard for me to talk about. I came to peace a long time ago with only having one leg. I guess I never thought about the chance of losing the other. And I came really fucking close on that island.” He squeezed his eyes shut and looked away.
“Hey,” I whispered, gently grabbing his chin and bringing his face back to me. I was shocked at the vulnerability I saw there.
“I love you. I would love you no matter what. I swear on it.” His gaze brightened, like my words had magic in them with the power to vanquish his insecurities for good.
“Just to be safe, I’ll try not to lose any more limbs,” he joked with a wink.
I rubbed his strong arm and pressed my head against it as we continued our walk home.