“You have the best dick,” I say, clenching around him, pushing my hips back when it kicks inside me. “I love how you fill me up.”
His fingers dig into my thigh, and I can feel him resist the impulse to thrust. “I’m pleased you like it. It’s yours to use as you wish.” Another yawn slips out of me, and he chuckles. “I’ll still be here when you wake up.”
“Can we sleep like this?” I ask, wriggling a little, enjoying the idea of being stuffed all night. It’s not like he’s eversoft. “I mean, I can sleep like this. Can you?”
I feel his dick jump again as he lets out a soft curse. “I don’t know. I can’t promise I won’t wake you, but I would love to stay like this. Connected.”
He smooths a hand over my hip, repositioning my leg so it’s no longer resting on his. Our ins and outs fit together like a puzzle. He curls around me, his knees docked in the soft backs of mine, my skull nested in the curve of his throat, our hards and softs matched up.
Our night is the same, a hazy mix of sleep and sex. Neither one of us actually come, but it feels so good to be with him, to feel him move in a question, likeare you real or a dream?To answer with my bodyI’ve got you, I’m here.
WHEN I WAKE UP, NIK’Sgone, but his side of the bed isn’t empty. It’s completely covered with a heaping tray of firstmeal, a stack of new clothes, and a huge bouquet of yellow flowers. They aren’t dandelions, but their warm, sunny color and feathery petals give me the same good feelings and remind me that we’re getting married this morning.
While I eat my delicious breakfast, I comm Tamira. “Hey girl,” I say when she answers. She’s eating, too, and we both toast the screen with our nomo.
“Cheers to fated friendship!”
“Cheers to being sisters!” The thought makes me really stupid-happy.
She absentmindedly rubs her belly as she takes a sip from her cup. “Wish I could be there in person. I’ll be on the comm for the joining, though. We’ll have to get together sometime. I’ll host,” she adds, grinning at me.
“Good, because we don’t have guest rooms. Did I tell you I found out that Nik gave up his room for me? He was sleeping on the floor of the comm room. He was giving me his rations of his favorite food, too.”
“Aw.” Her pregnant ass tears up. “I never would have guessed. That’s so sweet, Delphie.”
“He is. Hey, can I ask you a favor?”
“Of course.”
“I know this sounds weird, but can you and Fen call me Philadelphia from now on? I told Nik that Delphie is my nickname, and he thought—”
“Oh my god.” She keels over to the side, laughing so hard she snorts nomo. “He thought you meant ‘Nik-name,’ like the namehegets to call you! That’s so funny and also freakin’ adorable. Letme guess, he’s going around getting pissed off at everyone who calls you that.”
“Yeah, pretty much. It was really annoying at first, but now...” I shrug, something tugging on my heart. “I want him to have it. I want it to be special for him.”
She nods, blinking hard. “I get it. Okay. I’ll tell Fen and the others. Go get married, Philadelphia.”
We end the comm all sniffly, and I realize it’s getting late. I gobble down the rest of firstmeal and pull on the clothes Nik left for me. They’re an amazing surprise. First off, all of them have two arms and two legs, and as soon as I put them on, I realize he’s had them made especially for me. The fur-lined leather pants are a perfect fit, snug but flexible. They hug my curves in a decidedly un-Irran way, but they have built-in sheaths in the thighs for my knives. They’re good pants to get married in, and they’re good pants to defeat some priests in.
But it’s the svelis that knock me out. There are several soft inner layers in bright colors, and an outer jacket that’s tooled in intricate patterns and lined with the softest fur I’ve ever felt. Its bright blue color reminds me of Nik’s joy. A bundle of matching headscarves and sashes and a new pair of tall boots complete the wardrobe. I have no idea where he found all the stuff so quickly, but it’s beautiful.
I pick a white headscarf and sash as a nod to human wedding traditions, grab the bouquet, and practically skip out. In the passageway, Aqen looks up with a huge grin when I open the door.
“He’s waiting for you in the pits. Everyone is.”
Emotion wells inside me as I follow Aqen down the passageway, clutching my flowers. I’m getting married. I found my square-hearted boy. I wish I could tell my grandma, but somehow I think she already knows.
I’m a little nervous, though. Not about Nik, about the ceremony itself. But it’s mostly a good nervous, like bubbly champagne in my stomach.
Even those bubbles melt away when I see Nik waiting for me in the center of the pits. He’s wearing a darker shade of blue, like a determined happiness. A decision to be happy, not just a whim. He’s circled by warriors with her elbows leaning on the rail, and the rest of the room is packed with apprentices and warriors and miners all wearing their best svelis and clean bandages. Everyone came to celebrate us.
I recognize faces in the comm screens that are set up in the healers’ area. Tamira and Fen wave at me from one screen and Jaya and Kyaal from another. Ada and Bree are there with their kings, too. Nik’s brothers all showed up for him, and it’s about time.
The crowd parts for me, and I duck under the rail to join Nik in the center of the room. He takes me in his arms immediately, and I have to rescue my flowers from getting smashed.
“Beautiful,” he grunts. That’s my man. He may not have the most words, but he has the best words.
I crane my neck to smile up at him. “You look very handsome, too. Thank you for the flowers, I love them.”
