He grinned and joined me. “I like this idea.”
Verin piled the pillows for us, then laid back against the wedge. I nestled in against him and set my palm over his chest. The feel of his heart beating relaxed me even more than the gleaming fish swimming by. Verin pressed his hand over mine and sighed deeply. I guess I wasn't the only one.
Chapter Eight
“Tell me about your childhood,” Verin urged after a few minutes of fish gazing.
“I grew up on an island—my parents' private island. They wanted to keep me secluded until I got my spellsinging under control.”
“That sounds lonely.” He angled his head to look at me.
“I didn't know any better.” I shrugged. “And my family would come to visit. My Aunt Adelaid taught me to sing, my mother took me flying, and my father would let me watch him cast spells. I had an entire island to explore and an ocean to swim in. It was a pretty good childhood. But once I left the island, I did go a little wild for a bit. I lived in the Beneather Grand Bazaar. That's where I met Cerberus.”
“Really? You went from a secluded island to a crowded bazaar.”
“And I loved it.” I grinned broadly. “There were so many people—so manyBeneathers—and they were all fascinating.”
“I imagine they thought the same thing about you.” He nuzzled my forehead.
I made a soft snort.
Verin made a questioning grunt.
“Sorry, it's not about what you said, it's the way you said it and the way we're sitting here together.”
“What's wrong with the way we're sitting?” He frowned and looked down at us. “You were the one who wanted to lie here and watch the sea.”
“I know.” I laughed. “And there's nothing wrong with it. It's just that if you'd told me back when we first met that we'd be here now, like this, I would have called you crazy.”
Verin chuckled. “We had a rocky start.”
“I'd say the start was magnificent,” I protested. “You saved my life after all. It was the middle bit that went poorly. At least for awhile.”
Verin grunted and pulled me closer. “I was harsh.”
“And damn sexy.” I grinned. “I was annoyed that I was attracted to you.”
Verin laughed boisterously. “I felt the same way about you.”
We settled back against the pillows, staring softly into each other's eyes as lovers do. I was so damn happy to simply lie there beside him. Just knowing that Verin wanted to be there with me made me smile. Part of me thought I was pathetic but it was a very small part; the rest was enjoying itself immensely.
“What about your childhood?” I asked him.
Verin's smile faded.
“That bad?” My voice dropped into a whisper.
“I told you about my parents—what my father did to my mother.”
“Yes. Did you know about that when you were young?”
“No. But I knew my mother wasn't happy. I saw my father with other women and recognized that as the source of her unhappiness.”
“So, from a very young age, you knew that your father hurt your mother, at least emotionally.”
“And I knew that he didn't care,” he growled. “He said as much to me once—that women were for our use and that was all. A king carries the weight of his kingdom on his shoulders so he deserves every comfort offered him.”
“Nice,” I huffed. “He sounds like a charmer.”
