“Wow,” I breathe out, overwhelmed by how gorgeous our baby is. “We’ll have to make sure to save the shell when they hatch. I’ve heard people can make special jewelry and mementos from the shell.”
“We’ll do that,” Jin says softly, carefully helping me to lie back down. I turn to face Jin, keeping our egg between us. He puts his hand on mine, his pinky resting against the shell.
We stay like that for a long time, just looking at each other and our egg.
“This feels unreal.”
“What does?”
“Being here,” Jin says, his red eyes gazing at me softly. “I never imagined my life could turn out like this. I never thought I would have a mate. I especially never thought about having kids. This doesn’t even feel real and sometimes I have to pinch myself to prove I’m not stuck in a dream.”
I smile over at my mate, reaching over and pinching his cheek. “I’ll always be here to offer you a pinch when you need it.”
Jin turns his head, nipping at the side of my hand playfully. “I love you,” he says, his face turning serious. “I love you so much, Leo. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to remind you of that and be the man worthy of being called your mate.”
“You already do that just by being yourself.”
Jin shakes his head. “You deserve so much more than just my existence. I want to give you everything.”
“Then give me yourself, every day. That’s all I ask.”
“I can do that,” he says, leaning over our egg and kissing my lips. Then he pulls back but only far enough to kiss our egg. “I love you already,” he whispers against the shell. “I’ve never shied away from love. It’s one of those things I’ve always gotten excited about but the way I feel about you is so much different than that, Leo.” Jin rests his head against the pillow, gazing over at me with an achingly fond smile. “You’re my first love. You’re my first in so many ways.”
“You’re mine too. And you’ll be my last too,” I say, squeezing his hand. Meaning every word.
Chapter Thirteen
Jin
The needle continues workingagainst my chest. It hurts way more than any other tattoo I’ve gotten in the past. Tilly warned me but I didn’t think it would hurtthisbadly, holy shit!
“You still doing okay, Jin?”
“Yep! So good! Super peachy! Tis but a scratch!”
“You’re such a liar,” she says with a chuckle that helps soothe the hurt just a tiny bit. “Would talking help or would you prefer I remain quiet?”
“Talk.Please. Tell me about your girlfriend?”
“Which one?”
“You have two partners? I didn’t realize that, Tilly!”
Tilly hums, her face taking on a softer look. She still continues moving the needle across the skin of my chest, but now her brows are a little less furrowed.
“I have two,” she agrees softly. “Just like cupids can’t see their own soulmate ties, I’ve never been able to use my special magic to see who might be connected to me. It took a bit for the three of us to figure our shit out but when we finally figured it out, we just clicked.”
“That sounds lovely. Are they witches like you?”
“One is,” she explains with a small smile. “She travels from town to town telling people’s fortunes. She’s a very talented enchantress named Daisy. I’ve seen her impart blessings on people and occasionally, when she meets a real bad egg, she tends to curse them with the most ridiculous inconveniences.”
My eyes widen. “Shecursespeople? And you’re cool with that?”
“Hell yeah,” Tilly says with a giggle. “Some people need a little karma! It’s one of the things that made me fall in love with her.”
“I’m seeing a whole new side to you, Tilly.”
“It’s little things like shoe laces always going undone. Or never finding a parking spot. Things that are inconvenient but never dangerous.”
