Now it’s time for our gift. I sprint up the stairs to my bedroom, then open the drawer to pull out the bag. I hurry back down again and slide it across the table toward Fiona.
“From both of us,” I tell her, which earns a look of surprise.
“Both of you?” She hums, clearly pleased with this news as she opens the bag. Inside is our picture frame with the two photo booth pictures. When she pulls it out, Fiona goes stock-still. Her gaze is fixed on the frame, and in only a moment, her eyes turn glassy and wet.
“You guys did this?” she asks us. “Together?”
Shathar nods. “It was my idea. Khesan paid for it.”
I raise my fans and smack him on the arm, but he brushes me off.
“This is so wonderful,” she says, a tear slipping down her cheek. She holds the frame close to her chest. “I love seeing you together like that. You’re both so… handsome.”
I preen at the compliment. I have to agree that we are a rather good-looking pair of Arshurians.
“Thank you.” She heads to one of her favorite shelves, the one with the most trinkets on it, and sets the photo there in the front. “It’s perfect.”
Shathar puts an arm around her shoulders, hugging her against his side. I kiss the top of her head.
“I’m glad you like it,” I whisper. “I could taste your scent even as we took the photos.”
Shathar gives me an odd look over her head. “You could as well?”
“Certainly. She was there with us in spirit.”
He looks thoughtful, but says nothing.
I am attached to Fiona all day as we clean up from the party. The house is, unfortunately, a bit of a disaster. There are some spills that no one mentioned, so she spends much of the day cleaning all the carpets in the house.
I am tasked with the kitchen, which is also a mess, but I handle it in a timely fashion. If the military taught me anything, it is how to clean quickly, efficiently, and well. We were often timed on how fast we could clean our rooms in the barracks, and I always won.
Fiona says we’ll keep the tree for a few weeks more.
“It’s a damn fine tree,” she says. “Seems like a shame to throw it away so soon.”
I agree, as it does bring a certain life to the house.
And then we’re finished, and we all fall to the couch. The sun is nearly going down, and it’s time for dinner. Shathar has an idea for what to make with the ingredients we have left in the refrigerator, and I agree to help him prepare it. Fiona sits at the kitchen island watching us as we busy about, occasionally getting in each other’s way. When he’s in front of the drawer I want, I simply put my hands on his waist and move him a few inches to one side. His gaze snaps to mine, but he doesn’t rebuke me.
I did it without thinking, but… it was instinctual to touch him.
By the time dinner is ready, there’s only one thing I can think about: mating with Fiona again. My very skin is sizzling by the time we’re finished eating, and it’s all I can do not to throw my mate over my shoulder and carry her upstairs.
Fiona catches me staring at her and giggles. “What is it, Khesan? You’ve been so quiet.”
“I’m thinking about all of the things I want to do to you.”
Her brows lift and her lips part. I grin at her reaction. She does not have work for many more days, which means plenty of spare time to copulate and seal our bond.
Shathar crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. “What sort of things?”
“Is it any of your concern?” I ask, my fans rising. He merely laughs.
“I suppose all my questions will be answered later. But this time…” He rises from his chair and walks behind Fiona, sliding his hands over her shoulders as he leans down and speaks into her ear. “This time, I will go first. Warm you up. Make you scream.”
I can’t argue with his logic, as I went first this morning, but it annoys me that he will likely make her do all of these things.
He has the nalopo too, after all, and clearly knows how to use them.
