She paused, eyes searching his face.
Ravik tilted his head. Then stoically looked down at the ground, waiting for his eyes to unblur.
"Ravik,” she said into his silence. “I’d like to hear it from you back. Please."
Ravik opened his mouth. And closed it again.
"But Zion has already..." he started.
"For Ursa's sake, simply convey to her how you feel,"I pushed into Ravik's mind at the same time Boone sent,"I SWEAR IF YOU DON’T FUCKING TELL OUR GIRL YOU LOVE HER BACK I’M GOING TO PUNCH YOU IN YOUR FUCKING THROAT
"I love you," Ravik whispered for reasons that had nothing to do with Boone’s threat and everything to do with his feelings for the small woman standing before him.
Then stronger, looking directly into her eyes: "I love you so much that it's hard to breathe when I look at you. Because you're so smart and funny and sexy and talented, and I'm bad at this talking stuff. Sometimes I feel like you—like I don't know if I deserve for you to love me back. But I do love you. For always."
He grasped at his chest.
"I love you so much, it hurts. But it's a good hurt, and I want to feel it for the rest of my life."
She let out a relieved breath and touched his chest where his hand still pressed, feeling his thundering heart beneath her palm.
"I love you too," she whispered. "So much."
Then the time for words was over. She kissed him back so fervently that it felt like a new sunrise in all of our hearts.
Bell had come here looking for a fresh start.
But she didn't know that she was our fresh start as well.
After exchanging those deep sentiments, we all went to our apparently not-so-temporary home in the Outer Limits and spent the rest of the day showing her how we truly felt.
And as if to bless our new beginning, that evening I woke in Bell’s nest to the sound of several text messages going off on my phone.
Most likely students’ parents upset about me not having shown up for the last dress rehearsal before tomorrow’s pageant performance.
There were certainly several texts about that. But the most recent one was not.
“What’s going on?” Bell asked, sitting up in bed beside me, when she saw the huge grin spread across my face.
“It’s from the mayor,” I answered. “He’s found a new teacher to replace me.”
“Oh my god, Zion, yay!” she cheered… before scrunching her cute nose.
“But half your personality is complaining about your students." She took my hand with a look of faux concern and matched my somewhat theatrical baritone. "Whatever will you do?”
I sucked my teeth, narrowing my eyes at her. “You believe yourself funny, do you?”
“Oh, I am hilarious,” she assured me.
“Move aside, Boone,” I boomed with extra-theatrical flourish to our third maul, curled up sideways at her feet. “I’m about to wipe the smile off our naughty imp’s face.”
Our third maul gamely rolled aside, and soon Bell was shrieking as I pulled her legs over my shoulders to bury my face in what Boone vulgarly but aptly called her “sweet sugar cookie pussy.”
Meanwhile, Boone kissed her while Ravik palmed her breasts.
And yes, we did wipe the smile off our mate’s face, but not from her heart.
After I made her come on my mouth, she returned the favor on her knees while Boone and Ravik claimed her from both sides.
