Determination.
Romance.
Operation Nyree was underway, and she wouldn’t stand a chance.
Nyree stepped under the warm water with a sigh of relief.Her body ached after sitting for ten hours, and she hadn’t slept well for several nights, her mind full of Tawera and what she’d find here in New Zealand on her arrival.
He loved her.
She hugged the sizzle of happiness and hurried through her shower.Five minutes later, she was drying herself.
“There is a robe hanging on the back of the door,” Tawera called down the passage.“Use that.”
She pulled the black robe off the hook and slipped it on.It smelled of Tawera, and the bit of remaining anxiety released.He’d told her he loved her.He’d missed her as much as she’d ached for his presence.
Nyree padded from the bathroom toward the kitchen.Tawera had the radio playing, and he sang to a tune she didn’t know.
“There you are.”He beamed at her, his open joy tugging at her emotions.
She smiled again, anticipation thrumming through her as he spoke.
“What would you like to drink?I have water, juice, wine, beer, or I have learned how to make leaf tea.Your arrival is a celebration.I think we should have the special wine Emma and Jessalyn helped me choose.It will go with the food I have prepared.”He gestured at the table.It bore three kinds of cheese—blue, cheddar, and brie—nuts and grapes, along with fresh bread and a small bowl of pickle or relish.
“Wine, it is.Where shall I sit?”
“Here.”Tawera pulled out a chair for her, and she sat.
“This reminds me of our picnic after you turned visible.”
“Yes.We must talk.”
“About what?”
“Moonlust.”
He produced a bottle of bubbles and opened it with a professionalism that had her mouth hanging open.Tawera poured the wine into flutes and handed her one.
“A toast.”He lifted his glass.“To us and the future.Our future.”
“To us and our future,” she repeated.“What about moonlust?”
“My moonlust differs from yours.”His brown eyes studied her reaction.
It was his scrutiny that had tension rising to settle on her shoulders.“How is it different?”
“With me, to control my taniwha, I must have sex.Flying at the full moon is only possible after I have a regular sexual release.”
Suspicion came to the fore, and her knuckles whitened as she squeezed her flute.She set it on the table, not wanting to break the glass and spray champagne in all directions.“How did you cope after you arrived here?”Her pulse raced while she waited for his reply, and she tried to rein in her imagination.
“Ah!Manu said it was most important for our relationship that I tell you everything.”
Nyree swallowed hard.Could she forgive him if he’d used another woman to sate his moonlust?She’d witnessed the pain he’d suffered while trying to fly.She could hardly blame him—no, she had to listen and give him a chance.If Manu had advised him, perhaps her brain had jumped to overdrive.
“After Manu and I worked out what the problem was, he suggested I find an agreeable woman to help me.”
Nyree stared, waiting to hear more, even as she dreaded the truth.Despite his strength and abilities, he still had an innocent quality about him.
“I couldn’t do that when you filled my mind.That would not be right.I told Manu this, which made him positive we were mates.”
