Page 172 of Tempting Fate

“But I’m tired too. I flew through space, Marni,” I whined.

She kissed me, a soft, tender thing. “And I’m so glad you did. Let’s never do it again.”

“Never. But this? We are definitely doing more of this, my moonlight.” I rocked my hips, catching her clit with my ridges, making her gasp.

“There you go. You’ve got the energy. Be a good boy and fuck me, kitten.”

I shuddered, that blissful sensation flooding my system and sending my brain into peace.

I eased down my breeches. We had the rest of our lives together, and I’d spend all of it showing her just how good I could be.

Before we fell asleep, Imani tucked my head on her breasts, stroking my headspines as I nuzzled into her.

Tears welled in my eyes. I was safe. Home. With my mate. The enormity of it hit me with the full force of an exploding ship, but this time, I was exactly where I wanted to be. I let the tears fall.

“What’s wrong, kitten?”

I drew her nipple into my mouth, sucking gently, breathing in her scent. When we woke, it would be morning. We’d be in our own bed, the scent of hypra blooms filling our chamber through the open window. One of the villagers would be making fruited porridge for breakfast. And my mate would be in my arms—as she would be for the rest of our lives.

No, nothing at all was amiss.

I pressed a kiss to her breasts and raised my head, smiling. “I have never been better, taamthi.”

Epilogue

Imani

RAIN WOKE ME, battering the roof in a relentless downpour. Airida held me close, his arm draped over me, and I snuggled deeper into his embrace. So warm. So right.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Wind thrashed in the trees, and flashes of sheet lightning revealed their branches, swaying and whipping across the sky. In a lull, I heard the fluttering of Orbit’s wings as she quieted the tiny coos of her babies.

Airida’s other arm snaked under my neck, and I nestled back into him, savouring his deep chuckle as I wiggled against him.

This man. How could I ever have doubted how wonderful he was?

I kissed his forearm, along the veins, working my way up to the crook of his elbow, pressing kiss after kiss as he buried his face in my hair. His hand roved over my stomach, caressing me. We would wake every morning like this, and I’d welcome every single one of them.

“My moonlight,” he murmured. “Aimanei.”

Another thunderclap. Another lash of branches against the wall.

Sharp heat flared over Airida’s skin, scorching my lips.

I jerked back, answering tingles lighting up my own arms, prickles of hot, unnatural sensation. And, yes, it hurt—but in a place on the edges of my awareness, somewhere far away from the heady, fuzzy euphoria cocooning me.

A tiny mewl crept from my throat; I heard an answering one from Airida as he held me so tight it almost hurt.

In the soft morning glow, I thought I made out patterns forming on my arms—hard to tell in this light and against my skin. But on him, it was unmistakable. Purple lines sprawled over his orange canvas, vines budding, curling around his elbows and taking root.

My arms burned with cleansing, blissful pain. My mind went quiet, all the thoughts I usually had drifting and settling like ash on the breeze. There was only my mate around me, the heat in my arms, and a beautiful, deep pressure without and within.

If I were to turn into heat, into a sun, if this growing, overwhelming warmth were to make me combust, I would embrace it—anything to keep my mate’s arms around me and this perfect sense of grounded peace. This was it, wasn’t it?

“Taamhia kizathi.” Airida’s voice was a whisper, an answer, a note of pure joy.

He turned me with a strong, sure touch, shifting back in our nest and pulling me close. Crystal eyes refracted his tears, more beautiful than anything I could imagine. And when his full lips parted, his tusk gems sparkled as they caught the dawn.

“It happened,” I said, as if stating the obvious could somehow breathe more life into this already too-heady sensation. “I’m…”