Will, who laughed as he wiped cake off his face, stepped in front of Kal before she got Purs and Gery involved in a full-fledged cake fight. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” He kissed her, got a little frosting on her nose, then licked it off for her.
“I’m gonna kill you, Aidan!” Kal growled.
Jeff and Aidan were busy laughing and wiping cake off each other. Laura had grabbed a napkin and was taking care of Ryan.
“It was worth it, sweet cheeks. I just hope the photographer got pictures.”
As the reception wound down, Becky went with Kal to help her change clothes. She’d opted for slacks, not a fancy dress like her mom had wanted. All Kal had gotten out of the men was that they’d be on a plane, and she wanted to be comfortable while traveling.
Kal fought a little bout of weepiness when she hugged Becky, Aidan, Jeff, Ryan and her parents before she made the final exit from the reception hall with Will. They paused for one last set of pictures before racing through a spray of birdseed thrown by the guests, then dove into the waiting limo.
* * * *
After the ceremony and reception and seeing Kal and Will off, Ryan quietly slipped away and returned to Atlanta. There, he placed a barrier around the condo. He didn’t want company tonight.
Not tonight of all nights. Especially not Aidan looking to rehash things that were over and done with.
He stared out the windows overlooking Atlanta and tried not to think about Kal.
And he tried not to think about Abby.
Especially not about Chloe.
He failed, miserably, on all three counts.
When he walked into the bedroom, Ryan stopped by the dresser and stared at the empty box. For ages it had housed Chloe’s amulet, the only possession besides his sword that he would never part with. Now the amulet was back where it rightfully belonged, even if the woman no longer belonged to him.
He stroked the lid as he had so many other nights before. Since giving the amulet to Kal, Ryan occasionally felt flashes from his own amulet. He knew if he wanted he could home in on her and listen, feel, experience.
He didn’t want to. Not tonight, at least.
He couldn’t bear it. The pain in his soul throbbed, stabbing, worse than normal. It was his own fault. He could have refused to perform the ceremony, even though it would have hurt Kal’s feelings.
He could have cut himself off from Kal except to fulfill his promise to Will to protect her.
But he couldn’t stand the thought of that, of never seeing her.
The agony hadn’t been this bad when Abby was alive. Ryan idly wondered if it was because this time he’d come so close to having her back and yet gave her away.
Ryan changed clothes and walked to the kitchen. He’d taken the precaution of stocking up. Five brand new bottles of bourbon sat on the counter in a perfect, straight line. They would be enough to get him through tomorrow morning.
Barely.
Hopefully by then he’d be able to function again. While archdemon physiology was nice in some ways, a high tolerance for alcohol wouldn’t help him get through the night without feeling miserable.
He cracked the seal on the first bottle and reached for a glass.
Chapter 17
In the limo, Kal sat back and smiled at Will. “We finally did it.”
He grinned. “We sure did, Mrs. Hellenboek. Or are you going to be Mrs. Martin-Hellenboek? Or Ms. Martin?”
“I’ll stick with Mrs. Hellenboek. I’m an old fashioned kind of girl.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Whatever you want. You know that.”
“So when do I find out what Aidan planned for us?”
“What’s the one thing you always said you wanted?”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “What?”
Will playfully grinned. “When we were first together. You said you wanted one thing.”
Kal thought about it for a while, then stared into his eyes. “I said I always wanted to be normal. Is that what you mean?”
“Ding ding ding!” He kissed her again.
“So where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
A “normal” honeymoon covered a lot of real estate—literally. Unless they were heading to Niagara Falls, Kal had no clue about their destination. The limo took them to the airport, where they boarded a flight for Denver.
Well, that answered that question. Sort of.
Will carefully shielded his thoughts from Kal upon arrival. They rented a car and checked into a nice hotel near the airport.
Kal laughed as Will carried her over the threshold. “Okay, I know I said normal, but I think Aidan took me a little too literally,” she joked with a smile. “I expected something a little more exciting than the Denver Marriott.”
He gently laid her on the bed. “This is just the first stop.” He called room service, ordered them dinner, then stretched out next to her. “We haven’t even got there yet.”
“We haven’t?”
“Nope.”
“No hints?”
His fingers started working on the top button of her blouse. “Nope.” He grinned. “Normal. That’s what you said.”
She stared into his eyes. “I love you so much. I can’t believe I get to spend eternity with you.”
He kissed her. “I’m the lucky one.”
He started working his way down her neck with his lips. Kal didn’t want him to stop, but the knock on their door a few minutes later made her groan with disappointment.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
They ate dinner. Kal thought she’d tackle Will immediately after, but she realized exactly how tired she was as she tried not to yawn in Will’s face when he stretched out next to her again.
He grinned. “A little worn out?”
She nodded. “Yeah.” Kal rolled on top of him. “But I still want to do something.”
From the feel of his stiff length in his slacks, so did he.
As she closed her eyes and let Will take over, Ryan’s words before the ceremony drifted back to her. Pretend it’s the first time. It’ll be just as special.
Not easy to do considering what they’d been through already, but what the heck, why not try?
Will slowly finished undressing her. When she was naked, he propped himself up on one elbow and brushed his fingers down her side. “What would you like me to do, sweetie?”
She smiled. “Make love to me like it’s the first time.”
He arched an eyebrow at her.
“Without the wraith possession,” she snarked. “Duh.”
He laughed. No way could she ever call him The Great Brooding One now. His smiles lit his face, warmed her heart, and liquefied her need for him.
Will climbed out of bed, turned off most of the lights, then returned to her. Kneeling beside her, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. The blatant need smouldering in his eyes stirred her very core.
“I’m going to make love to you, baby,” he whispered. “I’m going to show you how much I love you and need you and want you.” He dropped his shirt to the floor. Then he bent over and took one of her nipples in his mouth, gently flicking it with his tongue until it tightly peaked.
She gasped.
“Do you like that, sweetheart?” he whispered.
She noticed how dark his eyes had changed, from slate grey to nearly the color of midnight. Had they always done that?
“Yes. Please don’t stop!”
He smiled and repeated the action with her other breast. “Don’t worry. I’m not stopping.”
She squirmed on the bed under the attention from his hot, moist mouth. He took her hand and placed it on the front of his slacks, where his hard bulge strained for freedom. “See what you do to me?” He leaned in and kissed her again, hungrier, his tongue searching for access between her lips.
She pressed her body against his, hooked a leg around him. She grabbed his hand and placed it between her legs. “See what you do to me?” She nipped his ear.
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He slipped two fingers inside her, and between that and the heat of his flesh against hers, she moaned. Was this what it was always like between two people in love? She didn’t know. It seemed like her mind had gone foggy. She tried to think about prior encounters with Will and she suddenly realized she couldn’t remember any. Was this their first time?
The memory of Ryan’s voice again. Pretend it’s the first time.
So he had done something.
No reason to question it. She rolled Will onto his back, eager to reveal the hidden length inside his slacks. When she freed him, she immediately sucked him deep into her mouth. He tangled his fingers in her hair and closed his eyes as she stroked him with her lips and tongue. As he worked his hips in time with her motions, she felt him stiffen even more.
“You’ve gotta stop doing that!” he gasped.
She finally lifted her head. “Why?”
He laughed. “If you don’t want me going off right now, you have to stop.”
She tugged on his slacks and he helped her pull them off. Then he flipped her over onto her back. “You’re eager, aren’t you?”
“Make love to me, Will. Take me, make me yours.”
With the length of his body pressed against her, he slipped his stiff member inside her, filling and pleasantly stretching her. Each slow stroke deliciously slid along her clit.
“This is perfect,” she sighed.
He nuzzled the base of her throat. “You’ve made me happy again. Pure joy.”
She closed her eyes and enjoyed every sensation, the feeling of being one with him. She held on as he increased the speed and tempo of his thrusts, rocked her hips with his, found a rhythm.
In her mind, she heard his thoughts. “Come for me, baby. Give it to me.”
It pushed her over the edge. When he felt her climax start he grabbed her hips, trying to finish with her. He cried out and she felt warm heat flood her core, her soul and his mixing, melding.
One.
Instinctively she knew this had to be part of Ryan’s little surprise, because duh, been there, done that.
She still enjoyed it.
As he rolled to his side, with his arms around her, he brushed his fingers up and down her back. She heard his mental whisper. “My soul mate.”
Kal quickly drifted to sleep.
* * * *
Kal opened her eyes and found herself lying in a clearing in the woods.
Oookaaay.
She sat up, realized she was wearing some sort of dress, soft homespun material from the feel of it.
Total silence around her. No birds, no traffic. Part of her felt creeped out. Part of her felt…
Home?
She stood, tensing when she suddenly sensed another presence. She turned and there stood Aidan, dressed…
Well, like a renn faire runaway. At the same time she felt like he was supposed to be dressed that way. Like she was supposed to be dressed this way, too. His blond hair was longer, down well past his shoulders, tied back with a leather thong. He carried a huge sword sheathed in a scabbard slung across his back. He smiled and walked over to her.
“Little one, what are you doing here?”
She stared at him. He wasn’t speaking English, but she understood every word. She had no idea why, but she could. Behind him appeared Ryan. She almost didn’t recognize him at first. He was dressed in a similar manner as Aidan, his long hair also tied back.
Kal’s heart thumped when she saw him, her soul yearning for him the way it yearned for Will when he was away from her. She crossed the clearing in a few strides and threw herself into his arms, deeply kissed him.
When she finally tipped her head back to look at him, she smiled. “Ami.”
He picked her up and spun her around, the biggest, brightest smile Kal had ever seen on his face. She’d never seen him smile as broadly as he was now, and her heart swelled even more.
“Chloe, how I love you.”
“Take her home, brother,” Aidan said from somewhere behind them. His voice sounded amused. “We can pick up the trail tomorrow. I’ll stay here tonight. Praise the gods together as loudly as you wish. Perhaps tonight I’ll actually get some sleep.”
Ryan laughed and kissed her again. She closed her eyes and felt the shift, knew they’d gone…home?
She opened her eyes as Ryan laid her on their bed. The room looked sparse, nearly primitive, but tidy and clean. He stretched out beside her. “I missed you, my love,” he whispered as he kissed her throat. She also realized he wasn’t speaking English, but she was beyond caring about that little factoid.
Her fingers gripped the back of his head, found the leather thong holding his hair, pulled it free. It cascaded across his shoulders.
“I missed you too, my sweet Amiago.”
Kal felt every touch, every kiss, but it was more like a conscious memory than a dream. It felt like it had really happened, she couldn’t control or change the events, simply relive them even while her mind struggled to make sense of it all.
While she thought she would feel guilty over enjoying how Ryan made love to her, as she later snuggled with him, falling asleep safe in his arms, her thoughts were only of him.
* * * *
Kal awoke exhausted the next morning. She knew she’d dreamed, unusual scenes that were fuzzy in their recollection and disturbed her in ways she couldn’t understand, and yet she wished she could clearly recall them.
She stared at Will. Still asleep, his head tucked against her, his arm draped across her hip.
Making love to him last night had almost felt like the first time all over again for real. In morning’s light, she had no trouble discerning the truth, that it had been their wedding night and not really their first time.
I’ll have to thank Ryan.
“Thank Ryan for what?” Will mumbled.
She blushed, embarrassed that Will had heard her thought. She vaguely remembered part of her dream, about making love to Ryan, but it had been strange, out of place, like a memory of a long-distant past.
Kal quickly shielded those thoughts from Will. “He pulled a little mind trick with me.”
Will’s eyes popped open as his face darkened. “What did he do?”
She grinned. “Mr. Jealousy, are we?”
He sat up. “What did he do?”
She put her arms around him. “He told me before the ceremony to pretend that last night was our very first night together. It sort of did feel like it.”
Will relaxed and kissed her. “Oh.”
“That’s sweet, that you’re so jealous,” she teased. “You two won’t start fighting again, will you?”
He pulled her back down to the bed and rolled her on top of him. “Not unless he starts some shit with me.”
They ate breakfast before driving away from the city. “So when do I find out our plans?” she asked.
He smiled. “When we get there.”
As they drove north toward Cheyenne, Wyoming, then west on I-80, Kal started to get a pretty good idea of where they were going. Will took his time, giving her plenty of opportunities to stop and take pictures of the scenery. They stopped early and had dinner before checking in to a small motel near Rock Springs.
“When do we get to Yellowstone?” she playfully asked after he’d made love to her.
He gently nipped her shoulder. “You been sneaking looks at my thoughts?”
“No. It doesn’t take a genius to read road signs.”
“Two days in the Tetons. Four days in Yellowstone, then a roundabout drive through some other sites in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. We’re taking two weeks off.”
“Two weeks!” She sat up, irritated. “With as much stuff as we have going on?” And with her dad dying.
“Relax. Your mom and dad insisted on it, believe me. I would have been happy with a three-day weekend, but your mom and dad told Aidan to set us up on a long trip to get away.”
She’d managed to spend most of their trip so far not thinking about how
short time was for her dad. Now she felt guilty for enjoying herself so much.
Will pulled her back into his arms, snuggled her tightly against him. “Sleep, sweetheart. It’s okay. Enjoy this time together.”
She didn’t realize how tired she was, falling asleep almost immediately.
* * * *
The primitive pants Kal wore weren’t much more than a loose skirt split up the center and sewn shut along the inseams. Something had her on edge, but what that something was, she wasn’t sure. She’d visited the village market earlier that day, that much she remembered. Something about a man…
Kal shook her head. It felt wrongly right being here. Embedded in this dream, she could remember her dream from the night before. This one also carried her along with it, without question or interference from her.
She lit a fire in the hearth and prepared to make the stew when one of the horses nervously whinnied outside.
Instincts on edge, she drew her sword from the scabbard hung on the wall. Aidan and Amiago were out on a mission, she wouldn’t disturb them for a wolf or wild boar, that would be ridiculous. Aidan would never let her live it down. Amiago would reassure her it was okay, but he’d have that deliciously handsome twinkle in his eyes, amused that his soul mate had come crying to him over a mere animal.
She wrapped her fingers around her amulet and brought it to her lips, kissed it for luck, her nervous habit. Then she carefully opened the door.
When the huge hand reached out and grabbed her, she barely had time to make out the large man’s face before the dream faded and Kal sank into deep, inky blackness…
* * * *
“What’s wrong?” Will looked at Kal from across the booth, his brow furrowed with worry.
Kal picked at her oatmeal. More dreams. These of a decidedly darker tone than the ones the night before. “Nothing. I think it’s just stress, that’s all.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
She pulled herself together. This was her honeymoon, for crying out loud. She instinctively reached for the amulet around her neck and played with it, fingered it, feeling slightly calmer as she did.
“Yes.” She forced a smile. “I’ll feel a lot better once we’re in Yellowstone and relaxing.”
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