by Honor James
Walking around her slowly, he nodded. “I think it looks very nice on you, Rimi.” He smiled. “And it’s a lot more sexy with what it hides over what Katherine’s show off.” Pressing a kiss to her lips, he went to the closet and collected the swim trunks he’d gotten on a shopping trip of absolute hell.
She couldn’t help but grin and nodded. “I couldn’t agree more, honey. Sometimes more is less.” She teased him with a smile. “Besides, you know everything that I have to hide and show, darling, so that’s a very good thing, right?”
“That I do,” he agreed with a growing smile. “I personally prefer you naked, but since I refuse anyone else to see you that way except under the most dire of emergencies, Goddess willing that never happens, this is perfect.”
“I happen to agree on that.” She didn’t like to be naked in front of anyone. She had a weird sense of self, and she didn’t like anyone other than her bond-mate seeing her naked. Could be because he had been there with her from the moment she was born.
Pulling on his trunks, he collected towels and robes, passing her one to wear as he shrugged into the other. Holding out his hand, he took hers when she reached to him. “Let’s go for that walk, and when we are tired of that, a swim,” he murmured, squeezing her fingers.
“Sounds perfect to me,” she said with a smile. “Because the walk will get us ready for our swim, and then we will swim and that will cool us off.” She loved to be able to swim with him, enjoyed it so very much because it always made her happy to see what kind of treasures they could find under the water.
Chuckling softly at her, he squeezed her fingers. “You just like looking at the bottom to see what you can find there. It’s not the swim so much as the treasures you can dig up.” He pointed out the truth.
“But they are all always so much fun to find. You and I both know that, darling. It’s colorful but not as colorful as the ocean. I would love to be able to go scuba diving with you one day, darling. I think that it would be a great deal of fun to dive with you and see the colors that are under the sea.”
“We will arrange a vacation so that we can go and swim in the ocean,” he told her softly. “I would like to take you back to where I was born and raised. The oceans there are lovely, or they were.” Laighean frowned as he paused for her to put on her flip-flops.
“I would love that.” She looked to him and smiled. “I would like to go back to where you are from, honey, because I truly do want to find out more about you. I want to know all about you, honey.” She wanted to spend life with him and wanted to know about what he went through as a child since he had been through her whole life with her.
“It wasn’t nearly as interesting as yours, Charisma,” he told her as they stepped outside. Moving down the stairs, he got them onto a nice, easy path for their walk. Slipping his arm around her waist, Laighean guided her along slowly. “It was a very simple life, none of this flash and glamour of the world you grew up in.”
“Yeah, but at least you had a bit of that with being a part of me as I grew up, honey, so you really could say that in a way you also grew up in this generation as well,” she teased. “Because in a way you really did.”
“I suppose, but I was really full grown, a warrior long since having passed the age of minority,” he murmured quietly. “I do have to say that I enjoyed it though, being with you as you grew from child to young woman into who you are today, my love.”
Blushing, Rimi admitted, “I liked it, too. I know for the longest time the family thought that I was having a breakdown, but then they learned to accept it and knew that no matter what, you were a good thing for me, with me. I loved having you as a part of me. I didn’t understand it at all, but I loved it all the same.”
“I did worry,” he murmured quietly to her. “I worried that what we were doing, that our bond might be detrimental to you. I didn’t want to ever cause you any trouble or pain,” he whispered. “I am glad that you didn’t have any issue though.”
“Nope, not a one. The only issue that I had was those couple crappy dates, but that was perfectly fine with me. I had you, and you were honestly all that I’ve ever wanted or needed in life. You are the one and only one for me. Now and always.”
“I am grateful you didn’t date,” he murmured quietly. “I don’t think I would have come out of it sane if you had.” He would have had to hunt every single one of the males down and eviscerate them slowly and painfully.
“Exactly. Granted of course I had no idea that you were real at that time, but to me you were. To me you were everything. I swear I don’t think that I’ve been through one single day in my whole life without talking to you, asking your advice, or just reaching to be soothed by you.”
“You soothed me as much if not more, Rimi,” he pointed out in honesty. “You helped me through those last years and kept me from going entirely insane. You made my time in stasis more bearable and the re-entry into the world much easier.”
“Well I’m glad that I could help.” She loved that she had been able to help him even when she didn’t realize she was. “But if not for me you wouldn’t have had to be ‘aware’ as you were in stasis. If not for me you could have rested peacefully. Not taking it back,” she added quickly, “because I needed you in my life, Lee, but the facts are the facts.”
Figuring since she was his mate it couldn’t hurt to tell her, Laighean stopped their walk and turned her to face him, his hands taking both of hers. “No matter what anyone ever tells you, stasis is not like a nearly perfect imitation of death where everything is literally frozen in time, mind, heart, and body. Thoughts occur, dreams happen, and when you can’t move, can’t breathe of your own free will, it’s an absolute and complete hell.”
“Oh God, honey, I…” She didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t know at all what to even think about it. Reaching up, she cupped his face in her hands and pulled him in closer. “I love you so much, Lee. I’m so sorry that you had that hell to live through, but I’m also grateful that you did because it means that you are with me, honey.” She knew how shallow that sounded, but the truth was that she was just happy that he was hers, and he was there with her.
“It’s not shallow, love,” he murmured with a chuckle. He did wish though that the Goddess had let him sleep until meeting her. He would have felt better about that connection. Especially in the initial stages when he’d thought he’d lost his marbles and was actually going insane.
“Hey, you didn’t. You are here with me, love,” she whispered to him. “Right here in the here and now with me, love. We are together. We are forever. We are both stronger for the connection that we had from that moment and beyond.”
“That was almost poetic,” he teased, lifting his head slightly to stare at her. Smiling, Laighean kissed her lips. “Fae know not to dwell in the past. We never forget it, but we know better than to immerse ourselves so far into the errors that came before.”
“That’s a very good thing, love. It’s good never to dwell.” Because it meant that they would be able to simply enjoy the present and the future instead of anything else. “Okay enough of all of this. Let’s change the subject please.”
“All right,” he agreed, getting them back to their walk. “I do have a question for you, something from your childhood that has always confused me a little. When you were six and you were talking to your neighbor, that little boy that moved away when you were ten, what was all that ‘playing doctor’ stuff he was trying to talk you into?”
She laughed, couldn’t help herself. Giggling, she shook her head. “Well, I learned later that ‘playing doctor’ was something that boys and girls did in order to have sex or something as close to it as possible, so it’s a really great thing that he moved or else I likely would have had to hurt him.”
“Then why did he make it sound like a game?” he asked with a frown. “Sex is not a game, and not one that children that age should ever be playing.” Sex with a bond-mate was sublime, something to be worshipped just as the bond
-mate was, and it was beyond contention with its purity.
“I couldn’t agree more, honey, with all of it. And I learned many years later that he was abused as a child and had been having sex for several years. I feel terrible for him, and now he’s damaged for life because of something that was done to him by those that he should have been able to trust most.”
“That is not right.” He shook his head. Hugging her to him, he sighed. He didn’t understand humans and their obvious lack of respect for their children. The children were the future. They were the generation that would take over. If a good and proper example wasn’t set, rules to follow, things to do to learn, then they were nothing more than the sociopaths and whiners that expected life to cater to their every whim.
“I couldn’t agree more, honey. It’s terrible and thankfully now he’s at least getting some help, but it truly is sad that he has to ask for that help in the first place, love. A child should never learn about being an adult like that, ever.” She shivered. “Anyway, enough about that. Can we change the subject again please?” she teased.
“Again?” he groaned and sighed. “Fine, but only because I love and adore you more than I have words to express.” Walking, he paused and looked up. “Look.” He pointed to the falcon floating on an air stream. “They are starting to come back as the other wildlife returns.” The Fae had been slowly cleaning and clearing the lands that were Katherine’s. With it came a return of life to the forest both in growth and the wildlife that had left when humans had pressed in too far.
“That’s amazing,” she whispered. “I knew that Kat had said that Nature responded to her, but I didn’t think about things like the wildlife, but this…” She watched the falcon and could almost feel the freedom that the bird had in flight and sighed. “Amazing.”
“Everything that is of Nature’s bounty responds to the Fae, but especially the Fae Queen. She can literally touch a tree and make it grow and bloom,” he told her honestly. “All Fae can nurture Nature by merely being a part of it just as it nurtures us.”
“I like that about you as well. I love how plants seem to grow for you as well. It makes me all kinds of happy, because sadly plants just simply don’t like me. I do everything that I’m supposed to, and yet I still manage to kill them. Sad but true.”
“That is really a shame.” He frowned as they started moving again. “I’ve never known anyone that kills plants by trying to care for one. Maybe you are just giving off the wrong vibes when you are tending them. They are extremely sensitive after all.”
“Honey, I killed three cacti. Yes, I did say that right. A Cactus. I couldn’t even keep one of those alive past a month.” Which was so strange. “And I don’t know what vibes I give off, but I would love for them to change, please.”
“Well then we will get you something and we will see what occurs,” he told her. “Something small, easy to tend, and go from there. I’m very sure it is something easily corrected and maybe just bad advice about the care of the plants received.”
“I hope that you are right, because I would very much like to be able to learn to take care of plants. I actually really love plants.” She just wanted to be able to have a part in giving back to nature as he did.
“Don’t worry, sweet, I’m quite sure we can get you all sorted out and helping the Mother in her task to keep the planet alive,” Laighean said.
Chapter Fourteen
Staring down at the barely alive plant, he shook his head and looked at her. “How?” he asked in complete bafflement. It had been lush and full when he’d left to go and take care of a few things with the other guards and check their progress. Then he came home to find it limp and barely hanging on. He didn’t understand how in two hours it went from lush to limp.
Rimi felt like crying. She had killed that poor plant. “I’m so sorry, Laighean. I didn’t mean to kill it. I swear that I didn’t mean to do anything that would harm it, but I can’t seem to help it. I told you that I’m really bad for plants. You need to be the one who cares for them, not me.”
“Shh,” he whispered, drawing her in close to hug her tight. Rocking her, he brushed kisses to her cheeks and hair. “It’s all right, little one, we’ll figure this out.” How, he had no idea. This was beyond baffling to him.
“I told you that plants didn’t like me. They never have. I don’t understand it because I only wanted to take care of the poor little thing,” she murmured, “but, see. I told you that I was really bad for plants, honey.”
“What were you doing with it?” he asked her curiously. Rubbing her back lightly, Laighean leaned in to look at the plant. “And why do the leaves look shredded?” He frowned at that. “Were the kittens playing with the plant, Rimi?”
“No, they are off playing in the sunroom. I don’t know what’s happened to the plant or why it’s doing so badly.” She wanted to cry. Gosh dammit all, she was bonded to a Fae, a man who could make plants grow, but she seemed to make them just die, die, and yep, die.
“No crying,” he said softly, leading her to a chair, and sat with her in his lap. Reaching out, he pulled the plant toward them and gently rubbed his finger in the dirt. Stroking it slowly around, he rubbed her back. “See, it’s coming back, darling.”
“Only because you are doing your magic on it, honey,” she grumbled. “Not that I’m upset with you, because I’m not, but really it’s pretty upsetting, darling, that I can’t even keep a plant alive.” She muttered, “What’s going to happen if we ever have children?”
“What do you mean?” he asked as he nudged the plant aside to recover. Shifting her, he tipped up her chin. “Whatever are you talking about, Charisma?” he murmured, hugging her close.
“If I can’t keep a plant alive, what makes me think that I will be able to keep our child alive if we are ever blessed with one?” She knew that they weren’t pregnant, but she wanted babies one day. She really did but refused to even think of them until she could figure out if she was able to keep at least a plant alive. “The kittens thrive under my taking care of them, but plants just wilt and die. That’s bad. Very bad.”
“And babies are an entirely different entity altogether, sugar,” he pointed out with a smile. “So you don’t have a green thumb. As you pointed out, the kittens are thriving and growing with your care. Our babies, when we are blessed, will, too,” he murmured, rocking her slowly.
“Are you sure?” She was worried that perhaps she would hurt their children if they were ever blessed with them. “Are you sure that I wouldn’t hurt them?” she asked softly. “Because it would kill me if I were to somehow hurt our babies, or you.”
“Charisma,” he said in a chastising tone, cupping her face. Turning it up so he could look at her, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “Darling, you haven’t once hurt me, ever. How could you think you’d ever cause harm to our children when we are blessed to have them? You are going to be an amazing, caring, loving, and wonderfully giving mother. I know it. I believe it.”
“I don’t know, I just…” She sighed and shrugged. “I just hope that you are right, love. I really and truly do. I want and need to be able to be very, very good for you and with you.” She only wanted to be happy with him, have their lives be good together.
“I am extremely happy with you in my life, Charisma,” he whispered to her. “You saved me from something much worse than hell, little mate. You gave me hope, gave me a reason to keep fighting, and kept me sane. No matter what, we are a team and we will forever keep moving forward as such.”
“Well good. You have me in your life for the rest of forever, my love.” Leaning in, Rimi felt instantly better. She felt more relaxed and happier. “Thank you, Lee, for everything. For understanding me and what I need, even if I am grumbly, love.”
“You are never grumbly, sweetheart,” he whispered softly. “You are perfect just how you are, and that’s the woman I love and adore. Never change, Charisma, not for anyone, especially me. Just always be who you are and life will forever be perfect.”
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“Good. I don’t plan on changing now or ever. I plan on being a part of your life always,” she assured him. “Thank you for helping me through my mini-breakdown, love. I very much appreciate that.” He had been there and he had calmed her far more than she had ever believed was possible.
“I am your mate. It is my privilege and honor to help you through your mini-breakdowns,” Laighean teased with a smile. Capturing her mouth again, he kissed her slowly, gently, and at great length before he drew back. “I think we should get naked,” he whispered huskily.
“I think we should get naked as well. I think we should spend a great deal of time naked as well. In fact I am going to insist upon it.” Leaning into him, she brushed her lips to his neck and then whispered, “Make love with me,” she begged very, very softly.
“Always, Charisma,” he whispered and stood with her in his arms. Carrying her through their home, he knew they’d figure it all out. There was no other way about it. And Gaia had given this chance. No way was he disappointing the Goddess after her perfect gift to him. Love of a mate. Yes they had a great deal that they still had to deal with but in the end it would be the two of them facing the world with the backup of great friends and people they called family. Somehow they would get through all that they had yet to deal with. Somehow.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in the mid-seventies, this thirty-something woman has only been writing for the last six years of her life, faithfully that is. Honor has always been scribbling a phrase, a curious word, or the oddest of thoughts down on anything she could find lying about. Now she piles them up before her, and if one catches her fancy, she further explores it to whatever its end might be.
