The fairy grumbled a noncommittal consent and was forced to agree that this arrangement would, indeed, prove highly beneficial for the child. The female fairy shook her head in amazement.
“Never once did I imagine the wish working out this way. I don’t think any of us realized the full power of human passions.”
“Well, I do,” Aliya said, stretching out her long human legs and rising from the bed. She smiled at her magical friends. “Thank you both so very much!”
She reached out for Raea to give her a warm hug of gratitude. The bedsheets slipped away, exposing every inch of her fully human form. Devin was powerless to avert his greedy gaze. The damned male fairy seemed to take note of her, too, and Devin wondered if he would need to kick some fairy ass pretty soon.
Instead he grabbed up the discarded bedding and wrapped it carefully around Aliya. He gave Kyne a warning glare that said he did not need to be telepathic to know just exactly what thoughts were running through the fairy’s dirty little mind. Kyne nodded and took a step back. Apparently no magical ass kicking would be needed just now.
All he needed in the world right now was to lose these two fairies and get on with his life. With Aliya, the woman who made him whole and complete in ways he hadn’t even known that he was lacking. Knowing that she wasn’t going to die—and that she was even more magical than ever now that she had human body parts again—was urging his own body parts to want to make a little of their human sort of magic. Just as soon as they were alone, there were a few more wishes he’d be making come true today.
* * *
Aliya held the bedsheet tightly around herself and gave her final thank-yous to the fairies. She knew Devin was eager to have them gone, and it made him happy to see that she was keeping her new body covered when they were around. Apparently he wanted her all for himself, and she saw no reason whatsoever to argue with that.
Raea promised to check in and offer any assistance needed as they began their new life together. Kyne seemed concerned about what that would actually entail, but Raea convinced him that they should go now. It was up to Aliya and Devin to decide for themselves what direction their lives would take after this. Obviously both of them were going to be making a lot of changes.
They had a lot to consider. Aliya would have to confide in her mother, that much was certain. She could trust Coraline to help them keep their secret as long as possible. She would advise them wisely. Life would most likely not be easy for Aliya and Devin after this day, but whatever lay in store, she could take comfort in knowing that they would be together.
“Come on, Kyne,” Raea said as she nearly pushed his human-size form out the door and onto the deck of the boat. “They’ve got a lot to talk about, and so do we. We’re going to have to come up with some plausible excuse for using up so much of our dust, and for spending half of the day at the lake.”
Kyne mumbled unpleasant things under his breath, but he left. Not before Aliya got an unusually strong wave of vibrations from him. By the Depths, even here in the air wearing her human form she had no trouble sensing the thoughts behind Kyne’s gruff exterior. She’d never felt another magical creature so brimming with passions. The forbidden type. Did Raea know about this, she wondered?
“Just remember, I’ll help you in any way that I can,” Raea said, pausing in the doorway and smiling as if she were actually looking forward to involving herself in intrigue and conspiracy.
Perhaps she was. Aliya took a step forward and spoke so the males nearby couldn’t hear.
“Thank you, my friend. And I want you to remember the same; I’ll help you in any way that I can. The council will surely disapprove of you and Kyne, after all.”
Raea frowned. “You mean…they’ll disapprove of us helping you and that human.”
“No, I mean they’ll disapprove of you and Kyne engaging in carnal activities.”
The fairy fanned her wings rapidly and glowed a bright pink. “But I…we haven’t…that is…What do you know about that?”
Aliya decided not to inflict any more burden on her friend today. She stopped herself from elaborating fully on just exactly how transparent her friend’s curiosity and Kyne’s lust was.
“I know nothing about it, only that I can feel the passion flowing between you. I know he is not all he seems…and you’re more than a little curious.”
“But I would never go against the Great Code! I mean, well, I suppose we all know that’s not entirely true, after today, but…I would never do that kind of thing with Kyne!”
Devin was coming up behind Aliya so she knew the conversation had to end. She simply gave Raea a knowing smile and nodded. “Of course. But let me just say, never is a very long time, Raea. And trust me…that kind of thing feels really, really good.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Devin put his hands on Aliya’s shoulders. Her skin felt warm and moist. Thank God, she was healthy again. Their wish had granted them the hope of a future—both of them together. No: the three of them together. His head was still spinning as he grappled to comprehend this wonderful new reality. The three of them; a whole family soon.
Hell, this was more than just a wish. It was a dream come true.
He stood close to his lover, leaning in to breathe her scent and run his fingers through her long, cascading hair. Her firm little ass rubbed against him, bringing life into his groin. His cock roused at her closeness and he slid his hands over her body to reassure himself those legs were still there. And the wonderful, hot juncture between them.
They were blissfully alone, watching the fairies take off and disappear up into the evening sky. Odd creatures, those fairies. They’d seemed every bit as large and solid as the average human, yet they’d vanished from view so quickly, fading into the air around them as if they had never even been. He had so much to learn about this strange, magical world his Aliya came from.
For now, though, he’d much rather focus his attention on learning how else he could please her. She’d done more than she could ever know for him and he was determined to return the favor. Preferably in bed.
“I love how you touch me,” Aliya murmured, leaning against him.
“Good, because I plan to do a lot of it.”
“And…you truly don’t mind that your life is suddenly very different than it was?”
“No. I can’t explain it, but somehow all these changes just…well, they feel right. I know they shouldn’t. Hell, I know your people have rules that say this is very wrong and I’d probably get locked away by my own people if I started bragging about how I fell in love with a mermaid, but whatever we have here, Aliya, it’s exactly what I want.”
She seemed content at first with his words, but even as he spoke them he knew they were not quite accurate. Not that he had any regrets, but he had to admit he’d not spoken the full truth of his emotions. What he and Aliya had now—their love, their passion, their child—well, in fact it wasn’t exactly what he wanted.
And of course now that he’d admitted it to himself, she knew of it, too. He could feel her body react as her mind soaked in his thoughts. How long would it take to get used to spending his life with someone telepathic? He would never have secrets from her, he ought to know that by now.
“But it’s not what you want,” she cried, twisting in his arms to face him with worry-filled eyes. “Oh, Devin, you are lying to me now!”
“No…I’m not lying. I swear, Aliya. It’s just that…”
“What is it? Please tell me.”
“I don’t know if you’ll understand.”
“I’ll try, Devin. You know I will. Please tell me—I’m confused by your thoughts. You’re happy, yet you aren’t.”
“I’m happy. Very happy; trust me on that. I love you, Aliya. I always will.”
“But what am I feeling from you, then?”
He took her by the hands and wished she would just let him change the subject. She came from such a different world—her way of life was so foreign to him. Her people lived s
olitary lives, from what he could gather, and they had odd customs like implanting fish eggs and marking moon phases. He could only imagine human society would seem equally strange to her.
How involved in his world was she willing to get? Could he take her to his home, make love to her on dry land? Or was this human body she appeared in now only for use on occasion when they might steal away from their lives and meet here, halfway between worlds? If that was their future, he would accept it and be grateful, but the truth was…he wanted more.
“You want more,” she said, laying her hand on his face and studying him closely. “I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s not important,” he said. “All that matters is that I love you, Aliya, and I am honored to be bringing a child into this world with you.”
“But there is something you won’t say. I can feel it in you, Devin.”
“Is that all you can feel in me right now?”
“Don’t try to distract me,” she said, rubbing her body against his in a way that was more than a little diverting. “You need to explain what you are feeling. Please, Devin. Trust me with yourself.”
“I do trust you, Aliya. You must know that if you can read any of my thoughts. I just…I want you to be happy with me.”
“Of course I am. How can you doubt it?”
“I don’t doubt it right now. We’re safe, we’re together…of course we can be happy right now. But what about when you go back to your life and I go back to mine? Will you be happy then?”
“I will be happy to know that we’ll find a way to be together again soon. As we are now.”
She was sliding against him and the sheet she’d been wrapped in fell away. Her skin felt too good against his. He was throbbing to be inside her again and she clearly was not opposed to that idea.
“Whenever we want to,” she said, rising onto her tiptoes to whisper into his ear, “we can be together this way.”
God, but it was difficult to concentrate on conversation. Her hands were running over his back, her fingernails grazing the taut skin on his ass. To hell with it. If she worried about what he was thinking, they could talk about it later. He’d nearly lost her today and he was ready to give up on life. But he hadn’t lost her. Right now she was in his arms, blood pounded through his veins, and he needed her.
He kicked the crumpled sheet out of the way and scooped her into his arms. Her toes wriggled in the air as she squealed. The cabin was tight, but he maneuvered them back to the bunk and he dropped her into the softness there. She laughed when she pulled him down onto the bed with her.
Her breasts bounced with their movement so he took them into his hands. She was so firm and fresh. Her nipples puckered tightly as he rolled them in his fingers. Her laughter changed to sighs, the air hissing through her lips as her body arched under his. His cock was already straining to possess her. He tugged at the shorts he’d hastily slipped on earlier. His fingers fumbled in their desperation to get him closer to Aliya, so she reached out to help. At last he was free and he could glide his body beside hers, skin against skin and heat against heat.
“It seems like I get harder and harder every time I get close to you,” he said.
She stroked his cock and bit her lip thoughtfully. “I believe you are right. You’re solid as rock right now, Devin. What do you wish me to do?”
“No more wishes,” he said as he stroked her in return, feeling her swell in moist anticipation of what was to come. “I have everything I could imagine.”
She rewarded him with a teasing moan as he slid slowly inside her. He wanted to draw his actions out longer, but his emotions were raw from thinking he’d never have her again. His need was raging out of control and there was no hope of going slowly now. There’d be time for that later. For now, he needed to lose himself in the waves of their regained passion.
“You make me forget who I am,” she murmured, rocking with his increasing thrusts. “You’re my whole world when we are like this, Devin.”
“And you’re mine,” he said. “I love you, Aliya. I need you like this. Forever.”
“You will have me, whenever you want me.”
Whenever you want me. In an instant images washed over him, flooding his mind with thoughts of Aliya. She was in his bed, in his car, walking up a tree-lined path with him, riding the elevator up to his leather-and-glass-bedecked office. Any part of his daily life he could imagine, Aliya was there. Those were all the times, all the places he would want her.
When he said forever, he truly meant it.
Not just when he could break away to come out on this boat. Not just when she could give her mermaid folk some excuse for her absence, not just when he could find a safe place to hide her and their hybrid offspring when he would come. He wanted Aliya the way any human man wanted the woman he loved. He wanted to build a life with her every day and everywhere.
It was like cold water in his face when reality dawned that this might not be the way she saw forever.
“What is it, Devin?” she cooed. “I feel your mind pulling back from me, even as I hold your body close.”
It was true. He could already feel himself steeling his heart against the inevitable. She would know how he felt, how he wanted her in every human way, and she would reject that. How could she not? It would be as if he were asking her to be something she was not. He’d been through this before and knew how it would end.
If he wanted Aliya at all, he must be content with only part of her. He and Judith had made that work. He could do that again. Damn it, though, he just didn’t want to.
“What are your thoughts, Devin?” she asked, the passion in her eyes fading enough that he could see honest concern.
He wasn’t going to lie to her. Not now, not when they were so close and they’d already lost each other once today.
“I love you, Aliya. I will always love you, not just whenever.”
“I know, I can feel that so strongly in you. But why do you…why are you pulling away?”
There was no question what she meant by that. Even as his body pressed close to her, his impatient cock enveloped by the soft, wet folds of her heated body, his vulnerable psyche pulled away.
“Because I’m worried for our future.”
“You are afraid we won’t be like this in the future?”
“I promise I have plans for us to be like this a whole lot in the future. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“I don’t want our life together to be something we hide. I don’t want to sneak around as if we have something to be ashamed of.”
“Are you ashamed of us?”
“No! That’s exactly the point. You feel so good, I want your arms and your legs wrapped around me every day of my life. I want to make love and come inside you always, not just when we can sneak off to make it happen.”
“You want to go out and do this in public?”
Her voice and the bright gleam in her eyes told him she might not be entirely opposed to that idea. His cock jumped and he couldn’t speak; he only pushed himself deeper into her and thrilled at the sensations. By God, she did want him every bit as powerfully as he wanted her.
“No,” he said finally. “I mean, yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I want you in my life, Aliya. What we have here is magical, but I want you in the boring, everyday parts of my life, too.”
Now she was beginning to understand. Maybe his words had been enough, or maybe his thoughts were clearing to let her see inside him. He watched her chew on the idea, turn it over inside her head.
“You want me to go on the land with you.”
“Yes, I do, Aliya. I don’t know how you feel about that, but—”
“I would love to, Devin. If you truly want me there.”
“Want you there? I think we’ve pretty well established I want you every damn where.”
“And the way the wish turned out, it seems that is what will be best for the child, too. We are suited to be part of each others’ lives now
, Devin.”
“Yes, we are. I just wasn’t sure how much of my life you might want.”
“All of it, Devin. How much of mine do you want?”
His mind was open to her now. He could feel the sunshine of her thoughts, her emotions, as she reached inside to probe him there. She wasn’t afraid to know him and he wasn’t afraid to let her. All she would find inside his mind was love and a whole lot of desire.
“We will find a way to make this work, Devin. We can be what you want.”
Embracing this moment of full honesty, he spoke the words he’d never been brave enough to say. Judith had never wanted to hear them, but he knew without hesitation that Aliya would. She really was his greatest wish come true.
“I want us to be a family. I don’t know what it is to be a magical creature with twenty-four sisters who were birthed ceremonially for the sole purpose of serving the community, but I do know what it’s like to live with people who love you and sacrifice themselves for the good of the family. That’s what I want for us, Aliya. I live for you and you live for me and we both live for our child.”
“It sounds wonderful.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“Then that is what we will be. We’ll be a family like that.”
She said it so easily and she meant it so fully. “Love” was too petty a word to describe what he felt for her at this moment. He pulled her tight and drove into her, sliding slowly and deliberately to connect all her most sensitive places. She moaned with pleasure for him.
“I need only one more thing from you to be perfectly happy,” he spoke into her ear.
“Anything, Devin.”
“Marry me.”
He held his breath and had to pause in his eager lovemaking. Her answer made all the difference in the world. She would either grant him complete joy, or explain that there were simply some things they could not do. To bind herself in such a dry, human way might be asking too much. She came from a world where no one bound her by anything, where she was completely free and where humans were feared as oppressors. The last thing he wanted was to make her think he was asking to take her freedom away.
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