Daughter Trilogy Bundle (43 page)

Chapter 15

Almost Happy

I stare up at the swirling rows of sea creatures that are peeking into our private hideaway.  Devin nestles his head against mine, and I smile foolishly in response to his touch.

He pulls me to him, and I find my lips on his once more.

"I love you," he breathes into my mouth.

"I love you," I murmur back in between his lips closing against mine, trying not to grin even bigger.

"I'm sorry.  I swear I never did anything with her.  You're the only one in the world for me, and I've lived long enough to swear to that," he promises as he pulls back.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you.  It's just hard to trust someone when you've only ever known betrayal.  Then I worried about why you didn't tell me, and it brought back so many painful memories.  I just-"

His lips seal my quivering ones before I babble on more.  He draws back slightly, and his eyes stare fearlessly into mine.

"I would never do that.  I should have told you the moment it happened.  I've never done this before, and I'm going to make mistakes.  I can promise they will only ever be lapses in judgment, never betrayals.  You're the only person I've ever loved in this way.  Please don't ever leave me again," he pleads as he brushes his lips against mine.

"I won't," I promise as he pulls me under him.

His hand strokes my cheek as his eyes gauge mine for any fear, but he won't find any.  I do love him, and I do want to stay with him
… for eternity.

"Let's head back up to the surface.  I'm sure the others are wondering where we are, and there's something I need to do," he murmurs reluctantly.

I almost pout as I rise up with a begrudged motion, giving up the soft folds of the sand beneath me, and leaving behind the cracked and broken seashells littering the tousled sand-bed.

He pulls my lips to his, and the water crashes down on us as we surge to the top.

As soon as we emerge, everyone blushes.  Apparently we weren't too subtle with our very long retreat.  We did have time to make up for though.

"Fireworks tonight?" Ther asks in the form of a seemingly random request.

I look at him quizzically as Devin snickers.  "Yes," Devin chuckles out.

"Thank Aphrodite for me," Ther mumbles in an exasperated tone.

Devin looks into my eyes, and I feel the world spinning too fast for me to keep my balance even in the water.

"Aphrodite had nothing to do with it," Devin murmurs sincerely, and it's so hot.

He's not like everyone else.  He's not drawn to the goddess within; he's drawn to the goddess that is me.  He loves me and just me.

I smile, and his lips close over mine before he dunks me under the water playfully.  I laugh as I reemerge and wipe the ocean from my face.

He moves my hair to the side, and our eyes stay lock intensely.  He's not looking away, and I can't.

"Well, the intoxicating scent is gone, and now it just smells like sex out here," Hale sulks.

Devin smirks as his eyebrows dance up and down.  Hale is gripping his head as if it aches, and Deacon slaps him on the back as he sits down beside him.

"It's the goddess hangover.  It sucks, but it'll go away within an hour or two," he promises.

"The goddess hangover?" I ask with a stupefied mannerism.

"Yes.  It's rather grueling if you don't have a way to
… release your heightened senses, if you know what I mean," Deacon murmurs through his chuckles.

Camara laughs a little, and he pulls her up to sit beside him.  Hale pouts lightly as he looks around.

"You guys are in severe need of some women.  You should never have a group where the men outnumber the women five to one," he gripes.

Devin smiles at me, and he pecks me lightly on the lips before he starts pulling me toward the boat.

Hale scowls at him slightly as Devin pulls me from the water and holds me in his arms.  The sun is almost setting, and I gasp in disbelief.

"The day is almost over?" I whine.

"That's the life of an immortal.  Time flies when you have too much to spend," he says softly.

"I'm fine with that as long as I get to watch it fly with you," I murmur, even though the context is slightly cheesy.

"Come with me," he says with a grin.

I smile as we climb the ladder to the deck, and I follow him into a cabin.  I frown slightly as something crosses my mind.

"Why did you shove all of our pictures into a drawer?"

He stops for a minute and turns to face me.

"Because it was too painful seeing us so happy when I was worried you'd never be with me again.  I've never felt such an empty feeling until you were gone.  I overcompensated by putting them everywhere, and then they became too painful to look at," he sighs.

I step into his arms, and wrap my arms around his waist as I stare up into his eyes.

"Can you put them back up?  I want to see us happy.  I want to make more pictures, have more memories, and I want everyone to know how much I love you."

He smirks slightly as he turns and pulls open a drawer.  He pulls out my engagement ring and puts it back on the finger it had been forced to abandon.

"Then wear this again."  The tone of his voice is so smooth, alluring, and downright inescapably sexy.

I smile and blush as he slides it all the way into place.  I feel complete once more, and life finally makes sense again.  I'm so lucky, happy, and irrefutably in love.

"I missed this ring," I giggle.

"I missed its owner," he mutters too sincerely, making my heartbeat quicken.

My lips cover his, and then I see night descending outside.  I've been waiting for the day when I would finally feel the love I sought after so desperately, and everyday I'm with him, I feel it.

"Fireworks," Ther chirps below to us.

I laugh lightly as Devin smiles against our kiss.

He takes my hand in his, and we emerge just in time to see the first one streaking straight up into the sky.

The cosmic eruption dramatizes the night sky, but there aren't any small, smoldering tendrils slowly gliding to the surface.  There is a streaking light rather than the remnants of a sizzled trail behind them.

Devin takes me in his arms and pulls me to his lap as he sits down.  The fresh breeze isn't obstructed by the charred scent of the bursting beauties, and I finally see why.

Ther throws his hands up and releases the lights into the sky to exactly replicate the fireworks I grew up with as a child, but these are so much more magnificent.

"What is Ther?" I whisper to Devin.

Devin smirks as he returns the low answer.  "A descendent of Pera and Char; both are embodiments of light.  He thinks it's good luck to streak his fireworks during times of war, but I wouldn't let him do it until I had you back with me."

"Why?" I muse.

"Because I didn't want to taint something I've always enjoyed.  I would have been miserable without you here with me," he confesses.

More colorful rays explode into the air, and I snuggle into Devin's embrace.  We needed this moment of serenity and peace.

He kisses the back of my neck, and a slight shiver spreads over me as a girly grin invades my face.

"I missed you," he murmurs with reserved strain.

I turn so I can nestle into his chest before sharing his sweet confession.

"I missed you, too."

His smile matches mine as our lips connect once more, folding in perfect unison as they dance against each other with a soft embrace under the mesmerizing beauties lighting the sky.

"You two going to do that all night?" Hale grumbles.

Devin shares a crooked smirk and looks into my eyes before answering him.

"We very well may."

Hale grumbles louder as he turns his nose up with bitter distaste.

Deacon and Camara snuggle into each other as more bursts of lights fill the sky.  Devin's breath is almost seductive when it lingers against my face with its warm promise.  I smile as I soak in this moment; one we won't be allowed to experience as often as I wish.

"How do you feel right now?" he murmurs against the top of my head.

"Like I'm a normal girl enjoying a night on the ocean with my insanely hot, rich fianc
é," I gloat.

He smiles endearingly, and a different set of swirls stir in his eyes.

"I love hearing you say that.  I'll love hearing you call me husband even more," he says in his tantalizing tone.

"I'll love calling you my husband," I almost giggle.

He kisses me briefly before drawing back and standing to his feet as Ther wraps up the pyrotechnical display with the grand finale.

The exploding wonders erupt from his hand, and they fizzle out quickly to give way to the new booms emerging to take the place of the faded echoes.

The thunderous exhibition's end brings everyone to a standing ovation to applaud Ther's breathtaking performance.

He playfully takes a bow, and then Devin starts pulling me away.

"We'll have to behave tonight," he snickers out in a low, almost muted tone before we reach the cabin entrance, but I tug on him to keep him from going in.

"Why?" I whimper.

His eyes show their joy in my whining dismay, and he whispers his reasoning.

"I don't want to sink the boat, and we both know you have no control over your strength in the bedroom.  You're untamable ways force me to lose my control as well," he teases.

I blush slightly, and then we realize belatedly that Hale has been too close to the conversation.

"Holy fuck.  Damn you, Devin Cole," he gripes from behind us.

Devin laughs lightly at the unintentional tidbit he's revealed that has left Hale green with envy.

"Sorry.  I thought I kept my voice low enough to escape the ears of anyone," he snickers, though I'm not so sure he didn't want Hale to hear that.

I'm sure on some twisted inward level, Devin is poking his chest out and strutting around proudly, though he's too much a gentleman to make it that obvious right now.

Men.  Sheesh.

"How'd you like the fireworks?" Ther excitedly chirps as he struts across the deck on his way to us.

"I loved them," I say genuinely.

"Of course, I love flashing lights, but it wasn't my favorite form of flashing.  But then again, I already witnessed that sort of show earlier today," Hale adds with malicious intent as his eyes daringly stare into my very wide and slightly alarmed ones.

Uh-oh. 
This is going to be bad.

"What are you talking about?" Devin asks with a touch of suspicion.

"This morning, when Adisia flashed me," he boldly and bluntly pops out.

Devin's eyes narrow at him, and his jaw tenses before clenching to a locked state.  His hands fist at his side, and I purposely step in between him and Hale.

"I jumped up before I realized what was going on.  He didn't see much.  Just let it go," I plead gently.

"I should probably go
… away," Hale mumbles when he sees how incredibly pissed Devin actually is.

I start pulling on Devin's hand to lead him away from his tempting desire to punch a hole through the ocean floor - using Hale
’s head as the driving force.  The swirls in his eyes darken, and I know I've lost this battle.

A gushing wave roars up from the sea and carries the unsuspecting Hale with it once more.  He squeals slightly as it sucks him under and twists him in its grip with a wringing motion.

He gasps as he claws back to the surface, and Devin smirks daringly.  Hale growls as he climbs back onto the boat, and starts peeling off his soaked shirt.

"Remind me again why I elected to help you and get shunned by my group to be treated like this," he scoffs.

Devin smiles a little sympathetically in response to Hale's pitiful whine.

"Because you know we need you more than they do, and you've already made too bad a bed with Serena too many times to have stayed there much longer.  Water stings less than fire," Devin snickers.

Hale shrugs with his surly stance.  "True.  Although, I'm no longer too fond of water."

Devin laughs lightly as he shakes his head, and we duck into the cabin area.  He leads me back to the room where my ring had been kept - his room.  I feel his arms wrapping around my waist as he follows me to the bed.

"I'm surprised he wasn't more persistent," he mumbles.

"What do you mean by that?" I inquire.

He smirks lightly as he unties the strings of my suit and they drop, as does the top half of the bathing suit.  My breath grows harsh against his smooth chest as my chest bares itself freely in front of his eyes.

"If he saw that much of you, he had to have been reeling all day.  Too bad you're mine," he remarks smugly.

Undeniably, completely, and irrevocably yours.