Chapter 39
Terah stumbled a few steps going into the water. Konner jolted and stripped off his pants and rushed after her.
She stopped and looked up at him. “You’re going to swim with me?”
He nodded.
“Good, we can check you off the list then.”
He felt annoyed at the thought of that for some reason. “The list can wait; I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I feel good.” The pallor of her skin pinked as she smiled.
Putting his arm around her, he urged her gently to keep going into the water. “Don’t try to swim full speed for a few minutes, let your body replenish the lost fluids first.”
She nodded but made no comment. “How come you’re not weak too?”
He decided quickly that saying it wasn’t the first time he’d had real sex was wrong on all fronts. “I’m older, my body has built up more resistance.”
She made a quiet noise, and he wasn’t sure if it was acknowledgment or annoyance.
The water was at their waist now. He moved back, giving her space to glide out into it. He watched her, practically holding his breath as she moved away from him. She listened and did it gently and didn’t dive into it and try to power stroke her way out to the deeper water. When she stopped and just floated, he took a few more steps, his heart pounding like some sort of tribal drum. Cursing in his head, he dove into the cooling water and reached her in a few powerful strokes. Reaching her side, he put his hand under her back. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. I am letting the water renew me. It feels nice.”
Relief filled him. He pushed back from her, putting some space between them. The moonlight was bright enough that it reflected off the luminous scales that now covered her. Just looking at her made his heart skip a few beats before it settled into a heavy rhythm that he felt throughout his whole body.
When he put his arms out in front of his body to tread the water and move back away from her, he paused and stared at his arm. The changed tone of his skin was usually almost unnoticeable, it had been that way for years and was the only reason he could get away with swimming in lakes all over the continent to look for others. Right now, he looked like he’d been rolling in the glitter that Nakisa adored with great zeal. He blinked and looked at his other arm. It was the same.
“Konner.”
He jerked his chin up to look at her.
“My chest." She put her hand against her breastbone. “It is thudding.”
He looked at his arms again, then at her, shaking his head in disbelief. His own heart felt like it was trying to break free of the bones that protected it.
They were mates. He looked from her to his arm one more time. It was the only explanation. Konner opened his mouth to speak, and no words formed. For half his life he waited for this day to come and had long ago given up on the idea that it would ever happen.
“Konner, your skin...” Terah’s voice jerked him out of the stupor he was lost in. “It’s beautiful.”
He looked to see she was beside him now, no longer relaxing on her back. “Men are not beautiful.” He winced; those were not the first words he should have spoken to her right now.
Terah gave him a surprised look, “As long as I am looking with my own eyes, I can say it is.”
He smiled then, unable to argue with her about something so trivial. “Terah, your heart, my skin, it only means one thing.”
“We should have more sex?”
His entire body responded to that idea. Shaking his head, he removed it from his mind, in normal cases of mates finding one another he would have agreed that should happen, but once had already taken too much of her energy and he wasn’t going to risk it so soon again. “We will, not right this moment, though.”
“You do not want me right now?”
“Yes,” he answered quickly before thinking it through. “Always. We’re mates.” He moved closer and let his body sink lower in the water, so their faces were level. “Our hearts are trying to synch with each other.”
Her eyes rounded. “It feels like a dance party inside me. How do we fix it?”
Later, he’d inquire as to where she got the dance party from, but right now, he needed to claim her and put his mark on her so no other male would ever go near her again. “We mark each other, once our body’s scents blend, our hearts will beat in time and settle down.”
She nodded, a nervous look on her face. “So, no more list.”
His smile was slow, almost predatory. “No more list, no more males, no more searching.” He took her hand. “We need to get to the deeper water.”
He swam fast, pulling her along with him with ease, suddenly spurred with an urgency that he needed to know his soul was bound to hers. Once they were in the deeper water, he spun back toward her and wrapped his arms around her, taking her under the water without warning. He’d watched her swim; knew her body could go from air to water in a heartbeat and have no problems.
Once below the surface, he grasped her hips and kissed her, long and gently. No frenzied passion this time, just emotion that came from some deep place inside him, letting her know that she was his everything. His tongue scraped over her sharper teeth and a shiver went through him.
Breaking the kiss, he looked at her and his heart hiccuped inside him. Her hair floated out around her and her skin, even this deep was illuminated in the darkness. As if it weren’t enough her eyes were the brightest silver shade he’d ever seen on one of his own.
Reaching, he brushed the hair back from her face and wrapped his other arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him. Touching her, here in their natural state, was like running his hand over satin, another shiver went through him. He was going to have to work hard to not ravish her and risk draining her further.
Tilting his head, he exposed his neck to her and watched her face. She looked at his neck, then to his eyes, without words asking him if he wanted her to mark him. When he placed his hand behind her head to pull her closer to him, she gripped the back of his head almost painfully. His heartbeat was so strong now, it took a lot of focus to think around the distraction. He was just about to coax her closer, to put him out of this anxious feeling that was setting in when she jerked his head by a handful of hair and then bit into the muscle at the base of his neck.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her heels behind him, sending erotic images to his brain. He couldn’t stand it another second, he grasped her hair and pulled her head back, and bit into her flesh. Using his legs, he sent them drifting through the water as if they were one body and not two.
Releasing his bite, he pulled her face to his and kissed her, claiming her mouth as his and no other. His whole body quaked for a moment and then a feeling he’d never felt in all his years filled him. Peace, a serenity he’d never known could exist filled every molecule of his being.
Tearing his mouth from hers, he looked at her to see she was feeling it also. The hidden pain, guarded torment that was usually lurking behind her eyes was gone, replaced with something that made him feel like he was the luckiest male alive.
Using his throat muscles, he hummed to her, although beneath the water it wouldn’t be a melody as it would be when it hit the air. She smiled slowly and responded with a song, a real smile of genuine happiness on her face.
Konner stopped singing and hugged her to him, feeling the vibrations of her melody inside his body as he took them spiraling through the water, with no thought inside his head but her. He ran his hand down the length of her silky hair and smiled to himself.
Taking them to the surface, he decided he wanted all to be blessed with her melody, a sharing of the joy he felt inside.
Closing his eyes, he floated along, holding her close. He could feel his heart beating in time to hers and couldn’t help the smile on his face. Never in his long life had he ever imagined he’d feel this. It was peaceful but exhilarating at the same time. He had never thought to ask if they stayed in sync all the time, or if it was just when they were close. If hers changed when he did, that could be a problem when he was out on ops with the team. He couldn’t think like that, not right now.
This was a time to thank the stars for bringing him Terah, not pondering missions.
Opening his eyes, he looked up at the night sky, it was so clear tonight like even the heavens knew they had found each other and didn’t want to mar the moment with storm clouds.
“Konner?”
“Mmm?” He turned them so they would float back toward the middle of the lake.
“Do you think I will ever be able to run fast without it feeling strange on my feet?”
It was an odd question, but tonight he didn’t care what she asked, he’d give whatever she needed to make her happy. “With practice, I’m sure you’ll be able to.”
“Is that how you do it? Practice?”
He looked at her, to see his own image reflecting against the silver in her eyes. “I honestly don’t remember. Why do you ask?”
“I wondered if that was what Reeves is doing, practicing.”
Frowning he leaned back, putting a little space between them. “You saw Reeves running?” He smirked. “I don’t think he does that.”
“He is right now.” She turned and looked toward the shore. “Going back and forth on the shore.”
Konner released her and turned to see Reeves running along the shore waving his arms. “That’s not practicing, something is wrong.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
They dove down together and moved fast through the water. Later when he wasn’t plagued with worry, he’d think about how they were able to swim at the speed they were while still holding hands.
Breaking the surface, he pulled her up with him. “Reeves?” he called out.
Reeves jerked his head to look in their direction. “The babies.” He ran into the water a few feet. “The babies are coming.” He looked over his shoulder, then back to them. “Shaelan wants Terah there to sing.” He nodded his head so quickly he looked like his neck was a spring.
“We’ll be there shortly.”
“I need to go to the greenhouse,” Terah said with excitement. “The plants will help Raelyn if we put them in the water.” She released his hand and moved to the shallow water.
“Did Shaelan tell you that?” He had no problem catching up to her, walking before shifting back was something he’d been doing a lot longer than her.
“No.” She glanced at him. “I just know it will.”
Konner wasn’t about to argue with her. Whether she knew it or not, she retained parts of their heritage that the rest had long forgotten. “Grab your robe, I’ll come to help you get them.” She wobbled in the ankle-deep water but kept going. Pulling his pants on with quick moves, he glanced up at the stars again, silently praying the babies and Raelyn made it through this.
“Don’t think bad thoughts,” she chastised. “It is beautiful, to bring new life here and I won’t have bad thoughts for Raelyn while she does that.” She gave him a warning look and he had to work hard to not smirk at her. Even when being stern she was absolutely gorgeous.
He held out his hand. “We’ll have to hurry. I told Malachi to bring her to the house and to use the pool as soon as it started.”
She seemed to be having no problem keeping up with him, likely because she wasn’t thinking about walking. “Yes. Good, the water will help.” Her blue eyes connected with his. “My mother told me this. The water makes it easy.”
Konner doubted any part of delivering children was ‘easy’, but again he wasn’t about to argue with her.
She started tugging on his hand, making him go faster and it was then that he realized she was going to be his greatest strength—and his biggest weakness— for the rest of their lives.