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Bolting out of bed, she got tangled up in the sheets and fell straight onto her face as she raced for the moon pool. Untangling herself as best she could, she dragged half of her bedding with her before she could slam her hand down on the level that opened the moon pool.
“Come on,” she muttered, jumping up and down as she waited. “Hurry up. Hurry up.”
She didn’t even think it might be another undine. She knew Imber. And her soul knew him, too.
The moment there was enough space for him to slip into the room, he was there. His dark head cresting the water and a wicked grin on his face that made every fiber of her being light on fire.
He stayed there, floating in the water with his hair plastered against his head, looking like a sea god waiting for her. That grin never budged, and his eyes never moved from her. “Alys,” he said, that deep voice sending shivers down her spine. “You finally came home.”
With an ear-piercing shriek, she launched herself into the water. Right into his waiting arms. His laughter echoed through her room, but she didn’t want to hear him laughing. She wanted to kiss him.
So she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and did just that. She kissed him with all the desire and waiting that she’d felt for months. It had been such a long time since she’d seen him,and it didn’t matter if he had found someone else or he’d moved on from her. She didn’t want to know.
Not yet, anyway. Right now, she just wanted to feel his soft lips against hers. To feel the bite of his sharp teeth and the strange sensation of his bumpy tongue against hers. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything and she would have him.
His arms tightened around her and he kissed her like he’d been counting every single day until he could kiss her again. Maybe he had. It certainly felt that way as he pressed months of despair and hope and agony against her tongue.
She had no idea how long they kissed. All she knew was that they could take as much time as they needed.
For the first time since knowing him, there was no clock. No time for them to keep track of. No reason to hurry. They could explore each other, love each other, in every way, shape, and form. It didn’t matter.
There was no one waiting for them this time. It was just the two of them.
And so, when she felt the prick at the side of her neck as he drifted with her under the water, she didn’t stop him. Her nightgown floated up around her waist and that was okay, too. She didn’t need it. He would keep her safe, and right now, she wasn’t all that worried about safety in the slightest.
She wanted him. He wanted her. And it had been months since they had last explored each other’s bodies.
There was no rush in any of their touches. Just long sighs and deep breaths as they relearned every inch of the other’s body. Imber had new scars, a few on his shoulders and one rather large one across his abs. She had gained a few pounds, but he didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.
And when he sank inside her, she felt her soul heal from all the times they’d been apart. She had missed him. So much. Nowthey were together, and it was overwhelming how happy she was.
Eventually he swam her back up to the moon pool, his arms still tightly wrapped around her as he set her on the edge.
He stayed between her parted legs, his hands on her face as he traced all the parts of her that he loved. His fingers lingered on her lips, her cheeks, her collarbone, like he couldn’t stop touching her.
“Alys,” he said again, his voice little more than a low murmur. “I have missed you so, my wave song.”
“I missed you, too.” She caught his hand to press a kiss to his palm. “How is everything?”
“We have a new home. There are more people who have come with us, others displaced by the work of the achromos. But soon it will be done, and we will be safe again.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I cannot leave this ship as often as I’d like, but I can visit with you. Visit them, if they’ll have me.”
“I think they’re happy on their own, love.” His eyes seemed a little distant, sadness bleeding into his gaze before he shook it free. “It would be best if it was just you and I.”
Though it made her sad, she understood. The undines had their own way of life and her people hadn’t made that way of life any easier. It was hard, but it was the right choice.
Nodding, she toyed with the ends of his hair. “Will that make you happy? I don’t want to isolate you.”
“Oh, you are my love, my mate, my everything,” he breathed. “I would not survive being parted from you again, Alys. Not even in death.”
When she drew him in for another kiss, Alys knew that maybe he was right. Maybe they were meant to be together forever. It certainly felt that way. But no matter what, their life would always be an adventure.
And there was no one she would rather adventure with than him.
