The Bonding (21 page)

“We did it, baby,” he said softly, “we're married.”

“I know. What a pretty ceremony. I'm glad I didn't get sick.” Kiri struggled to speak coherently.

“Me too. That would have looked bad.”

“It would have been fine,” Jaya sniffled. “She's the lady of the hearth and home. Morning sickness is part of her job.”

“Still,” Kiri said, and she wanted to laugh, a little hysterically.

“Shall we find someplace to get something to eat? I think a celebration is in order.” Soren commented.

“Actually,” Davin said, “my friends on the police force are throwing us a reception. They invited your hospital friends too.”

“Let's go,” Kiri agreed, and they went off together to celebrate their new marriages in the company of old friends.

* * *

That night, in bed, Davin cradled his naked wife in his arms. He kissed her long and deep but with no particular object in mind. She lay passive, waiting for something to start, but not in a hurry. It wasn't particularly late, and they had the rest of their lives to make love. The party had been fun, and Davin's friends were so happy to see him married. They approved of her, especially after she had dispatched Kaeli so efficiently, something they had all wanted to do, but had not known where to start. Tomorrow, they would open a portal to Caledon and go through to see their potential new home. Soren and Jaya would be coming with them as a sort of wedding trip.

Davin kissed Kiri again and she returned the kiss, skimming her hands over his body. He returned the caress, lifting her small and tender breasts in his hands and tasting the nipples gently. Kiri moaned, eagerly offering her body to her husband, delighted at his caresses.

“Oh, baby, you're so sweet,” he breathed. “I feel like we should do something…different.”

“Different how?” Kiri felt complacent. She was content to let this drift along.

“I don't know.” He regarded her in obvious frustration. “It's our wedding night. I feel like we should do something… spectacular. Something to make the event stand out. But I don't know what to do.”

“You, Davin? You've always known what to do before.”

“Well, but I've never made love to my wife before,” he said, lips twisting.

“It doesn't matter, Davin. I love everything we do. Every time has been spectacular.”

“It has?”

“Oh yes. Especially the cave. It won't ever be like that again, will it?” she asked sadly.

“No, baby, that time was special. You giving me your virginity while we both faced certain death. We'll have great sex again, but that one is never going to be repeated. I'm just glad to have the memory of it.”

“Me too.” She pondered. “We've been wild and rough, and we've also been gentle and sweet. What's next?

“I don't know,” Davin growled. “That's the problem.”
He kissed her again. Gods she's delicious.
Suddenly, he just wanted to make love. He swept his tongue deep into her mouth and began to caress her again. This time, his targeted touch set her on fire as he pressed deep between her thighs, opening her with two fingers and spreading her luxurious moisture around.

“Oh, Davin,” Kiri moaned as he fondled her. “Oh, yes.”

He rose up on one elbow and watched her squirm with pleasure as he worked her tender flesh. His mouth trailed over her chest and down, towards that secret treasure he wanted to feast on. Along the way, he pressed a gentle kiss to her belly. Then his mouth joined his fingers and he concentrated on making Kiri feel amazing. He was successful too. By the time her blazing orgasm had faded away, she was looking a little stunned. Davin trailed his lips back up her limp body until he reached her mouth, where he kissed her and kissed her. She wrapped her legs around his hips, urging him inside her, and he complied willingly, driving deep into her snug sheath, making her pleasure rise again.

And so, the wedding night was spectacular after all. Davin and Kiri had passionate, romantic, deeply satisfying sex. The knowledge that this was only the beginning of their life together made it even better. Davin thrust hard into his wife, and she received that deep penetration with joy. They loved each other well, just as they had vowed to do, and their mutual climax was one of the most intense they had ever shared. Tomorrow everything would change, hopefully for the better, but tonight all the lovers thought about was making each other as happy as possible.

Eight months later
Caledon Province, on the far northern border of Koral

Davin peeked his head around the door of his bedroom. Inside, Jaya was cleaning up.

“How is she?” he asked softly.

“Kiri? She's fine. She's sleeping now. I'll wake her soon, but let her have a moment. Come here, big brother, and see what I have for you.”

He entered the room softly on stocking feet and Jaya handed him an impossibly tiny bundle. He took it, a little awkwardly, and looked down into the face of his newborn daughter. She gazed back at him with blue-gray eyes and a serious expression around her soft brown eyebrows.

“Hello, sweet girl,” he said, amazed his voice would work at all. “I'm your daddy. Jaya, did Kiri pick a name for her?”

“Gabri,” Jaya said, and her voice broke a little.

“My mother's name.”

As he looked at this perfect little person in his arms, he thought back to the months since they had moved to Caledon. The moment Kiri had seen the beautiful little town surrounded by fields on one side and forest on all the others, she had fallen in love and vowed she would never leave. They had also been accepted by the community rather quickly. Kiri taught the young women to defend themselves, which they took to willingly, and this led directly to Davin being able to arrest the rapist before they had been there a week. After that, the integration had been relatively easy, made easier by the fact that Jaya and Soren had also been enchanted, and had decided to stay, Soren as assistant to the local healer, and Jaya as a midwife. With the proceeds of the two apartments in the capital, they had been able to buy a single large home they shared, making it easy for Jaya to care for Kiri during the uncomfortable last months of her pregnancy. Although she experienced no complications, the lack of mobility was hard on a woman as active as Kiri, and she took it rather badly. By the end, she was just sore and miserable, and nothing Davin could do could help her, but the baby wouldn't come, and they had just settled in to wait.

Then, this very morning, Kiri had noticed a dull ache in her back, but her back had been hurting so much already that she had paid it no mind. By late afternoon, the back pain had intensified so much she had asked Jaya to check and see what was wrong with her. It was then Jaya discovered Kiri had been in labor most of the day and was about to deliver. It had gone fast, that delivery, so fast Davin had not gotten there in time to be with his wife at all.

Now, having just arrived after searching for an old man who had wandered into the woods and gotten lost, he was making up for lost time.

“Sweet Gabri,” he murmured, kissing the tiny forehead, “You look just like your mother. I hope you grow up to be as brave and strong and beautiful as she is.”

“Actually,” Kiri said from the bed, lifting herself onto one elbow, “I think she looks just like you. And I hope she's as kind and loving and wonderful as you are.”

Davin sat beside Kiri on the edge of the bed, and handed her the tiny bundle.

“She's perfect, isn't she?” his wife asked, eagerly gathering up the little girl.

“Yes, she is. Thank you, Kiri.”

“For what?” She looked up from the baby's face and met his gaze.

“For giving me a daughter, for loving me, for everything.”

The baby fussed and Kiri opened her blouse and lifted her little girl to her breast. “I love you, Davin. This is only the start of what I want to give you.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Remember, before I met you, I had no idea what it meant to be alive. I fought to save others, but I didn't know what about life was worth so very much sacrifice. You saved my life, and then you made me want to live. Just think what would have been lost that day if you had not convinced me to try.” She stroked the tiny head with one finger.

“I had to, you know. I couldn't have lived without you, baby. I'm so glad I didn't have to.”

“So am I, love, so am I.”

Davin kissed his wife tenderly, both of them utterly content with their new life, far from almost everything they had known: pain, suffering, grief, and the memory of old mistakes. Here, they had a fresh start. Here, they were happier than either of them had ever dreamed possible.

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The Bonding
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