“This is surprisingly bright for a god of darkness,” I noted.
“I wanted to be able to see the Moon at night,” Toby said as he followed me across the bridge to the bed. “You know how I love the Moon.”
I transferred my upturned stare to him and smiled brightly. “She loves you too.”
“But will she be comfortable here?” He asked. “Will she be happy to sleep surrounded by water? After our imprisonment beneath the sea, I wasn't sure if this would be comfortable for you.”
“You are water so it can never disturb me,” I said as I ran my hand down the thin braid amid his long, sleek, inky hair; all the way to the black feather at its end.
That feather had stopped a war once. Yeah; Toby may have allowed his brother to hurt me, but in the end, he had atoned for his sins by giving his life to save mine and giving me the source of his magic to save my friends and family. I harbored no resentment toward him. Obviously. If I did, I wouldn't love him.
“I'm looking forward to sleeping surrounded by you,” I dropped my voice to a low purr.
“Is that all you're looking forward to doing in my bed?” Toby asked with a twinkle in his eye.
I stared up into those unusual eyes; the deep blue irises bordered by a dark brown ring that made the blue seem paler. Tobadzistsini, God of Water and Darkness, stared back at me adoringly. The words he'd said earlier tumbled through my mind. I'd always thought that I was the lucky one; to have so much love in my life was a blessing I never could have imagined, much less desired. But now, I was seeing things as they did; or at least as Toby did. I had paid dearly to be with my lovers, and I'd probably continue to pay. But they were worth every tear and every drop of blood I'd shed. Even when they were behaving badly.
Toby and I had a rough start. I had indeed suffered, but he had sacrificed his life for me. What more could you ask from love? How about life; resurrection? I had gone into the Void and brought Toby back; as I had once done for Odin. So, perhaps we were even. Or perhaps we were just getting started and there were years of torture and atonement ahead of us. At that moment, I didn't care. All that mattered were the soft lips on mine and the firm grip pulling me closer.
With the sound of water softening the world around us, Toby and I got lost in each other for awhile. We forgot about the pain that had brought us together and focused on the pleasure of being together; our reward for staying true to each other—for holding on despite everyone else's desire to see us let go. We had done that already—let go of our love and each other—but that hadn't worked out so well. This time, we weren't giving up or letting go. This time, love would win; we'd make sure of it.
Chapter Eighteen
“Why don't you go over to Faerie and have a little vacation?” Toby suggested as he helped me out of his tub.
The master bathroom was off to the right of Toby's bedroom. It wasn't as large as the one in Pride Palace, but it was a still four times the size of my bathroom in Hawaii. The floor was the same indigo stone as the bedroom—just continuing in—although, the streams didn't come with it. The cool stone was covered in places by fluffy bathroom rugs; one placed in front of the sinks on the left side of the room and one in front of the bathtub at the far end. The toilet was in its own little closet, and the bathtub was in a nook that jutted out over the forest. I knew that it did so because there was a large picture window behind the tub to showcase the view. Thankfully, there were also some privacy curtains that Toby had drawn shut before our bath, or I'd have been worried about Naye strolling up at just the wrong moment.
Back to the tub that I was climbing out of. It was an enormous limestone bowl that fit the nook perfectly. A set of stairs led up to its wide rim, and a golden spigot hooked over the edge; bordered by knobs. I felt like a Roman princess coming out of that tub. Wait; did Rome have princesses? It had an Emperor, so what would the Emperor's daughter have been called? Whatever her title was; that's who I felt like. It was hedonistic in a historical way.
“That would be great,” I said with a relaxed smile.
The sex and the bath had been just what I needed, and a visit to Faerie to see my family there would take it to the next level.
“I won't tell the others,” Toby said with a wink.
“Thank you, Toby,” I whispered as I hugged him.
Our wet bodies slid against each other sensually, and I groaned as I felt his response rising between us. It was tempting to have another round of spectacular sex in Toby's island bed, but I couldn't go to Arach smelling of another man. That was just rude.
Toby chuckled and eased away from me to hand me a towel. “We can take up where we left off when you get back.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I gave him a quick kiss and went back to the bedroom to slip into my clothes.
My hair was still wet, but I didn't want to waste any time drying it. I just waved goodbye
