Morgan's lips twitched into a reluctant smile.
“More importantly, do you love my body too?”
“I think it's beyond gorgeous,” she promised. “But I also think that being in your dragon form when you slept last night…well, maybe it started to heal you.”
“Or you did.”
Harper gave him a skeptical look.
“I know the true mate thing -”
“No, it's not about you being my true mate, or not just about it, anyway. No. It's about…”
Morgan hesitated.
“I would never have thought I deserved to be in my dragon form without you last night. Princess, never in all the world would I have changed into that form for myself alone. But for you...”
Harper felt something in her melt, go soft and warm and so loving that it ached.
“Morgan…I love you. You think there's anything I wouldn't do for you?”
Morgan's copper eyes burned brighter than she had ever seen, and he took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips for an awed and fervent kiss.
“I love you, princess. Thank you for what you have done for me. Thank you, and I swear, I will love you until I die and after.”
Harper, usually so good with words, only sank into his arms. She could feel the promise burn over her heart, and she knew that it was burning into his as well. It would live there as long as they lived, and perhaps after, it would be burning still.
Chapter Twenty
∞∞∞
“Okay, baby, how are we feeling? Feeling good?”
The little girl, whose name turned out to be Anna, gave her a mutinous look, but Harper only pulled a face at her, crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue. Anna laughed in surprise, and Harper nodded.
“Here, can you show me everything in the tent that's red?”
Anna considered for a moment. Then, taking Harper by the hand, she pointed out her parents' blankets, her own red ball, and the red of their cooler. Harper listened with half an ear as she watched Anna's movements carefully. She wasn't pulling at her clothes, she wasn't getting that frustrated frown on her face; instead she was concentrating on the task at hand, and Harper decided to declare it a qualified success.
Miranda watched wide-eyed, and then lifted her daughter up on her hip.
“How are you doing, pet?” she asked. “You feel good?”
Anna nodded vigorously, and Miranda laughed out loud, setting her down again.
“How did you do that?” she asked Harper. “She normally can't stand shirts and leggings like this.”
“Flipped the seams out, sewed them like that, and then sewed them flat. Took out the tags with extreme prejudice,” Harper said cheerfully. “Lots of little kids can't stand to have anything scratchy on their skin. Anna may have some other problems with her clothes, but this is a start.”
“I can't think you enough. She's a joy – only sometimes it is that she is a naked joy.”
Harper laughed, accepting Miranda's quick hug. She had been hugged more at the convocation than she had in the last few years. She could get used to being part of a family of huggers.
She started to respond, but then she heard Morgan call her name. She turned quickly, and then blushed at how eager she must look. Miranda, however, only gave her a fond look and a light shove to the door.
“I remember how it was. Go on.”
Harper flashed her a thankful smile, and then she made her way out of the tent. It was almost dusk, but there was a balminess to the air, something that told her that summer was on the way. She took a deep breath, and then she stared at Morgan, who came to offer her his arm.
“Are you ready to go to the meeting grounds?” he asked, and then he paused self-consciously. “What?”
“God, you look...”
Amazing. Perfect. So handsome I could cry.
She had finished the suit a few nights ago, even as she knew that as Morgan got his strength and his bulk back that she would need to let it out or start afresh. It didn't matter. He was hers, and she always said that the clothes should suit the person, not the other way around.
In the dark suit that fit him like a second skin, there was something at once sharp and powerful about him. His dark hair had been slicked back with water and a little bit of old-fashioned pomade, and she stroked her hand down the wool sleeve of his jacket.
“Harper,” said Morgan patiently. “You need to say something.”
“You look like you're mine,” she said softly, and his face softened into the sweetest smile.
“Good,” he said, dropping a kiss on her lips. Then his mouth drifted closer to her ear, and she shivered as she felt the sharp nip of his teeth on her earlobe.
“Maybe later you can help me take it off...”
“Oh, no, please, leave it on,” Harper said before she thought about it, and then she blushed bright red as Morgan gave her a surprised look.
“So that's a thing?” he asked.
“It is. If you don't mind. If you -”
“Like it. Love it. Love you. Would do anything for you,” he murmured, and as he led her through the dusk, she knew in her heart that it was completely and utterly true.
Epilogue
∞∞∞
Mr. Mercks had arrived at his appointment in a small car that allowed him to roll his wheelchair straight into the driver's seat, and he entered her shop with all the self-possession of a visiting foreign dignitary. His hair was as white as snow and perfectly combed, and his eyes were as sharp as winter as she explained what she had done.
He examined the suit that she had prepared for him, running his fingers along the seams and inspecting the slit along the back that would let the jacket rest gracefully on his body as he was seated.
“I see what you are doing here,” he mused. “Of course I will not know for sure until I have tried the garments
