Hope Everlastin' Book 4 (47 page)

"Brandigan."

"Thank you, Brandigan,"
said Roan.

Brandigan gestured for them
to enter the chamber beyond the threshold. Roan hesitantly glanced
into Laura's eyes then heaved a sigh and led her into the room.
Once the doors were cleared, they closed with the same
soundlessness. The draft the momentum created told the couple they
were now shut off from both worlds. It didn't matter. This getaway
exceeded their expectations. Exceeded anything their imaginations
could have conjured up.

It was spacious and round,
with torches mounted on the walls approximately three feet apart.
Alternately, the flames were aqua blue, purple, and fuchsia, and
their glow bled across the room in iridescent wisps that swirled
and ribboned through the air. There was no smoke, only a fragrance
which strangely reminded them both of gardens and the sea and rich
earth.

The most astounding feature
of the chamber was the pool in the center, roughly forty feet in
circumference. Its still water glowed with varying shades of purple
luminescence, as if lights were mounted on the bottom.

Hand in hand, Roan and
Laura stood atop a portion of the ivory, partly covered rocks
bordering the pool and stared down through the deep crystal clear
body of water to see there was only smooth rock on its floor. There
appeared to be no origin to the lights.

A few feet from their
position was a bed of large plump pillows within a gazebo built
from woven roots and vines. Bowls of mystery treats and two
pitchers of liquid adorned a table by the arch. A short stone path
led to stone steps into the pool.

Laura looked up and
released a sigh of sheer contentment. An illusion of stars winked
in the dome-shaped ceiling. This combined with the swirling,
ribboning mistlike colors in the air, made her feel as though she
stood in the center of a galaxy in the process of birth. The
enchantment of it all overwhelmed her, and she wept silent
tears.

Roan drew her into his arms
and held her for a time. Somewhere in the distance a soft
orchestration of insect sounds reached them.

"This can’t be real," he
murmured, slipping back into the manner of speech he most favored.
"Laura, pinch me. I need to know if I'm dreamin’."

A sound caught in his
throat when she obligingly pinched his left buttock. Holding her
away from him, he observed the impish gleam in her eyes then
laughed and threw his arms around her in a brief although bearish
hug.

"Last one in!" he cried,
jumped back and began to unbutton his shirt.

Laura arched one eyebrow,
grinned then dove into the pool. He was quick to follow. His head
broke the surface a moment after hers. Face-to-face, paddling to
stay afloat, they smiled into each other's eyes with the unspoken
affirmation that this time was theirs to rekindle the carefreeness
and abandonment of their youth, to make love within the womb of
this magical place with no chance of interruption.

"How does the water feel to
you?" she asked excitedly.

At first, Roan's mind
couldn't formulate a proper description. Then he said, "Like rain
water!" and laughed.

"It's so soft against my
skin," said Laura wondrously, "it almost doesn't feel real. And
it's delicious, Roan. Taste it."

He took some into his
mouth, swished it around and swallowed it. "It’s sweet."

Laura ducked beneath the
surface. When she came up, she jettisoned a stream of water from
her pursed lips, hitting him in the face. Thus began the splashing,
dunking one another, and the challenges of laps across and around
the perimeter of the pool. On all accounts Laura won—only she knew,
because Roan deliberately held back. They frolicked for a long time
and, although their muscles should have been aching with fatigue,
they experienced quite the opposite. Both felt as if they were
imbued with an endless source of energy.

Bobbing on the surface, his
legs pumping to keep him afloat, Roan held out his arms. With a
laugh, Laura glided through the water into his embrace. He led her
into a rendition of a waltz. They swirled round and round and to
and fro, and she wondered if he could dance so eloquently on a dry
surface. He hummed a tune she didn't recognize, but discovered his
voice was deep and melodic.

Unexpectedly, he pulled her
against him and kissed her.

They submerged, deeper and
deeper, wrapped around each other, and settled on the bottom of the
pool. The kiss went on for an indefinite time, and both were
relatively sure their lungs should have forced them to resurface
for more air. They separated and exchanged a look of
puzzlement.

Roan opened his mouth. No
air bubbles escaped, nor did the water enter the cavity. He inhaled
and exhaled through his nostrils. It was if he were breathing air.
He gestured for Laura to try and, after several moments, she
widened her eyes in amazement.

For nearly another hour,
they romped underwater like sea creatures, playing tag and
pretending to have tails in lieu of legs, then somersaulting from
one side of the pool to the other. Finally, hunger prompted Roan to
leave the water and go to the gazebo. While eyeing the small
banquet he stripped out of his clothes and placed them on the
ground outside the arch, then took one of the bowls and returned to
the edge of the pool.

"I'm starving," Laura
said.

Roan glanced at her and did
a double take. He sat on the rock ledge and lowered his feet into
the water. Laura was in the center of the pool, the upper part of
her bare breasts bobbing in and out of the water. She, too, had
removed her clothing. He didn't care where she'd tossed them. The
water was so clear that he could make out every detail of her
nakedness, as if she was standing directly in front of him. When he
lowered the bowl to a rock next to him, she swam to where he sat
and plucked one of the objects from the bowl. It was light brown
and perfectly round. She bit into it and rolled her eyes
appreciatively. The texture was similar to the meat of a walnut,
but was sweet and strangely juicy. Whatever it was, she ate half
the bowl before grinning up at him.

"Try one. They're
delicious."

"Wha' are they?"

"I have no idea but they're
really good."

He popped one into his
mouth. Chewed. Swallowed. He repeated this three more times before
commenting, "Hmm, they are good." Jumping to his feet, he went to
the table and returned with two bowls containing different
delights. They proved to be as succulent and as mysterious as the
first.

When all three bowls were
empty, Roan sighed with contentment and smiled lazily at Laura's
upturned face. She had her crossed arms resting atop the rock by
his left thigh, and her chin braced atop them. There was a dreamy,
faraway look in her eyes, prompting him to ask, "Wha' are you
thinking abou', love?"

"If it's possible we could
make love at the bottom of the pool."

His eyebrows lifted. “Since
we can breathe in this water, why not?”

He dove in from his sitting
position, broke the surface and gestured for her to follow him.
Laura didn't hesitate. By the time she reached the bottom, he was
sitting with his arms opened to her. She sat on his lap, facing
him, bemused by the fact they weren't buoyant as they would be in
ordinary water. This pool seemed to respond to their needs, and
once again their lungs didn't demand air. Their bodies required
nothing but the love they had for one another.

Their lovemaking began with
a slow, penetrating kiss and progressed with each exploring the
other with their hands. The water caressed and coddled them.
Awarded them the sensation of being submerged and sheathed in
liquid tranquility, while freeing them to do what no other human
being had experienced in this capacity. Their senses were
heightened to only one another.

Each stroke fired up nerve
endings with unparalleled sensitivity. Two bodies of flesh and
muscle and blood were as one. What Laura experienced, Roan shared.
What Roan experienced, Laura shared, giving each a better
understanding of what their lover preferred.

They were of one mind. One
soul. One embodiment.

Roan's mouth sought the
rigid nipple of her left breast. The pleasure he normally felt was
magnified when it was he who felt her sucking at his breast, while
she experienced what should have been his sensory stimuli. This
reversal of awareness and sensations brought a new and exciting
element to their lovemaking and they lingered in their exploration,
wanting to imbibe every nuance of sense-data now available to
them.

Their legs entwined and
their bodies stretched out against one another, they hovered
horizontally above the bottom of the pool. The water gently rolled
them round and round, obligingly utilizing their desire to feel as
if they were atop solidity and in control of their movements.
Curious to know what Roan felt when he entered her body, Laura
positioned her legs about his hips, reached down and guided him
into her, only it was her experience that she was encompassing a
part of herself inside him.

Roan, who had never thought
about the woman's perspective of entry, was enraptured. In a most
peculiar way, they felt as though they were making love to their
own bodies, but reasoned this was how it was meant to be. The
giving and receiving of pleasure, of physical love, was best when
balanced.

Long after the spell had
begun and they had satisfied one another in every imaginable and
then some unimaginable ways, they left the pool and stretched out
on the pillows. They lay wrapped in each other's arms, their legs
entwined, and staring into each other's eyes with an unspoken vow
that this time together was only their beginning. Whatever pain the
past had dealt them, it was now irrelevant and held no purchase in
their lives. There would never be fear of what awaited them in the
future.

Together they would walk
each path, and meet every challenge as a team.

This magical chamber had
bestowed on them a most precious gift.

A new appreciation of
life.

* * *

Blue's eyelids were heavy,
but she resisted sleep. Her chamber was as quiet and as still as a
breezeless night on an uninhabited planet. The torches were out.
She stared into the darkness, content in the knowing her gift to
Roan and Laura had been well used. They were nice people. So were
Lachlan and Beth, and Deliah's Winston. She'd long ago learned to
mistrust humans, sure they were all inclined to be destructive
creatures, as well as self-centered, blind to nature, and
intolerant of their own.

That opinion had changed
now. She not only considered these couples her friends, but knew
the children would also become allies. So many kingdoms around the
world had vanished. Without hope, magic waned. Without purpose,
there was no hope. Mother Nature was a stickler for balance, and
sometimes she found it necessary to end certain species. She had
always favored her wee folk, but Blue understood that the time
would come when even the fairies, too, would fade out of existence.
No creature was an exception. It wasn't something she dwelled
on.

What would be the
point?

Sighing, she folded her
hands atop her chest and closed her eyes. Had other kingdoms
discovered that fairies and certain humans could share a very
rewarding co-existence? Deliah and Winston's child was proof there
were changes unfolding within both worlds. She wished she knew
MoNae's plan, but then also told herself she delighted in the
mystery.

What would it be like to
have a human lover?

The thought saddened her.
Of course, she would never know. It was not her nature to deny the
bond MoNae had created between her and Reith. A life of celibacy
and loneliness was preferable to dishonoring herself. Pride was all
she had left, and it would have to be enough. Unfortunately, there
were ninety-nine years, forty weeks, and three days remaining to
her reign. One hundred years now seemed an eternity to her, but it
had always been the required term in all the kingdoms. It wasn't
always easy to ignore her desire to isolate herself from fairies
and humans alike. But that was simply too, too
unqueenly.

Besides, she was actually
enjoying herself since the kingdom's return to this land, thanks to
Baird House. There was nothing normal in the stars for any of the
occupants. They would cope, though, whatever the challenge and she
looked forward to observing them in the decades to come.

As for herself, after the
long centuries of suffering the frustration and indignity of her
virginity she had found a solution─for her frustration, anyway.
Whenever the old feelings of love for Reith rose up to taunt her,
or whenever her body ached to join with his, she now had a way to
lift herself out of the morass.

Bacon.

She'd found her
escape.

Love be damned.

C
hapter 17

Lachlan wasn't sure what
brought him to the tower until he saw red and gold streaks in the
distance and realized the sun was creeping over the horizon. The
air was already muggy and warm.

Insects buzzed, and birds
chirped. Peacocks perched atop the multiple levels of the rooftops
on the mansion, geared up to voice their greeting of the new day.
The peahens never left the ground, and were far quieter than their
male counterparts.