Page 73 of Romancing Rem'eb

Rem’eb laughs, and I don’t realize how rare the sound is until now. My poor, serious, sweet man. He carries far too much on his shoulders for one person. His smile fades a little as he gazes at me, stroking my cheek again. “I just do not wish to risk you.”

“You won’t. If things go sour, you can help me escape again.” I give his hands a cheery little shake to go with my joke. “Now that both our people are aware of each other, the cat’s out of the bag, as my people say. There’s no going back. We’re always going to know of each other, but that’s not a reason to be fearful. We can share the fruit cave and its wealth. Better yet, we can establish trade between our people. You grow those mushrooms and you have that gorgeous cloth, and we have red meat and furs and roots.” I beam at him, excited by the prospect. “Heck, for all we know, your people’s sickness isn’t contagious. Maybe it’s a vitamin deficiency of some kind from living underground.”

He blinks at me, a worried look on his face. “I thought I had all your words but I was wrong. What is vy-ta-men? De-fish? Cat bag?”

I laugh with delight. “Unimportant things. I’m just spitballing. You don’t know that word either. Okay, I’m just tossing ideas in the air because I’m excited over what we can accomplish together.”

Rem’eb’s gaze searches mine. “You would truly come with me? Leave behind everything and live in the caves with me?”

He sounds so uncertain that it makes my anxiety kick in. I fight the urge to pull my hands from his grip. “I mean…only if you wanted me.”

“I want you. I want you more than anything, my Tia. But…what about your people? What about your home here? The loom you wished to bring them?”

“The beach isn’t my home any more than the other village—Croatoan—was. Everyone was nice and kind, but I didn’t feel like it was my place, my home. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a home.” It sounds so pathetic that I feel obligated to continue. “Even when I was a child, my parents would send me to live with others so I could get the best education, the most well-rounded learning so I could get into the most prestigious colleges. All I wanted was to feel like I belonged. Like I was wanted. Important. The only person that’s ever made me feel like I’m valued is you. The only time I truly feel settled is with you. The only person that makes me feel heard and loved and valued…is you. Maybe you’re my home.”

Rem’eb groans, leaning in to lightly kiss me. His gaze moves over mine. “You are certain you wish to do this?”

“As long as you promise you’re going to tear that wall down. I didn’t come across the universe for my mate just to live apart from him.”

A grin flashes over his mouth before he kisses me again. “There will be resistance.”

“No one likes change, but I don’t give a fuck,” I whisper against his lips. “And are you the Chief’s Fist or not?”

“Oh, I am,” he practically purrs, the sound thrumming along with his contented khui. “My beautiful stranger. You are so much more than I dreamed of.”

“Just say that you want me,” I tell him, feeling vulnerable and suddenly afraid. Am I truly lucky enough to get all that I want for a change? “Say that you want me and I’ll go to the ends of the world with you.”

“Nothing would make me happier than for you to be by my side for the rest of my days.” He kisses along my jaw, tilting my face before sliding to my neck. “I am the luckiest of males to have you as my mate. And if you cannot bear to be amongst my people, then we will return to yours. Or we will make our own village. I care not. Just stay with me.”

With a happy sigh, I throw my arms around his neck and pull him in for another hungry kiss.

His hands roam over me as our mouths meld, and this time when tears slide down my face, they’re tears of joy. I kiss him wildly as he works my pants down my hips, just enough that I can lift my body to kick them off and aside. With trembling fingers, I pull him free from his leggings and then his slender, perfect shaft is in my hand, the edge of his frill somehow hotter than the rest of his skin.

We both groan with pleasure when I seat myself upon him, and he cradles my face, gazing down at me with such love and devotion as I rock my hips over his length. When he’s deep inside me—so deep it feels as if he’s touching my womb—his frill spreads inside me, the sensation making hot pleasure ripple deep. I can feel it flutter and push against my walls, and when he pulses, it makes me clench around him until I climax. I come, clutching hard to him as he fills me with his seed.

“Mine,” he whispers, leaning down to kiss me. “All mine.”

For the first time, I believe it.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

TIA

We part from Harlow and her family at the base of the ship, and then I rope together with the ancestors and the clones, and we make our way back towards Icehome Beach. No one stays behind—I guess Chalath decides to roll the dice and follow me, and we end up getting back sooner than anticipated without the sled and the small children slowing us down.

Once we’re back on Icehome Beach, Rem’eb and I invite Noj’me, Set’nef, and Tal’nef to our hut to share dinner…and to discuss what comes next. We found a thick cluster of mussels in a tide pool, and I’ve salted them up and boiled them for the meal. I’ll miss fresh shellfish down below, but I’m eager for our new beginning.

I’m actually looking forward to settling into life with Rem’eb down in the warm caverns, even if we don’t know exactly how we’ll be received just yet. I’m going to look at it positively, I decide, and ignore the whole “kidnapping” thing for now.

We sit around the fire in my hut and share bowls of mussels, passing them around so everyone can have as many as they like.

“You do not have to go back with us,” Rem’eb tells them once he announces that we are returning to the people below. “But I feel obligated to my father and those that remain below. And Tia will return with me. We will take down the wall that separates the women from the men. After seeing how they are here in this village, our way of life seems more wrong than ever before.”

“I will go with you,” Noj’me the Attendant says, a bowl of shellfish in her lap. “The people will need the Oracle more now than ever before, especially now that I have all of the Oracle’s words in my head. But do you plan on sneaking away from the camp?”

“Not at all,” I say. “I’m going to talk to Liz and Raahosh and the rest of the group in the morning. They deserve to know that the ancestors are going to be aware of where they’re at. It’s my hope that we’re going to establish peace between our peoples and a way to share information and food. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing for any of us.”

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