Page 88 of Return of the Nine

He didn’t mean literal running, but she understood him well enough. “Because I am not sure. I am not used to not being sure about something. You look so brilliant to me that I am not surethat my own senses aren’t deceiving me. Maybe my body wants you but my mind is being lied to, or perhaps the opposite.” She kept walking.

Rivvin sighed and walked with her.

“I am going to hold you tonight, and perhaps, your mind and body can achieve some clarity.”

She stopped halfway through the forest of stone. “Really? All night? What if I get up and go collect something?”

“I will be with you, no matter where the search takes you.”

Emharo’s heart fluttered happily at his words. They entered her cave, she turned on the heat and he took a swim while she recorded her notes from the day. She was the daughter of two researchers after all.

Wrapped in a towel around his hips, Rivvin joined her on the couch and tugged her against his chest. “How did you come by the name Emharo?”

“My parents have an equal relationship. When I appeared and I was a girl, my father wanted to name me after my mother and my mother wanted to name me after my father. So, I am Em for Emaline and Haro for Harold. It could be worse. It could be Haroline.”

He chuckled and ran his fingers through her hair, straightening and tugging the tangles free.

“I want you to marry me.”

Em licked her lips. “I am aware of that.”

“Tomorrow. A shuttle will come for us at noon, and we will be wed in the tradition of the Nine. If you want a Gaian ceremony after that, I have no objections.”

“So, if there is a wedding tomorrow, there will be a wedding night tomorrow night?”

He paused. “That is the general sequence of events. The housing for the members of the Water Folk is being reserved for us.”

“So you have arranged it all.”

“It is only a matter of time. If I leave you, my body will call out for yours and yours will begin to pine for mine. A wedding calms us both down and allows us to focus on things that we wish to.”

“Can I stay on Gaia?”

He turned her in his arms and pulled her up on his chest. “As long as the mother ship is in the sky, you can remain on Gaia with only occasional forays into space. If they leave, we will need to go with them. Can you accept that?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “If you are with me, I can.”

His smile was slow and preceded a kiss that melted her bones. He was careful with the sharp teeth in his mouth and his lips had a dexterity that left her shivering.

She broke the kiss, “Yes, I will marry you tomorrow.”

He stroked her cheek. “Fine, now go to sleep. I will be here when you wake.”

Em snuggled against his chest and let the rhythm of his breathing take her under.

Chapter Nine

It was a full skimmer that returned to the embassy. Harold and Emaline Baker insisted in seeing their daughter off as she entered the mating garden.

Daphne whisked Emharo away as Apolan spoke to the others of her party. Rivvin came up with them in the lift, but he left her with a wink as Daphne took her down another hall.

“I foolishly asked Rivvin if he wanted you to wear Water Folk traditional garb. He said yes, so I am recommending to you that you not move around too much.” Daphne entered a room with a large pool in it and lifted the costume in question.

“Oh. Wow. Okay. Well, it is tradition and only one day in my life. I can deal with this.”

She stripped and tied the swath of long strands of shells and pearls around her hips. The top was made up of necklaces that went on in gradually widening circles that incidentally covered her breasts. Her back was bare, her waist was exposed and she grinned as she let her hair tumble down to cover her.

“That looks wonderful. Oh, he left this for you.”

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