Page 145 of Lore of the Tides

“Please,” she rushed out, before he could tease her and make her beg.

Finndryl huffed a laugh, deep in his throat, his desire shining in his eyes as he gazed down at her pretty brown lips, lining his length at her glistening entrance. “Mmm, you know just how to please me, don’t you?”

Lore couldn’t respond, because he’d given her what she craved with one solid thrust, filling her up to the hilt, and the feel of him was, oh gods, it was everything. She closed her eyes, holding back happy tears. This right here was all she would ever need to live blissfully ever after.

He slowly pulled out, and thrust into her again, and she moaned as her body stretched to accommodate him.

“Honey, my love, you feel so damned good. You were made for me, you know that?” he groaned into her ear, increasing the speed of his thrusts.

She cried out at his praise, whispered in her ear with each thrust. The grip of his hands on her ass as he held her to him, as he pulled her as close as she would go, as if he wanted to mold their bodies together... to fuse into one being. She cried out, not caring that tears were sliding down her face now, tumbling into her curly hair. She couldn’t fathom this love, this need to be so close. It encompassed all of her being; it was bigger than her, bigger than him; it was the whole of the black sky, the swirling stars, and distant moons, this love they shared. Here, around them. This, between them.

The feeling of another release built up within her core. Climbing, climbing. Finndryl increased the speed of his thrusts until he found the perfect rhythm, just for her, hitting that spot he always seemed to find, again and again. She clung to his back, her nails carvinghalf-moons into the deep mahogany flesh. He grunted in pleasure, loving the scrape, the burn of her nails, caused by her pleasure.

Her release crashed at the same time as his; he growled when her core clenched around his length, over and over as waves of ecstasy surged through her. His legs straightened out as his length throbbed, shooting his own release into her.

When it was over, he collapsed onto her, just as she liked, the feel of him above her, her safe place, her favorite place to be.

They slept like that until morning, when she woke before dawn, sliding her hands beneath the sheets, ready to explore, to feel him again.

Epilogue

We arrive at the first of the islands in just three days, and we still do not have a name for our new home yet,” Aunty Eshe mused over the tinkling sound of a spoon hitting the side of a porcelain cup. She must be stirring honey into her tea.

Lore opened her eyes from where she sat dozing in an oversize armchair by the fire. The comforting sound of her friends and family chatting in the Lantern Room, the gathering space of the ship, melding with the crackling of the fire, had put her right out. She stretched before pulling Finndryl’s knit sweater tighter around her and padding over the plush carpet to take a seat at the table between Hazen and Finndryl.

Finndryl slid a clay mug over to her. She tasted it, sighing when the flavors of coffee with maple syrup and fresh cream danced on her tongue. He sipped his own black coffee, the corners of his mouth turning up in satisfaction. He took pride in making her the perfect cup of coffee—not too sweet, not too creamy. She’d had to admit, for someone who preferred his coffee black, he was truly an artist when it came to crafting her a cup.

“About our name. I have the perfect one,” Grey said around a mouthful of bread and butter.

“Oh, this ought to be good.” Hazen snickered behind his hand.

Grey guffawed. “You sound sarcastic, Prince, but it is.”

“Why doesPrincesound like an insult when it’s coming from you?” Hazen quirked an eyebrow.

Grey opened his mouth to retortsomething, but Lore interrupted before the two of them could start bickering again. “Please don’t keep us waiting,” Lore said from behind her mug.

Lore had been wondering what they should name their realm as well. Duskmere was a name imposed upon their village. It had not been one they had chosen. Their previous home, well, that name had been lost to time, along with so much of their history. Wiped clean when her ancestors appeared in Alytheria hundreds of years ago, so they’d chosen Shahassa as a filler. But it didn’t feel right for their new nation, their new home. This name would be one of the most important things they chose. And the task was more than a little daunting.

“All right... prepare to fall in love.” Grey looked around the room, pausing for dramatic effect. Uncle Salim gave an impatientharrumph, and Lore had to hide her smile behind her hand. “Dawnmere.”

Grey’s grin was proud as he met everyone’s eyes.

“Dawnmere?” Aunty Eshe asked.

“Yes, because we are at thedawnof a new age. The start of something new. It’s a play on Duskmere.”

“I get it, boy.”

“Seems a little on the nose, don’t you think?” Lore asked, her own eyebrow quirking upward.

Grey laughed. “That’s the point!”

“Maybe we hear some other ideas before deciding,” Uncle Salim said, patting Grey’s shoulder.

Grey looked at his hand with mock offense. “No need to coddle, Unc. No one will have a better idea than me.”

“I’m pretty sure we can ask a toddler to choose, and they would come up with a better name,” Hazen choked out through a fit of cackles.

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