Page 31 of Deep Sea Kiss
But no, her soft, lithe body was right there in his bed, so he did the most natural thing in the world and curled himself around her, tucking her against him. She wiggled until she was content with her position, then let out a sigh that tickled the skin on his arm. Eiric buried his face in her soft hair and thanked the gods for bringing her to him.
“I feel you,” she whispered in the half-light.
Her hips shifted back an inch, her sweet ass nudging at his cock, which was still as hard as it had been earlier.
Eiric chuckled. “I thought I’d give you a break before the next round.”
She pushed back, and he groaned. This had her giggling, so he squeezed her hip in warning.
“If you keep doing that, the break won’t last much longer,” he warned her.
“Mm, promises,” she murmured, her voice languid, as though she was minutes away from falling asleep.
“Promises I intend to keep,” he assured her.
“Admit it,” she teased. “You’re a big, bad sea dragon who secretly likes cuddles.”
He huffed out a breath. “I’ll have you know that dragons are excellent cuddlers.”
She went still in his embrace, and he knew, somehow, that she was remembering his brother. They hadn’t spoken about him, but he guessed that cuddling hadn’t been on the agenda that single night she’d spent with Mikkel. Jealousy still reared inside him at the thought of her with another man, let alone his brother, but he did his best to stamp it down.
“Eiric,” she began. Her voice lost that sleepy quality. “I never…”
She fell silent, and he waited, afraid of what she’d say next.
“What happened with Mikkel wasn’t— I mean, I didn’tfeelanything for him.”
Eiric tightened his arms around her and nodded. He couldn’t see her face, and maybe it was easier that way.
But Lottie wasn’t a woman who would ever choose the easy path. She turned in his arms and laid her palm on his cheek. “I never knew him, and I’m sorry for that. I wish I did.” Her blue eyes were so wide and sad. “But I’m sure we wouldn’t have been a couple, even if he’d lived.”
Eiric nodded and brushed back her hair. “I wish he treated you better.”
Lottie’s gaze went soft. “Look, if it wasn’t for Mikkel, I wouldn’t have my babies. And I’ll forever be grateful for that. I wish he’d lived so they’d know him. But then I met you—and you’re the only Siemensen I want.”
He didn’t say he loved her—it was too soon for that, their relationship still too new and uncertain to define in such a way. Instead, he kissed her, letting her know through every touch and caress that he would be there for her, no matter what.
Lottie moaned into his mouth, then broke the kiss. With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she turned again in his arms and pushed her ass to his groin. “I’m calling in that promise now.”
* * *
The next morning, Lottie stood at his kitchen counter, wearing his t-shirt and nothing else as she grated an apple for the twins’ breakfast. Eiric wished he could keep them all in his house, where real life wouldn’t intrude until they ran out of food. On Drageøy, the twins would get the best teachers and company, so he supposed they would live here most of the time. He was making plans to source two cots for them—maybe his mother had even kept the sturdy, hand-carved ones that he and his brothers had slept in as children.
“Can we see more of the island today?” Lottie asked. “I thought I saw a waterfall yesterday.”
“Sure.” He sipped his hot coffee and picked up Aksel, who was crawling toward a still-unprotected power socket. “Then you can try out your new scuba gear.”
Lottie grinned. “I forgot about that! I can’t wait.”
Eiric thought of something else he wanted to show her. They got ready for the day, and he took them all for a walk through his small town. Behind the last houses, grassy green slopes rose, pastures with barely any trees. And there, walled by a gray stone wall, was the town cemetery.
“Is that…?”
Lottie stopped on the path, her hand flying to her mouth. Her blue eyes widened, and she cast a questioning glance his way.
“I thought you might want to see where we put him to rest,” Eiric said quietly.
They walked on together, him with Elise in his arms, Lottie carrying Aksel on her hip. He hadn’t visited this place since Mikkel’s funeral. It had been too painful. Even before that, he’d avoided the place where his father’s grave lay in a place of honor. He had never mourned his father’s death, no matter how horrible that sounded.
