Page 80 of Natural Satisfaction

Damian bent to offer me his hand.

I accepted it and climbed onto the table with him.

He slipped his arm around me and announced, "We're getting married."

Cheers and whoops filled the hall, the noise almost deafening but filled with real joy.

Damian scooped me up in his arms and leaped off the table, landing flat on his feet inches behind the chairs we had occupied thirty seconds earlier. He kissed me, quick and hard. Then he hoisted me above his head. "The Ludar prince has claimed his mate."

When I glanced down at him, he winked at me.

Damian set me down amid even louder cheers and whoops.

At that moment, I knew our wedding would be one wild event. And I couldn't wait for that.

Chapter Thirty

Damian

A few days after we announced our engagement to our friends and a crowd of naturists, Heidi and I got on a plane to go visit her parents. She had suggested it. Though she was keeping up a brave face, I knew she dreaded telling her mom and dad about us, especially since she'd never mentioned me to them. Heidi admitted to me she hadn't spoken to her parents in months, not since they chastised her for dumping that douchebag cheater she'd kept going back to every time he begged her to forgive him. Well, every time until the last time. Heidi had found her inner strength at last.

We had one last hurdle to jump over. I was about to meet her parents.

Heidi had told them she was bringing her new boyfriend, but she'd wanted to hold off on sharing the engagement news until we were there in person to tell them.

Ethan and Janice Mackenzie lived in Omaha, Nebraska, though separately since they were divorced. Janice still lived in the same cookie-cutter house inside the same cookie-cutter gated community where Heidi had grown up. Nothing wrong with that, but I couldn't see Heidi feeling happy and free in a place like this. They had rules for what people could do with their yards, how often they had to mow and prune the bushes, what kind of Christmas lights they could put up, and lots more stuff. No wonder Heidi had needed to escape to the naturist resort.

I knew she'd been living in a small apartment in Omaha for years. She gave up that apartment a few days after we got engaged. Heidi Mackenzie belonged at the resort where everyone loved her, and where she could be herself without fear of offending anyone.

Yeah, I had a feeling her parents would be offended big time when they met me.

Heidi rang the doorbell and started wringing her hands.

I clasped her left hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and glanced at the engagement ring sparkling on her finger. Then I kissed her cheek. "Relax. If they act like dicks, you've got backup."

She smiled tightly. "I know. Thank you for coming with me."

"Just think of me as your Ludar knight, ready to defend your honor to the death."

The door opened, and a gray-haired man furrowed his brows at us. "You brought a man with you."

"Yeah, Dad," Heidi said. "I told you Damian was coming."

Ethan Mackenzie grunted. "Guess you better come inside. Not sure how your mother will react. You know she doesn't do well with the sorts of men you like to take up with. Whatever happened to Grant? He was the only good one."

I could see Heidi was clenching her jaw, but she maintained her polite demeanor.

Ethan led us inside and straight to the dining room where the table had been set up with places for four people. If they'd forgotten Heidi was bringing a guest, why had they set the table for us? I guessed Ethan and Janice just liked making their daughter feel as if she'd done something wrong.

Heidi's mom walked through the swinging door to the kitchen. She was carrying a roast on a platter, which she set down on the table. "At least you're here on time for dinner, Heidi."

As we got closer to the table, I saw name cards in front of each plate. I was supposed to sit across the table from Heidi.

Screw that.

I pretended not to notice the name cards and sat down in the chair next to Heidi's. She bit her lip for half a second, then settled onto the chair beside me, the one reserved for her. Ethan sat at the head of the table beside Heidi. His wife took the chair across from her daughter. I grabbed the place setting meant for me and moved it over to this side of the table.

Janice pursed her lips.

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