I groaned and threw my arm out to my side the same way I woke up every morning. Only this time my arm hit something solid, solid and warm. My brain must have been working at about one eighth speed, but considering the work out I'd had last night it was no wonder.
My head shot out of the cover, I turned sharply to see Varden lying next to me and collapsed back onto the bed. A huge goofy grin plastered itself across my face. So, I hadn't been a dream, he was lying next to me, we had, the memory sent shudders up and down my spine. It had been better than my wildest dreams, and trust me, I had had some very liquid dreams.
Creeping back under the covers I worked myself slowly over until I pressed myself against his side. Wapping my legs around his I pressed myself into him, luxuriating in the feeling of my naked body pressed against his. I closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest.
"Good morning to you too." I felt his voice as much as heard it as it vibrated through his chest.
"I kinda thought a normal wake up would be too boring after everything you've put me through for the last two years." I ran my hand up his leg from knee to inner thigh.
"Wa, wa, what have I been doing to you?" He stammered as my hand moved towards my goal.
"I've been wanting to do this since I brought you to the Sanctuary, and now that all that pent up energy has at last been unleashed, you." I poked him in the chest. "Had better be prepared."
Maybe I was the one who should have been prepared. Before I knew what was happening, it was I who was on my back with Varden hanging over me, his knees slowly spreading my legs wider.
"Really? I think you've underestimated my desire for you my dear." He lowered himself slowly until his chest was pressing on mine, amongst other things. "Just because I held myself back doesn't mean I didn't want you." He ran his fingers up and down my sides before sliding them up to my chest. "And now that I've got you here I can do all the things to you I've been thinking about.
"Where did you learn to do that?" I gasped as his hands began tiny circles.
"Hours and hours of mental fantasy my dear. Want to know everything else I've learned?"
He spent the rest of the morning showing me.
"If we don't get out of this bed, we'll never get on the road today. I already had to lie to Damaris once, I don't think she'll believe me again." Varden whispered in my ear as I laid wrapped in his arms.
My back was against his chest, and I could feel every breath he took. I knew we should move, but the bed felt so good, and his arms around me just made me want to push back against him and start our morning escapade all over again. Good God was this what it was like for all newly married people.
"Yeah, we should get going before she calls again." I said as Varden floundered his way out from under the mass of disheveled blankets.
"Wow, we really did a number on this bed." His voice carried a note of wonder to it and my mind was thinking the same thing.
"We really didn't get much sleeping done last night, or this morning for that matter." I told him as I sat up and stretched.
He stopped in his tracks and stared, his eyes devouring every inch of me he could see. It was only then that I realized he was also naked, so I returned the favor until our eyes met and we both laughed out loud at our antics.
"I've wanted to see you naked since the first time we met." He said, a wistful look in his eye. "And now I get to see you like this all the time." I dragged my gaze up and down him, enjoying his noticeable reaction to my stare.
"Just remember, you're not the only one who is enjoying the view." I slipped off the bed, padded over to him and kissed him hard. "But we really need to get moving, the jet is probably waiting right now."
"You're right," he said and turned to start picking up his clothes from where they'd been hurriedly tossed the night before.
A few minutes later we were walking out of the hotel. With the amount of cash, we gave them they didn't even ask us about our room, they just waved as we walked out the front door.
"Should you call the high mother and tell her we're on our way?" Varden asked as he turned out of the parking lot and headed for the airport.
"No, I don't want to give her any clues about why we're late. What is our cover story again?" I asked from the passenger's seat.
"I told her you were dragging me to a hotel for a night of hot passionate sex. I couldn't tell if she bought it or not. But she did hang up right after I said it, so I guess it worked." He answered me with a straight face.
"That is our cover story, sex?" I couldn't believe he'd told her something like that.
"Sure, the trick to pulling off a good lie is to mix in enough of the truth so that the person can't tell which is which."
"I had no idea you knew so much about lying to people." I was both impressed and taken aback at the same time.
"Just because I try not to, doesn't mean I'm not any good at it." He told me, not taking his eyes from the road.
It only took us ten minutes to make it to the small airstrip. Our jet was already prepped and waiting on the end of the strip. We dropped the car at the small terminal, or what passed as a terminal and walked to the plane.
"So, what do we tell Damaris when we get back?" I asked Varden when we neared the plane.
"I have no idea, you've known her longer than I have, you come up with something."
"I think we should use the truth. She'll be thrilled, sure she'll start pestering me about when I'm going to get pregnant, but I can handle that." I skipped up the four steps and into the plane cabin.
"You? If you're not pregnant within the first couple of months, she'll start asking me what my problem is." Varden told me as he followed me up the steps.
Whirling I planted a kiss on him then stepped back.
"And so will I." With a wink I spun and skipped to my seat.
"I'll do my best to keep the two of you satisfied with my performance." Varden laughed as we both buckled ourselves into our seats.
"We have good flying weather from here to Michigan ma'am. We should have you back at the Sanctuary in about three hours." The pilot's voice came over the intercom tinny and seconds later we were rolling down the tarmac, even as the entrance door was being pulled shut and latched.
Both of us slept the entire flight back. We had to, we had gotten only snippets of sleep last night and our morning was even more active than when we could have been sleeping. So, if we didn't want to arrive at the Sanctuary looking like half dead zombies we had to sleep. Besides, with the plane's security detail riding with us we didn't have the privacy for anything else in the main cabin and the bathroom was far too small.
Arriving at the small airport just outside Sault Ste Marie I was surprised to see the high mother waiting for us. She was of course surrounded by her guards and personal assistants, but the very fact that she had come to greet us upon our return told me something was not right. The plane came to a stop, the door was opened and before they could even drop the steps down, I leaped from the door.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Damaris strode up to Varden and I, an ice-cold look etched on her face.
"There's been another attack."
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