I looked back at the little house and remembered all the times I had planned on moving there. It probably wouldn’t work forever, not if we wanted a family, but it would be perfect for now. I wasn’t in a rush to have kids or to even get married. I just wanted to spend time with Blake.

“This is the little cottage you were talking about.” He looked at me and smiled. “It’s great.”

“Really?” I pulled on his hand, wanting him to go inside and take a look around. “You have to see the inside. It’s adorable. It’s all open, like a big flat.”

He laughed at my enthusiasm and let me pull him up the old steps and over the wide wraparound porch. The inside was dirty, but livable after a good cleaning. We peeked in the cabinets, checked the plumbing, and fiddled with the fuse box. After a while, we collapsed on the floor, talking about what we would do to spruce it up. Blake pulled one of the old blankets out of the chest at the end of the old bed and laid it out on the floor while I opened the windows to air out the house.

He lay back on the floor and held out his good arm. I tucked myself against him, my head on his shoulder. I traced the lines on his shirt with my fingers and smiled up at him.

“You really like it?”

“I do. It’s perfect. Close enough so we can walk to Flukes, but far enough away from your parents that we still have some privacy.” He frowned. “I guess I should look into a real job.” He ran his fingers through my hair absentmindedly.

“You don’t want to work at Flukes?” I frowned. I thought he was starting to love the place as much as I did. “And you wanted to travel.”

“It didn’t want to just assume that I was needed there.”

“Are you kidding? Mom and Dad love you! Jallia, Mitch, and Stormy love you. Not to mention the baby. He took to you immediately.” I shook my head. “Besides, if you get a real job, then you won’t be able to travel. You’d be stuck in some boring place you’d hate.” Honestly, I couldn’t imagine him working an office job. There was something wild and free about Blake. He needed to be outside or in a studio, dreaming up pictures.

“All right,” he said. “If you’re okay with it, I’m more than okay with it. But you get to decide where we go first. I want you to see the world, too. We’ll plan it out and make sure you see everything that you want to.”

I leaned up on my elbow and kissed his lips softly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He pulled my face back down to his again and I lazily kissed him, enjoying the way our breath mingled. His stomach rumbled and I laughed against his mouth.

“What do you want to do for dinner?” I pulled back and looked at him.

“Why don’t we start with dessert?” He rolled me over and hovered over my body.

“Oh.” His hand slid under my dress and tugged my panties off. His head moved down my body, trailing kisses as he went. When he got to my waist, he lifted my skirt so that I could feel the cool night air curl across my hips. I bit my lip, not sure what to expect. His breath slid across my skin, his stubble tickling me as he moved.

When he spread my legs, my hands curled into fists and I sucked in as much air as my lungs would hold. His mouth moved over me as he placed soft, delicate kisses on my sensitive skin. When he opened his mouth and traced his tongue along my contours, I moaned, making him chuckle. I looked down at him through my eyelashes and tried to not moan again as he stared at me while moving his tongue slowly in places that had never been seen before.

When my hips began to move, he picked up his pace, licking and stroking while my mind went blank. I reached down and fisted my hand in his hair, holding him in place when my peak neared. He didn’t stop until my body was finished shaking. Unhurriedly, he crawled over me and positioned himself between my legs. He cupped one of my breasts and kissed my neck as he gently entered me. He was slow and careful, taking his time until he filled me completely.

I reached around him, running my hands over his back and tracing those dimples that had teased me earlier. When he began to move inside of me, I was more than ready. My hips met him for each thrust, and I devoured each of his moans with my lips. He whispered in my ear, French words I didn’t understand. We reached the finish line at the same time, and I couldn’t help my loud moan of pleasure.

I’d never been this happy, this content. I couldn’t think of a better way to have celebrated the decision. This was our new home.

This was the beginning of our new life together.

This was my mate.

My Blake.

Chapter Twenty-Three

- Blake -

Everything was in place and ready for the grand reopening. We’d barely managed to get everything done in time, but I had no doubts that the Cruise Excursion people would be impressed. Mom had offered to help set up the celebration and it had turned into a major event with a lot of her well-to-do friends making the guest list.

I leaned against one of the new fences along the walkway and took everything in. There were twinkle lights everywhere, tables set out under the moonlight, and a band was setting up near the new building. Meena and Vince stood next to her, going over a final checklist as they got ready for everyone. We’d decided to tell Mom and Vince about Meena. It wasn’t that I couldn’t keep a secret, but more that I didn’t want to push my family away. It had gone over much better than I thought it would, with Mom talking about the stories her grandparents had told her growing up.

They had taken to Meena and her family immediately, even insisting that they all go shopping for the event together. Meena was wearing a short, gauzy dress that matched her eyes. The tiny crystal belt and crystals along the collar matched the diamond on her finger. I knew we weren’t in a rush, but I’d needed to see my ring on her finger. The white lines of our mating wrapped around her wrist, giving her an even more exotic look, but the ring was something from me. Something to let her know I would love her even if we didn’t have the bond.

Ben sauntered down the boardwalk, pulling at his bow tie. “I really hate these things.” He stopped in front of me and I pushed his hands away.

Carefully, I loosened it just enough so that he could breathe easier and fixed the bow. “I can breathe! You’re a genius.”

“I hear that a lot, but not usually for fixing a bow tie.” I laughed.

“It was so tight I thought I’d pass out. How’d you get so good at that?”

I tilted my head toward my mother and shrugged. “It was kind of a requirement growing up.”

“She’s something else. Tiny like an imp and bossy like a lioness.” He shook his head. “We really appreciate all she’s done.”

“She loves it. And I think she’s been trying to convince Meena to move to the Riviera.” We laughed, both knowing that she would never leave Flukes for more than a vacation.

“Well, I can’t blame her for trying. I wouldn’t want her that far away either.” He looked at me. “You’ve been good for her. I’m glad that she found you.”

“She changed my whole world.” I shrugged. As if she could sense me looking, she looked glanced over her shoulder. Her thick, messy braid swung across her back and she smiled at me.

“So, are you going to schmooze the Excursion director?” Ben pulled at his bow tie again and I knocked his hand away.

“I don’t think you’re going to need me. One look at Meena will turn him to putty.”

“I think you might be on to something.” Ben smiled proudly. Even with meeting Meena’s biological family, their little unit was as tight as ever. Jacen and Mireille had quickly become part of the family, and I knew Meena was going to be sad when they left to finish their swimabout.

The people started arriving not long after the band had set up and I moved to the tables to help greet the people that came. Liv and her family showed up first, and I laughed as she attacked Vince in a huge hug. She was a little more gentle with Meena, but not much. Smoothly, she introduced Meena to her parents and the friend they had brought with them. It was odd to watch her slip into such a dignified persona. She was taller than Meena, and I was shocked to realize how much she was growing up.

The rest of the night was spent talking and dancing. Food had been served and music had been played. By the time things started to wind down, Meena was grinning from ear to ear. She jerked her head to where her father stood, speaking with several people. One of them was the Excursion director, another was the woman in charge of a very large resort, and the third was a well-known conservationist.

I crossed the dance floor so I could pull her into my arms. We swayed to the music, taking a couple of minutes for ourselves. “I saw Ben with papers in his hand earlier.” I leaned down so I could whisper in her ear.

“He gave me the thumbs-up earlier. I thought he was going to run around kicking his heels.” She rested her head against my shoulder and chuckled.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

“Roughly every two hours.” She looked up at me, her eyes sparkling. “But by all means, don’t let that keep you from telling me again.”

“You’re gorgeous.” I placed a kiss on her forehead. “And I’m the luckiest man here.”

“Think anyone would notice if we left?” She tilted her head up to me, her lips parted. “This dress is starting to bother my skin and I’d really like to go for a swim.”

I looked around the area and smiled. Taking her hand, I walked toward the main house before ducking down a side path. She kicked off her heels and jumped onto my back. We were laughing and joking by the time we reached the beach. We set our shoes by one of the trees and I shucked the jacket and tie.

“Can you get the zipper?” She turned her back to me.

I pulled it down, careful to keep it away from her skin. Once it was undone, I leaned down and kissed her neck. I’d never get tired of seeing her naked in the moonlight. She was careful as she pulled the dress off and took her time folding it so that nothing would hurt it.

I peeled my shirt off and laid it in the sand for her to put her clothes on. She slid the tiny little panties off and I shook my head to try and clear my mind. When she added the bra to our pile of clothing, I had to hurry so I wouldn’t be left behind.

She dove into the water, swimming away from shore before changing. I waded out to her and sank to my knees. She surfaced in front of me, water rolling down her cheeks and clinging to her eyelashes. She kissed me softly before threading her fingers through mine and pulling me with her.

It wasn’t a long swim because we couldn’t go far. She was worried that some of the people that had come on boats would see us, so we stayed close to the coastline. We didn’t see much for a while and instead just spent the time relaxing after a long day.

Something silver glinted in the distance and I had a moment of panic when I realized it was a shark. Meena squeezed my fingers and I could feel her reassurance rolling through our bond. She swam to the shark and beckoned me to touch it when it came close.

It was a reef shark, out looking for food. We were much too big to be an easy meal, so it wasn’t very interested. The fingers of my free hand ran over his side and down to his tail. With a jerk, it darted away and I watched as it joined a few others near the reef. We headed back for our beach. She let go of my hand and moved a little ways out so that she could switch to her legs.

Her eyes never left mine as her body worked through the change. The magic that was part of Meena never failed to amaze me, but it was the hungry look in her eyes that left me breathless. She looked dangerous and sexy as she cut through the water, her face serious and haunting. The moon glinted off her exposed skin as she swam to where I was kneeling in the shallows.

There was no hesitation when she reached me, no question in her eyes. She knew what she wanted and was going to take it no matter what. God, I loved that look. Placing her hands behind my neck, she straddled my lap and folded her legs around me. Her mouth claimed mine in a possessive kiss that made all the blood drain from my brain.

Reaching down, I cupped her ass, sliding her against the length of me that was straining to get out of my wet boxers. Running her hands down my chest, she freed my cock, and slowly slid her hand up and down. I growled into her mouth and nipped her bottom lip. Words were lost, leaving only primal thoughts as she stroked me. Mine, my brain whispered over and over.

She chuckled at my possessiveness, which only made it harder for me to think straight. I slid my hands from her back to fill them with her sexy breasts and ran my thumbs over her nipples until she groaned in pleasure. Her hips moved against me and I could think of nothing but the beautiful creature making love to me.

Her lips slid down to mine, her tongue sweeping over my bottom lip. I opened my mouth so that our breaths could tangle and moved my hands back to her ass. Lifting, I positioned her over my cock while she guided me inside. My breath left in a whoosh as I was enfolded in her warmth, and I buried my face in her neck. When she moved against me, my mind blanked with desire. I wanted to take control, to find my release, but it was sexy, so fucking sexy, to see her in charge.

When she arched her back, exposing her breasts to the moonlight, I ducked my head and captured one nipple with my mouth. Slowly I licked the salt water off, sucking and pulling, before moving to the other. Her moan was low and long and her hips picked up pace.

“That’s it, baby.” I wrapped an arm around her waist, wanting to hold on as she found her rhythm. The sight of her breasts bobbing in and out of the water made me grit my teeth. I was ready to explode, but wanted to drag this out for as long as possible. Watching her as she came was one of the most sensual moments I’d ever experienced. Every emotion was laid bare. She leaned toward me, her wet hair slapping against my chest. When her mouth found mine, I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed it. I needed her.

Meena.

My Meena.

My mate.

“Mine.”