I laughed softly again, ending it on a sigh. "Anyway," I said, willing to play his game now, "all women are as strong as men. We just have to be quiet about it so your delicate egos don't get bruised."
Calder grinned against my skin. "You're probably right about that," he murmured.
"Hmm hmm," I sighed, shivers breaking out over my skin as he continued to nuzzle and lick my throat. "I'm glad you realize it."
Calder smiled, brushing a piece of hair off my cheek. "The sleeping powder—"
"I put it in Hector's tea. It was easy. He was falling asleep in his chair twenty minutes later. Mother Miriam walked him up to bed."
Calder nodded. "I asked Mother Willa for a little more of the powder she gave me for pain."
I couldn't help the sadness that swept through me again. "The pain—"
Calder put a finger to my lips, smiling gently. "Let's not waste any of our time talking about that. We have so little. We can't risk this again. I just had to see you one last time before we're apart again for a little while. We can't waste one second."
I nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll try," I whispered.
I looked around at all the flickering candles. "It's so beautiful," I said. "Thank you. I love candlelight."
Calder smiled. "I can't give you much right now, Morning Glory. But candlelight, that's one thing I can provide in spades," he said, laughing a small laugh.
I smiled and then went serious. "Will anyone be looking for you?"
He shook his head. "No. Not for now, I don't think. I'm sleeping in the sick tent and Xander switched places with me for tonight. In the dark, no one will be able to tell, even if they do look in on me."
I furrowed my brow. We were risking so much for this one night. "Okay."
"How'd you get out of the house?" he asked.
"I climbed out my window and walked along the roof until I got to the big tree on the side of the lodge."
Calder leaned back, looking shocked. "Eden, that was dangerous. I thought with the sleeping powder, you could sneak out the front door."
I shook my head. "The council members are all watching me. I feel it. Hector's instructed them . . . I don't know, but I couldn't risk that. It was safer to go out my window."
Calder looked worried for a minute, but then nodded, and leaned in and kissed me. Suddenly, I was lost to everything except all things Calder. I felt drugged from the taste of him. His smell—clean water and that certain something that was just him—spoke to a deep and secret part of me. It brought me alive in some essential way I didn't even understand.
I blossomed under his touch like a flower drinking in the warm sunshine, my nipples tightening, my thighs clenching, and my core beginning to throb.
I felt him harden against my belly and I moaned into his mouth, bringing my hands up into the silky hair at the nape of his neck. He moaned, too, that beautiful throaty sound vibrating on my tongue. Moisture settled between my legs, my pulse beating in that inner place that called out to be filled. I broke away from Calder's mouth and he gazed at me with heavy-lidded eyes.
"Make love to me, Calder." I looked up and said, "Right here, in the place that's only ours. Under this moon."
Calder's expression was tender as he leaned in and kissed me softly again and then leaned back. "Did you accept my pebble?" he asked.
I smiled at him and answered, "Yes. It's tucked away in my nest. Does that mean we're married?"
Calder grinned. "Yup."
I smiled. "I don't exactly think the state of Arizona recognizes the laws of penguins."
Calder laughed softly. "I don't care about the state of Arizona. It will be the law I'll live by for the rest of my life."
I smiled back at him. "And your vows? What are your vows?"
He took hold of my hands. Overhead, the moon cast its golden glow on everything around us, and the warm air caressed my face. In front of me stood the most beautiful man I'd ever seen, the man I'd loved as long as I could remember, the one who loved me back. All around me, the night glowed with miracles, both great and small.
Calder was quiet for a second, his eyes moving over my face, a gentle smile on his lips. "Eden, I vow this. My heart is yours. My life is yours. My body is yours. My art, my dreams. You own each and every part of me."
I let out a deep breath, and my heart hitched in my chest. "And I vow this. Calder, my heart is yours, as is my life, my body, my dreams. You own each and every part of me, in this lifetime and any other."
Calder smiled down at me tenderly, leaned forward, kissed my lips softly, and then pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me up to his height. I laughed and kissed him again and again, planting small kisses all over his face as he laughed, too.