I turned in his arms and pulled his jacket off him. “You are my soul mate.” I said.
He watched me unbutton his shirt. As it fell to the floor, he pulled me to him, his warm, hard body such a contrast to my thin frame. One hand cradled the back of my head as his open mouth covered mine. The other, pulled me gently off my feet to him. At that point, I could think of nothing more than being with him.
Our passionate kiss fueled us and Thayde reached down, picking my knees up, lifting me into his arms. As he lifted me onto the bed, a beautiful soft glow surrounded us. Thayde’s soft lips were on mine and within moments all of our clothes lay on the bedroom floor.
Thayde was a sweet and gentle lover, taking his time with me. He made love, he didn’t have sex and it made him even more perfect. His soft hands caressed my body lovingly making that night the most beautiful and passionate night of my life. The golden glow encompassed us the entire time. Our urgency and passion seemed to fuel it and as we finished and lay holding each other, the glow slowly faded.
Thayde pulled himself closer to me and wiped a stray hair away from my forehead. I could feel the love radiating from him as his hand touched the side of my face. I curled into his strong arms and breathed him in. My eyes shot open as his deep voice broke the silence.
“I wonder how your parents will react the minute Tammer reads our minds,”
For a moment, I lay in shocked silence. I hadn’t thought of that. Still, I didn’t care. They knew it was inevitable. My heart felt a twinge of guilt the second I thought about the wedding that Mom most likely was looking forward too.
“Are you thinking about your mom?” He asked.
“I think she’ll be upset,” I answered.
“We can always have a ‘proper’ wedding when I return, baby.”
“When you return…” I trailed off, the memories of the bad dreams flooding my mind.
“Morgan, stop.” Thayde sighed. “I know what you’re thinking. Please stop, I don’t want you thinking I’m going to die. I don’t want to think about that when I leave.”
“I can’t help it!” My arms tightened around him. “The nightmares I’ve been having - they’re about you dying. What if they’re true?”
“Dreams are only dreams.”
“But mine always seem to come true.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.”
Thayde cupped my chin in his hand. “When I return, we’ll have a big, proper wedding and go on our honeymoon, okay?”
I just nodded. What more could I do? I seemed to have no choice in the matter. Resting my head against Thayde, I tried to clear my mind and not focus on the doom tomorrow would bring.
“What have you done?”
Tammer’s face reminded me of the color of lobsters after they’ve been boiled. I wondered if he felt hot.
“We got married yesterday,” Thayde answered in a plain voice.
“Without us?” Mom gasped.
“We didn’t think you’d approve,” I explained.
“You’re darn right we wouldn’t!” Tammer spluttered. “Just what were you thinking?”
“We don’t need your permission,” I stated. “You knew we’d get married someday and with Thayde leaving, we wanted to do it as soon as possible.”
“You’re too young!” Tammer insisted.
I didn’t answer. Of course, I knew he was right. But we were not going to be with anyone else. Ever. So what was the big deal?
“The big deal?” Tammer nearly choked. “The big deal? Morgan, you’re only eighteen!”
“They’ve corded,” Mom interrupted, and Tammer looked like his head was going to pop.
“Elan, you know what this will do?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“What? What are you talking about?” I asked, holding tightly to Thayde’s hand. Ezen and Tiesa looked anxiously at each other.
Tammer looked to Thayde. “Do you?”
Thayde looked miffed.
“She might not be able to learn everything she needs to now!”
Impossible.
“Why? Because I’m married? What a load of crap!” I cried.
Tammer’s mouth hung open. “Morgan, once you marry the one you’ve corded with, you’re linked for life to that person. Many times, their powers become your own. It also makes you unable to gain any more powers. You may have just stopped everything!”
“Why haven’t I heard about this?” Thayde’s voice was uncertain.
“Because no one’s ever married the ruler of the merpeople! Troen wasn’t married and neither was Calipsor before him!”
“I wonder if the same rules will apply to Morgan,” Tiesa said in a hushed tone. “I mean, she performed a blessing yesterday that totally blew me out of the water and…”