His next statement nearly made her trip over her own feet. “I’ll also need to meet your parents. It’s customary that I present myself to your father so that he may question me and make sure my intentions are pure.”
“That won’t be possible. My parents are dead. They have been since I was almost seven years old.”
He pulled her close to his body, she couldn’t explain the comfort she felt but she damned sure appreciated it. “Oh, mo chroi, I am so sorry for your loss,” he cooed, his grief at her loss palpable.
“I appreciate your concern but it was a long time ago and my granny has been gone for a few years now, too. I’m the only Masterson left, so you will have to present yourself to me.” She batted her eyes deciding she could play games with his heartbeat just like he was doing with hers. She even patted his arm for effect. Despite all her efforts, she knew he had somehow picked up on her feelings, knew she felt exposed and needed to regain some of her control. When he reached down and threaded his fingers through hers, she sighed despite herself, wondering if there really was truth in what he had told her before. Could they really have been made for each other? The skin to skin contact sent warm tingly feelings straight to her core. She shivered despite herself.
“Are you cold, mo ghra’?”
“No, I’m fine. What are those names you keep calling me?” she tried to keep the breathy sound from her voice but with him that close and his hand wrapped around hers it was more than she could manage.
She looked up to see a grin on his perfect lips, “That is my family’s native language.”
“What are you calling me?” her voice suddenly had a sharp quality that hadn’t been there before. She hoped he didn’t pick up on it. The squeeze to her hand said he had.
“Mo ghra’ means my love. Evgren means ray of sunshine. I hadn’t even realized I was using the old language but whether in the language of old or the one of today, that is the way I see you.”
“Last night you said something like tamagotchi astronaut. I thought maybe you were thinking about video games.”
She smiled so hard her cheeks hurt as Rayne laughed out loud. If he bottled his charisma, there was not a woman alive that would not buy it. He turned her towards him, placed his hands on her shoulders, and massaged some of the tension out of her coiled muscles as he looked deep into her eyes. “I said, ‘Ta’mo chroi istigh ionat. It means ‘my heart is within you’. Because that, my beautiful mate, is how I feel now that I’ve found you. You are the keeper of my heart. From the moment I laid eyes on you, you owned me, heart and soul. I’d heard stories my whole life about what it would feel like when I found my mate, but there is absolutely nothing that could have prepared me for all I am feeling right now, from just the sight of you. Last night was just a taste of the passion we will share. I’ll cherish and protect you with all that I am and all I will ever be. You are my sole reason for being. My sun rises and sets with you, a thaisce.” He had that heated look in his eyes again. “That means, my treasure,” he teased and then winked. She was becoming addicted to the twinkle in his vibrant violet eyes.
He pressed his lips lightly to hers and the world shifted under her feet. She grabbed his forearms to keep from melting into a puddle of goo at his feet. She sighed softly and all the tension that had been creeping up on her in the few blocks they had walked, simply disappeared. This guy may be an absolute lunatic but she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into his touch or from opening her mouth, deepening the kiss of this gorgeous man. It had been such a long time since she felt like she was something important, something to be treasured and loved; to be truly special to another person. She was going to try her best to see where all of this led. Hell, she was already addicted to his kisses. And she wasn’t even going to think about the sex right now or they would end up naked in the street.
She felt Rayne grudgingly pull away and immediately missed his warm lips on hers. She looked up and found him staring at her. “Kyndel, my love, if we don’t stop soon, I promise I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and head to the nearest bed until neither of us can walk.” He cupped her chin and she could’ve sworn she felt his hand shake a bit. “We will finish what we’ve started, of that you can be sure, but now we must meet my brethren and get you to safety.”
He let go of her face, wrapped her hand in his much larger one and headed them towards the meeting spot and his waiting friends. Once again she wondered if she’d lost her mind. Only the wind on her face, touching her kiss swollen lips assured her everything she was experiencing was very real. Her lips curved and she leaned against the handsome warrior at her side deciding she would enjoy the adventure and worry about the rest later. It was time for her to really live and she was going to do her best to do just that.