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All day, we played with the children in the yard. The twins were only three, so two and a half when we’d left this house. They didn’t remember it.

Mirobhail and Vanna did. They made sure to show them every little thing they loved about our home, and about our land. It was sweet to watch them give the babies a tour.

Afterward, I took Vanna hunting with me. Mirobhail was a pacifist who vehemently refused. Berries were his dinner. We ate later than I would’ve liked, but the stag was delicious.

All the babies got a bath afterward, and we tucked them into their beds.

Aye,theirbeds. They’d been sleeping in ours for the last year. I loved them with my whole heart, and I loved having them close, but fuck, I’d missed sharing a bed with only my wife.

Friel and Aein wanted to share. I had the feeling they’d be crawling into ours midway through the night, but just an hour or two with my wife would be plenty.

Mirobhail and Vanna had no objection. They were tired of us, apparently. Mirobhail was happy he could stay up late and read his books. Vanna had fiercely proclaimed with a dramatic sigh how happy she was to have some “stars damned privacy again.”

I’d laughed. Véa scolded her for cussing, and then me for laughing.

But I was also happy to have some stars damned privacy. I told Véa so as I walked her backward into our bedroom.

Her cheeks were bright red, smile edging into them. “We still have to be quiet. I don’t think Mirobhail’s asleep.”

“I’m not the one who has a problem staying quiet.” I grasped her hips and hoisted her around me, kissing her neck when she squealed a laugh. “See? That’s all you, do gràs.”

“I hate you.” She said it as though she wasn’t laughing.

“So you claim.” I kicked the door shut behind us, wincing when it banged a bit too loud, trailing my kisses up her neck as I walked her to the bed. Lying her on it, I fiddled with the string on her gown. “But you wouldn’t let me do this if you hated me.”

Beneath heavy lids, her eyes glowed, showing me just how much sheadoredthis. “I love you.”

“That’s what I thought.” I yanked the strings open, and before I had time to slide the gown up her chest, it was gone. “So much easier.”

Smiling, she grabbed a fistful of my shirt and pulled me down to her. Her kiss was deep, passionate, but slow and intimate. As her hands explored my body, drifting up and down my chest, down my arms, I took in the feel of her smooth, fiery skin.

I loved how warm her temperature got when she was aroused. It was like her eyes, or the warmth seeping between her thighs and around my fingers as they dipped into her. A signal that I was doing what she wanted. I was bringing her closer to the bliss she craved.

That was always the best part. I enjoyed the sensations, but fucking stars, that little gasp she took in when my cock spread her cunt was so much better than the pleasure itself. Her whimper when my thumb found her clit…

“Fuck, don’t stop,” she whispered.

And that was the best part.

Kissing her, swallowing her moans, plunging into that spot she loved so much, feeling her arms tighten around my shoulders, that was all I needed. Whatever she wanted, however hard, however fast, it was hers. Ilivedto fulfill her every desire.

“Look at you,” I whispered, taking in the texture of her lips against my own with each word, “hardly making a sound.”

“It isn’t easy.” She breathed out that sentence as a sigh. “Fuck, why does it feel so much better with pillows?”

I laughed, propping myself up on my palms just far enough to meet her gaze in the low light of the candles on the dresser. I kept thrusting, but I slowed to more of a grind, finding the leverage to rub her clit with my pelvis. When her head rolled back, eyes barely open, deep breath warming my cheeks, I knew I’d gotten just the right place. “Maybe because we’ve finally got some stars damned privacy.”

She laughed. “You’re ruining the moment.”

No, I wasn’t.

This was us.

We were lovers, we were warriors, we were leaders, but above all else, we were friends. You couldn’t spend every day with someone for hundreds of thousands of years if they weren’t your friend.

Friends joked.

Fucking stars, it felt so good to joke again. To smile. To feel pleasure, and love, and romance, even if it was more casual and comforting than fiery and intimate.