Wildest Dreams

Chapter Ten

Jumping from First Base to Third

Three days later…

I stood in the kitchen, frozen, staring at Penelope sitting on the kitchen floor by the door.

Then she did what she’d done only moments before, opened her mouth and meowed but in my head, I heard, “Let me out.”

Clear as day. I heard the words, “Let me out.”

But out of my cat’s mouth, I heard, “Meow.”

In all the time I had her, she didn’t make a mew. She just purred.

Now she’d meowed twice and twice I’d heard it like I understood it in my head.

I stayed frozen and staring and she did it again.

“Meee… ow,” which I heard as scary, freaky, cat-can-talk-to-you, getting really impatient, “Let me out!”

I dropped the dish cloth and ran straight out the backdoor Frey had walked out not five minutes ago.

Then I kept running straight to the hot spring where he’d told me he was going to bathe.

And I kept going as fast as my booted feet would carry me, freaked way the hell out. The hot spring wasn’t far but it wasn’t a two second walk around the side of the house either and I ran hell bent for leather all the way there.

Frey heard me crashing through the trees toward him, I knew this because he had his sweater off, his breeches on and was pulling on his boots which meant he’d already taken them off.

I ran straight into his arms without slowing and his body rocked back a foot on impact but his arms locked around me as he asked urgently, “What’s given you a fright, Finnie?”

I was sucking in breath and I pulled back a bit to wheeze, hand pressed into my chest (like that would help) and then I forced out, “Penelo… Pen… the cat… my cat…” I pulled in a deep breath the pushed out, “I know… this is going… to sound… nuts… but I think… my cat… is possessed.”

I stared up at him to assess his reaction to this dire news as he gazed down at me, brows knit.

“Possessed?” he asked.

“Possessed!” I cried. “By Satan, demons, pure evil, I don’t know! She said, ‘meow’ and in my head I heard, ‘let me out’ and I know,” I shook my head and waved my hand between us, “I know, Frey, that sounds utterly unhinged but I kid you not, that is exactly what I heard not once, not twice but,” I leaned into him, grabbed onto both of his biceps and got up on my toes, “three times. I’ve had that cat for nearly a month and not a peep, not the barest mew and now this! Maybe there’s evil in this world…” Oh shit! “I mean, uh… this forest. Maybe people come here to devil worship or hatchet men live out there!” I swung an arm out to the trees then back to slap my hand on his chest. “Or maybe the ghost of a murdering hatchet man who killed dozens of villagers before they caught him and strung him up lives out there and he’s pissed and he’s possessing my cat!”

Frey’s face got that look I was getting used to, like a weird sort of understanding (of what I did not know and never really did but at that moment I did not care because my fat, ginger cat was possessed by the ghost of a murdering hatchet man) and he said softly, “Finnie, take a breath and calm yourself.”

“I can’t calm myself when my ginger cat is possessed by a murderer!” I shrieked and I swear, I swear to God, Frey looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh before he spoke again and I knew he was trying hard to quell his laughter when his voice trembled with it.

“Wife, as you know,” his face got closer to mine, “women can understand cats, deer, rabbits, mice, small birds and other such animals.”

I blinked at him as my body locked in shock.

Frey spoke on. “And men can understand horses, snakes, hawks, falcons, other birds of prey and predatory or animals used in work or war, for instance, wolves and ox.”

I blinked again.

“Apparently, considering you’ll jump at any indication that Penelope has the merest whim, you didn’t move fast enough and she felt the need to tell you she wished to go outside. Since she actually had to tell you rather than you stuffing her full of chicken and fish before she got the least hungry and gathering her close to nuzzle before she even knew she wished a cuddle and moving to let her out, or in, before she shifted her great bulk fully toward the door, she hasn’t had to share her desires. If you were busy or not paying attention, she would do so. I’m sure you’ve heard the call of a variety of animals.”

I kept blinking.

So Frey finished, “Perhaps, out here in the forest where animals do not near the house due to our activity, you’ve forgotten since you haven’t heard it in some time.”

“Right,” I whispered, “I’d forgotten.”

His mouth twitched then he muttered, “That’s what I thought.”

My gaze on his mouth unfocused as this news hit me.

Holy freaking moly! They had elves and animals talked to you in this world.

That was just… plain… freaking… cool!

“Now are you all right or do you wish for me to find a witch who will scour the forest for traces of ghosts and expunge them?” Frey asked and now he was smiling so I knew he thought I was highly comical.

That was when my brows knit (though, I kinda wanted to hear about witches who could expunge ghosts).

“I’m glad to see my cat scaring the beejeezus out of me causes you such mirth, husband,” I snapped.

His arms gave me a squeeze and his mouth moved to kiss my forehead.

Once he’d done that, his lips still against my skin, he muttered, “You cause me much mirth frequently, wife.”

I blinked at his throat as his words caused my heart to flutter and he let me go and moved away.

Then what he said next caused my belly to drop and my heart to clench.

“Since you’re here, disrobe and join me in the spring.”

I stared at him as he pulled his boots off and I tried to get my heart started again, and, I might add, my lungs working because panic had filled me.

The last three days with Frey had been good. So good, I’d added so many things onto my list of why I liked him, I quit bothering to add them.

I just liked him.

First, he laughed at my jokes.

Second, he had a really fantastic laugh.

Third, he smiled or grinned at me, like loads. It was like he was a whole different person. He still wasn’t exactly Mr. Conversation but in the last three days he’d said not one thing that pissed me off or freaked me out.

Fourth, he was the kind of guy who was busy a lot, had his own things to do and he did them. He was in the stable or shed quite a bit when we weren’t in town. But even so, when he was with you, he was with you. You had his attention and his concentration and you had these in a nice way. He didn’t lie when he said he liked to see my mouth move, he listened to me talk and although he didn’t pour forth bountiful information, he answered questions about the elves, himself, his travels and all sorts of stuff and he was a really interesting guy. In fact, he was way more informative than any of the books Sjofn had left for me, telling me stuff about my Mom and Dad (of this world) in a way that was nice, like he was sharing memories with me though he couldn’t know they weren’t my memories and that he was giving me insight into my parents. And it was cool to know that, although they seemed off with me, they were well-loved by their people, they were known to be a love match even though their marriage was arranged like Frey and mine, they were both respected not only by their citizens but by rulers of other lands and Frey held my father in high regard considering he thought he was intelligent and a fair and just monarch.

Fifth, he wasn’t a great kisser, he was a great kisser and I knew this because he kissed me lots, during the day (everything from lip brushes to quick, deep wet ones to mini-make-out-sessions) and we totally made out in bed every night. He never let it get hot and heavy (okay, so it got heated and the petting was relatively heavy and very nice but not out-of-control). Then, he’d stop, hold me, stroke me and chat with me quietly for awhile until I was relaxed and drowsy then he’d order me to cradle his thigh and go to sleep.

In other words, if we were in my world, Frey would totally be in there and I wouldn’t make him wait the couple of weeks of dates my personal philosophy dictated happen prior to serious hanky panky that involved the exchange of bodily fluids. Then again, when I started seeing a guy I didn’t fall asleep in bed with him every night and make him breakfast, lunch and dinner when we weren’t in town having dinner at a pub, where Frey had taken me last night so I could have a break from the stove, that was.

I’d figured out on day two what he was doing and what I’d figured out made me like him even more (and, incidentally, that was when I stopped making my mental list).

And what that was was that he saw I was nervous that first night, I told him straight out he and his size scared me and he was being cool about taking some time to let me get to know him and get used to him before we got down to the nitty gritty of marriage business.

And, by the by, on top of all that, he seemed to like me too. And, since I’d decided I liked him, I really liked that.

So now, I had to admit, I was stunned he wanted me to get naked and get in a hot spring with him. That was like jumping from first base to third without even buying a girl dinner.

I mean, I could think he was in there when I was making out with him in our bed by the light of a fire but out in a frozen forest by a hot spring when I had breakfast dishes to do and I was terrified of him seeing me naked, uh… not so much.

“Um…” I mumbled as he dropped his last sock, straightened and his hands went to the waistband of his breeches.

Eek!

“Finnie,” he called gently and my eyes shot to his. “You sneak to the springs every day after I’ve returned from my bath in order to take your own. You’re already here so we might as well bathe together. Strip and join me.”

I blinked.

Then I protested, “But I don’t have my soap here, a bath cloth –”

“Use mine.” His head jerked to a cake of soap and a large towel sitting on a rock.

I looked to it and looked to him, scrunching my nose. “But your soap smells like boy.”

Not that that smell smelled bad, not at all, it smelled good, especially on him. It was a fresh, clean smell, not much to it except it somehow was entirely masculine and this was probably because it didn’t smell like flowers or fruit like most of my stuff did.

At my words, or perhaps the look on my face, Frey burst out laughing and his hands shot out to me, gripping me at the waist and pulling me to him.

Then he dipped his still smiling face so it was close to mine. “Even smelling like a boy, it’s impossible for you not to be appealing.” I blinked as his words again caused my heart to flutter and then he lifted up and kissed my forehead before looking in my eyes. “Now, I’ll give you my back and twenty seconds to strip and join me in the springs. Don’t delay,” he cautioned, letting me go, “I’m starting to count now.”

Then he turned his back to me and his hands went to his breeches.

Shit!

I looked down at the water to see what I always saw, steam coming up where the heat of the spring hit the frigid air. This was good. There was also a constant bubble as the spring renewed the pool, agitating the water. This was good too.

I heard water splash and noticed out of the corner of my eye that Frey was entering the pool.

This was bad.

Well, I was Seoafin Wilde and this was my adventure so… what the heck?

I quickly untied my belt, yanked off my dress, boots and underwear and dropped them on the rocks by the pool. Pulling my ribbon free from where it held the front of my hair away from my face, I lifted my hands to hold up all my hair as I stepped in and settled myself on a natural seat in the rocks, the water up to my chest. Once there, I started to redo the ribbon holding my hair at the top of my head to hold it clear of the water.

As promised, Frey’s back was turned and he waited until the water settled after I’d moved in to shift around then he sat across the misty pool from me, the water, I could see through the steam, coming up to his ribs.

I secured the ribbon in my hair, dropped my hands and tried to let the water relax me.

This didn’t work partially because I was naked for the first time with my husband but mostly because he called out, “Come here, wife.”

Hells bells. He was definitely trying for third, running straight there and forgetting all about first and second.

“Uh…” I hesitated then water splashed, Frey’s fingers were suddenly wrapped around my wrist and water was flowing around me as he pulled me to him.

Once he got me close enough, his strong arms curled around my waist and he pulled me even closer. Much closer. So much closer, my calves hit rock and I had no choice but to bend my knees and straddle his lap.

Ho boy.

“Frey,” I whispered, my hands going to his chest as his hands moved up my back, pulling me closer, imprisoning my arms between us and I started to deep breathe.

One of his arms locked around the middle of my back, the other hand drifted up my neck, fingers gliding in my hair as he pulled my face closer to his.

“Relax, my wee Finnie,” he murmured and, just for your information, he’d started to call me his “wee Finnie” the day after the elves came calling and that was on my long list of things I liked about Frey too because I thought it was really sweet. “You know I’ll be gentle,” he finished, speaking as gently as I knew he could be.

“Yes,” I whispered as my eyes dropped to his mouth, a mouth that was coming closer.

“And you know you’ll like it.” He kept murmuring and he wasn’t wrong about that either.

So, I breathed, “Yes,” right before his mouth touched mine and he kissed me.

Yep, he wasn’t wrong. I liked it. Sweet, slow, deep but gentle, his hands moving on me through the water, slick, soothing, light and the only semi-invasive move was when his thumb trailed up the side of my breast tantalizingly, making me want something not slow, gentle, light or non-invasive but the opposite of all those.

My hands slid up and around his shoulders, the fingers of one hand gliding into his hair, the other arm wrapping tight as I pressed my chest into his and kissed him back.

Yeah, oh yeah, I definitely liked this.

He broke our kiss but didn’t take his lips from me, trailing them down my cheek, they worked my neck and ear, making the skin tingle, making me highly conscious of the power of his body surrounding me, the heat of the water, the slick of our skin, all of it nice, way nice. The best.

Okay, I’d give him third base. Hell, he could slide into home and I knew I’d love every freaking minute of it.

And that was exactly why I turned my mouth to his ear and whispered, “I like being here with you, Frey.”

His arms tightened around me, pressing me deep into his hard body but his head went back and his lazy, heated eyes found mine.

“This pleases me, Finnie,” he replied quietly and I smiled at him, dipping my head closer, he slid his nose along mine something else he did frequently that I put on my why I like him list before I quit making it. Then he again pulled back so I lifted up. One of his hands started roaming my back while the other one slid up my neck to cup my jaw and he went on, “It pleases me but do you not miss your Winter Palace in Fyngaard?”

No. I did not miss my Winter Palace in Fyngaard. Mostly because I had no idea what my Winter Palace was, or what Fyngaard was for that matter though, truth be told, I was intrigued but nowhere on his earth or mine at that moment would be better than those springs in that frozen forest with Frey.

“I –”

His thumb swept my cheek. “And your parents?”

I stared down at him as my heart jumped.

“I do miss my parents,” I whispered the God’s honest truth and watched his eyes go soft.

“As you know, the Bitter Gales is in two weeks time. What you don’t know is I have business I must see to after that. Today, you spend packing your trunks, I’ll load them and tomorrow morning, first thing, we’ll be away. You can spend two weeks at the Winter Palace with your parents, we’ll attend the Gales and then I’ll show you my ship.”

My heart jumped again then it started skipping.

The Winter Palace, the Bitter Gales (whatever that was but whatever it was sounded cool), my parents and his ship.

I’d just hit the mother lode!

Or, more accurately, my husband just offered it to me.

“Really?” I asked.

“Really, my wee Finnie,” he whispered, his arm wrapping around me and giving me a squeeze.

Then something he said struck me and I felt my excitement start to fade. “You said I could spend two weeks with my parents. Are you going away again before the Gales?”

He stared into my eyes, his soft and warm, and his thumb slid over my bottom lip, “No, wee one; I’ll be staying with you at your Palace.”

My heart started skipping again and it was definitely not playing it cool, not that a girl, no matter how good she could play it, could ever play it cool, naked, straddling a naked man in a hot springs, but, still, I couldn’t contain my smile.

My husband smiled back and that was so good, I decided that playing it cool was for idiots.

Then it occurred to me that he was probably talking about wherever it was we’d been married which meant I’d probably get to go back to that awesome room with all the beautiful carving and that armchair I wanted to try out. And if it was a Palace, it had to have a library which meant more books and more learning about this world. Not to mention, a new town (and a definitely bigger one) to explore.

And lastly, seeing my parents again.

And all of this made me melt into my big, handsome, so-not-scary-it-was-not-funny husband and whisper, “Thank you, Frey.”

His hand at my jaw slid back and up into my hair and he pulled my mouth down to his for a hard, sweet, deep, but short, kiss.

Only when he let me go did he whisper back, “You’re welcome, Finnie.”

Oh yeah, it was official. I liked him. A whole lot.

“Now climb off me, wife, soap up and dry off so I can do the same, we can get back and you can pack. The sooner you get done, the sooner we can get to town so you can bid farewell to your friends.”

Okay, one could say even though I was relaxed and happy, pressed naked to my naked husband, I wasn’t all fired up to “soap up” in front of him.

But the minute I slid off his lap, whispering, “All righty then,” his body slid down deeper in the water and he lounged back against the rocks at the same time lifting the bathing cloth so it covered his face.

He looked like a man relaxing in a hot spring. Or, to be more precise, a really freaking gorgeous guy relaxing in a hot spring.

But what he was was a kind man giving me privacy to bathe when he knew it would embarrass me to have him watch.

Yeah, oh heck yeah, I really liked my husband.

I soaped up and told him I was done by pressing the cake to his chest. He took it, his head coming up as he pulled the bathing cloth away. Then he turned his back and he soaped up while I rushed out of the water, drying off quickly and getting dressed.

I heard the water surge as he got out when I was smoothing my woolen stockings up my thighs. I had my boots on and was turning to him when he tossed the wet towel over his sweater-clad shoulder and I saw he was fully dressed.

He gave me a sweet smile, hooked me around my neck and pulled me into his side so I slid my arm around his waist and moved with him as I stayed pressed to his long body.

And that was how we walked home through the glittering, frozen forest.

We didn’t say anything, we didn’t need to and our silence was content.

But I wasn’t content.

No, I was happy in my winter wonderland adventure where you could understand animals and they had elves and hot guys who were awesome and I was on my way back to my Winter Palace, Fyngaard and, best of all, my parents, then after that to his ship and even more adventure.

And my hot guy husband was the one who was giving all that to me.

Oh yeah, in Valentine’s line of happiness from bliss to contentment I was not even close to the contentment side of the line.

I was smack in the middle of happy.