Page 101 of Silent Lucidity

He nodded. During his old life,it’s nice to see youwas more likely to have been the preamble to a threat rather than a genuine greeting, but he trusted its sincerity from Hannah.

His eyes returned to Abella’s. To that fire burning in her gaze.

“Looks like it’s almost time to head to town,” Hannah said. “Do you kiddos want to come with grandma and grandpa to pick up uncle Josh from the train station?”

“Yes!” Zena wiggled until Tenthil set her down on her feet. “Is uncle David coming, too, with our cousins?”

“They’ll be here in the morning, dear.”

“Yay!”

Hannah kissed Abella’s cheek before taking Lucian from her. “We can pick up a treat on the way home, too. We’ll be sure to take our time.” She winked at Tenthil.

“Be careful, Mom,” Abella said. “It’s going to be busy down there for the holiday.”

Tenthil had never celebrated a holiday before coming to Earth; he’d come to appreciate many of the celebrations, especially because they made Abella and the kids happy, but tomorrow’s—United Galaxy Day—held special importance to him. Though he still thought the name was vague and a bit silly, Abella had explained it was a celebration of the treaties that had integrated her people with the rest of the universe’s denizens and opened the United Terran Republic to immigration by alien species.

The treaties that had made their shared life on Earth possible.

“We’ll be fine, and the kids will love seeing the Galaxy Day decorations that are being set up.” She held her hand out to Zena. “You two enjoy the quiet. It won’t be long before you have your hands even fuller.”

Tenthil’s gaze dropped to Abella’s stomach. She was only just beginning to show; they had months before the baby arrived, before their family grew a little larger. He slipped his arms around her middle from behind and drew her close, leaning his chin over her shoulder. He spread his fingers and trailed his palm over her belly.

He couldn’t wait to meet their coming child, to witness the beauty of what their love had created once again. They hadn’t realized they could reproduce with one another until their final medical exams during the relocation process; the scanner tech had casually asked about Abella’s baby, shocking both of them into stunned silence.

The mutative compound the Consortium used to make people’s bodies adapt to new environments had caused more changes in Tenthil and Abella than seemed possible—their bodies had adapted to one another. They’d become compatible in a way for which they’d never dared hope, in a way they would never have imagined.

“Come on, Zena,” Hannah said softly. “Let’s get grandpa out of the kitchen before he starts munching.”

“Bye, Daddy! Bye, Mommy!” Zena waved. As she walked away, she looked up at Hannah. “Is uncle Josh bringing hisgirlfriend?”

Hannah chuckled. “I believe he is.”

Lucian looked at Tenthil and Abella over Hannah’s shoulder and waggled his little fingers in a wave.

Once Hannah and the kids were out of sight, Abella covered Tenthil’s hand with her own and turned her face toward him, brushing her lips across his cheek.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he echoed, holding her a little tighter. “Missed you.”

Abella tipped her head against his. “I missed you, too.”

They stood together, silent, relishing one another’s presence as they basked in the clear, warm sunshine. The whispers of rustling leaves and grass flowed around them on the breeze.

“Are you happy, Tenthil?” Abella asked after a while.

He frowned and guided her to turn toward him, searching her face. “Do you need to ask?”

She lowered her eyes and shrugged. “I just need to know…is this the life you would’ve chosen for yourself?”

“No.”

She looked up at him and frowned. “No?”

Tenthil slipped an arm behind her, pressed his forearm along her spine, and cupped the back of her head, fingers twining in her hair. He swept her into a low dip. She gasped and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. He dropped his other hand to her ass as he pressed his lips over hers. He slid his tongue—already coated in sweet venom—into her mouth and breathed her in, letting Abella wash over his senses. His eyelids fluttered shut.

Abella moaned, clutching him closer as she lifted her leg and hooked it around his hip, kissing him fervently in return.

When he finally pulled back, he stared down into his mate’s beautiful, half-lidded eyes and smiled. “It’s infinitely better.”