“I’m not interested in visiting those beaches,” he said. “But I’ll still teach you how to swim.”
“Is that a promise?”
“It is.” Deckard set his hand on her thigh, brushing his thumb across her skin. “My life is yours, Evylin. Anything you ask of me, I’ll do it. Anywhere you want to go, I’ll go. Whatever will make you happy, say the word, and I will give it to you. Three months ago, I promised to serve you until my last breath. Today, knowing our lives will last centuries, I promise you that again. If you said the word, I would leave with you right now—I would take you to the vineyards of Schon, to the beaches of Audis, even to the frozen mountains of Estenoye in the far west.”
Her happy smile twitched at the last one, betraying her lack of education about their surrounding continents.
Deckard took her face in his hands then. “Say the word, Evylin,” he whispered. “And I will abandon this mission; I will cast aside everything for you.”
Drawing in a long breath, Evylin’s head tipped forward to rest against his. A full, heart-deep emotion pulsed in the air between them, revealing her joy to Deckard. Her lips parted, brushing his as she replied softly, “Liar.”
Abruptly pulling back from her kiss, Deckard stared at her. “What was that?” he asked incredulously.
Unabashed, Evylin smirked. “You are a liar,” she said, pronouncing the words with deliberate enunciation.
Hurt by the allegation, Deckard felt his brows draw low. “I am not.”
She shook her head derisively. “Don’t be upset,” she said. “I know you love me, and I know you’d do whatever you could for me, but you’re not that selfish. You care about people too much and are too noble to abandon your duty. Even for me.”
Gently, Deckard pushed Evylin off him, pulling free of her touch. He didn’t want to be reminded of his duty. Nor did he care to be touted as some altruistic paragon of virtue. “We should go,” he said flatly and rose from the bed.
“Jonn, don’t pout,” she said with good-natured humor.
“I’m not pouting,” he insisted.
Evylin’s mouth lifted in a smirk. “I can feel what you’re feeling, remember?”
Deckard sighed. “Yes, all right, I am pouting,” he admitted. “But it isn’t exactly pleasant to learn your wife views you as a liar.”
Her smile softened, and she held out her hands. “Come here.”
He did.
Threading their fingers, Evylin knelt on the bed, pulling their hands to her chest. Her amber eyes searched his knowingly. “None of that matters to me,” she said. “What I once wanted—the life of adventure you promised to give me—it doesn’t matter anymore. Whatever comes, whatever our Bond brings, I am yours, and you are mine. Who cares what life looks like so long as we’re together?”
“I care,” Deckard said, leaning closer. “I made a promise to you, Evylin. I made a promise to your uncle too. I care because I want you to be happy and to have the life you’ve always deserved.”
The air seemed to dance between them. “I am happy,” she promised.
“Are you?” he asked, searching her gaze for the truth. “Or are you just content because we’re in love, we’ve Bonded, and you don’t have to worry about losing me?”
“I’m under no illusions that I may not lose you still.” Her grip tightened. “But I have chosen to love you and leave behind that fear.”
A determined emotion thickened the air as she continued, “There have been too many times in the past that misunderstandings have come between us, when we’ve let them draw us apart. So let me be perfectly clear: Yes, Jonn, I am happy. Truly and deeply happy.”
Struggling to believe her despite the ring of truth in her voice, Deckard nodded, accepting her words despite his reservations.
She tipped her brow up, pressing him. “Areyouhappy?”
Deckard blinked at the unexpected question.
“Or are you angry?” she asked at his hesitation.
That caused his mouth to gape. “Why would I be angry?”
“You seem angry,” she said. “I’ll admit I’m still new to this ‘feeling what you feel’ thing, but there is a decided irritation in your...aura at the moment.”
Deckard sighed. “I’m just concerned.”
