Page 101 of The Last Kelpie

“And you're happy.”

It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway. “Very.”

After the call ended, I closed my laptop and walked to the window. The university students were leaving, notebooks full of information about water testing and pollution indicators. But more than that, Áedán had given them a sense of the water. Hopefully, they would pass it on to their children and so forth. He stood on the dock watching them go, his dark hair moving in the breeze, his posture relaxed in ways it hadn't been when I'd first met him.

Áedán turned and saw me watching him, then smiled. I grabbed my jacket and went to join him. We walked along the shore, our hands linked, comfortable in the silence. The afternoon sun had turned the loch gold, and it felt as if we were walking through a dream. Áedán pointed out a gray heron fishing in the shallows.

Then he squeezed my hand. “I never thought I'd have this.”

“What?”

“A future.” Áedán stopped walking and turned to face me. “With a man I love. You havenae just saved my life, Ethan. You changed me. You made me better. Stronger.”

“No, I only helped you see what was possible. You made yourself better. You took the tools the Velasca gave you and used them not only to carve a place for yourself in this time, but also to make an impact. You're changing the world, Áedán. And it's only been six months.”

He laughed and pulled me into his arms. “You make it possible. But let's not argue aboot it.”

We returned to the cottage as the sun began its descent toward the mountains. I breathed in deeply as we went inside. Now, the cottage smelled of more than Áedán. It smelled of us. It smelled of home. I made dinner while he answered emails from activists in seven different countries. We ate at the small table, our knees touching underneath, talking about everything and nothing.

After we washed the dishes and put them away, he banked the fire while I closed my laptop. Then Áedán took my hand and led me back outside, snagging a blanket along the way. He took me down to the dock and laid the blanket down.

There, under the silver moonlight, we shed our clothes and went into each other's arms. Áedán's skin and the night air were cool, but his touch brought heat to my skin. Every slide of his palm, every flick of his tongue, every brush of his body added fuel to the fire inside me. We kissed, rolling together on the blanket, for eternity.

Then I rolled onto my back and stared up at Áedán. He was literally a self-made man. Born a horse, he'd learned to shapeshift to hide among the people who forgot about him. I didn't care what he'd been born. He was formed of magic, and magic is neutral. When he shifted into a horse, he was not a normal horse. Just as when he shifted into a man, he was not a normal man. He was magic taken form, and it showed beneath his skin, lighting the dark in response to me.

What better compliment was there?

Áedán pulled the tube of lubricant out of his pants pocket, and I laughed. He loved the stuff so much that he carried it with him, just in case he felt the urge to take me. Grinning back, he coated himself, then stroked his slick cock as he watched me lift my legs for him.

“Och, you're bonnie. Look at you.” He rubbed the remainder of the lube on my opening. “So pink and pretty.” He bent over me, setting one hand on the dock while using the other to position himself. As he pumped slowly against me, going in a little at a time, he held my gaze. “I love you, my Ethan.”

I hooked my legs around him and pulled him down into a kiss. With our lips only a breath apart, I said, “I love you, my Áedán.”

“I want you to take my name.”

I went still. “What?”

“Marry me. It's legal now, and I want you to be mine in every way, as I want to be yours.”

I gaped at him. “This is how you propose?”

He frowned. “What did I do wrong?”

Chuckling, I pulled his head to me and kissed him, then let him ease back. “Nothing. It's the perfect proposal. And yes, I'll marry you.”

Áedán smiled brighter than the moon. “You'll be my husband?”

“Yes.”

“We can have a ceremony?”

“Of course.”

He let out a whoop and jerked forward. The motion took him deep into me, and we both groaned. Then I met his gaze, and we laughed.

“Och, stop!” Áedán eased out until only his tip was in me. “Your channel is rippling around me. You'll make me spurt.”

“Spurt, eh?” I grabbed his ass and pulled. “That sounds so naughty.”