Page 89 of Tamed By Her Touch

“Right,” she said after a moment. “The, uh, required kiss.”

Something in her expression tightened, and Kaelus hated himself for putting it there. But what else could he do? If he allowed himself to keep touching and kissing her, he already knew where it would lead—he would become extremely possessive of her and it would be almost impossible for him to let her go when this mission was over.

He had to put a stop to this now before it really got started—whatever this was between them could only end badly.

Maera, apparently oblivious to his internal turmoil, gave a delighted little sigh.

“Much better! You see, Doctor Kaelus? You do know how to show affection to your goddess.”

Kaelus merely grunted.

Clair cleared her throat.

“So…breakfast?” she asked.

“Of course.” Maera smiled. “Come with me. Varell will be waiting.”

She led them from the guest suite and down a softly curving corridor filled with flowering vines that appeared to have been grown directly into the walls.

The house was unlike anything Kaelus had ever seen. Rather than attempting to separate the inhabitants from nature, the Titus Four architecture seemed designed to invite nature inside.

Small streams ran through shallow channels in the floor, crossing beneath translucent bridges that glowed faintly when someone stepped on them, while living plants grew from niches in the walls and opened their blossoms as Maera passed. Even the ceiling seemed alive—it was formed from overlapping translucent leaves the size of shields, each one filtering the twin morning suns into shifting patterns of blue, violet, and gold.

The dining chamber was even stranger. Three of its walls were completely open to a garden filled with silver-trunked trees and enormous flowers shaped like bells. Tiny jewel-colored creatures with six fluttering wings darted among the blooms, making musical chirping sounds as they fed.

A long, crescent-shaped table curved through the middle of the room, apparently grown from the trunk of a living tree rather than built, and its polished golden surface was warm beneath Kaelus’s fingertips when he touched it. Instead of ordinary chairs, there were wide cushioned benches covered in thick moss-like growth which shifted and reshaped itself around whoever sat upon it.

Varell was already there.

“My goddess!” he exclaimed when Maera entered, rising immediately from the table.

He crossed the room, took his wife’s hand, and kissed her fingers before pulling out a place for her beside him.

Kaelus glanced at Clair and she glanced at him. He immediately pulled out her seat.

Clair’s mouth twitched.

“Why thank you, sweetheart,” she said sweetly.

“I am learning,” he muttered in her ear as he seated her.

“So I see.” She gave him a playful wink.

Kaelus sat beside her on the moss-covered bench, making certain she was comfortably settled before looking at the breakfast spread. But once he saw it, he almost wished he hadn’t.

In the center of the table sat a large platter containing what he assumed must be the famous goosenburly. Unfortunately, it looked less like breakfast and more like something that had crawled out of a swamp and died in the serving dish.

The main portion was a wobbling mound of greenish-purple substance streaked with bright orange veins. Several pale blue bulbs protruded from the top, opening and closing slowly as though they might still be breathing, and a thin layer of silvery liquid surrounded the entire thing.

Clair stared and Kaelus watched her reaction from the corner of his eye. Her eyes widened fractionally and he knew exactly what she was thinking.

We have to eat that?

Apparently, they did.

Varell rubbed his hands together enthusiastically.

“Ah now—who’s hungry! I hope you enjoy this—it’s my specialty.”