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She watched as for a long moment, the two realm leaders stayed in that position, staring at each other until Jude nodded slowly. She wasn’t sure if Jude had communicated telepathically with Malik or not, but she doubted the moment needed words. They were brothers-in-arms, who’d been fighting the same battle for a very long time.
Malik turned to her. “Good-night, Hannah. I’ll be seeing you soon, I’m sure.”
“Of course. You’re always welcome at the Gold Rush.” Reality descended abruptly, but what had been so devastating a few hours ago, now seemed softened by her commitment to Jude. “Although, you might want to wait until it’s rebuilt.”
“Which it will be right away,” Jude added, meeting Hannah’s gaze. “I’ll get my best troll and elven contractors on it.”
Hannah often used realm workers and contractors for her bar and her home. They did a wonderful job every time.
When Jude moved his hand from around her waist, she understood the signal and positioned herself on his booted foot. She slid her arm around his neck, and he pulled her tight against his side. After bidding Malik farewell, Jude took off, lifting her into the air.
And Hannah smiled.
~ ~ ~
Jude could feel the shift in Hannah as though it was written in every breath she breathed. The bond allowed him to feel what she was feeling, and for the last few minutes on the bridge, he’d felt her mating vibration begin to hum on a different frequency than before. And it felt full of life and intent.
As he flew toward Castle Island, he felt as though he held all of life in his arms, something rich and bountiful, a kind of necessary excess meant to feed the soul.
He drew in deep breaths. He was all men in this moment, both real and a representation of what it meant to be male, to have a woman in his arms, and to feel her need to give the universe rebirth.
When he arrived, Nathan greeted them both with anxious grips of hands and thanksgiving that Margetta had seen a defeat at Kelltah Bridge.
“How do you already know?”
“It’s all over Realm-You-Tube. Some troll kid, who will probably be flayed by his parents later, used his cellphone to film the battle. But it’s a good thing, trust me. I’ve been on the phone for the past forty-five minutes with Council Leaders. There are celebrations all over the Realm tonight, and tomorrow you and Hannah will both be hailed as heroes. So where are you going to celebrate?”
Jude just looked at him, and since he still had his arm tight around her waist, Nathan nodded. Then he grinned. “I have a surprise waiting for you in the bedroom. In the meantime, I hear that all the bars in Kelltah will be open the rest of the night and even into the day for some of us sunlight-friendly realm-folk.” He shrugged into a black leather jacket
and smoothed the sides of his hair back. “My ride’s here.”
He winked and turned in the direction of the front door.
“Elena?” Jude asked.
“Yep. Abigail gave her a few days off.”
“I guess we won’t be seeing much of you.”
Nathan, halfway to the front door, called back, “And something tells me that’s the way you’d want it right now. Plenty of provisions in the fridge. See ya in three days.”
Jude laughed.
“So what do you think Nathan left for us, in the bedroom, I mean?” Hannah asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure it will taste incredible.”
Turned out, he left a platter of fruit, whipped cream, and champagne. Maybe a little cliché, but it worked.
Hannah insisted on removing his boots, touching each silver medallion as she did so. He wasn’t sure why she liked them, so he asked.
She sighed. “Don’t ask me why, but they’re sexy as hell. Or maybe it’s the leather, or maybe you. Actually, I think it’s the whole package.”
A kiss almost led to rolling around on the floor then and there, but Jude wanted more. This would be their first time as a bonded couple, and he wanted to do it right.
Besides – and this was no small thing – he needed a shower.
He left Hannah to enjoy his numerous shower heads while he traipsed off to one of the guest room showers. He felt almost dizzy as he entered the first bedroom, which was the one that had been Joy’s room. And something that felt very fae came over him. He saw three children on the floor, two boys with dark, curly hair and the third a girl with straight brown hair and violet eyes. They were playing a U.S. board game called Monopoly.
