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Then darkness.
When I came to, he was lapping at the spot he’d bitten, holding me tight. “Janis?”
“Mmm. That was amazing.”
He chuckled. “I guess so if you blacked out.”
“I didn’t,” I protested, snuggling closer to him, but we both knew I was lying.
We cuddled as long as we could then when he left to take care of his tasks for the day, I indulged in a bubble bath to ease the soreness between my legs before dressing in my beloved jeans and a cute baby tee that Jillian left behind. Perfect for a day of relaxing.
At breakfast, Leif informed me of the plans he’d made, and Zenia popped her head into the dining room just in time to join us for coffee and a long gab session.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” he said, standing and grinning like a fool. “I expect lots of relaxation and fun and not one bit of work for my mate, Zenia. You’re in charge.”
“Hey! I’m still the queen.”
“But Zenia is the court jester, and today that makes her the queen of the revels.” Leif dropped a kiss on my lips and headed for the door. “If you don’t have fun, it’s off with her head.”
“That’s not funny!” I called after him, but it was hard not to be excited about the first day of fun I had planned in the longest time.
Zenia had her hand clapped over her mouth to suppress laughter, but her cheeks were pink, eyes sparkling.
“Okay, if you’re the jester, what’s the plan?”
“Leif had the kitchen prepare a picnic, but I had an idea. Can you swim?”
“Sure. It’s been years though. At least in human form.” As a wolf, I’d done some splashing around with one or another of my mates, if that counted. “Where do you want to do that?”
“You have a perfectly good lake, you know. I thought we could shift and run down there as wolves, just for the workout, then shift back and swim for a while. We can ask someone to follow with the picnic, and our clothes, and have it on the bank. Unless you’d rather do something else?”
I’d have to let a couple of guards follow us, but I was pretty used to that anyway. “Sounds amazing! Let’s do it.”
We had the most wonderful time, being wolves, and swimming around in the beautiful lake. The waters were so clear that as far out as we managed to swim, we could still see the bottom hundreds of feet down. And when we emerged, instead of a couple of footmen having brought the basket, we found my three mates waiting for us, along with Eleanor who they’d brought to see some of the resources available locally.
As soon as I saw her, I felt awful. “We should have invited you.” I dressed and plopped down on the blanket, starving but guilty. “Next time we will.”
Arne beamed at me. “She’s saying there will be a next time. I think we’ve done a great job here.” I felt closer to him than ever, but that didn’t negate my other mates’ connection to me. We were all progressing at our own pace, and that was okay for now.
Lunch was delicious, conversation was as sparkling as the wine served with the cold chicken and potato salad. The apple pies in puff pastry were tender, and the cooks had included a pitcher of cream speckled with cinnamon and nutmeg. We poked a hole in each pie to pour a bit inside.
Stuffed, we relaxed and talked, enjoying the soft breeze and warm sunshine.
Yes, there would be a next time. All work and no play after all.
