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She looked a little surprised, her cheeks glowing ruddy. Suki had disappeared out of their line of sight, but he could still hear her. He did something he thought might shock her, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to waste a minute the second time around.
Kael went to his knees and crawled toward her on the opposite side of the patio. Sarah’s expression was that of a stunned animal, watching him move, her knees slowly sliding away from her chest. When he got to her, he laid his palms against her thighs, then peered up at the woman of his dreams.
“Kael …” she whispered.
He ran his fingers through her hair, the shock melting away, adoration growing through the grooves of her gorgeous face. He grazed her cheek, and she sank into his touch the way she always had.
“I want you to be my mate. I know that’s not the same as what you say on Earth … but it's in the same vein. We have a ceremony, rings are exchanged …”
Sarah’s eyes became glassy. “Like a wedding?” she said, running her fingers down his arms.
He nodded. He had done some research and learned all of the wording. He would plan a ceremony that she understood with the romantic and whimsical qualities that the Drakonians recognized as tradition.
“Yes, just like that. I want to celebrate it with my people, with Suki. I want everyone to know you are my mate.”
She flung herself into his arms, and they laughed together as the night twinkled. It was utter bliss.
* * *
They decided to tell Suki about the ceremony as she would be included in the planning of it. It was crucial to Sarah that the girl knew everything and understood that Sarah would not act in any form as a replacement for her mother. Kael and she spoke about it in bed after commemorative lovemaking.
“She loves you, darling,” Kael said, trailing his fingertips over the side of her breasts. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Sarah seemed glum, and Kael was going to get to the bottom of it. He kissed her fingers, playing with the pads with his tongue to make her laugh.
When she did, she bit her lip and rolled onto her side.
“It’s not that I’m worried. I guess I know what it’s like to lose a mother. I know there isn’t anyone that will fill her spot. I don’t want to do that, even subconsciously.”
Kael shifted closer, bringing his nose to her forehead and breathing in her essence. She snaked her arms under him, pressing her head to listen to the music of his beating heart.
He stroked her hair as he spoke, his eyes slowly lulling closed.
“Suki is a wise one. I don’t think she believes you are trying to replace Petal.”
Kael was no longer afraid to mention his previous mate by name. She was ever-present in his heart and soul, and Sarah knew that. She encouraged him to talk about her, which made her even more magnificent somehow.
“I hope not,” Sarah whispered back.
They soon fell asleep, holding each other the way they often did. They sat together the very next day, rain tapping against the window like gentle fingers.
“What do you guys want to talk to me about?”
Kael grimaced. He didn’t favor a few of the phrases that Suki had adopted from Sarah. The gendered generalization was strange, but it made Sarah snicker.
“We wanted to tell you something. Something we are planning together as a family,” Kael said, sitting next to his daughter.
She was getting older, the musing, artistic mind of her mother coming to fruition. Her golden eyes flashed yellow, a shade that rotated to reflect a feeling of panic.
He touched her shoulder, gripping it with reassurance. Her eyes ran over Sarah, who was sitting next to Kael, her chin resting against his shoulder.
“It’s not bad news, sweetheart, I promise,” Kael said.
Suki relaxed, leaning back on the couch while rain continued to patter on the skylight above their heads. Kael squeezed Sarah’s thigh with his other hand, welcoming her into the conversation. She was a pivotal portion of his heart, as was Suki. There had to be fusion.
“Sarah and I are going to become mates, and we wanted to include you in the ceremony,” Kael said.
“And we want you to know,” Sarah said, jumping in quickly, “that you can feel whatever way you want to feel. You just have to tell us, and we will listen.”
