“I’m sure some dragon shifter billionaire had nothing to do with the extra cash,” she snarked.
Onyx covered his mouth in a jovial display.
“Oh, I have no idea what you could be talking about …”
Azura pulled him in close and then planted a quick kiss on his nose. His eyes lit up like a lantern in the night.
“You’re amazing,” she whispered as they began walking inside the house.
Azura held Onyx’s hand through the entire tour. To her, it felt a bit like going through a time machine, yet everything glittered with a renewed sense of being. It was like it had taken its first breath again.
They strolled through the living room and were walking up the stairs to the sound of the songbirds twittering outside. Onyx had been quiet since they walked in, so Azura gave his hand a quick squeeze.
“Are you feeling okay, baby?” she asked.
He gave her a half-smile, avoiding eye contact as they walked through the hallway.
“I am as long as I’m with you,” he replied.
They stopped in the center of the door to her room, light streaming through the white veiled curtains. She lifted his chin to meet her eyes.
“I know you’ve got something else rolling around in there,” she said quietly.
Onyx breathed out, blowing some hair out of his face.
“I’m just thinking about us,” he said, whispering. “Where we are going to end up, you know?”
She nodded. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been thinking about it. She was so wound up about Martin that she, as usual, had put herself last.
“End up?” she said, tracing his chin.
“Martin has done so well on Nova Aurora,” he began. “I think that he would do best staying there.”
Azura nodded, continuing to trace his face, gazing at him adoringly.
“I have thought about that,” she said. “It would be pointless to force him back. He seems like he belongs on your planet.”
She arrived at his mouth, moving her fingers over his lips. He pursed them, kissing the pads.
“And what about you?” he inquired.
Azura stopped touching his lips and then let her fingers rest on his neck.
“I think you know the answer to that,” she cooed. “I want to be with you wherever you are.”
The hesitation left Onyx’s eyes. He took both of Azura’s hands and then kissed them.
“I was thinking,” he began as he smooched each finger individually. “That we could hire a management team to run the house, and when you visit Earth, you can stay here … we can stay here.”
Azura continued to smile, feeling that warmth rise in her chest and stir all over her body.
I can’t believe this man wants to spend his life with me.
“That’s a perfect idea, darling,” she replied.
Onyx held both her hands and then brought them to his chest.
“I honestly thought you were going to be a bit sadder about leaving this place.”