Lucy leaped. Eren helped out by jumping as well. In a long, wing-assisted glide, they soared on a downward trajectory between the boats and thumped onto theCodfather's deck as if they'd practiced it.
Then they skidded on the wet surface. Lucy slid into the railing. Eren shifted into his bear to use his claws to stop himself, and the entire boat rocked under his weight.
"Careful back there!" Dane called. "You're going to capsize us!"
Eren shifted back, slipping in his bare feet on the wet deck. Lucy was already human. She grinned at him. "You might want some clothes eventually."
"You don't know how lucky you are to keep yours through a shift."
Behind their churning white wake, the cabin cruiser was already pulling astern. Its crew had more important things on their mind right now than pursuing the fishing boat.
"I feel a little bad about turning them loose on Uncle Rodric like that," Lucy said.
"Don't. I can't imagine they'll kill him; he's the goose that lays the golden eggs for them, especially since he has your company now. I figure they'll probably keep pretty tight control on him, though." Eren glanced down at her. "Do you mind giving it all up?"
"Not at all." Lucy leaned into him as the distance between the two boats grew. The cabin cruiser was almost invisible now in the fog and the rain. "Having the company out of my life feels like freedom. It only ever mattered to me because it was my parents' legacy, but I meant what I told Uncle Rodric, and I think my parents would agree. The company isn't their legacy.Iam."
"You are," Eren agreed. He leaned over and buried his face in her hair, holding her against him.
Together they watched the cabin cruiser vanish in the mist.
"You want to get inside, get some coffee, and warm up?" Lucy asked.
"More than anything," Eren said fervently.
I don't know, it's kind of nice out here.
Shut up, bear.
He sensed amusement from that hidden corner of his mind. It seemed impossible that he had ever feared his bear or tried to suppress it.
You know, bear, once you started talking again, you turned out to be one heck of a chatterbox.
I'm you,his bear pointed out.
Yes. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
LUCY
Maybe it wasthe anticlimax that comes at the end of a journey, or maybe it reallywasthat fast, but the trip back to Dane's island seemed to pass, for Lucy, in a blur. There was too much in her mind to get a grip on any specific part of it.
Over and over, she kept touching the papers tucked in her jacket.
"I think we should go straight to St. John's from here and talk to a lawyer," Lucy said as they motored in to the mooring place on Dane's island. "I want to get these filed as quickly as possible, in case Rodric comes up with some other way to stop me."
"I'd be happy to," Eren said. "It means I can finally take you out on the town properly."
They waved goodbye to Dane and headed on down the coast under clearing skies. Bathed in a gorgeous sunset, they motored into the harbor. There was no chance of visiting a lawyer that evening, so they moored the boat and strolled about the city's quaint, sloping streets, hand in hand.
The sheer relief of being able to walk about freely, not having to look over her shoulder, kept hitting her like rolling ocean waves. The last time she had been here, she was scared and hungry and on the run. Now she was walking about openly with her boyfriend, her mate, her true love.
"I could even pay for dinner, I think," she said with a laugh. "Though I might have to open a bank account here and get a checkbook and things first."
"Don't worry about it. At the very least, let me treat you to a nice dinner and a hotel." Eren leaned in for a slow kiss, and murmured in her ear, "How would you like to try making love on a bed that isn't moving?"
Delicious tingles ran through her, concentrated between her legs. She murmured back, "I bet we can still make the bed move if we try hard enough."
(Spoiler: they did.)