The succubus was very convincing, and so that’s why Cooper and Alice found themselves in a beautiful little natural hot spring that lay at the end of one of the many paths that bordered the resort. Cooper wore a pair of black swim trunks, and Alice sported an intricate one-piece again. This one was dark pink, and it made her creamy, tanned skin look like a dream. He wanted to lick every inch of her, and with any luck, there would be time in their hopefully long marriage to do just that.
The hot springs were surrounded by a nice alcove of rocks and trees, giving them all kinds of privacy. They soaked and flirted, every moment bringing them closer together. The more time they spent like this, the more they got to know each other. There was nothing about his wife Cooper disliked. Not yet, anyway. And now that she was his mate, he doubted that he would learn to hate anything she did.
Even the way she tried to hide the newest scar on her arm…a consequence of the last assassin’s attack…was endearing. He had seen her nude. He had made her come with his tongue, his fingers, and his cock. He had seen every inch of her naked, but she was still shy.
It was sweet, but he knew her to be bold and confident as she had been the previous night when she stripped out of her dress and asked him to take her.
That was a dream come true.
His wife was exactly what he had always wanted. Smart, funny, strong, and sexy as hell. Determined and passionate. He would always do what he could to make her happy, to deserve her love and affection.
“This is very romantic,” Alice said, keeping her champagne flute over the water.
The little picnic basket Cooper had bribed Thrice to get ready for him was stocked with snacks and a bottle of champagne.
“I want to celebrate you, Alice.”
She smirked over the brim of her cup. “You’ve been doing all kinds of things to celebrate me since I agreed to be your wife.”
“I want to celebrate every moment with you because I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you,” Cooper swam over to her, took the glass out of her hand, and placed it on one of the rocks.
“That’s sweet.”
“Sweet and true,” he said before kissing her. “We’ve got the rest of the day to just lounge around. Isn’t that nice?”
“Yeah, it is. But eventually, we’ll have to decide what we’re going to do when we have to leave here.”
He sighed. “I know. I’ve been thinking the same thing. Part of me never wants to leave. I’m comfortable here with you, but the real world calls, doesn’t it? Before we go on with our lives, we should visit the thunder.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean bybefore we go on with our lives? Because it sounds like you want us to live as a married couple.”
He shook his head. “I’m still not making assumptions, Alice. It’s easy to be here on our honeymoon, but maybe when we get to my place, you’ll want to leave.”
“I have nothing to leave for, Cooper. I have no home, I have no family, and no coven. All I have is my job, and I can do that wherever I go because it’s who I am. A witch.”
“Well, you have me now, and you will have the dragon thunder for as long as you want it.” Cooper hoped that his mate would tell him that she would always be by his side and that she would never want to leave. His heart and his dragon wouldn’t be able to survive without her now that they knew she was out there in the world.
“You do know that what you’re offering is a home and a family, which is something that I haven’t had in a very long time.”
He smiled sadly. “When you put it like that …” He took a deep breath. “So you’ll come? Meet the group? Stay for a little while, at least? Try to settle down there with me? Try to make us work.”
She nodded. “I would love that,” her breath caught. “When do we leave?”
He threw his head back with a laugh and pulled her into him. He closed his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. “We can’t leave just yet, but I can call John and make sure that the house is ready for us.”
“And just what does that mean, making the house ready for us?”
He laughed. “I don’t know. Probably cleaning it and making sure it’s ready for its new mistress.”
“I can take care of my own house.”
He grinned. “I have no doubt about that, but you should know that I don’t live in a house, exactly. It’s more of a manor. There are quite a few rooms, and the grounds are impressive. We have large gardens too. A little forest, a couple of ponds, stables, a little hobby plane, a tennis court, a pool, and a hot tub.”
“Cooper,” she gasped. “You do realize you’re basically describing a castle, right?” she giggled. “I’ll be leaving one resort for another. No wonder you need time to get the place ready.”
“Well, I want this homecoming to be good for you.”Homecomingrang out between them in the hot spring. He hadn’t meant to say it, but now that the word was out of his mouth, there was nothing he could do to take it back. Alice had heard him.
“I like that, Cooper. It’s very thoughtful. Veryyou.”