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*****

AARYN

Elreth froze, looking around quickly, obviously wondering what he'd seen or scented. She pulled her arms to her chest, suddenly aware of her nakedness. "What is it?"

Aaryn didn't answer immediately, just stared at her, marveling again at the fact that she as truly his. He could feel it in his bones.

When he didn't answer, she snapped her head up, worried. "Aaryn, what—"

"I told you we'd never do anything where we weren't together, I'd never ask you to give yourself to me in a way you didn't want, El. I just… I just want to be sure… I'm playing here. I want to throw you in this water, and I want to hold you in it when you're cold and warm you up. I want to feel your body against mine in there. But if you really don't want to, if you aren't playing like I am… I won't force you."

Her face softened from worry to love. She held his face in her hands and pulled him in, kissing him, then whispered against his lips. "Of course I want to play with you, Aaryn. I never want to lose that. You're still my best frien—"

"GOOD!" he laughed and threw her high over the surface, doubling over with laughter as she shrieked then tumbled into the river, her face a wide mask of shock.

"Aaryn!" she gasped, sucking in hard as she came to the surface and flicked her hair out of her eyes. "You are g-going to p-pay for that!"

He was laughing so hard he didn't even try to avoid her when she plowed out of the water, tackling him and grabbing his head to dunk him so that he sucked in a big mouthful of water and came up coughing.

She was laughing by the time he got his breath back. He mock-glared until she noticed, then launched himself at her. She shrieked again and stumbled backwards, the water slowing him enough that his hand only grazed her arm before she was back on her feet and diving into the deeper water to come up, still laughing and inviting him to follow with her eyes.

She wanted to be chased, which made his cock twitch, but the cool water helped him keep it under control as he dove into the water, coming up just a couple feet from where she was treading water, and still giggling.

He chased her around the swimming hole for a time, until she let herself be caught, then he pulled her into his chest and took her mouth while she still spluttered with laughter, though not for long.

As he kept them afloat, the kiss deepened. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms at his neck and pulled herself against him.

"I'm cold," she said, her lips brushing his neck.

"I'm here," he said simply in reply.

For a moment they just stayed there, together. Slowly, Aaryn swam them back to the bank, until he could touch the bottom, so he could keep them both afloat without using his arms. He held her to him, bobbing them up and down in the water as Elreth sighed happily.

"I'm not sure it could ever get better than this," she said quietly a minute later.

Aaryn thought about it. "You're probably right."

"Isn't that sad, though? That our very best days will be now, right at the beginning?"

He sighed. "I don't think it's that we'll never have days like this, El. I think it's that most of our days we won't be able to just be together. We'll have other people and responsibilities…"

"Maybe offspring?" she said, very quietly.

Aaryn's heart fluttered. "I hope so," he said huskily.

"Me too." Leaving her arms around his neck, she leaned back far enough to meet his eyes. "Will it bother you if our offspring is Leonine?"

He snorted. "Will it bother you if they're disformed? Or a wolf?"

She shook her head. "I'd love to have a son like you."

Aaryn blinked and his breath stopped. She said that so simply, as if it was nothing but pure truth. "I'd… I'd love to have a daughter like you, El. I'd… that would just be the best thing I could imagine."

Her face crumpled, but she caught herself. "Are you worried? If they are disformed, I mean? Because I'm not."

He looked down, feeling vulnerable, but his eyes landed on her breasts, bobbing at the top of the water. He cleared his throat and yanked his gaze back up to meet hers. "I'm not worried exactly. I know you're going to make things better for the disformed—and she'll be in a home with both parents, and... She won't have the life I had."

"What if she's a he?"

Aaryn shrugged. "I really don't care. I just want them to be half of you."

"Only half?" she asked, one eyebrow up.

Aaryn snorted. "I'm not sure I'm strong enough to parent all of you, El. It might actually kill me."

She laughed, then pulled him into another kiss, and they drifted together in the cool water.

Elreth rested her chin on her arm, at his shoulder, and sighed happily. "I can't believe I get to have these conversations with you," she whispered.

"Trust me, El," he sighed. "It's me who can't believe it. I've been waiting for this for so long."

Her arms tightened around him. "Thank you for waiting for me, Aaryn. I… I can't even imagine if you hadn't…"

"I'll always wait for you," he said, shifting her against his chest so he could play at the nape of her neck. "I'll always be right behind you, El. I'll always fight for you. Always fight with you. I'll always want what's best for you. Always."

She pulled back, eyes red and tears fluttering on her lashes. "You are such a good male, Aaryn. I don't deserve all of that."

"Do any of us?" he asked, combing her hair back from her face. "I know you're going to do all those things for me, too. We don't do it because we deserve it, El. We do it because we love."

She took his face in her hands and kissed him, long, slow, whimpering in her throat, but she didn't stop. They floated together for minutes, lips teasing, tongues exploring, hearts beginning to race.

And when he couldn't bear not to have her any longer, he gripped her to him and walked out of the water, carrying her back to the cave.