Serena's POV:

I laughed as I splashed Darien with water before squeaking as I turned and tried to run through the knee-high water along the lakeshore. I quickly dove beneath the water for a quick getaway. My smaller size made it possible for me to do so in this shallow water.

The fact that I had gotten this far was simply evidence of Darien humoring me. I felt the water shift behind me as Darien's phenomenal reflexes allowed him to avoid hitting the bottom in his own dive as he easily caught up with me.

A pair of arms snaked around my waist before I was hoisted above the water. I loved diving beneath the water and it drove Darien nuts whenever my head disappeared beneath that blue surface. I wiped the water away from my face as I grinned up at his gentle smile.

He walked towards the shore to sit on the warm dry sand as he settled me on his lap. I leaned against his bare chest. He was only in a pair of swimming trunks, and that chest and back of his was a constant distraction. I had a sneaking suspicion that the amount of skin my one piece bathing suit revealed distracted him just as much.

Darien leaned back on the sand and I stretched out across his chest in the warm sun. This was our second day here, and the bond had noticeably loosened up and relaxed. Two days where the bond had not twisted in Darien's anger or my fear. Darien's strength hadn't faded though.

It was so relaxing and felt so right. I had never been so happy. Darien played with a strand of hair that had somehow escaped my ponytail. I absentmindedly traced patterns on his chest and arm with my finger. Interestingly enough, goosebumps also followed my fingers. It must be something to do with the soulbond.

It must distract him as much as his touch distracted me. He pulled me up a bit higher on his chest so he could easily kiss me. I returned his kiss. I loved his kisses, they were so gentle and loving. They had become more frequent the last two days.

I had to break the kiss when I had to breathe. Darien continued to place small kisses along my cheeks and down the side of my neck. His right hand lightly traced the side of my bathing suit along the seam. I shivered lightly with his touch, which was completely at odds with the heat from his chest and the sun.

A peculiar warmth I had never felt before warmed me from the inside. I recaptured Darien's lips with mine as I ran my hand through his damp hair.

Our mini-makeout session came to a slow end as I ran out of breath. To my secret glee, Darien was also a bit out of breath. It was nice to know that he had some limits that didn't involve an all-out single-handed attack against something that would make an army think twice before engaging.

I rested my cheek against his, enjoying the contact of our skin. The heat from the sun disappeared and I peeked up to see a huge cloud was trying to dampen our spirits. Considering how dark the cloud was, it probably had rain in its arsenal as well.

A sharp breeze suddenly came up and blew across my still damp body. I shivered a bit as the cool wind sharply contrasted the now-vanished warmth of the sun. Darien promptly sat up as he put his back to the wind, shielding me from the breeze.

He somehow managed to wrap a thick towel around me while I was on his lap. I shook my head at his actions. It was still warm out, and if I hadn't been damp, I wouldn't have even shivered. I gazed up at my overreacting mate in amusement, "I may not hold a candle to any Tarulk, but I'm not quite that delicate."

He wasn't buying it. His blue eyes inspected my face, possibly checking to see if I was cold and simply refusing to admit it out loud. "I am not taking any chances. Besides, that rainstorm is coming our way and we should start heading back."

I looked up at the approaching clouds before teasing him, "It looks like it is just rain. Ever try dancing in the rain?"

I had done that a few times before, although it had usually been involuntary when I got caught outside in a sudden downpour. Cool raindrops from the heavens were practically guaranteed to give anyone goosebumps, and Darien was also likely aware of it.

That activity was out by default in case I got chilled or caught a cold. Humans didn't have miraculous healing powers and that made Darien fairly paranoid when it came to my health.

Darien stood up with me in his arms, "I have, but this is neither the time nor the place to attempt it."

I rolled my eyes in good humor as he started walking back towards the house. Darien caught my reaction and gently kissed my forehead, "We can come back another day."

His amused eyes showed that he knew I was teasing him, then again, he could probably sense it with his reading ability. He lowered his head to gently kiss my lips and I kissed him back.

He lifted his head as he glanced to the side and nodded. I leaned my head to the side and caught sight of Saphira sitting on a rock alongside the road.

I smiled at the sight of her. She had stopped by the house several times and visited, although she tended to pop up whenever we left the village. She gave us our privacy, but I knew that the area was patrolled by Dranek who kept anything dangerous at bay.

"Hey, Saphira, how is it going?"

She smiled, "Well, and yourself?"

I grinned mischievously, "Would you believe me if I said that Darien was kidnapping me?"

"No." Her immediate response and amused expression had me laughing. Normally any reference to me getting kidnapped would have her skin darkening, although she had no problems taking it as a joke if I tried to frame Darien.

Darien gazed down at me with a soft smile, "Trying to get me in trouble already?"

I lightly kissed his cheek, "I am pretty sure that the kiss kind of gave the game away."

His deep chuckle was more felt than heard, "Very likely."

Saphira surveyed the approaching clouds, "You may wish to speed up if you want to reach the house before the rain comes."

Darien glanced at the Dranek and nodded before he started jogging. Saphira made no move to follow us as she continued to watch the rain clouds.

Darien reached the house before the rain did, although it wasn't by much. I went into the bedroom to get changed while Darien put some wood in the stove. The Dranek had managed to locate several outfits for both myself and Darien.

Once I was done, I came back down the hallway into the living room. It was a good thing that I had read up about how to live without electricity since this village had no power. I lit a candle and put it in its protective holder on the center table.

I gazed out the window, but this storm only held rain. Darien moved up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, "What are you thinking about?"

I leaned back against his warm chest, "I was kind of hoping that this storm might have some lightning. I think you promised that we could watch a good lightning show from a sheltered porch, and there is a perfectly good porch on this house."

"I seem to recall that promise. If the wind comes from the south, this place tends to see storms with lightning." The fingers on his hand gently traced patterns over my arms in such a way that made me forget about the rain outside.

I turned my head to kiss his cheek once more. He quickly caught my lips with his own and deepened the kiss. His arms tightened slightly around me as our kiss deepened. His kisses were addictive and always made me feel loved and cherished.

The kiss warmed me to my toes and the heat from the beach made its appearance once more. I turned around in his arms without breaking our kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. I ran out of breath and had to break the kiss. I placed small soft kisses on his bare chest as I tried to catch my breath.

He was gently kissing along my neck as his arms continued to hold me close to him. His fingers traced small swirls along my sides that added to the heat I felt inside me. My breath almost hitched with the sensations. My skin was flushed with a heat that came from within, a heat that was only building.

There were simply no words to describe how much I loved Darien. Even though my magic involved song, I had no way to voice my love, and words were simply insufficient. His masculine scent filled my nose and I hugged him closer as the heat of desire built. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the strong and strange emotions I was experiencing. I had never loved anyone as much as I loved Darien.

Darien looked down at me and I was surprised to see that his eyes were oddly dark. His voice was deep with desire, "Do you trust me?"

Apparently, he had also picked up my emotions, although I suspected that his own feelings were just as strong.

I had trusted him since the second I had seen him. I answered truthfully "I always did."

He gently picked me up before heading to the bedroom.

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Author's Note:

In my personal opinion, scenes that belong behind closed doors should remain behind closed doors, so the next scene - and all scenes in this book - are safe for those who don't like the bedroom intimates.

This also keeps my book from being flagged as mature, which is a good thing since over a third of my readers are under 18. :)