Naamah's Blessing

wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me against him. “Oh, good. I like your idea better.”
    Ah, gods! We’d come such a long way together; and we had such a long way yet to go. There was another ocean awaiting us, and beyond it, untold dangers. But for tonight, one night, it was enough to simply
be
together.
    Piece by piece, we undressed each other, until there were no barriers left and we were naked before one another.
    We kissed, long and luxuriantly.
    We explored every part of each other as though it were new. I reveled in sheer sensation, in the rasping glide of Bao’s palms over my skin, in the tug of his mouth on my nipples, his clever fingers teasing the cleft between my thighs, eliciting the moisture of desire. Kissing his throat, I inhaled the hot-forge scent of his skin. Working my way lower, I bit his nipples and smiled to see the ridged muscles of his belly contract beneath the caress of my trailing hair, his straining phallus bent upward like a bow.
    I took him into my mouth and performed the
languisement
with all my hard-won skill, making him spend.
    Pushing my thighs apart, Bao settled himself between them, gazing at me with half-lidded eyes, and returned the favor until I was breathless with pleasure.
    Hard once more, he slid up my body and propped himself on his forearms, thrusting into me.
    It was good; so good.
    The bright lady smiled with brilliant approval.
    There was a magic to lovemaking that never faded, an alchemy of the flesh that never failed to evoke wonder. We were two, and we were one. Joined by the spark of the Maghuin Dhonn Herself, an intimacy I’d never known with anyone else, nor ever would. Joined by flesh—his flesh in me, hot and throbbing, mine encompassing his, wet and eager. Bao’s hips rocked, and mine rose to meet them, enjoying the sensation of fullness advancing and retreating. Sweetly, tenderly, he kissed my lips, thrusting deep inside me all the while.
    “Stone and sea!” I gasped, feeling the waves of climax burst within me, my inner walls squeezing his hard shaft.
    Bao groaned, sinking hilt-deep inside me, a hot rush of seed spurting.
    Afterward, we lay entwined together for a time, heading drowsily toward sleep. I rested my head on Bao’s chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat while he toyed lazily with my hair.
    “Moirin, when this is over, do you suppose we might start a family?” he asked. “Assuming we live through it, of course.”
    “You and your fat babies,” I said sleepily.
    “It’s not a jest.”
    With an effort, I lifted my head. “I know.”
    “Well?” There was a rare vulnerability in his dark eyes. “I know that I am only a Ch’in peasant-boy, and I have done things in my life I’m not proud of. Do you think I would not make a suitable father?”
    “Bao!” I sat upright, shocked. “No!”
    “It’s just—”
    Whatever he meant to say, I silenced it with a kiss. “Having watched you with Desirée, and Ravindra before her, I think you will make a most excellent father.” I gave the gold hoops in his ears a meaningful tug. “No matter what you’ve done. I’ve done foolish things, too. But you are my husband, and I love you, and if we live through this, yes, I will gladly light a candle to Eisheth and bear your fat babies.” With one finger, I poked at his hard, flat abdomen. “Although I am still not convinced of their relative plumpness.”
    Bao’s face relaxed into a smile. “You’ll see. Round as dumplings.”
    With a sigh, I settled back against him. “Let us pray we have the chance.”
    He kissed my temple. “I do.”

THIRTY-TWO

    A t dawn on the morrow, we set sail for Terra Nova on the ship
Naamah’s Dove
.
    There was no ceremony, no great fanfare, all of that having taken place at the previous night’s dinner, only a handful of folk saying one last farewell to loved ones. My father came to the wharf to see us off, looking out of place in his elegant priest’s crimson robes, his oak-brown hair loose and shining on his shoulders.
    “You have the letter for my mother?” I asked him.
    He nodded. “I do. And I will deliver it in person, I promise.”
    For the first time, I saw that there were fine lines on his face, fanning from the corners of his green, green eyes.
    It made my heart ache.
    “Thank you,” I whispered, embracing him. “Thank you for all the kindness you have given me.”
    My father held me. “How could I not?”
    Aboard the ship, a sharp whistle sounded. Septimus