Page 37 of Selkie AU: Beyond the Storm

I ran my fingers through our mess, holding eye contact with him as I brought them to my mouth and licked them clean.

He shook his head slowly. “So… much… trouble.”

18

Rowan

Milo was difficult to wake up in the mornings… and the afternoons… and whenever else he decided to nap. But he seemed genuinely thrilled about coming fishing with me each day.

I would pack our lunches—a thermos of coffee for me, and hot chocolate for Milo, whothankfullydecided he didn’t like the taste of coffee—then I’d make him a warm breakfast, so he was well fed and ready for the day ahead. We’d eat, and only at the very last moment before we left would he put on a coat, rain boots, and a beanie.

He always stripped them off the moment we were out of sight of humans.

Milo loved being in the water, his seal helping me with the fishing. It meant that a large portion of the fish I brought in had seal-sized bite marks taken out of them, so I’d put those aside to bring home instead of taking them to the processing plant. Milo ate a lot, so we had no trouble getting through them.

He’d been with me for two weeks, and he seemed just as excited about it as the day he’d woken up on my sofa. We’d barely spent a moment apart, and I was starting to think that maybe we just… wouldn’t. Maybe this was how life would be now. It scared me how much I wanted it to stay like this.

Maybe we would spend every night here, on a pile of blankets on a mattress on the floor in front of the fire. It wasn’t like anyone else ever visited me anyway. His nest could be permanent, and we’d find another use for the bedroom.

It could be a nursery, if what he’d told me was true, and if he really was capable of getting pregnant. I’d so long ago given up hope of a relationship, not to mention having children. But if I were to be really, truly honest with myself, and if I could decide the future I wanted, then I did want that. I wanted it with Milo, my little hurricane, who blew into my life when I was far from prepared for him. But he came when I needed him the most, so maybe his goddess was real.

Milo’s presence filled me with more warmth than any fire was capable of.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked me as his long, slender limbs stretched out on the blankets beside me before he snuggled back in close.

“I want to take you somewhere tomorrow,” I told him, placing a kiss to the tip of his nose.”

“Okay! Where?”

“Markets.”

“Where’s that?”

“Well, in the center of town, people will come and set up tables of things to trade.”

“What sort of things?”

“Food, clothes, things they’ve made. There are lots of things. But we have to be careful, okay? Just like at the store. There’ll be more humans there, so you need to stay close to me.”

“Okay.” He smiled, nuzzling that spot on my neck. “Can I trade for some things?”

“You want some money?”

He nodded.

“Sure, I’ll give you some.”

He smiled against my skin. “I want to look for some things too.”

“What sort of things?”

“It’s a surprise.”

The thought of Milo surprising me with anything was equal parts concerning and endearing.

Raina: Family call tonight?

I rubbed my eyes as I brewed myself my first cup of coffee for the day. Milo was still sleeping and would be until the smell of breakfast lured him over.