29. Sally

Gentle waves lap along the paneling, and the calm and inviting sound is occasionally pierced by the sharp call of a gull. A few more squawks pull me from my slumber as I stir from my afternoon nap. The only thing that would make this moment perfect is waking up next to a warm body, but the padded mattress in the cabin is cool as I rise alone.

Throwing on my trusted sarong, I get up and climb onto the deck of our ship, blinking at the late afternoon sun. Drakar is topside, and already the smoky notes of grilled fish waft around us. He’s meticulously hovering over the grill, and I take a moment to admire him from my perch.

Married life seems to suit my husband well. His khaki shorts show off his shapely legs while his linen shirt is unbuttoned and open at the collar, teasing the cleft at the top of his pectorals. The whole effect is completed with the stubble growth of a three-day beard.

This flexible, relaxed version is much more approachable than the reserved and brooding orc I met a few months ago, yet he still manages to steal my breath.

That wonderful connection we share seems to always alert him to my presence, and looking up his eyes immediately lock onto my presence. He pours a glass of wine for each of us, handing mine over with a lingering kiss that curls my toes and awakens other parts of my body.

“How did you sleep, sunshine?” Drakar guides me over to one of the deck chairs and perches beside me as I move to get comfortable.

“Better than I expected, but I think the water helped.” I stretch languidly across the seat and watch him unconsciously lick his lips. “I suppose there are better travel rituals than coffee and keratin.”

“Like letting your husband give you so many orgasms that you sleep through most of the trip?” he continues conversationally, but the look he gives me over his sunglasses is deliciously heated. “Yes, I thought you might appreciate that more than ingesting copious amounts of caffeine.”

Smiling in satisfaction, I let my eyes linger on him. “Are you referring to the wedding night orgasms, or the ones while we were on the private jet?”

“Yes,” he concurs, giving me another kiss as he goes to plate the food. Taking a relaxing moment, I stretch and gaze around at the landscape, marveling at the vista.

I take in the bay and beyond, where cypress and olive trees decorate chalky cliffs. The sea is a brilliant blue, while the distant bustle of the mainland drifts behind us, providing a pleasant soundtrack to dinner.

Having seen enough postcards and pictures, I can recognize the view of the Aegean, simultaneously familiar and new. On the way to the plane, Drakar mentioned he was planning a romantic honeymoon getaway for us. But this is beyond my expectations.

Never would I have considered he would’ve remembered the wish I had mentioned in passing all those months ago, nor that he would go to such lengths to make my dreams come true.

Yet here we are, planning to sail around Greece. Gulls scout for a late afternoon meal, while the whole world is splashed with vibrant color. Even as Drakar hands me a plate, I can hardly believe everything that has led up to this.

“You know you’re absolutely perfect, right?” I compliment as we eat our meal, and watch the afternoon unfold. “I still have a hard time wrapping my head around everything that’s happened.”

A year ago, my father was wasting away, my family was falling apart, and I was powerless in the face of it all. I was being pulled in a hundred different directions and up to my ears in debt. Then this quiet, perfect orc comes along, saves my family, and gives me the world. Now here we are, in love and in Greece. I feel like I am living a dream I never want to wake up from.

“Regardless of the circumstances of how we met, never doubt the depth of my devotion. My instincts told me I would do everything in my power to give you the world- long before I admitted I was in love with you,” he confesses. “Now I have a whole lifetime of showing you how much I care, and I intend to make the most of it.”

Knowing my penchant for adventure, and my desire to tour the islands, Drakar had immediately set out to buy a boat that was streamlined enough for the two of us to crew. When we flew into Thessaloniki, the very first thing he showed me was the boat- then all the instruments and implements we would need to be self-sufficient for our journey.

So excited and appreciative after our lunch, I immediately set out to seduce him. We barely make it from the deck to the cabin, before he has me crying out in bliss. Then he graciously allows me to finish my seduction ploy before letting me take another generous nap. I’m so wrapped up in my joy I don’t even try to contain my excitement, and Drakar is generous as ever, indulging in any and every whim.

Somehow, it only gets better from here on out. We spend a week in the famous city, taking in the sights and exploring a new place. There are restaurants to dine at and galleries to admire, and Drakar even makes some friends out of the fishermen in the harbor, who are impressed with his apparent natural skill.

He spends a day fishing and playing cards with them, while I tan and recover from the previous night’s exertions. There is a visceral delight in knowing how adventurous my love life is now, but even after months of Drakar trying to prove how passionately fierce he is under his cool exterior, there are still days when I need to simply recover.

When I tease him about abandoning his new wife, he makes it up to me by taking me to Mount Olympus.

“Did you know there are six thousand islands that make up the nation-state of Greece?” We’re picnicking at the base of the famous summit, and Drakar has taken to asking me random trivia about our honeymoon destination.

Considering many of his tidbits are ridiculous, I know he’s dispersing real facts among silly observations that succeed in making me laugh. I counter by lobbing an olive at him. “Did you know that olive oil was used in makeup and hair care in ancient times?”

He deftly catches the olive in his mouth, and I have to make a conscious effort not to remember how he was using that mouth the night before. “Did you know that Greece’s national animal is the dolphin?” He tosses a grape in my direction, almost distracting me.

I manage to catch the grape in my hands by lunging forward, and Drakar seizes the opportunity to pull me into another deep kiss. We spend some time making out in the field. Before long, Drakar slips his fingers under my sundress and has me begging to return to the boat soon enough.

Then the next several weeks are spent on the open water. It would take ages to visit all six thousand islands, and only a few hundred of them are inhabited, so we settle for visiting the major tourist spots. Drakar has to talk me into cliff-diving in Corfu, but even he has his breath taken away by the beauty of Santorini.

“It’s the only caldera in the world that people live in,” I tell him that evening over dinner. We’re a month into our honeymoon, and sharing a meal of lamb with mussels, in a cream sauce seasoned with rosemary and thyme. The food is excellent, but the company is even better.

“I never thought being with a schoolteacher would be such a turn-on,” Drakar responds. “The knowledge you have of the world never ceases to amaze me. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be sitting here with you.”

“I’m the lucky one,” I tell him sincerely. He reaches out and I fold my hand into his, fingertips grazing palms as we gaze lovingly at each other. “I’m married to a sexy, successful orc CEO, who doesn’t mind me filling his house with finger-paint projects.”

“You fill my house with friendship and joy, and you make it a home.” His answer is honest as he gently caresses my hand, and I find myself falling under the spell of his touch once again. “You’ve given me a life when all I had before was meetings and a social calendar.”

When we aren’t sailing or sightseeing, we’re making love. Endless afternoon hours are wasted happily between sheets, and mornings where we miss the tide- too busy exploring each other”s bodies.

Outside of Athens, we catch a sudden storm that forces us to drop anchor one particularly memorable afternoon. We make love while the tempest rages, and I know that I will always remember the way it sounds as he roars my name, echoing along hurtling thunder as he pumps intensely into my body.

My back almost arches in half as I come down from my blissful state, sweaty and slick as he cradles me in his arms. I’m huffing, naked in his lap while his legs wrap around mine, keeping my hips grounded.

“I love you beyond reason,” he whispers along the shell of my ear. Shuddering in delight, I smile at his confession, loving how he insists on holding me close.

“I love you beyond measure,” I reply, resting my forehead on his. We lean into each other, breathing in the moment and the salt of the sea.

The last days of our honeymoon are spent souvenir shopping and making love to a fevered degree. I know the future will bring tribulations and struggles, but as we step onto the plane holding hands, I’m not nervous or sad. Now I carry a whole host of new memories to inspire me and a lifetime of promise ahead.