“He cannot steal that which is not claimed,” I replied with a sigh, drawing my hand away and looking to all the work I had yet to do, but of course he wouldn’t be so easily perturbed.
“I have claimed you, Gerry. You’re just too blind to see it.”
I raised my eyes to his again, frowning at the brash audacity of his tone and stamping down the little jig Lady Petunia was trying to start up in my undergarments.
“I don’t have time for philandering today,” I began, but he was already following my gaze and nodding.
“Alright. If you need to concentrate on making this all pretty and sparkly and shit, then you’ve got the perfect man for the job at your side. I can do things with water magic that would blow your insane little mind, Gerry.”
Max took my hand and I looked down at our interlocked fingers in surprise as I felt his magic pressing against the barrier of mine in offering.
“And if you wanna make something truly amazing then we should really work on it together,” he added, a dare in his tone and a twinkle in his eye.
This dastardly dogfish would be the death of me one of these days.
Yet despite every reason I had to mistrust a troublesome Heir, I found my magic rushing towards that point of contact he held, the power within me buzzing with the scandalous idea of merging with his.
“This is practically blasphemy,” I murmured, not pulling away.
“Oh come on, Gerry. It isn’t like it’s the first thing I’ve ever put inside you.”
I barked a laugh at his jest and nodded in agreement. “Alright then, let us tangle our tentacles once again, Maxy boy. I want to see what you’ve got.”
His grin widened and I pushed my barriers aside, finding it far easier to do so than I should have with a cad like him. Our magic merged and oh, what a merger it was!
I gasped at the rush of his power beneath my skin, near panting with the flush of water and air which crashed through my body, meeting my own magic and combining with it in a furious wave. My power over earth grounded us but the might of our combined water darn near swept me away on a tide of bliss I never wanted to come back from.
“Oh wet begonias on a Sunday morn,” I moaned, soaking in the feeling of him filling me.
“Yeah,” Max panted, his eyes alight with the thrill of me being inside him too. “What you said.”
I chuckled loudly, the mirth in me bursting forth and making him smile too as I turned my attention to the work at hand and we began creating the wedding venue of dreams.
“Tonight will be a night to remember,” I cooed as we worked and Max drew closer to me, slipping his arms around my waist so that he could increase the contact between us, and I found myself not protesting the move in the slightest.
“Yeah, Gerry. It’ll be perfect,” he promised and by golly, I believed he actually meant to make it so.
***
We finished our work with barely a moment to spare, the elegant pergola where the union would take place dressed in millions of tiny starflowers which blossomed only beneath the light of the stars which would be out at any moment as the sun had already dipped beneath the horizon.
Everything sparkled with the most delicate touch of frost, each snowflake individually crafted to hold the initials H and C intertwined in eternal love which made my giddy heart glow with adoration.
Above the seats which had been created from the pure white wood hung a swathe of lilac and pink flowers in every variety, each of them frost tipped and glimmering even in the low light of the rising moon.
“Oh what a joyous and most magnanimous evening,” I gasped, my wet Wandas getting the better of me as a sob choked its way free of my lips and tears sprung from my eyes.
A solid arm wound its way around my shoulders, and I fell apart as I allowed the slippery salmon of my heart to draw me closer to him, burying my face in his chest and breathing in his raw man scent like it was a balm to my senses.
“You’ve done an amazing job here, Gerry,” he said, touching a soft kiss to my hair which made me gasp and cry some more.
“You know full well that without the addition of your magic it would be a mere husk of the beauty it is now,” I chided, and he chuckled softly.
“Well, I might have leant you the magic to get the job done but this is all you. Your dad will be thrilled.”
“You think so?” I asked, tilting my head back to look at him and he reached out to brush the tears from my cheeks with a soft smile which crept into my heart and unfurled there.
Oh, what a shame it was that he was such a slanderous sardine.