Serendipity

Chapter Eight

Jax leapt forward, unsure if she had any idea how to swim. She paddled her arms and legs furiously, just managing to keep her head above water. Then the slow current started tugging her away from him, and he leaped forward to catch her.

She squealed in delight as his arms came around her, clinging to him. He slipped and fell, instinctively holding her above him as he let himself relax and float to the surface. She seemed completely unconcerned, trusting him with the complete faith that only a small child can have. He bobbed up, leaning backward and cradling her in his arms. Then he kicked back, pushing himself upright and finding his footing on the slippery rocks.

Sarai was still standing in the shallows, her face white. She clutched Able to her, although he squirmed against her hold.

"Mom, let go!" he said sharply, and she shook her head, as if coming out of a dream.

"Jax, thank you so much," she said as he started wading slowly toward her. Mali had grown quiet, laying her head against his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Mali, you can never do that again! Don't you realize that if Jax hadn't caught you, you could have been drowned?"

Mali turned her head and looked at Sarai in confusion.

"Mommy, if Jax hadn't been here, I wouldn't have had the guts to do that," she said slowly and clearly, as if Sarai were the child and she was the adult.

"I see," Sarai said. She abruptly turned and waded out of the water. "I think it's time for us to go home."

"Mom!" Mali and Able wailed simultaneously. "That's not fair," Able added.

"We haven't even had lunch yet, mommy," Mali said. "Do we really have to go home?"

Jax could see the tension in Sarai's face. Watching Mali fling herself into the water without warning had terrified her, although she was trying not to show her fear. He waded over to the beach, and walked up to her, still carrying the little girl.

"Sarai, perhaps we could eat before we go home," he said in a gentle voice, trying to sooth her fear. "I'm sure both the children will promise not to go near the water again without your permission."

"I promise," Mali said quickly, and Able nodded in agreement. Sarai sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. It trembled slightly, and Jax averted his eyes.

"You know, you might find the water less frightening if you knew how to swim," he said. "I could teach you, too."

"I don't think so," she said with a sigh. She looked up at him, her face full of strain; seeing her like that made him ache. He had to do something to relieve her pain. Without pausing to think, he stuck his tongue out at her. Able and Mali burst into laughter. Her mouth twitched for a minute, then she turned away and walked over to the basket she'd packed their lunches in. He set Mali down, and the three of them exchanged a wicked look.

When she turned back, Jax and the children were all sticking their tongues out at her.

Her mouth twitched again, and on impulse Jax raised his hands, spread out his fingers and waggled them along the sides of his head. She burst out laughing, and then they were all cackling.

They laughed until tears ran down their cheeks, and by the time they stopped the tension seemed to be gone. Mali got the hiccups, and Sarai gave her a drink to help her get over them. Inevitably, it didn't work, and the next time she hiccupped, bright red juice came out her nose and they were all laughing again.

By the time they had finished lunch, a sumptuous picnic Sarai served on a large blanket, Mali's eyes were starting to droop. Able was also looking tired. Exchanging a knowing look with Jax, Sarai said, "Do you want to lay down for a little while, Mali? I can scoot over on the blanket so there's room?"

"No, I'm not tired," Mali said instantly, sitting up. Able gave her a superior look.

"Young children need regular naps," he said, his voice a perfect imitation of Sarai's.

His mother laughed softly, and padded the blanket next to her.

"I'll tell you what, Mali," she said. "All of us can lay down for a little bit, and I'll tell a story. If you fall asleep, that's okay, but if you don't we'll go for a walk before heading home. Sound good?"

"I want Jax to tell the story," she said, lying down. Sarai raised a questioning eyebrow at Jax, and he nodded back at her.

"Do you want to hear a story that my mother used to tell me when I was a little boy?"

he asked softly. Mali nodded. Sarai lay down next to her, on her side.

"Able, you have to lie down, too, before I start," Jax said. Able flopped back on the blanket, and Jax lowered himself to his stomach next to the boy. He propped himself up on his elbows, and started speaking softly.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful planet where every season was wonderful in its own way. In the spring, all kinds of new plants would grow, and there were parties to celebrate new life. In the summer, everyone would take the time to enjoy the beautiful weather. They would go swimming every day and eat yummy fruits that were only ripe for a few weeks every year. In autumn, they would harvest all the grains, makes piles of leaves to jump in and store up lots of wood to keep warm when it got cold. In the winter they would gather in close next to the warm fire and tell stories at night. During the day they would go sledding and ice-skating. They'd even build giant castles made out of snow and ice, and throw balls of snow at each other. Everyone who lived there was very happy.

"Now, the most amazing thing about this planet is that there were four different kinds of people, and each group had their own king or queen. The winter people had very pale skin, so pale that you could just almost see the light blue veins in their arms. They were ruled by a beautiful queen, who had long, straight black hair and eyes like blue diamonds.

Her husband was the king of autumn. Like all of his people, he had dark skin, and beautiful hair full of orange, red and brown streaks. The summer people were all golden, from their skin to their hair. They were the most fun loving of the groups, hosting fairs and dancing from morning until night."

"Every day?" Mali asked, popping her head up to look at him. Sarai reached an arm out to gently pull her back down, and Jax nodded.

"Yes, every day," he said solemnly. "Now, the last group was the spring people. They were magical, because they could make things grow. They had a beautiful queen who was all green, even her hair. Everywhere she walked, little plants would sprout out of the ground and flowers would grow. She was married to the king of the summer people.

"Now, every year all of the kings and queens would take turns ruling over the people.

For three months every year, they would open their palaces and have parties and feasts. It was a wonderful place to live, and everyone was very happy all the time. But then one day, something bad happened."

"What?" Able asked, enthralled.

"Well, you see, every 20 years or so they would pick new kings and queens."

"Why?" Mali asked, her face twisted in confusion.

"Well, I think it's because being a king or queen if probably very tiring," Jax said, trying not to laugh. He'd never considered the question before. "But this time, the winter queen they picked wasn't a nice queen at all. All the people had gotten together for a special party to honor the new kings and queens. Now, that new winter queen didn't want to take turns ruling, she wanted to rule all the time. So she invited all the other kings and queens to a special party, and served them a special kind of cake that she made herself.

"What they didn't realize, until it was too late, was that she had put poison into the cake. All of them died that night, except for the king of summer, who didn't eat any of the cake."

"Mommy's cake is very good," Mali said solemnly. "No one ever dies from eating it.

Not ever."

"That's good," Jax replied. "Now, because the winter queen wasn't able to kill the king of summer, she put a spell on him, freezing him deep down inside. You see, she knew that if she froze the summer king, there wouldn't be any more summers until he woke up. Since all the other kings and queens were dead, she declared that from that day on, it would only be winter. All the summer, autumn and spring people had to work for the winter people. It was very hard for them, because it became cold all the time. They were very unhappy, but they didn't know what to do to fix things.

"A thousand years passed under the rule of the evil queen, and it was winter the whole time. They learned how to grow all their food in greenhouses, and everyone was cold except for the winter people. The poor summer people were the coldest, and the evil queen forced them to work for her in the mines. No one had any idea how to get rid of her, and she used her magic against anyone who tried to stop her.

"One day, a group of summer people were working down in the mines and they found a magical cave full of ice crystals. Inside of one of those crystals was a frozen man. They realized it was the summer king, still being held prisoner by the queen's spell. They tried to wake him up, but nothing worked. So they took him back to their camp and called a council, inviting all the spring people and the autumn people to help them try to figure out what to do.

"When the council opened, all the oldest and wisest people tried to wake the sleeping king. They used spells and blankets to warm him, but he stayed frozen. Everyone was very frustrated, and nobody knew what to do. One morning, a young woman who was there with her family woke up very early to find something very strange had happened in the night.

You see, when she had gone to sleep she and her family had been camping on an ice field, but when she got up there was a little patch of grass around their tent."

"Where did it come from?" Mali asked, eyes wide.

"She didn't know," Jax replied. "But right in front of her eyes, it seemed to be getting bigger. She started walking around the camp, and everywhere she went grass started growing. In the grass were little flowers, and she could feel the air getting warmer. It was so exciting that she didn't know what to do. So she kept walking until she got to the biggest tent in the camp, where they had placed the frozen king. She walked right into that tent and right up to the frozen king.

"Now, he was a very handsome man, and she was a very pretty woman. She took one look at him and fell in love. She decided she had to give him a little kiss, so she walked over to him and kissed him right on his lips. They were very cold against her skin, but the longer she kissed him, the warmer they seemed to get.

"Then he started kissing her back, right there. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her."

"This kissing part is getting boring," Able muttered, and Sarai laughed.

"All right, I'll skip the kissing part," Jax replied, grinning. "They heard a loud noise outside the tent, so they stood up and walked out holding hands. All around them the people were cheering and running around. There were flowers everywhere, and the all the snow was gone in the camp. They could hear birds singing and then everyone was dancing, because they knew the evil queen's spell had been broken. The king of summer was awake, and with him was a new queen of spring."

"Didn't the queen try to stop them?" Able asked, his voice skeptical. Mali nodded her head against the blanket, sucking her thumb.

"Yes, she did," Jax continued. "As they started marching toward her palace, all the snow was melting and she knew she was in big trouble. But no matter what she did, her magic wasn't as strong as the new king and queen. They got closer and closer to her, and as the air got warmer something horrible happened to the evil queen. She started getting very old, very fast. All her magic was failing her, and she aged a thousand years right then and there, drying up and turning into dust. Then all the dust blew away, and her whole palace fell down into rubble.

"The king and queen returned to the old ways, and a new king of fall and queen of winter were selected. Just like before, they each ruled for three months of the year, and everyone lived happily ever after."

"That was a good story," Mali murmured sleepily. Sarai smiled at Jax from across the blanket, and reached out a hand to run her fingers over Able's hair. The little boy was still awake, but he didn't seem inclined to move. She lifted a finger to her lips, and Jax nodded in understanding. If they just stayed quiet for a while, both children would drift off to sleep.

Jax closed his eyes, listening to the children's soft breathing and thinking about Mali's plunge into the river. He could understand Sarai's fear. What if he hadn't been able to catch her? She hadn't given him any warning.

He rolled on to his back, flinging one arm across his eyes. The warm sun was making him sleepy, too. Despite the almost constant ache in his loins, he was happy. Just being with her, with her children, brought so much peace into his life. A soft, rustling noise caught his attention. She must have rolled over, too. A twinge of longing wound its way through him. If she were lying beside him, he'd tuck her against his side and bury his face in her hair. It always smelled so wonderful.

They would lay there, watching the children sleep and perhaps even snoozing themselves. Or perhaps they would get up quietly and sneak down to the riverbank, he mused. They would slip out of their clothes, and slide into the cool water in each other's arms. He would let himself float back into the current, and pulled her lissome body across his. She'd cling to him, her legs tangling with his and they would come together for a kiss.

He could imagine the slippery feel of her skin, how her hair would float out behind her in the water, drifting downstream. Then he would wrap both arms around him, pulling her tight against his body. She would slide her legs around his waist. His hard length would be pressed tightly between them, and he'd kiss her again…

He had grown hard thinking about it. Moving quietly, he rolled back on to his stomach on the blanket to hide the evidence of his arousal, and stole a peek at Sarai and the children.

All three were sleeping peacefully.

Closing his eyes again, he allowed himself to drift back into the fantasy.

She would clutch his body to hers, laughing softly, and then he'd slide his hard length into her body. They would rock against each other slowly in the water, letting their bodies become one and enjoying the closeness of their touch. He would make only the barest of movements at first, content to revel in the feel of her snug warmth. Then they'd start to move more quickly, squirming against each other urgently. He'd thrust into her harder, their mouths would meet. Their lovemaking would become wild, building to a climax that was as inevitable as it was powerful.

Jax squirmed against the blanket, trying to find a more comfortable position. His cock was like stone. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. He hadn't intended to allow himself to become aroused this way, but the thought of touching Sarai, making love to her in the water was too much. Staying away from her had turned out to be much harder than he'd dreamed possible, and he hadn't gone into it expecting it to be easy.

Another soft noise caught his attention. She was getting up. Both children were still breathing deeply, but she had stood up. Then he heard the soft padding of her feet as she walked away. Where was she going?

Jax opened his eyes, and silently propped himself up on his elbow. He craned his head around, and saw her graceful form walking back toward the riverbank. She was still wearing her white shift, but it was dry now, and it drifting around her body in a manner that was almost surreal. She looked more forest spirit than woman. The image was broken, though, when one corner caught on a branch. She tugged at it, and the worn fabric ripped.

A look of disgust came across her face.

For the first time, Jax realized he'd never seen her wearing more than three or four sets of clothing. Was that all she could afford? The children were always well dressed…He'd assumed that she was doing all right, but he didn't know for sure. He'd have to look into that, he realized. Making a mental note of it, he turned his attention back to Sarai.

Free of the branch, she walked to the river's edge and sat down. He could hardly see her now. He stood quietly, taking care not to wake the children, and reached over to tab on a motion sensor in his pack. If anything larger than a bird came close to Able and Mali as they slept, he and Sarai would know. Then he started walking toward her. She turned to look at him as he approached, and then a smile so lovely it took his breath away came across her face.

"Jax," she said softly. "Come sit by me."

He lowered himself to the beach, stretching his legs out before him. The water lapped at his toes, cool and fresh. She leaned over and kissed his bare shoulder.

"Jax, this is silly," she said. "I'm so sorry for what I said to you. I can't think of anything but how much I miss touching you. Why do we have to do this?"

Her words twisted through him, sweet seduction. He was rock hard for her, filled with a heavy ache of need that had become his constant companion. How easy would it be to simply roll her under him, take her there on the sand? She wanted him; he wanted her. They were both adults. It should be so simple.

"No," he said, pushing down the treacherous thought. "I want more than sex, Sarai.

Don't mistake me, I want sex, too. But I want to be a part of your life, and I want to be a father to the children. Hell, I want to have more children with you. I'm not willing to settle for less than that."

She stared into the water for a moment, moisture welling in her eyes. She gave her face and impatient swipe.

"Jax, you know what happened to my first husband, don't you?"

"Yes," Jax said. "Seth told me, and he told me why, too. You killed him in self-defense. You did it to save your children, and you did the right thing, Sarai. I only wish I could have killed him for you."

"But you don't know the whole story, Jax," she said softly. "I enjoyed killing him. I'll never forget the incredible rush that killing him gave me. I felt so free, so powerful! It was disgusting and exhilarating all at once, and I made myself a promise. I decided I'd never let myself get into a situation where a man controlled me again. I never want to face another choice like that."

A wave of compassion swept through him, and he pulled her into his arms. She was crying in earnest now. He pressed her head against his shoulder, and she started sobbing.

She cried for a long time, and he simply held her, marveling at her strength. Despite everything she'd gone through, she still managed to hold herself and her life together.

Eventually her sobs quieted down, and she rested against him. He spoke.

"I've told you that on Saurellia only one in five children are female," he said. "We have a legend about that…according to legend, when the Goddess created the world, she made men and women equally strong. But within the first few generations, she discovered that even though men and women had the same strength, the women's lives were so much harder that it wasn't fair. Not only that, society started falling apart. There were wars and famine. Children starved in the streets, and it was an abomination before the Goddess.

"So she started making fewer women, but making them stronger," he continued. "Now there are more men then women, but our women are so strong that they hold our society together. Any Saurellian man lucky enough to be found worthy to be mated to one of those women is blessed a thousand times by the Goddess. Their relationship can be more wonderful than anything in the imagination, but it will never be unequal. There isn't a Saurellian man alive who can control his lifemate. Our society is matriarchal."

She looked up at him, blinking her eyes.

"What does that have to do with us? I'm not Saurellian, Jax. I'm not that strong."

"Sarai, you are that strong," he whispered, lifting his hand and wiping away one of her tears with his thumb. "Don't you understand? You may not have been born a Saurellian, but you are definitely a daughter of the Goddess. I don't want to control you. I want to be your lifemate, your partner. What makes you happy makes me happy. We belong together, and what Calvin did to you has nothing to do with us. He's dead. He can't hurt you, and I won't.

You're safe now. You've made it."

She sniffed, and smiled at him tremulously.

"I did, didn't I?" she whispered. "Jax, I don't feel very strong. I don't know this Goddess of yours very well, but I could use some of that strength you talk about."

"It's there, Sarai," he said. Unable to help himself, he leaned his head down and kissed her softly on the lips. Her head fell back and her eyes closed, then she was opening to him.

He deepened the kiss, exploring her depths and trying to control himself. He wanted her so badly he thought he might explode, but somehow he managed to keep himself from simply rolling her over and taking her. Finally, shaking from the effort, he pulled away.

"Sarai, will you be my lifemate?" he asked softly, searching her face. She froze for a minute, as if waging some battle within herself, then she spoke.

"I'll be your mate, but on my terms. I don't promise to do as you tell me, and if I ever feel like I need to leave you, I will."

"That's good enough for me," he said, smiling. She looked up at him in surprise.

"So I can leave you any time I want?" she asked.

"If I'm doing my job as a lifemate, you won't want to leave me," he replied quietly. She sniffed, then gave him a coy smile.

"Well, then I guess you'd better keep me happy," she said tartly.

"That's my girl," he said, abruptly rolling her over into the sand and covering her with his body. She was trapped beneath, a startled look on her face. He kissed her, and her arms came around him. She pulled him close, kissing him back. Then her legs were wrapped around his body, and she was writhing against him. He groaned, pressing his cock against her softness.

"It's been too long," he muttered, pulling his head back. She laughed up at him.

"Silly, it's been less than a day," she replied.

"Too long," he repeated, covering her again. He thought he was going to explode from the exquisite pressure of her body pressing up against his. Her hips moved rhythmically, and he groaned. He had to get inside her. If he didn't, he was going to die.

Her other leg came up, and they both clutched his waist. The soft opening between her legs cradled him, and without thinking he thrust against her. But his briefs and her shift blocked his motion, and he groaned in frustration.

"I hate this damn thing," he said, raising his body and pulling her shift up. "Sarai, I'm getting you all new clothing. I never want to see this thing again. It's caused me too much frustration over the past weeks."

She laughed up at him, then reached down to work on his briefs.

"And what about these?" she asked archly. "They seem to be in my way right now. Do I get to throw them away, too?"

"Yes," Jax replied with a grin. "I'll never wear clothing again. We'll just live naked in your bed, happily ever after."

Then her shift was up around her waist, and his briefs were down around his knees.

With a sigh, he reached down to position himself against her. She wrapped her arms around his neck again, pulling him down into her softness. The feel of her hot, moist flesh closing around him was almost more than he could take, and after his initial thrust he stopped for a moment. He rested his forehead against hers, breathing deeply and trying to control himself.

She squirmed against him, kneading him with her inner muscles and pulling him down into her body with her legs. He kissed her, then started moving slowly.

Neither spoke as he thrust into her, his strokes hard and steady. There was a purpose, a tension in their mating that he had never felt before. Almost as if the Goddess herself was there, blessing their union. Even if Sarai wasn't ready to fully admit what was happening between them, he knew they would never be separate again. No matter how far they might be physically, they would always share this connection.

Lifemate.

He kissed her again, deeply. He wanted to mark her as his, make her realize that she would never feel another man's lips again, that his body would be hers for the rest of his life. He thrust harder, and she moaned into his mouth. He took the sound deep within, reveling in it.

Her legs gripped him tightly, and he could feel her body stiffening as she approached her climax. He was close to coming himself, but held back. When they went, they would go together. He wanted to feel her exploding around his cock, to shoot his seed into her body and claim her.

Her nails were digging into his back now, scraping against him and leaving trails of fire in their wake. The slight pain helped him focus. Down, back. Again. Harder. He twisted his hips, deliberately scraping the length of his arousal against her most sensitive spot. She convulsed in response, and he grunted with satisfaction. She needed him every bit as much as he needed her.

He started moving faster, close to the end of his strength. It was time to push her over the edge. He thrust deeper, harder, again and again. She whimpered, and every muscle in her body stiffened. Her face was twisted with the intensity of her feelings, and she whimpered.

Then she exploded around him, clenching him hard inside and out. He stifled her moaning noises with his mouth, taking them inside and allowing her pleasure to wash through his body. Then he slammed down hard into her and exploded himself, pinning her against the sand with his hard cock and emptying his seed into her body. As the joy and release of his orgasm swept through him, he marveled at the gift he'd been given. This woman was his, and she would be for the rest of his life. He collapsed beside her, and together they gasped for breath.

After what seemed like hours, she stirred against him.

"We should get up before the children see us," she whispered. "But don't think you're getting away from me. We'll continue this tonight, after they go to bed."

"I think they should go to be early," he said, deadpan. She nodded sagely.

"I agree," she replied. "It's been a long day for them. They need their sleep."

Sarai felt light and happy as she they walked back toward town. Able and Mali walked between them, Mali hanging on Jax's hand and giggling. She talked the entire way home, and more than once Able rolled his eyes in disgust.

"She talks too much, Mom," he said for the fourth time. Sarai laughed in response, unable to get upset. She started to reply, but before she could a flash of bright, white light blinded them.

Jax dove, pushing all her and the children into the ditch, covering them with his body.

Then sound roared around them, and a terrible wind rose. Sarai wrapped her arms around the children, desperately confused. She could feel herself screaming, but couldn't hear anything. Her ears were ringing, and in an instant she wondered if the world was ending.

Then something hit her head and everything stopped abruptly.