Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
My heart hurt every time we said goodbye. The ache never got easier to bear.
“Then give me something to remember you by. I want to feel you still inside of me even when you’re thousands of miles away.”
His hips slammed forward, and he buried himself deep. Locked in passion, we battled our denial, knowing full well that we only had a few minutes before he’d inevitably have to say goodbye.
I wondered how I got so lucky to find a man I loved so completely, a man who accepted me at my best and my worst. But no one prepared me for the agony that accompanies such unconditional love. If I ever lost Hale, the loss would kill me. He was more than my husband. He was my heart, my soul, the breath in my lungs, and the song in my voice.
“You’re my world, Hale.”
His brow pressed to mine as if my confession struck like an arrow to the chest. “You’re my entire universe, Rayne.” His breath shuddered as his release filled me.
I clung to his shoulders, desperate to hold him a little more. “Don’t let go yet. Just stay inside of me for a while longer.”
His arms slid beneath my back, our bodies still connected as one, as he pulled me onto him. I rested my head on his shoulder, savoring the safety I felt in his arms as I listened to his steady, familiar heartbeat.
Breathing in his scent, I committed this moment to memory, storing it beside a million other priceless moments we shared. It would be three long days before I could have him like this again. Bearable, but difficult.
“I’ll miss you,” I said, my only way of letting him know I would never willingly let him go, but I was ready to face reality all the same.
“I’ll miss you too, baby. More than you’ll ever know.”
I Am A Unicorn, Therefore I Sparkle
“More crystals?” Hale looked up from his laptop as I casually decorated every child-safe, unadorned surface of the house.
“You hush. I like them. They keep me centered and calm.”
“That used to be my job,” he mumbled, his gaze drifting back to the iPad.
“This one’s a moonstone. Willow says it can help balance my hormones.”
“Who needs Western medicine when we have rocks?”
“Western medicine can’t energize the divine feminine, Hale. And it’s not a rock, it’s a crystal.”
“And crystals are…?”
“Shut up. It’s supposed to strengthen my cycles and help with conception.”
“Sound advice from a woman you met in a cave below the New York subway.”
“Um, your sarcasm is not appreciated. And that cave-dwelling woman gives me the confidence that we will get pregnant.”
“The Reiki lady, not the renowned fertility specialists who collected actual scientific data.”
“That’s correct.”
“Just checking.”
I returned to organizing my crystals into cute little displays and ignored my husband’s skepticism. Hale liked facts and order. If he couldn’t make math out of something, it didn’t exist. The man didn’t have a spiritual bone in his body. I, on the other hand, was accessing my inner goddess and traveling down a fertile path to enlightenment.
Willow had taken on a prominent role in my life since my visit to New York. When she told me she worked with virtual clients all over the world, I hired her as a spiritual coach, sort of like a therapist.
Sure, she lacked some credentials, but she grounded me in a way few could.
She and I had a weekly recurring meeting, during which I expressed my worries, and she advised me. I didn’t see any difference between this and any other sort of coach, church leader, or advisor.
Did Hale think I was in a cult? Probably.
Was I?
Well, I wasn’t shaving my head or running around in robes yet, so I considered it more of a high-interest hobby. And even if it was a pricey placebo, Willow’s advice was helping me.
My IBS—a condition I’d struggled with since puberty—was less frequent. My breakouts had cleared up. And I seemed to have a natural glow that wasn’t there before.
My job was still stressful. Hale was traveling as much as ever, and Elara was burning through my energy faster than a kettle that never stopped steaming. But my stomach issues were calm, and my mood was Zenner than ever. I wasn’t living off plants or doing that whole no-alcohol thing, of course. I mean, come on. I was never going to be that Zen. Chocolate and booze had been my crutch for far too long, and I owed them my loyalty, even in a time of pure enlightenment.
“If Willow sells you any more rocks, she might be able to relocate to a nicer place above ground.”
“Joke all you want, Mr. Davenport. But as the newest Davenport, I’m expected to have a few weird, rich-girl interests. It’s in the gold digger handbook. This can be my first frivolous, eclectic hobby as your wife.”