Ch 40

The soft snores of her husband woke her up, but she was happy. He looked so handsome to her, so content. She couldn't remember a time when she made someone feel this way. Sitting up in bed, she noticed their forgotten bathing suits on the floor and blushed, remembering last night. As soon as they had reappeared on the bed, their lips and limbs had been all over each other, like they hadn't seen each other in years. The love, the hunger, and the passion had brought her to a high she had never known before. She was in wedded bliss.

Feeling like a shower, she got up and walked towards the bathroom. The warm water hit every mark Gar had left upon her skin, and she yelped in surprise. Normally she would heal the wounds but this time she wanted to leave them as a reminder of last night. Making sure her love wounds were clean, she began to wash her hair. She was still thinking about yesterday when she swore someone had been looking at her in the spring pool. 'Who was it?' she thought.

Wrapped in a soft, plush, white robe, she grabbed her brush on the counter and ran it through her hair. Once she was done, she walked back into the dark bedroom to see Gar awakening with a tired smile on his face. Crawling back into the bed, she rested beside him and smiled back at him. "Hey, sleepyhead."

"Wh—what time is it?"

"In earth time, it's 8 am."

Gar groaned. "It's too early to be awake Raven," he said before his nose had a mind of its' own and began to sniff her. "You smell amazing Rae, and you feel so soft," he said, wrapping his arms around her.

She sighed. "And now I feel like a stuffed animal," she said as her husband nuzzled her neck.

Gar laughed. "No, you're the woman I love to cuddle more than anything." He felt his eyes closing. "We should sleep some more Rae. It's the perfect opportunity. We should do this while we can."

"You mean before the honeymoon ends."

"Yes. Please just sleep in with me Rae." His green eyes begged her for this one thing.

"All right Gar," she smiled as she got comfortable in his arms and closed her eyes. "See you in a few hours."

"You won't be sorry," he said as he kissed her forehead. He looked at her a little while longer, taking in her beautiful, angelic form of his wife before driving off to sleep.

A few hours later, a knock came to the door, startling the married couple out of their slumber. Gar groaned as he got up, found a pair of sweatpants on the ground, and followed Raven, wrapped securely in her robe, to the door. The light from the hallway intruded on the darkness of Logan's hotel room. The silhouette of a woman stood before the door.

"Raven," the woman said.

Raven's eyes widened. She knew that voice as her eyes adjusted to the light. The woman became more clear. "Lydia Rose."

"I'm sure you have questions. I'll be down in the lobby while you two get dressed," said Lydia, who smiled before closing the door.

The couple met Lydia in the hotel's dining room. They joined her at her table. She could see the cautious look in the green one's eyes and knew he would be the first one to break the silence.

"How do you know Raven?" asked Gar.

"I met her when Azarath was still alive. She was a baby, and I was called upon to take her from her mother once she was born. I was her doctor, but I was also someone she could confide in and relate to because I also practice magic. The other children were mean as well as their parents towards her. I just wanted her to have a safe place to fall."

"I don't think I ever thanked you for that Lydia," said Raven.

"You don't need to thank me, Raven. It was a joy to see you grow. I can see you still blame yourself for our planet's destruction, but it was no fault of yours dear. It was Trigon's."

"So you weren't here when—?"

"No. My husband and I were on a cruise on earth. I had a bad feeling and then I had a vision. Azarath was no more. I was heartbroken, but I found a way to bring my home back. There were still some fragments from the destruction."

"Wait a minute! You rebuilt the planet with magic?" asked Gar.

"In simple terms, I did. I couldn't bring back its beings. I could only contact those who had not been on Azarath at the time to restart their lives on New Azarath. I duplicated as much as my memory could remember about how my home planet appeared, but my memory isn't what it use to be."

"That's why everything felt so familiar to me," said Raven.

"Yes, and I felt you here earlier, months ago I believe. Then you became out of reach. You were here no longer," said Lydia.

"I came to visit, start my life here. Then I was taken. I'd rather not go into the details," Raven said as she felt her husband squeeze her hand in support.

Lydia smiled. "I understand," she said as she looked at the changeling. "You must be Raven's husband. I could see the rings on your fingers. Besides that, you two were putting on quite a show in the spring pool."

Gar blushed. "I'm Garfield Logan. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well. I've never seen Raven this happy. I assume you are the cause."

"Well," he rubbed his neck nervously, "I can't take all the credit. Our friends played a role as well."

"Modest. That is a good trait in a mate," said Lydia. "So how long are you both here for?"

"Our honeymoon will be over soon, but we plan to live here for a while," said Raven

Lydia invited the couple over to her home. When they arrived, Raven noticed the outside of the home looked exactly the same as it had all those years ago. It had been a safe haven for her, a place where she belonged with no judgment. Every inch of the inside brought more happy memories even though they were short-lived.

"I'm glad you have returned Raven," said Lydia as they sat out in her backyard, facing the pool with the view of New Azarath's majestic mountains.

"Me too, I've been enjoying myself here," she smiled.

Lydia smiled. "Well, it looks like he's enjoying himself as well," she said referring to the green cat curled up against the empath's hip. "His power is quite unique."

"It's one of the things I love about him," she said, running her finger through his soft fur, hearing him purr in delight.

"It seems you are not the only one who has suffered in life."

"We've been through a lot, but we have overcome," she smiled. "We're in a good place."

"I'm happy to hear it dear," she said as she got up. "It's a great day for a swim. Would you two be interested?" she asked as she saw the green cat's eyes awaken. "It looks like I have your husband's attention," she smiled.

"That would be great Mrs. Rose," said Gar. "It would be good to work off the heavy breakfast I ate."

"Sure, why not?" asked Raven.

"Well, you remember my shop, don't you dear?"

"You still hand make all your own clothes after all these years," said Raven.

"You two can go inside and pick a swimsuit. It's free of charge. I insist because it is your honeymoon."

Raven groaned as she looked through the racks. "Who knew two pieces were so popular."

"Come on Rae, be daring. If you can't with me, who can you be daring with," he smirked.

"Easy for you to say. You just have shorts to choose from."

"Hey, I'd wear a speedo if you dared me, luckily there aren't any here."

Raven smirked. "Lucky for you." She sighed. "Fine, I'll pick but you don't get to see it until I get to the pool."

"Sounds good to me," smiled Gar. "You know I love surprises. Anyway, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I've seen your body Rae, and it takes my breath away every time," he said as he left the shop with a bathing suit.

She blushed at his comment, determined to find a bathing suit that would knock his socks off. Raven smiled as she found an interesting purple two-piece bathing suit. Going to change in the bathroom, she came out feeling nervous but excited to see the look on his face.

Gar was enjoying the water as he did laps back and forth. He found it odd that Mrs. Rose had some errands to run, was meeting up with her husband at the office, and wouldn't be back until late, but he didn't question it. The water felt good against his skin and the view from the pool was amazing. He smiled at the possibilities in New Azarath and hoped he and Raven could find a home as nice as this one.

"Garfield?"

Her voice filled his senses and filled him with anticipation. He turned around from the view, and his jaw dropped at the view of his wife in a two-piece purple bikini. The top was a v-neck, complimenting her cleavage as the bottom part of the suit hugged her hips the right way. "W—wow, you look amazing," he said, swimming over to her. He smiled. "So, are you coming in or—?"

"Where is Lydia?"

"She had some errands to run, and she's meeting her husband at his office. They won't be back until later, which I kind of found weird."

Raven sat at the edge of the pool and slid her body into the water. She smiled, feeling the cold water invigorate her body. "The water feels like I remember as well."

"She is the real deal, isn't she?" asked Gar.

"Yes, she is, even I couldn't bring back a planet with some of its' essence. That takes a lot of power."

"Are you sure you're all right with living here? You seemed concerned about something."

"No, I'm fine," she smiled. "We should enjoy this time together," she said wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smiled back at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "What did you have in mind?"

She leaned into him and kissed his lips, feeling his arms hold her tighter while responding to her kiss. When she broke the kiss, she smirked at him. "I'm thinking about being daring," she smiled as she broke away from his embrace, dove into the water, removing her top and bottom, and resurfacing, flinging the bathing suit on the chair.

"Th—that is pretty daring," Gar said roaming every inch of her naked body that wasn't covered by water. He was so hypnotized by her, he didn't realize she was pressed up against him until she removed his shorts, tossing them beside her forgotten suit. His eyes instantly met hers, and he could tell there was no doubt in them. "You really want to Rae."

She wrapped her arms around his neck once again. "I really do Gar," she said feeling his arms back to their place around her waist before they moved up and down her back.

In the shallow end of the pool, Gar entered his wife's body with thought and purpose, bringing her as much pleasure as he could. He couldn't get enough as he stared deep into her eyes at every thrust, seeing every emotion she was feeling as he loved her and hearing every sound from her mouth that brought him pleasure. "R—Ra—Raven, I love you so much," he said as his lips met her in a soft kiss. When he felt her lips against his, he deepened the kiss.

"G—Ga—Garfield, I—'m COMING!" she screamed as she orgasmed.