Their Unusual Mating [Paranormal Protection Unit 5] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Honor James

said, shutting off the overhead lights. The small bedside lamp was still on so there was a soft glow in the room. Sitting on the bed, he watched her. “In my time you had to wait for it to be heated up over a fire, and then it was only a few buckets mixed into the cold lake water, so it was tolerable for the briefest of times for a bath.”
    “Oh wow.” Rimi watched him and took a seat at his side. “I would like to know more. I know you said you were in like a stasis or coma or whatever, but how in the world could your body still be so…” She looked him over. “Perfect. You are perfect, Lee, how?” She would have thought muscles would atrophy, bed sores or something.
    “I’m not entirely sure I can explain it adequately but I will try,” he said. Taking a breath, he let it out slowly. “Many centuries ago a war was brewing in our world, the world of the Fae, changers, and the magic-users. Our Queen at that time was greatly distracted because of a relationship she had dissolved with a King who was less than pleased to be put aside. Rogue Dragon changers began to pick away at our borders, sneak attacks harming our people and the humans that lived within our borders. The Royal Guard split into groups and took other soldiers to try and track these rogues down in the hopes of either turning them over to their King for punishment or, if it was absolutely necessary, killing them before they could hurt others. It was a trick,” he murmured softly.
    “It was designed to make us look like the aggressors, very skilled and subtle, but to the outside world and the Council, we were the ones attacking other races for no reason. Well, most assumed we were getting retribution for our Queen after some things her former King had said and done. Gaia, our Goddess, stopped the Fae race entirely when we were weakest, something our Queen of that time did to us but I am still unclear on just what it might have been. She terminated some of the Fae, others were taken out by Dragons and a few other races before we were put into suspended animation, a protective sleep in one of Gaia’s healing caves. It is supposed to be a dreamless sleep, where we are unaware of time passing, events, years, peoples, basically everything. For me it was until you were born.” Or so he’d figured out. “Then I began to dream, of you and, eventually, sharing dreams with you to learn you and to, I suppose, learn of this world through your eyes a little for when the awakening came.”
    “Why would she have allowed us to share dreams? I always recall you being there in my dreams. I always would talk to you in my dreams when things would bother me. I got to the point where I would talk to you when I was awake as well. Not that you ever really answered, but the simple fact of the matter was that you were the backbone of my life. I lived and breathed for you,” she whispered. “And now you are here.”
    “She allowed us to share dreams because we were meant to meet and be together,” he told her honestly. “She decided the moment you were conceived that you were to be mine,” Laighean said, watching her carefully. “For each of her children Gaia chooses one person that will be their perfect other half, their bond-mate.”
    “And sometimes some people get three.” Rimi shivered. “I love Kat and I’m sure that her men are great, but I couldn’t imagine three husbands.” Shaking her head, she looked up at him and whispered, “I’m glad that she chose me for you.”
    “So am I,” he told her honestly, reaching over to touch her cheek. Sliding his hand down her neck and arm, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “While Kat was given three for a reason, I’ve never really understood the reasoning for multiple pairings like that. I’m glad that there is only you and I,” he said with a smile.
    “I have to agree. It’s nice just being us.” She really rather liked being able to just have him there with her and not having to