"Mike!"

As soon as I reached the sh.o.r.e, a familiar voice came from the board of the s.h.i.+p, before a splash of water completely covered it up as at first, a single person jumped out directly to the shallow waters of the Rock River before an entire group followed.

Since I was busy talking to the former stonemason that was now properly turned into the manager of all the project related to digging and laying up the foundations, I turned my attention towards the s.h.i.+p only when this sudden shout and splash reached my ears, yet before I could notice anything strange, a huge mess of wet cloth and hot skin fell upon me, nearly tackling me down to the ground!

Recognising the familiar shape, smell and intricate movements as the newly arrived person forced me into a deep hug, I couldn"t help but close my own grip on her back and bring her even closer to my own heart.

"It"s been a while."

Allowing myself to finally relax in Elia"s embrace, for the first time since I left her back at the Tarnow to venture into the faraway lands that would allow us to make use of the governor"s gift, I realised how much I missed her soft body tightly pressing against mine, and enveloping me in the sense of safety and emotional warmth.

With all the challenges that I had to tackle on by one during my stay here, while I enjoyed overcoming the obstacles separating me from what I aimed for, only when Elia"s hands started lightly caressing my hair as she climbed on top of her soles only to bring my head down onto her chest before hugging it with her entire upper body.

"Come on, let"s not make a scene here…"

Even if I enjoyed this moment to no end, there was no way that I would allow the two of us to share such an intimate reunion in the open. And lets not even get me started how eager I was to show off with all the finished projects to her!

"What, are you ashamed of your wife?"

With her hands that so far kept me pressed tightly to her collarbone, suddenly pus.h.i.+ng me away, I could finally see her cute face now twisted in the grimace of scrutiny.

"Wait, no, I would never…"

"Then it"s okay!"

As her fingers once again grabbed the marital of my kontus, I found myself falling towards her chest once again, not only unable to resist right now but when imagining what awaited me after the inevitable clash, I realised that I wasn"t even willing to resist at this point!

Yet just as suddenly as she pulled me towards herself, her hands once again rocked my shoulders, stopping me in the middle of the distance that separated us when she pushed me away just a moment before.

"I don"t like that grin on your face, so let"s stop for now."

Even when she spoke about how I apparently had some kind of expression she didn"t found appealing, just a single look on her own lips was enough to confirm that she wore a completely satisfied look on her cute face.

But looking at her lips pulled me to yet another trap, as I suddenly found myself drawn to them. This time, it was me who grabbed her waist, pulling them towards me and conquering her lips with just a single invasion.

As the softness of her mouth shoot right through my entire mind, I couldn"t help myself and pushed my tongue inside her jaw, entering a strange dance with her counterpart. With our bodies inevitably drawing closer together, I felt her hands wrapping around my neck, as she locked my head in its current position unwilling to let me out.

Only when the two of us finally felt satisfied with each other closeness did we part our lips, still locked in the mutual gaze filled with affection as a single strand of our saliva hanged between our mouth.

"You will never believe how much I missed you."

With the tranquil moment between the two of us coming to an end when some random workers started shouting some reports between each other, the two of us finally broke free from this enchantment that brought us together. As Elia pushed her head in the s.p.a.ce between my shoulder and my neck, I could barely make out the words she silently muttered.

"Trust me, I don"t need to believe you. If that feeling of yours even came close to how much I lacked your presence here, then I will perfectly know what kind of ordeal you were coming through. Right, how are the matters in Tarnow?"

As I was the one facing the river, I had no way to ignore the fact that this little reunion of ours drew quite a bit of the attention of the workers swarming on board the s.h.i.+p. Still keeping Elia in my hug, I moved deeper inland, taking over her hand and allowing her to slip under my arm.

"A few rats attempted to penetrate the brewery to steal the recipe, but we promptly smoked them out. Outside of this, everything goes as usual. The gold is piling up, more and more customers are demanding the beer, its production is expanding… Would you believe if I told you that Matsu finally gave up on the idea of selling the castle"s garden lands to the merchants and used most of the free s.p.a.ce there to expand the brewery?"

While this news was quite surprising, considering how intricate the brewing business was turning out to be, I couldn"t claim that I never saw that coming. Yet to see her change her mind so soon, was still quite a huge difference when compared to what I expected!

"Speaking of which, I don"t want you to think I was slacking here. Do you want to tour this place now, or are you too tired after the journeeeyyy.. Agh!"

Feeling her elbow suddenly sinking in the soft side of my waist, I felt like if the late hour of the day suddenly turned into the deepest part of the night with all the stars that suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.

"Who do you think I am? How could I be tired after sitting down on my a.r.s.e for hours in this boat? I want you to show me everything…"

As if Elia"s mind was suddenly struck by a sudden idea, her lips curved upwards in a mischievous smile as she used my arm as a support to reach my ear with her mouth.

"... and after the trip, I will make sure you will ma.s.sage my bottom properly to make up for that sudden summons!"

With her mouth tightly pressing against my earlobe, she even went as far as to lick it with yet another act of devilish attempt to lure this innocent young n.o.ble to the path astray!

"Hmm? Didn"t you say that with a wife such as you, I shouldn"t be ashamed of being close to her?"

With my fighting spirit reignited, I suddenly lowered my centre of ma.s.s, reached for her knees and raised her to a proper princess carry, before stealing a short peck from her lips.

"Your punishment will be to see this entire place from this perspective! So you better behave from now on!"