Chapter Sixteen
Early the next morning, Mike and Marina stood on the front entry steps to the palace. Mike kept his arm wrapped protectively around Marina. After last night, he knew that she belonged to him just as he belonged to her.
It was more than the lovemaking. Their connection had melded them on a level that he never realized was possible. It was as if the two of them had become one—thinking, feeling, and working in unison. He couldn’t help wondering if his mom and dad had felt this same kind of connection during their many years of marriage. It was strange how he could suddenly remember them finishing each other’s sentences, knowing when the other needed something, and the aching loneliness they felt when they were apart.
He briefly glanced at Orion and Jenny where they stood wa
