"What? How do you figure that?"
"Because we're making up the rules of this marriage as we go along and I called it first."
She didn't want to laugh. The situation was too serious and the proposal was too dangerous. There really wasn't one thing about the situation that was funny, except Storm and his quick wit.
"Made you laugh. Let's go."
"No! I'm serious. You're my new husband, not a lab rat. If he's right, then no harm done. If he's wrong, I'm not only without you and, let me repeat that, without you as in alone, widowed, by myself in a villa designed for two. Because you died for a dumb experiment. And, worse, I would be the one responsible for my own catastrophe."
"I take responsibility."
"You can't take responsibility. It's not yours to take. I'm not taking you into a pass."
Two hours later Storm and Litha emerged from a pass near the terrace of her favorite fish taco spot in Cabo. Storm never really understood what he was asking until he witnessed her knees buckle. She started sobbing.
"Baby, baby," he said holding her up, smoothing her hair and glaring at passers-by who stared at her. "You were really scared, huh?"
She pulled back and started punching him in the chest and stomach. "I told you that! You are the biggest dick who ever lived. I cannot believe I let you talk me into marrying you."
At that Storm started to laugh. "Um. I think that was you pursuing me. Shamelessly. Relentlessly."
"I hate you right now." He reached for her, but she stepped back. "I thought a big part of your appeal was your fearlessness. Right now I'm thinking fearlessness sucks it major. I should have picked somebody else."
"Who?" he demanded. "Name him. He's dead."
"This is not funny!"
"Well. It is kind of. But I wasn't being funny." He tried to grab her again with more success. "I'm deadly serious. Anybody else who touches you will wake to find himself on the other side of the shade line wishing he'd stayed home and kept his hands to himself."
"You know, I should leave you here and let you try to find a way home with no I.D., much less a passport."
"Aw, Litha..." He chuckled playfully, not believing for an instant that she would follow through on her threat. "...don't be mad. Who knew you had such a temper? And such a vindictive side."
She pulled out of his arms. "I could have lost you! Do you really not get that?"
She hissed, turned, and strode away purposefully toward a world-famous frozen margarita leaving him to catch up or rot in a Mexican jail.
He jogged up next to her and matched her stride, grinning, and looking mouth-wateringly good. Unfortunately.
"You know that was fun."
"It would be so much easier to stay mad at you if you weren't so..."
He caught her and pulled her to a stop in front of him as he wound his arms around her waist.
"So what?"
"So gorgeous," she admitted reluctantly.
The corners of his mouth lifted, but he gave her a teasing tilt of his jaw.
"Should I believe compliments coming from a woman who's half sex demon?" She huffed. He stared at her mouth for a second and lowered his voice. "If you stop beating up on me, I might give you a chance to show me what you got, Daughter-of-an-Incubus."
"That's very knightly of you, Sir Storm." The sarcasm was unmistakable.
He grinned. "I try."
At sunset, Storm and Litha walked between vine rows talking about what needed to be done to the vineyard. They had concentrated on outfitting the house the way they wanted it first. Now it was time to turn their attention toward the real reason for being there - growing grapes for wine.