Hope started to swell in my chest as they continued their list of requirements. I’d never considered marriage before, mostly because I was too busy avoiding the idea of marrying a woman. But with Uttin? I could perhaps agree to that. If he did.
UTTIN
I should have known the moment I confessed my feelings to my mother she would do anything in her power to see me happy. She’d been pestering me to settle down for ages. If she saw an opportunity, she was going to take it.
That she was ballsy enough to approach a queen of a foreign nation shouldn’t have surprised me either. It didn’t surprise me that she was persuasive enough to pull it off, though. She was the matriarch of Clan Urthazrak because despite Bren’s position, most of the clan looked to my mother for advice. My father always bragged about that.
I itched to look at Zakai and understand his feelings on the matter. Did he wish to stay with me? Was pinning an alliance on our marriage as good a thing to him as it was to me? Or was I forcing him to stay because I imagined he didn’t want to go?
My mother seemed to know what I was thinking because she smiled softly at me. “We will allow the two of you to discuss it. I have invited Queen Raiza to sit by the communal fire and get to know the clan. I will act as translator.”
Standing because it was ingrained in me to do so, I offered them both a hand to help them rise, blinking rapidly when the queen patted my cheek affectionately as she passed. The king had been with Orthorr when I went to speak with him, so Zakai and I were now alone. A silence fell over us as they left. Zakaihadn’t moved from his place on the cushion, his gaze avoiding mine.
“Tavi…” I began, my heart aching with the fear that I could still lose him. Unless I could convince him to accept this life, which I knew was nowhere near as extravagant as his life in the palace, he would be taken from me.
When he looked up at me, I worried I imagined the hope in his eyes. Moving to kneel in front of him, I cupped his cheek like I had since we became intimate. “I will not force you. You deserve the life you want. But…”
“But what?” he whispered, shifting to his knees.
We were inching toward each other, and his gaze was locked on my mouth, like he wished to see the words formed on my lips.
“Stay. I wish for you to stay. Not only for an alliance, but for me. I?—”
He cut me off, throwing himself at me and fusing his lips to mine. He’d launched himself with such force that he knocked me onto my back. I groaned into the kiss, fisting his hair as I took over. A full-body shiver wracked him, and he mewled as I tugged a little. My sweet prince liked a little manhandling. It was a good thing because once I started with him, I lost my head a little.
Before things could get out of hand, I pulled him away, whispering against his lips. “I need your words, tavi. Tell me what you want.”
“I want to stay. I want you.”
Relief and pride hit me at once, leaving me dizzy. I yanked Zakai back to me, kissing him fiercely. He responded much the same, fingers digging into my hair, tongue tangling with mine. I wanted more than anything to roll him beneath me and strip his clothes off, but I doubted our mothers would wait that long for our answer. It would have to wait.
Zakai did not agree. He tugged at my legwear demandingly, arching his back when I pulled his wrists above his head. Ichuckled against his lips, nipping at him and drawing a gasp from him.
“Our mothers will return soon, kolrav. You do not wish them to see us in such a state, do you?”
He growled, still not used to not getting his way. As my bondmate, I would do my best to give him whatever he wanted, but admitting that I intended to spoil him seemed like a bad idea. It was better to let him figure it out himself.
Sure enough, our families were waiting after we came out of the receiving tent. My mother’s eyes lit up when she saw our entwined hands, and when we moved to join them, she demanded, “Well?”
“We accept your proposal.”
She tittered, waving her hand at me. “It’s not my proposal that you need to worry about, son of mine. Apparently, in Al Nuzem, the proposal is a grand thing. You have work to do.”
Zakai hummed, a slow grin overtaking his face. “I get the feeling I’m going to like your mother,” he said, crossing a hand at his waist and bowing low in the custom of Al Nuzem. “Greetings, my lady. I’m grateful to you and my mother for this opportunity.”
When he straightened and noticed my stunned expression, he frowned. “What?”
“You can be polite? Since when?”
Both our mothers let out startled laughs, while Zakai looked mortified. Mortified and indignant. “You’re gonna get it for that!”
I grinned wickedly, releasing my hold on his hand to beckon him. “Show me what you’ve got, tavi.”
He lunged at me, but I saw it coming. Dipping low enough that his stomach hit my shoulder, I tossed him over it, holding him like a sack of potatoes. He squawked in protest, legs kicking until I binded my arms around his legs to still him.
“Uttin!”
Chuckling, I asked in my most bored tone, “Yes?”
