“Be careful—they’re strong, and you’re not used to drinking much, I imagine.” Lilith warned, her face soft as she implored me to use caution.
“Oh, don’t mind our Lilith. Always with the mothering! She mothers her beasts so much, I think it just spills out on to us.” Eryx teased with a twinkle in his eye. Lilith just sighed long sufferingly, making us both laugh.
“What kind of beasts?” I inquired, tilting my head to the side as curiosity took over. “Besides horses, I know Calix mentioned those, and something about a menagerie?” I furrowed my brows, still unclear about what he meant.
“I’ll show you soon, how about that?” Lilith offered, looking excited at the thought, so I quickly agreed, wanting to know everything I could about this kingdom that would be my home—that I had once only dreamed of visiting.
Most of us had grabbed spots around the bar, but those who didn’t stood around and behind us. Even with their king among them, the people here mostly left him to his own devices, clearly used to his presence. I found it fascinating. There were a few who smiled and nodded or said hello, and he indulged every one of them who wished it with conversation for a moment.
I downed my second drink quickly and Ilta insisted I try the astroshots next. We got two each—little glasses full of a dark, glimmering liquid.
“Take it down all in one go. Ready?” Ilta prompted. She was so bubbly and happy, and with her blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she reminded me a bit of a doll that came to life. I nodded with a large smile I couldn’t contain, having more fun than I could ever remember having.
“Ready!” I confirmed, and we downed the first shot. I coughed as it settled, but quickly gulped down the second as well. Ilta and Priscilla both laughed at the grimace on my face, but Delia and Harpina began to drag us onto the dance floor. I stumbled off my chair thanks to a major head rush and steadied myself with Priscila’s help.
On the dance floor, we twirled around with each other, bodies moving to the beat. We laughed and smiled so hard my cheeks hurt as I spun round and round. When Eryx stepped in and took my hand, he led me in a swinging dance that left me giggling and out of breath.
“You look much happier than before.” He observed with a soft smile.
“I am.” I blinked in surprise at the truth of those words. Life had been wretched and awful and hard all my life, I never thought I’d see the day I laughed and danced with no worries in my mind. Like the world had lifted me up to the sky and let me stay there—a star rising amidst the darkness.
“I’m glad. I know things in Dusk were hard. No one deserves that, and I hope you can find happiness here.” Eryx said sincerely. There was something trustworthy and almost brotherly about him. Having cried all over him in his hawk form, and him being there for me in one of my darkest moments—I felt like we’d been friends forever, as opposed to just getting to know each other.
“I’m here if you ever need anything.” Eryx promised. “I hope you know that. You’re one of us now.” He spun me out with a smile until I was caught by a wall of muscle. I blinked up, seeing a flash of silvery white and purple, and knew immediately who I was pressed up against. His hand went to my lower back as I crashed into him, and he held me against him, not letting me go even once I was steady.
“Dance with me?” He purred, leaning down to speak into my ear.
“Yes, my King.” I shivered, aiming for a joking tone, but it came out too breathy and low—too accidentally seductive.
His eyes darkened as he held me against him and began to move. The beat of the music became sultry and entrancing, and I swayed against him, letting the music guide me. My arms came up around his neck, as his hands spanned my back and hips. We spun together; our bodies aligned perfectly, my ass brushing against his covered cock on more than one occasion. His fingers dug into my hips in response, a low growl rattling his chest that did nothing but excite me further.
I was too drawn to Calix to resist, and with so many drinks clouding any rational thought…any notions of holding back fizzled away. Feeling him against me, I was desperate to know what his body would feel like with nothing between us. I wanted to know his lips on mine—to find out if they were as pillowy soft as they looked. If his chest was as firm, if his abdomen was as defined, if his cock was as big as it felt against my backside—bigger than I’d ever considered possible.
He gripped my hips, pulling me further into the cradle of his body. My arms twined backward around his neck, and my fingers slipped into the soft strands of his moonglow hair. His arm bound around my waist and helped me grind against him. We both let out a breathy moan at the contact, the large length pressing against me a delightful tease.
“Fuck.” Calix growled deeply, the vibration shaking my own chest. “What are you doing to me?”
“I think the question is, what are you doing to me? Is this some Fae magic? Are you entrancing me?” I whispered back, my head tilting backwards onto his shoulder, looking up into his eyes. They were so intense, with blue, green, and pink overtaking and mixing with the purple until an aurora was looking back at me.
“If it is, you must be using it as well.” Calix protested, his hands gliding down my hips to my thighs, fingers running along the bare skin he found there before he inched his fingers back upwards, inching my skirt up with them. “Every time I’m near you, I find myself wanting nothing more than to get closer.”
I could certainly relate—even when we clashed in Dusk, I had fought the urge to get closer to him. Even when my mind told me to fight and rage, my body wanted something else entirely.
His hands continued their path upwards, skimming along my waist until they finally glanced off the bottom of my breasts. I inhaled sharply, wanting nothing more than for him to continue, to feel him cup my breasts in those large, rough warrior’s hands, to savor the feel of him squeezing and pinching. I whimpered at the thought, arousal flooding my meager little panties. I was thankful that my swaying meant I at least got some friction from the movement of my thighs.
I hadn’t taken Fae senses into consideration, however, and Calix growled as he scented my arousal. I moaned, shivering as his cock throbbed against my ass.
“Nox, help me.” Calix moaned, an agonized noise that sounded as if he was truly in pain. “You’re a temptress sent from the Otherworld, aren’t you?”
He spun me around, my front now pressed to his. He ran his hands over my thighs, sliding them sensuously up until he gripped the back of them, his fingers surely leaving imprints behind as he lifted me up. I snaked my legs around his hips—mydress hiking up to my hips with the movement—and as I settled against him, I felt his cock press up against me. My breath hitched—my panties were all but soaked through and useless, so only his pants provided any kind of buffer between us. The cloud leather pants he wore conformed so perfectly to his body that I could practically feel every bump and vein along his length.
Calix moved quickly, and a wall was suddenly at my back as he pressed me into it. The darkness of the bar shadowed us, preventing others from watching as he ground his hips against me like we were still dancing. His forehead came down on mine, moonglow hair falling around my face like a curtain, keeping us in our own little world.
“Calix—” I whined, lifting my hips upwards to meet his. He growled, his fingers digging hard into my hips as he helped me meet his thrusts.
“You smell so fucking good—like starlight, vanilla, and raspberries.” He moaned. “Wearing my colors, and this tiny little dress, grinding this luscious ass against me—tempting me beyond anything I’ve experienced in over four hundred years.”
Calix reached a hand up into my hair, gripping it tightly and pulling my head back to look into my eyes. I was panting, anticipation so thick it was like a third entity between us—on edge like I might fall any moment and never stop falling. The beat of the music pulsed around us, luring us both further into this spun-up state.
