“Why not?” I whined. “It's been weeks. I'm ready. I fucking see you! Now, I want to see you fucking me, Vex!”
Vexen burst out laughing, his beautiful face becoming even more handsome. As he bent back his head, a ray of sunshine hit him, bringing out the gold in his skin and reddish tones in his hair. I sighed again, wanting him so badly that I was tempted to just get naked and bend over. He wouldn't be able to resist a bare-ass lift, would he?
“Vex, is it?” he asked.
“Well, it's appropriate, isn't it?” I shot back. “You are the most vexing man I've ever met.”
“Ember,” Vexen said gently. “I want this to be perfect. I've waited so long for you.”
“Then why wait any longer?” I grabbed his thick ass and pulled. “We know I'm going to bond with you.”
“Do we?” He went serious again. “Do you love me?”
“Do you love me?” I shot back.
Vexen sighed and rolled away.
Because we both knew it was a deflection. I wanted Vexen. I craved him. I was going mad from my need for him. But I was still wrestling with my love for Ara, and that had put a hold on my heart. It was odd. I'd fallen in love with Keltyr, then fallen for Taroc soon after. No issues. But because I had lost Aranren, our love was different. It haunted me. And it kept me from loving Vexen.
“I'm getting there,” I whispered.
Vexen looked at me, hope in his eyes. He rolled onto his side. “I know, Ember. I feel it. But until you are there, I don't want to make love to you. Because it will only be making love for me.”
“Vexen,” I whispered. “Are you saying—”
“No,” he cut me off. “I'm not. I won't say it. But I don't have to, do I? You see me.” He laid his hand on my heart. “And I see you. I will wait, Ember.”
“Then I will try to be patient,Vex.”
Vexen laughed again, and as usual, it lightened my heart. A heart that I hoped would soon have him in it.
Chapter Two
“Vexen,” a male voice emerged from the shadows of the misty jungle.
Vex frowned in its direction and stood. “Rahu, is that you?”
A man with skin even darker than Vexen's and yellow eyes stepped out of the jungle and into our spot of sun. His eyes caught the light and glowed for a second before he ducked his head and held out his hand. “It's been a long time, cousin.”
“Yes, it has.” Vex shook the man's hand.
I stood up, looking from Vexen to his cousin, noting the difference in attire and attitude. Rahu was dressed in loose cotton dyed in the shades of the jungle—deep green, rich brown, and black. His hair was longer than Vexen's—to his waist, where Vex wore his to mid-back. He did wear the same braids at his temples to hold back his hair, but Rahu's braids were bound with strips of leather knotted around bits of bone. His boots were a patchwork of leather and laced to his knees, he had a dagger strapped to his hip, and odd symbols were tattooed on his forearms. Symbols similar to the ones in Vexen's tattoos.
“I come by to check on your place now and then,” Rahu said. “Just to make sure it's still standing and no animals havetaken up residence.” He grinned, showing bright white fangs. “I didn't expect to find you here.”
“I brought a friend.” Vexen gestured me over. “We needed to get away for a while.”
“A friend, eh? Do you always roll around in the grass with your friends?” Rahu started to smile, but then got a good look at me. His smile vanished.
Vexen's entire demeanor changed along with Rahu's. I had been coming forward to meet his cousin, but he flung out an arm and pushed me back as he slid between us. “He's a wraith lord, Rahu. And he's with me.”
“I don't give a fuck who he's with and there's no fucking way that he's a wraith lord. He's human. How dare you bring him into our village?!”
“Whoa!” I held up my hands. “The world is changing. The Emperor has adopted a human girl. We are not your enemies. We never were. Death Magic was used against.”
“Because your kind are too weak to protect yourself from it. You are without magic,” Rahu hissed. “It's an abomination against the Goddess.”
“Is that what you think?” I growled and stepped around Vex. “I happen to have met the Goddess, motherfucker. She loves me. She thinks I'm the key to ending the war. Oh, and one more thing.” I held up my hand, and it burst into flames. “I don't just have magic. I have all of them!” The fire hissed as water consumed it. “How's that for a weak human?”
