Placing my hand on the top of his head, I slowly combed his hair as I stared out the tinted one-way window. My clan was enjoying sharing our private backyard with the ambassadors. Every few minutes, one of my Circuli mates would glance my way as if they knew what was happening despite the wall between us.
Perhaps they did.
I hadn’t shielded their connections since they had woken up, fearing that cutting them off might impede their healing. I still wasn’t familiar enough with the mechanics of Circuli mental webs to know for sure.
I would rather be safe than sorry, and I needed a deep, unbreakable connection with all of my mates—we all did for now. I needed to know when they felt neglected or needed help as much as they needed to know about my problems.
“We have decided to give you two the space you need to discuss the future,”Xylo pathed, staring in my direction from his standpoint in the grass alongside Z’fir.“None of us missed how distant he became ever since he found out about the pregnancy. He thought that you would hate him like you did Zirene before he explained himself.”
“I would be foolish to hate him.”
“But it’s within your rights to be upset about the news,”Xylo countered.“You deserve to be angry and upset or to ask for space if you need it.”
“Neither of you was prepared for the future. You both asked about birth control but didn’t give your Oetsae the order to engage,”Vowels chimed in.“It’s not too late to—”
“No, I refuse,”I replied harshly.“The Fates have gifted us with a daughter. I will not terminate the pregnancy because Kaede and I got carried away and didn’t actively prepare. This daughter means a lot to Kaede, and I will not take that away from him. But know this—and you can tell REI too—after this birth, do whatever you need to do to prevent any more pregnancies until I’ve had a discussion with my clan about having more children. I need a break. My clan needs a break. Adding to our responsibilities isn’t helping our stress.”
“Understood.”
“I will be the best father I can be,” Kaede swore, closing his eyes as he gave my stomach another kiss.
Then he smiled. “Anyone who tries to court you or my sisters will have to go through me because I refuse to accept any more fools into my family. Q is enough, and I thank the Stars that B doesn’t want any children.”
“You can’t say that!” I chuckled, shoving his shoulder. “What if she is attracted to a playful mate because she was surrounded by such a serious family?”
“I can be playful!” He wiped the remains of his tears from his cheeks and stood, giving me a smirk. “I am going to make sure you regret saying that by proving myself to you.”
Gripping my sides, he picked me up and spun me around. Laughter escaped my throat as he tossed me onto his bed and swiftly crossed the room, gathering a handful of black discs off his desk.
“Do you see these?” He chuckled sinisterly as he held one up for me to view. “These discs are made out of the same living material as my newest suit. They are adaptable restraints. When pressed against a body part, they will tightly encase it and seek either another living restraint or an inanimate object—such as a bedpost.”
“You wouldn’t.” I giggled, knowing full well what was about to happen—and happy he was having his way with me. “What have I done to deserve such punishment?”
“You were so tempting that males were willing to show off to grab your limited attention.” He pressed a disk onto one wrist, then the other. I felt the restraints come alive as they coiled around my wrists and drew my arms up the bedpost, leaving no slack for me to wriggle around. “I am going to remind you who you belong to and that you have enough males in your clan capable of pleasing you.”
“I belong to the six of you.” Glancing out the window, my eyes easily distinguished my clan from the crowd. All of my Circuli mates were staring at the window between us, each grinning as if they knew what was about to happen. “But who said I couldn’t have more?”
“You will eat those words.” Kaede leaned over and nipped my neck. “For that, you will now be blindfolded, and if you keep taunting me, I may cover your mouth. The only reason why I haven’t is that I want those unworthy males to hear your moans as I remind you how you became pregnant.”
“Do your worst.”
Smirking, he pressed a kiss on my forehead before placing his suitdisk on the bridge of my nose. Instantly my vision darkened as the black liquid cover wrapped around the top of my head.
Using my other senses, I tried to focus on my surroundings to determine what he would do. I felt the mattress lift. Hands gripped my top, ripping the fabric apart and pulling the cloth away before removing my bottoms one leg at a time. The soft sounds of fabric rustling told me they had been discarded onto the floor.
The apex of my legs was already damp and needy from his dominant display as I lay on the bed, naked and exposed, my legs wide open for him. Here I was, already aroused as I waited helpless and vulnerable to the lethal assassin I had grown to love.
I tried to sense where he was in the room, but the only thing I could hear was the shortness of my breath as I waited for him to strike. This was a game to him, to see how much I trusted him—and whether I would squirm or fight him.
I felt a sudden movement on the bed.
He had climbed onto the bed with me and settled between my legs. I said nothing and did not move as I waited for his plan of attack.
Suddenly, a pair of hands gripped my foot. He kissed the arch, rolling my ankle around as I tried to squirm against the ticklish sensation. He grabbed my foot harder as his forked tongue licked between my toes, going from my biggest to my smallest and back again. Just as I thought he would pull away, I felt my biggest toe sucked into his mouth. He rolled his tongue around the digit like he was trying to map it to his memory.
As I was about to protest, he released my toe with apopand lifted my foot higher. Suddenly, I felt his forked tongue on my ankle, moving slowly up to my knee as his hot breath fanned my over-sensitive skin. He continued to drag his tongue upwards, making a wet line of his saliva as he moved toward my center.
My breathing had become more erratic with anticipation of all the seductive things he had planned for me as he held me captive. I tried thrusting my core in his face, only to hear him laugh as he pulled away. After the third attempt, I growled in frustration, my core now wet from his teasing.
