I hesitated, suddenly unsure. Reaching up, I cupped hischeek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my hand with a sigh.
“Odelm. I didn’t ask you before I triggered our court bond. I didn’t give you a choice. Before we go any further, I need you to tell me you want this. That you want to have a permanent bond with me. That you wantme.”
A deep hunger filled Odelm’s eyes, thrilling me. An answering thrum of arousal heated my core. No one had ever looked at me as he was—as if he not only wanted me but needed me, as if I were the center of his world, and once I accepted his bonding spore, I would be forever his. That thought sent a shiver through me, reawakening needs I had long since buried.
“Selena.” His voice vibrated through me. “You have pulled me from my isolation, given me hope that it was possible to be accepted for who I am. Without being forced to sacrifice a part of me. What you have given me goes well beyond what I had ever envisioned possible for a nestmate and his nestqueen. I want nothing more than to give you my bonding spore—to experience our souls touching for the first time as we join. My wish is for you to fully accept me. You are more than I could have ever hoped for as my nestqueen.”
My mouth opened, then hung there, at a total loss for words. So many conflicting emotions. I wanted to weep with joy and hold him, show him how much his heartfelt confession meant. My core heated, my center throbbing with need at the thought of making him mine. Desire hit me at full force.
The latter won.
Stepping into him, my bronze hands a beautiful contrast to his violet scales as they traced up his chest and hooked around the back of his neck, I leaned into him. Rising on my tiptoes, tugging his head to mine, I slanted my lips across hisand kissed him. He stiffened for a moment, then slid his hands to my hips.
I pulled my head back to look up at him. Keeping contact with his pale green eyes, my hands skimmed back to his chest, and I pushed, guiding him to the low wall that ringed the center of the nestbed.
“How do we do this?” I purred.
Odelm looked uncertainly behind me at Xylo.
“With your pregnancy, I think the same position we used would be best,” Xylo replied.
I grinned wickedly and pushed against Odelm’s chest. “Sit.”
He returned his hungry gaze to me, a small smile playing about his lips as he unwrapped his tentacles from his torso. He sat, leaning against the cushioned wall, his legs stretched out before him.
I stood a moment, simply appreciating the stunning picture he made. His cool-violet-scaled body popped against the black sheets and dark blue pillows of the nestbed. The multi-hued violet speckling on his scales shimmered with iridescence under the lights. His arm and thigh blades—edged in a violet so pale, it was nearly white—looked dangerously lethal. His tentacles ombréd to the same almost-white violet at their tips that glistened as if wet.
A purr rumbled within me as I lowered myself onto his lap, legs on either side of his hips. I shifted on the seat formed by the smooth central part of his thigh fins, carefully avoiding the dangerous edges. The coolness from his scales did little to quench the heat radiating from me.
I could feel the weight of Xylo’s gaze on my back. The thought of him watching thrilled me, heightening my arousal. His support of Odelm as a nestbrother eased any fear of jealousy I’d had. The three of us were kindred spirits, and I basked in the warmth of their understanding and care.
Leaning forward, I caressed Odelm’s cheeks, looking into his heated green eyes. He cupped my buttocks, his hands kneading. His fingers brushed the crease between my thighs and my ass, sliding closer to my nether lips, heightening my awareness of the dripping hunger between my legs. My nipples peaked from arousal as they rubbed against his ridged scales. I moaned. They were so sensitive these days, the cool textured friction rode the edge of pain, driving me crazy.
My purrs intensified as my lips grazed his mouth slit, sliding across his delicate facial scales as I kissed him. The intimate touch awoke something deep within me, and I growled, sliding my hands into his violet ombre hair. I gripped, tugging hard at his anemone strands.
He gasped.
My tongue dove in, slipping past two rows of sharp teeth to tangle with his long, thin tongue. I growled again as I played my tongue along his, and he moaned. The three-fingered hand I’d seen at the end of his tongue stroked along mine, making me shiver. I felt it grasp the end of my tongue, holding it still as my mouth flooded with a sweet-salty essence that wreaked havoc on my senses.
I cried out as my tongue tingled, the sensation crawling in a wave of heat and sensation down my throat. He clutched my ass tighter as his tentacles slid around my thighs, drawing our pelvises closer together. His tentacles wrapped around my thighs, holding them apart, the tips leaving a tingling trail in their wake as the glistening moisture I’d seen earlier coated my skin.
I closed my eyes, breathing hard as I felt all four tips reach my nether lips. They traced my folds, spreading both my own wetness and his intoxicating essence. As the tingling spread through my center, Odelm moaned.
I opened my eyes as his tongue released mine. He leaned his head back against the cushioned wall, his breathing harsh,his eyes closed. I slid my hands down his neck to grip his shoulders.
Unable to resist, I leaned forward to trace his neck with my lips, trailing kisses along his shoulder, then back to the tender spot where his neck and shoulder joined. My arousal peaked, and I ached to bite him. I controlled my impulse, instead kissing the underside of his jaw.
Odelm groaned in response. His tentacles moved faster along my nether lips as his hands kneaded my buttocks aggressively.
I writhed against him, nibbling back down the side of his neck. Odelm’s whole body jerked, and his pale green eyes flew open, heavy-lidded as he watched my teeth tracing the side of his neck.
His tentacles slid away from my center, once more wrapping around my thighs, and I whined in protest. He shifted beneath me, and I felt something new rubbing against me.
Two smaller, thinner tentacles writhed against my center as if seeking entrance. My eyes fluttered closed as one of them entered me. I moaned as it pushed deeper, rubbing against my walls as if searching for the end. The sensations felt oddly erotic. Its coolness compared to my burning heat enabled me to feel every spot it touched in exquisite detail. It was smooth and sleek, different than anything I had felt before. Once it hit the end of my tunnel, it stilled though the other small tentacle continued to writhe against my nether lips, occasionally brushing against my clit.
I whined again in protest and confusion.
Before I even thought to move, the reason his questing appendage had stilled became clear. The second smaller, thinner tentacle slid south, coating itself in our wet arousal. It stilled right outside my rosebud as Odelm sensed the spike in my fear when I realized where it was going. I stiffened against him and prepared to pull away.
