“Yes, Wyn. Come.”
That was all it took. I screamed as waves of heat mixed with electricity ripped through me. My hole squeezed Monqilcolnen’s cock, and he roared right before his cock kicked and flooded my insides.
We panted, eyes still latched to each other. Monqilcolnen moved his hand from around me to rest his palm on my cheek. Unable to help myself, I rubbed my cheek on him, as close to scent marking him as I could come without his permission.
Monqilcolnen pulled me against him, and I cuddled close, trembling.
“I have you,” he whispered.
My eyes closed as sleep began to claim me. I wrapped my arms around Monqilcolnen, tightly holding him to me, as I promised myself to never let him go.
Chapter 30
Peace happens at night.
Wyn was curled against my chest, face pressed in the crook of my neck. His breathing had started to turn even, which alerted me to the fact he was going to fall asleep. I trailed my fingers over his back, relishing the feel of him in my arms. This was perfect. Everything with him was.
But this intimacy had to end; I needed to wake him up. Wyn had made it clear he didn’t spend the night after fucking—he didn’t like to and probably worried about people’s remarks. It shouldn’t be so, but I couldn’t change people’s perception of our relationship. In time, hopefully, everyone would see us for what we were: two people who cared about one another. Then again,they’d never seen me outside of my soul, so why should this be different?
I pressed gentle kisses to the top of his head, still feeling the tenderness of our fucking. It hadn’t been the rough fuck I’d anticipated, but it had been no less enjoyable. In some ways, the slow, softness of our fucking had felt more intimate and lovely than I ever thought possible.
“Wyn,” I muttered, and he rumbled. I nuzzled his head, chuckling. “Are you going to stay with me tonight or return to your berth?”
He shoved me onto my back, threw an arm over my waist, his wing following suit, and released a long breath.
One of my hands naturally rested on the curve of his lower spine right above his butt. My fingers played with the delicate scales around the base of his tail, and Wyn didn’t stir more than to coil his tail around mine.
“Wyn,” I tried again.
He growled, biting me. Hard. “Go to sleep, Monqilcolnen.”
I kissed the top of his head. “As you desire.”
It took only a handful of breaths before Wyn was deep asleep. I continued to stroke his back, careful of his malformed wing. I was unsure of how much Wyn would like me to touch it, and I loathed the thought of doing more damage to him or causing him the slightest pain, at least outside of sex.
I knew I shouldn’t treat him any different than I would any other bed partner—though he meant a great deal more to me than any before him—and yet, part of me wanted to. I had to actively fight against the urge. Wyn’s wing didn’t change him in the slightest. He was still him, and he was as capable as he was before I’d known of his wing. Yes, he couldn’t fly, so much of our world was inaccessible to him, which infuriated me and also shamed me.
Before this moment, I’d never thought nor cared about such things, and I should have. My attachment to Wyn shouldn’t be the sole reason I cared nor the sole reason I thought of such things.
“I am trying,” I whispered to him. “Please don’t leave me before I figure it out.”
Wyn pressed closer, his face tucking against me. I would like to think it was from my words, but it was probably due to the fact I was disturbing his sleep.
His other wing was covering me, as was his arm, and I smiled at the protective move. Generally, most drakcol preferred to have their wings spread during sleep and fucking. Seekers theorized the movement was a protective gesture for sleeping and copulating with your mate. Whether that was true or not didn’t matter in this moment. Wyn was guarding me even in his sleep, and I felt safe.
I kissed the top of his head. “You know what you bring to me? Peace. Actual peace.”
It was such a rarity in my life. I always felt I had to be alert at all times, maintaining my mask and keeping my calm or bracing myself against the random intuitions that sent me reeling, as well as people's expectations and unwanted comments. Never was I not trying to prove my worth and justify my place in the stars. But when I was with Wyn, such things vanished, and I felt whole. I felt… like me, just me.
Wrapping my wings around him, I held Wyn close and let sleep take me.
It was warm. So impossibly warm. I pressed closer, spreading my wings, and paused. I never slept with my wings free, whichpained them a great deal, but I hated the pitying looks, the side glances, or the offers to take me flying so I could feel what it was like to be a “real” drakcol. I wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest by them nor did I care what people thought, but it was easier for me not to deal with it. Perhaps I shouldn’t hide them from my berth mates for my own convenience. I would have to think on it.
I stretched my wings, and the normal ache was gone.
Something tugged me closer, and my eyes popped open. Monqilcolnen was beneath me, arms around me. Our tails were wrapped around each other, but unlike his loose hold, I was clutching his tail in a rather tight grip, as if I feared separation.
Never had I stayed the night with someone like this. I’d always left. After Monqilcolnen and I had… well, fucked, though that didn’t seem like the correct word for the tender exchange, I’d been exhausted. I remembered deciding to stay last night, and apparently I had. I stared down at the perfect man beneath me, his mouth slightly open as he breathed deeply in his sleep. He was so special, so utterly special.
