“It didn’t until the end when you pulled away.”
“My apologies,” Wyn whispered. “I didn’t do it to harm you, but rather to match our characters.”
“I know.”
“We don’t have to do it again.”
“No, I want to. I liked it,” I replied, burying my fingers in his hair. I clung to the silky strands and relished the light scent that hung about him. “I truly did, and I wish to do it again. I just don’t like you pulling away.”
Wyn stroked my cheek, and I drew him even closer. He said, “I won’t do that again. I don’t like it either.” He threw a leg over my thigh. “I much prefer to be close to you.”
A smile tugged on my lips. “Will you stay with me tonight?”
He pressed a lingering kiss to my chest. “Yes.”
I beamed, unable to contain my joy. I rolled on top of him and stared down at my perfect Wyn. He ran his fingertips over my back in light brushes from my shoulders to the round swell of my butt. I curled my tail around his, and Wyn coiled us tightly together. Gently, I pressed my lips to his, lingering there. The kiss didn’t lead anywhere, but it was intimate all the same. I nipped and licked, fully tasting him. My wings flared. I wanted to be with Wyn, as close as possible to him, never separating. If I had my way, I would never be away from him.
Chapter 34
Hello, I wasn't expecting this.
I ran a comb through my wet hair, which was already slick with oil. Monqilcolnen had insisted on me keeping some of my things in his quarters since our first encounter, doubling down once I’d agreed to sleep over some of the time. A part of me wanted to smirk. He’d wanted me since the beginning, and I was prideful of it. While his attraction to me seemed impossible, I did revel in it, and I refused to let it slip away. I would keep his gaze on me because I’d never experienced anything like it before, and I never wanted to have another look at me.
After I brushed every snarl out of my hair, I grabbed the oil for my scales. I was very conscientious of my hygiene routine. Also, I was taking full advantage of the water shower. The communalshowers attached to the berths were vibrations, not water, so while it disinfected me and knocked the dirt off, it was nothing like a water shower.
I slipped on my sleep pants and headed into the bedroom. Monqilcolnen wasn’t there, and I frowned. He was probably feeding Cincin again. Whenever she went to her bowl, he would put more food out for her. She was getting rather rotund. I was concerned she was too large. She was struggling to get on her tree, and her stomach was rather jiggly. I found it adorable, but I did wish her to be healthy. And it was our—Monqilcolnen’s responsibility to ensure she was healthy.
A cough sounded, and I frowned, looking around—no one else was there. My gaze caught on the screen across from the bed, and I froze. Jemtonkilsol was on the screen, staring at me. Monqilcolnen’s father was seeing me shirtless in his bedroom, which hit far harder after the last time we’d spoken.
I opened my mouth, but only a squeak came out. I had no words. None. What could even be said? No question about what we’d been doing remained. Jemtonkilsol had to know Monqilcolnen and I were together in some capacity, even if he wasn’t aware of us courting. And we were. We were possibly becoming what he’d wished us to be.
Prince Jemtonkilsol smiled. “Wyn. Good evening. I see you have made yourself comfortable in Monqilcolnen’s quarters.”
My tail coiled around my ankle, and my voice remained locked away. All I could do was cower and not meet his eyes, even though I’d done no wrong.
“Oh, Wyn, there’s no need, I assure you. I merely tease. I’m happy,” he said, “and I hope you are as well.”
“I am,” I replied, my voice barely audible.
“Then look like it instead of being close to joining the stars,” Jemtonkilsol remarked with a laugh. “It’s not even close to your time.”
I couldn’t even manage a smile. The ball of stress was too tight inside of me. I was afraid, if I was honest. I was terrified that somehow or for some reason Monqilcolnen’s father would reject me, even though he’d made it perfectly clear he wouldn’t. And yet… the fear remained. Losing Monqilcolnen wasn’t a possibility.
“Monqilcolnen opened the session before he darted off to appease his house goddess,” he said.
A frown immediately turned my lips down, and I looked toward the open door. “He needs to stop feeding her whenever she wants. I’m going to have to talk with him about it. Cincin is perfectly fine without being fed all the time.”
Another laugh sounded, and I glanced back at the screen, seeing someone new. They were close in height to Jemtonkilsol, at least on the screen, and they had rough features that were arranged in a neutral expression. Their scales were a lovely bright green with peeks of red and black mottled skin around them. Their golden hair was in a loose braid over their shoulder. My gaze locked on their eyes. There was no mistaking that look for anyone else. It was identical to one Monqilcolnen favored when he was amused. This had to be Monqilcolnen’s xapher.
“I’m Dilvonsil,” they said.
“I’m Wyn,” I offered, my voice still low.
“I’m aware.” They chuckled. “My mate has mentioned you, and Monqilcolnen never stops talking about you. Not ever. It’s always ‘Wyn this’ or ‘Wyn that.’ He never shuts up.”
“Xapher!” Monqilcolnen was suddenly in front of me, his wings out, shielding me from his parents’ gazes. “Enough.”
I peeked around Monqilcolnen to see his xapher raise an eyebrow, looking nearly identical to Monqilcolnen. I now knew where he’d learned the expression. They said, “That’s not the way to speak to me, and what I said was true. You do constantly speak of him to the point of nausea. If you hadn’t acted, I wasprepared to speak to him myself and arrange a mating between the two of you. It was getting rather ridiculous.”
