His body goes slack against the fur beneath him, and I collapse, brushing my lips along his chest as his heart tries to break free from beneath his sternum. My hair is splayed out in front of the fire. His fingers trace idle lines down the length of my spine as we catch our breath.
This is dangerous. Because I would give the male anything in this moment.
The second he shifts his hips, unsheathing himself from me, I realize just how vacant I’ve always been. More than the physical loss of him pitsmy stomach, and I push away every thought that would take me from this moment.
Maybe I should, but I don’t want to stop and ask about the feyn mysteries I was never taught. About the mark that bloomed on his body at our coupling, about what I myself felt when he entered me. Not tonight.
The pop of the fire lulls me, my skin still prickling with every rapturous release the male has driven from my body. I’m dozing off to the sound of his heartbeat, my ear resting on his chest, when his voice comes from the comfortable stillness of the night.
“Tell me that you will remain in A’kori with me.” Before I’ve fully understood his request he adds, “Permanently.”
I’m not sure if the flutter of my heart or the wrenching twist of my gut is more severe when his request finally falls into place within my mind. Why would he want such a thing? If I were the lady I claim to be, I would have plenty of reasons to stay at his request, but what does he gain by it?
At a loss for words, I simply nod, and he runs his fingers through my hair. I expect to struggle to find sleep, with the looming threat of the war and thoughts of Vos and her vengeance still at the forefront of my mind. But it isn’t those thoughts that weave into a hazy tangle as I drift off. It’s thoughts of Xeyvian, and an impossible life I could have lived with the male if I were another woman. A life I find I desperately want but will never have.
CHAPTER 32
THE A’KORI PALACE
Present Day
“Are you done pretending to sleep?” Xeyvian chuckles, and I curse myself for the twitch at the edges of my lips as I suppress a smile.
I don’t want to wake. I think I might like to just lay here forever. The fire is still warm against my back, his chest solid and comforting beneath my cheek. My head rises and falls in time with every deep breath he takes. I blink my eyes open. It’s still early, the sun just cresting the horizon with the fresh light of dawn.
The sheet he draped over us sometime in the night is now haphazardly woven through my legs, covering little more than my backside. I tilt my chin up until I can see the way his eyes roam over my curves appreciatively, my own eyes exploring the lines of a new bargain brandished on his skin. He smiles when he catches me looking at it, and the curve of his lips sends my stomach fluttering. The things the male can do to me with a simple smile.
“You are staying in A’kori with me.” He isn’t asking, but it isn’t exactly a command. “Say it.” Now,thatis a command, and I chastise myself for the way it makes me squeeze my thighs together.
I break from his gaze, taking in a lungful of his scent as I nuzzle into him, nipping at the rise of flesh on his chest. He inhales sharply, tensing beneath me as he winds my hair into his fist, and I smile up at him.
“I think I’d like a shower before we have this discussion.” My smile turns mischievous.
His jaw is tense when he releases me and I brace myself over him, one arm on either side of his torso. I might be enjoying this all too much when I ask, “Join me?”
That’s all it takes to set his eyes ablaze. I watch as every thought is stripped from his mind, replaced with only the desire I impart through my gaze.
Rising from the thick fur, I take his hand and lead him toward the washroom. My eyes snag on our reflection as we pass by the tall mirrors lining the washroom walls. Though the feyn were more accepting of my looks than the beauties I’d been raised with, the stark contrast of the male’s beauty and my own feels more evident than ever.
Maybe it’s the dip in my brow, maybe the falter of my step, but he rounds on me, pinching my chin between his fingers. He looks down at me with a reassuring smile when he says, “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on,mi’ajna. Never doubt it.”
I can’t help but return his smile, even if my own is forced. I’m sure the male who’s lived hundreds of years has seen his share of women far lovelier than I. He sweeps my legs out from under me, chuckling at the surprised squeak that vacates my lungs. He looks altogether too proud at the noise he’s garnered from me. When my feet smack against the floor under the overhead spigot, I dart out from under it before he can summon the water and drench my hair.
He turns the lever and steam curls in the air. He pours an oil into a small, hollow tube protruding from the wall and it sputters a hazy mist, making the room smell of crushed mint. Clearly, I could spend an entire mortal lifetime exploring the intricacies of the palace and still be in awe.
He’s too quick when he grips my arm and pulls me under the water. My protests lost in the stream overhead as it soaks my thick spirals. It’s clear he knew exactly what he was doing when I see the playful look in his eyes.
Who is this male? Where is the brooding general I’ve come to know?
Xeyvian lathers his hands with a thick cake of soap before spreading it across the planes of my body. His hands sweep across my back before his fingers drag out the tension locked in the muscles of my arms. The press of his fingers against my backside before they make their way down to my thighs and calves is intoxicating. He takes a knee in front of me, lifting my legs, one after the other, massaging the tight muscles he finds there before washing the soles of my feet.
Only when he’s thoroughly scoured and caressed every inch and aching muscle of mine does he take the soap to his own body. My hand shoots out, grasping his wrist to still his arm as I pry the sudsy cake from his fingers. I see the moment he realizes my intent, and I’m not sure why he shifts his weight apprehensively.
It dawns on me all too quickly, and I suppress a small swell of shame. While he has been clear about his intentions and eager to see to my desires, this is the first time I am offering him any form of pleasure that is entirely selfless.
His body might as well be made of stone for all the good I do when I try to work the knots and lifetimes of tension from his shoulders. Nevertheless, he shuts his eyes and leans his head back with a groan when I slowly work my way down his spine.
I debate skipping over the muscular globes of his backside. And decide that perhaps this act isn’t entirely selfless after all, when I begin to knead his firm ass, eyeing it appreciatively. My hands grace every line of the male’s form before I fall to my knees, intent on washing his feet as he had mine.
