Chapter 44
Chapter
Forty-Four
W hile Nemeth sleeps off the pain, I try to stay busy. It’s a warm day so I set the fire in the kitchens and watch as my sister’s letter burns. I feel nothing but anger towards her. Anger and a hint of resentment. She’s telling me I’m a coward? Asking me to put my kingdom first? Haven’t I done that by my presence here in this tower? Aren’t I giving the next seven years to my dragon-shite-loving kingdom?
Well, they get no more than that from me.
I set my potion’s ingredients to boil over the fire and then head for the doors. Curiosity—and a little worry—drive me to go and stand in front of them. The knives I’ve wedged into the doorjambs remain in place, the ropes around the handles tight. I’ve brought a broom with me and shove the long handle of it through the metal of the door handles to act as a bar. It doesn’t feel like enough, though. Even now, I can feel a hint of air blow in at the hinges and light leaks in from the tiniest cracks.
Pressing my ear to the door, I wait to hear the sound of voices, of more men coming back to attack the tower. It’s quiet outside, but that doesn’t mean someone won’t return again. If they come back with enough men, no doors in the world will stop them. This is merely a stopgap, and not much of one. Without the bricks on the other side, the tower feels open and oddly vulnerable. Anyone could get in.
I could unblock the door and leave at any time.
I put my hand on the wood. It feels warm and pleasant and not nearly solid enough. To think that the first week I was here, I was absolutely frantic to get out. That I begged Balon to remove the bricks from the doors and save me.
I could walk out right now, a year later…and I won’t.
Not because I want to stay for the good of Lios. But because Nemeth is here and I want to be with him.
After I give myself my injection and clean up the kitchens, I head upstairs. Nemeth is sprawled in bed, asleep, his big, thick legs taking up the majority of the mattress. I watch him for a moment, then set the lamp across the room and tap it once to dim it. I want to be able to see what I’m doing. Gathering my skirts, I slip off my shoes and crawl into bed next to Nemeth. I carefully avoid his wing, easing the blankets down his hips. By the gods, he’s so beautiful. How did I think he was monstrous when I first saw him? He’s nothing but thick slabs of dark grey muscle, and the strength in his body calls out to me, begging to be appreciated.
Lucky for him, I know just how to appreciate a good-looking body.
I lean over him and kiss his chest. I tell myself that he should probably wake up and eat dinner. That I need to check his wound. They feel like excuses, because in all reality, I just want to touch him. I want to show him that I’m with him.
That I’ve made up my mind to be his mate.
I press another kiss to a strong pectoral. He’s remained in excellent shape despite the fact that we’re trapped in here, and I suspect a lot of it is due to the fact that he performs his exercises daily, stretching and maneuvering, as well as carrying heavy supplies up and down the stairs constantly. I appreciate his strength, and I certainly appreciate the muscles it builds. I’ve always been a soft creature, coddled by my nurses, and when Erynne was out riding horses, I was told to sit by the fire with a blanket. I’ve always felt a little weak compared to my sister, but Nemeth doesn’t make me feel like a problem. He makes me feel like I’m someone to be cherished, to be cosseted and taken care of. That he appreciates me despite my shortcomings.
Well, I do have a few talents, and I plan on showing them to him.
I kiss lower down his chest, hovering over his navel.
He makes a low sound in his throat, his big frame shifting on the bed.
My hands go to his belt and I tug at it, loosening the buckle and then pulling it free. Without the belt, his kilt falls from his hips, revealing the wrap he wears over his groin. After watching him dress, I know that a tug in the right spot will pull everything undone, and I waste no time in unwrapping him from his clothes, like a feast day present.
And then he’s naked, sprawled underneath me. His cock rests against his thigh, growing harder as I gaze down at him. I see the ridge at the base of his cock that will become his knot, and the pointed tip of his shaft. Gods, he’s pretty. I sigh happily at the sight of him, and his cock twitches at the sound.
“Candra?” He sounds fuzzy and confused.
“I made dinner,” I tell him, lowering my head to kiss the flat plane below his navel. His cock stirs again, almost brushing my face. “And I wanted to wake you up with your reward…unless you want me to stop.”
He rolls fully onto his back, his strangely bent legs spreading ever so slightly to invite me in. “I am no fool.”
“Mmm.” I grip his shaft in my hand and skim my fingers over him, loving the way he strains against my touch. He’s fully erect now, the head of his cock flushed and inviting. “I’ve also been doing some thinking.”
Nemeth’s breath catches as I give the head of his cock a lick. His claws fist into the blankets, digging at the material.
I suppose that’s a decent an answer as any. He’s listening, that’s for certain. I lick a stripe down the side of his shaft, and sigh with pleasure at the feel of his hot, turgid length in my grip. There’s something so delightful about an erect cock that just begs to be squeezed and nibbled on. I love the feel of it, and I love his responses, too. Gripping the base of him, I rub the pad of my thumb against his knot, trying to get it to balloon. It feels hot and tight under my hand, but hasn’t yet descended. Fascinated, I work his cock with my tongue, trying to get the knot to extend. I tease his tip, dipping it into my mouth and slicking it with my saliva. A salty burst on my tongue tells me that he’s leaking pre-cum and I lap at him, making humming noises of appreciation as I do.
“You…” he groans, one enormous hand moving to the top of my head. It hesitates there, and when I suck harder on the tip of him, his hips jerk and he drives up into my mouth. “You…you were…thinking?”
Ah. Right. I run my tongue along the underside of the head. “I was. I was thinking that my answer is yes.”
He groans as I nibble down the underside of his shaft, nipping at his foreskin and then running my tongue over his tight sac. “For the life of me, Candra, I cannot remember the question.”
Grinning to myself, I trail my lips up to the head of his cock again and swirl my tongue around the crown. “Think very hard.”
“I cannot think at all…”
I give him a teasing lick. “Poor thing.”
He makes a choked sound, his claws tightening in my hair. “Candra…”
“Yeeees?”
“Your mouth…”
I give him a far more lascivious lick. “Mmmhmmm?”
“So good,” he breathes. “By all the gods…never felt anything so good.” His breath hitches when I close my mouth over the tip again, hollowing out my cheeks and sucking. “You…”
It’s so incredibly cute how flustered he is at me working his cock. His thoughts are utterly incoherent, his hips rising up from the bed as I bob my head down over his length, taking more into my mouth before drawing back with a noisy slurp and licking him once more. “Me what, love?”
“Perfect. So perfect.”
“So you want to come in my mouth, then?” I swirl my tongue around the head of his cock. “Or did you want to come on my face? Or my tits? You might enjoy that?—”
I can’t finish my statement because in the next moment, my mouth is full of his hot, silky release. I hum with approval, pleased to make him come so quickly. When his wing feels better, I can take my time with him. For now, it’s a quick tease with the promise of more. Making little soothing noises in my throat, I lick him clean, very aware that his gaze is locked on me as I do so.
Unable to resist, I give him one last kittenish lick before asking, “How are you feeling, love? I hated to wake you from your sleep but I thought we should check on your wing.” My lips curl into a teasing smile. “I thought this might be the best way to do so.”
“You…” Nemeth makes a strangled sound in his throat. He looks stunned.
I have to admit, I love seeing that expression on his face. “Me,” I agree, and press a kiss to the tapered head of his cock. “I said I’d suck your cock if you let me stitch you up, and really, we’re both coming out as winners in this bargain.” I lick him again, and I could swear his cock stirs, as if trying to harden in my grasp.
It makes me smile, and I glance up at Nemeth. He still looks dazed, but I can tell the worry is returning to his expression, the concern.
“Before you say that I shouldn’t have done this,” I quickly add, “I wanted to. And besides, it’s perfectly fine. I’m going to be your mate.” I sit up beside him on the bed. “So now I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
“You…what?” Those fascinating eyes blink at me.
“I said I’m going to be your mate. I’m not going to let worries over the future destroy my happiness for the next six years. Whatever happens outside, I’ll worry about that later. For now, I want to be happy, and I want to be with you.” I smile, but his dazed response isn’t giving me much to work with. Is he happy? Upset?
He just keeps staring at me as if I’ve grown another head.
I realize I’ve just sucked the strength right out of him, but a girl needs something to work with. “Have you changed your mind?”
Faster than I can blink, he grabs me and hauls me over him. “Never.” His gaze searches my face. “You mean it?”
I nod, feeling a little shy. I’ve never been a girl for commitment, but for him, I want to try. “I do.”
“Is this because I am wounded?”
“While that was terrifying, no, that’s not it.” It’s because my sister wants me to murder you and I realized I’m in love with you and my life would be empty without you. That’s why. But I can’t say any of that aloud. “You saved me at no thought to yourself earlier, and it made me realize how much I love you. I don’t want to spend the next six years depriving myself.” I lean over and kiss him. “I’ll be your mate if the offer still stands.”
He groans, wrapping his arms around me and hauling me down against his chest in a hug. Of course, with the angle of our bodies, it means that my breasts are in his face, and instead of pointing this out with embarrassment, Nemeth nuzzles them. He buries his face in my cleavage, and I gasp at the exciting prickle of awareness that courses through me. “Of course the offer stands. Just…say it again.”
“I’ll be your mate.”
One of those big fangs scrapes against the swell of my breast. “No, Candra. The other part.”
Oh. “The part where I said I love you?”
He gazes up at me. “Do you mean it?”
I nod, smiling shyly down at him. “I’m not all that familiar with love, so you might have to be patient with me.” Back at court, love is something that can be wielded against you by a lover or a gossip…or by my sister, who keeps trying to get me to kill Nemeth. I push thoughts of her away and cup Nemeth’s big, handsome face in my hands. “But I love you and I’m tired of saying no. I’m a girl that much prefers a good ‘yes.’” I wriggle my backside against him. “So…wanna have sex after I check out your wing?”
Nemeth runs his nose along the swell of my breast, sending skitters of pleasure through me. “Not until after we have the ceremony.”
“There’s a ceremony?” I pout.
“A Fellian ceremony,” he agrees. “On the night of the new moon.” He presses a kiss to the slope of my breast, and I’d give anything for him to tug my bodice down and take my nipple into his mouth in this moment. “Since we have no idea if the moon is rising, however, I’m inclined to say tomorrow is a good day.”
“Tomorrow,” I agree, though I’m throbbing with awareness between my thighs and I want this to be today. But I can wait for tomorrow. “Tomorrow, I’m yours.”
“All mine,” he agrees, and I love the covetous look on his face.