CHAPTER 39 #3
“My skin may get a bit darker brown, but it doesn’t turn pink or red, and it would take a lot more sun exposure for my burn to turn painful,” he replied patiently.
“That is good,” Miravel declared. “Andie, you should darken your skin like Leo’s so you do not burn.”
“Ah, sadly I can’t change color at will. It’s a good idea, though.” Leo and I both had a good laugh.
Leo looked at a few of the bracelets and selected two for his partners. “The color of these stones is very unusual,” he said. “I think they will like these.”
“Good choice,” I said, smiling. He seemed to be having a good time, and I was glad. We went to a few more shops, and Leo picked out a few more souvenirs. Everyone was as fascinated with him as Miravel was. A few asked if he was my new mate, and I laughed and said no.
“You’re going to be the subject of gossip for weeks.” I told Leo. “We rarely see new people here.”
When we returned home, I found Andokar waiting. “Blessings upon your house and all who dwell within, Andie. You left your vehicle at the Palace, so I drove it here,” he said.
“That’s so kind, thank you!” I said. “Would you like to come in and have some Oonag?” I asked.
“No, but thank you for the offer. I have duties at the Palace.” He gave Leo a hard look and then looked back at me. “Is this male staying here?” he asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no, he is just visiting,” I said primly. “I’ll take the car and drive him back after dinner.” I said.
I swear, Andokar growled at Leo. Leo merely raised an eyebrow, even though Andokar was several inches taller. “She belongs to another,” Andokar directed at him.
“Bullshit,” said Leo. “She belongs to herself.”
Andokar huffed and looked back at me. “I expect to see you this evening.”
“What I do is my business, Andokar, not yours.” I practically hissed at him.
“I protect the royal family. That includes you,” he shot back.
I opened the door to my cottage and practically shoved Leo inside. “Goodbye, Andokar,” I said and slammed the door. “Jerk,” I muttered under my breath.
Leo gave me a moment to collect myself, then headed to the kitchen. “So I feel like this is an overdue conversation,” he began. “How exactly did King Akapa adopt you into his household? Don’t think I missed him calling you his son’s ‘reluctant mate’ at the party.”
“Yeah, that’s a long story.”
“Well, I’ve got time. Sounds like the perfect dinnertime conversation.
” I was considerably cheered by my new menu selections, so I told Leo the abbreviated version of my kidnapping and arrival on Ptekennan over a melt-in-your-mouth ribeye, baked potato, and side salad.
I was so thrilled with my meal I barely flinched when I told him about the assault and subsequent trial, living at Dakleth’s house, Miravel’s mating.
I held nothing back. For once, thinking about the entire ordeal didn’t bring me to tears. I must be finally healing, I thought.
Leo asked questions, and then he was quiet for several minutes. “What are you thinking?” I asked.
“What happened to you was so awful,” he said.
“Yeah, but I’m getting better.”
“I’m glad,” he smiled at me. “I know it’s wrong to center this on me, but I keep thinking about the Prince.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
You know how I told you about Kina?” he asked.
“Yes…”
“Andie, I was really messed up afterwards. I thought we were in a consensual relationship, you know? And then I found out that she didn’t know how to consent.
She just let me have sex with her because I asked, and she couldn’t say no.
There’s a part of me that thinks of myself as a rapist. It was a really hard thing for me to work through.
I still have a hard time with it. I obviously stopped everything with Kina once I found out, and I haven’t slept with any of the other women.
Thank God I’m bi, so I don’t mind being with men.
My partners are great, but they don’t understand why I still get upset with them when they take a female partner.
I can’t imagine how awful that assault was for you.
I’m just sick that it happened. But I can’t help but sympathize with Prince Dakleth, because I do understand how it feels from his side.
It sounds like he feels pretty bad about what he did. ”
“He does. I know he does. He’s begged for my forgiveness and all that. I’m still working on it, honestly. It’s one thing to know intellectually that he never would have done what he did if he knew I didn’t consent. But when I’m in his physical presence, my body still sometimes locks up.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Telling his father that you were ok with him getting out of prison is a pretty big deal. And I saw you stand your ground with him this morning. I’m sure seeing him at the family events isn’t easy. You’re a badass, huera.”
“Yes, I am,” I giggled. “Don’t you forget it!”
“Never!” he chuckled and pulled me in for another hug.
“And forgive yourself for what happened with Kina. You never would have slept with her if you didn’t think she was good with it. You stopped once you knew the real deal. You’re a good person, Leo.”
“Thanks, Andie,” he said quietly. “I needed to hear that. And when you’re ready, I think your Prince Dakleth does, too.”
Dakleth
My mate returned late in the evening to the Palace, blasted human male still in tow. I found them in the newly refurbished concert room, sitting side by side on the piano bench as they played together. Their sides were pressed against one another, and I suppressed a growl as I approached.
“Greetings, Dakleth,” Andie said, not looking up from the keys as she played. “Blessings upon your house and all who dwell within.”
“Thank you, mate. That blessing should include you.” After all, my mate should dwell in my house, I thought.
Andie stopped playing and looked up, tilting her head at me, but she did not respond. “I think it’s time for me to head on up to bed,” the male at her side said.
“Good night, brighteyes.”
“Night, Leo,” she turned and smiled at him before turning solemnly back to me. We were quiet for a minute, both at a loss for words, and how to navigate our time together.
“Would you like to learn to play something with me?” she finally asked. I nodded, and she indicated for me to sit on her left side. “Touch this key with your left hand, this finger,” she held up her pointer finger and touched a key. I pressed on it it made a sound.
“Now you’re going to play a chord - that’s three notes at once - with your right hand.
” She leaned over and played three notes.
I got it wrong, and she touched my hand and placed my fingers on the right keys.
It was the first time she had touched me of her own volition, and I stayed perfectly still, trying not to scare her.
Meanwhile, my hearts were pounding wildly at her proximity, and my nostrils were flooded with her sweet scent.
I felt a stirring down below and prayed that my cock would not respond and would stay in its pocket.
I imagined Kashtinela swiftly kicking me in the balls. There, crisis averted.
“Play that note with your left hand twice, then the chord with your right hand twice,” she said.
I did that, and she smiled. “Very good! Keep doing that in this rhythm.” She did the same on some higher notes, and I matched her while playing.
“Now you’re going to do the same thing, but on some different notes.
” She demonstrated on a few notes lower, and I awkwardly did the same.
“Good, let’s practice that,” she said. After a few times when I stopped flubbing the chord, she said, “Now we put it together.”
Two notes, left hand. Chord on right, twice.
Left hand lower note twice. Right lower chord twice.
“Excellent!” Her praise made my skin shiver.
“Now a higher chord,” she said. Then one final lower note and chord.
Left finger, right chord, left finger, right chord, left finger, right chord.
We practiced a number of times. I was finding it boring, but would never tell her so.
She smiled and said, “You keep playing that, and I’m going to play the melody line.” I had no idea what she talked about, but I played the sequence, somewhat stiltedly, yet again. She started playing a melody with her right hand on higher notes. I stopped, confused.
“I know, it’s hard not to get distracted,” she said. “You have to concentrate on your part without getting lost in mine. Let’s try again.”
I restarted, and she jumped in with her melody line. This time we played through the whole thing. I did get lost once and had to restart, but she was able to adjust. At the end, she smiled.
“You did great! Excellent for your first time playing,” she said. “That song is called Heart and Soul. It’s a very popular piano duet.”
“You play so smoothly,” I told her.
“Years of practice,” she said.
“Thank you for teaching me,” I said.
“You’re welcome! You’re a good student.”
We sat in awkward silence for a moment. “I do not like Leo. I do not trust his intentions towards you,” I confessed.
“Yeah, I got that,” Andie said. “Listen, you and I need to talk. Really talk. And I think I’m finally ready. But not now. I’m tired, and I need to drive home. I promised your Dad and Kashtinela a piano concert tomorrow, so I’ll be back for that at tenth hour. How about you and I talk after that?”
“As you wish, Andie. I look forward to it,” I told her.
She pushed back on the bench and stood up. “You often embrace that male,” I said.
“It’s called a hug. It’s a friendly gesture between humans,” she said. “We are a touchy people.”
“May I have a hug? I am curious what it is like.”
She hesitated, then nodded. I opened my arms as I had seen the human male do, and she stepped cautiously inside.
She was short, the top of her head coming midway to my chest. I bent down and placed my chin on top of her head the way I had seen the human do, and wrapped two arms around her shoulders and two around her waist. She wrapped her arms under my wings, and my skin reveled in the contact.
I had never embraced someone like this before.
It was warm and wonderful. The scent of her hair was in my nostrils; the feeling of her face pressed against my chest was divine.
I felt that I was protecting her from the entire world, and it stirred my instincts.
She was mine. In this moment, in this embrace, I felt that to my core.
I could stay like this, with my mate in my arms, forever.
Andie
I hesitated when Dakleth asked me for a hug.
We hadn’t touched each other since “the incident,” and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but some unconscious part of me still saw him as my abuser.
Did I trust him enough for a hug? I had told him it was a casual, friendly gesture, but here it felt like it was… more.
But I was working on getting over this, through it, whatever. This would be, I don’t know, exposure therapy or something. And he was trying, he really was. He was super patient as I taught him the chords for Heart and Soul, even when I could see he was getting really bored.
So I nodded and stepped into his embrace, prepared for my body to lock up.
There was a moment, and then the hug was actually…
nice. His warmth enveloped me, and I surprised myself by melting into him.
His hug felt protective. It made me feel surprisingly safe.
I inhaled the leathery scent from his bare torso and closed my eyes. Oh wait, bare torso.
I squeezed him briefly and pulled back. He allowed it and stepped back to give me space.
“Thank you,” he said. “I think that is a lovely human tradition. I would like to embrace more often.”
I laughed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not sure how the Ptexari would react to you randomly hugging people.”
“I do not wish to hug anyone else. I will hug you. Whenever you will allow.”
Well, that was sweet, I guess. “Let’s take this one step at a time,” I said. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
“Of course,” he said, giving me a bit of a bow. “I will walk you to your vehicle.”
I allowed it. I knew he and the other Ptexari took my security very seriously, so it wasn’t worth arguing about.
He walked me to my car in the garage, and we said farewell.
On my way home, I thought about our hug.
How nice it was. Leo would leave in a few weeks, taking his hugs with him.
I wouldn’t mind hugging Dakleth more. I knew I’d been touch-starved and needed more physical contact.
But hugging him probably meant something more than friendship to the Prince, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.