Chapter 12
By the time we make it back to our wing, I can barely stand, my head viciously pounding. The wine helped with the ache there but the pressure there is unending.
Nueena promised to come to my room if anything had gone wrong with Viella’s mission. I will need to wait to find out all the details, but I can sleep tonight knowing she is safely back in Ellova.
I slip on a short sleep dress while Leon is in the bathing room. When he finds me again, he swiftly places me in bed, turning the crystal lights low. Relief cascades down me when my head descends onto the pillow, lessening the crown’s pressure. Leon climbs in next to me a moment later.
“May I help with your head?”
“Hmm, please.” Even with my eyes closed, I recognized the pop of the strawberry oil, that sweet smell whirling around me. He swirls it on each of my temples, the pain slowly dissolving ’til I can think clearly once more.
The scent is intoxicating, lightning going straight to my core. Our strawberry kiss in the garden burns in my memory after he made a mess between my thighs with his tongue.
Curiously I ask, “What does it taste like? The oil, I mean.”
I open my eyes to find him staring at me. Without looking away, he presses his finger to the opening of the bottle once more and delicately traces my lips with his glistening finger. First the top, then slowly down to the bottom, ’til he reluctantly retreats, his gaze hooded.
My own lust and longing are reflected back at me in his eyes.
The fluttering in my chest turns ravenous. The first night we met, I felt a pulling sensation I had never experienced before, a calling to the mortal man who had no interest in gems or gold but returned each month to my table just for a few words with me.
He corks the bottle and the urge to kiss him overtakes me.
I grab his collar, pulling him down to me.
His smiling lips meet mine. Leon’s tongue follows the same path his finger had moments before, sliding into my waiting mouth.
The oil is silky, mild with a light sweetness to it.
I’m greedy for the strawberry-tinted taste of him, our mouths moving together in dizzying devotion.
Leon slides down next to me without breaking our kiss. I cling to him, wrapping one leg around him to pull him closer, but it’s not enough. It's never enough. His strong hands navigate my body with a familiar touch, determined to memorize every curve.
The lust building in me is luminous, blinding me to every reason we shouldn’t do this.
I groan in protest when his lips leave mine, but it morphs into a moan as his rough attention seeks my neck, licks and sucks, his hand on my cheek. My eyes slowly shut, drowning in the sensation of him.
Smooth and velvety, he whispers into my ear, “You have a healer in your bed, Izadella. There are other ways I can make you feel better.” He laughs quietly at the shiver that rolls through me. “May I take that as a yes?”
“Y-yes.” I nod frantically, stammering.
Leon slides his leg over me ’til he sits on my thighs, knees on the bed so as to not put his full weight on me, and he pours more of the fragrant oil into his palm.
He rubs his hands together to heat it before he starts just above my chest. Slowly building pressure, he makes his way up to my shoulders and squeezes the knots of stress there.
His hands are blissful torture as they move up to my neck and back down again, releasing my twisted tendons in gentle waves.
He makes his way down my arms and back up, smoothing as he goes.
The distress I have experienced the last few days dissolves at his determined caress.
Leon’s hands are magical.
He knows just where to massage to elicit my moans of satisfaction, manipulating my body perfectly ’til I am boneless beneath him.
Hands softened by the velvety oil return to my shoulders, varying his compression of the tightness he finds there, sweeping back and forth.
The tension I’ve held at the top of my body has melted away, but a new type of it builds at my center, wet and aching.
I am a needy, whimpering mess when his soft lips return to my neck, but a healing hand slides down, lowering the fabric of my sleep dress.
Slowly, he kisses and teases my shoulder and chest in a new way.
I jolt, my eyes flashing open when my nipples gleam with a few drops of the strawberry oil, his tongue swirling around each one.
He caresses my other breast, his grasp firm.
He moans into the peaked bud, lavishing each one with peppered kisses and demanding sucks, his other hand gently pinching, rolling it between his fingers, sending pleasure rippling through me.
He moves to lie beside me once more. One hand seeks deeper down my body, running up and down my hips. I spread my legs open, begging for his touch to soothe the throbbing need within me. Pleasure builds and I draw the fabric up to my waist, out of his way.
I gasp, clinging to Leon’s arm. He drizzles the oil, anointing my center, strong fingers chasing the dripping liquid as it joins my own wetness. He slowly slides his finger up and down my slit, the ache blooming into sweet bliss.
“Leon!” I beg. “Please.”
He swallows the words, his lips finding mine again. His kiss is soft, gentle, while his fingers pick up speed. Exploring me, teasing me, driving me mad. His hard cock presses into the side of my thigh.
We moan into each other’s mouths when he slips one finger into me, thrusting and pumping. I lift my hips, meeting his plunging movement, his thumb circling my clit. His lips become my anchor as feverish bliss drowns me.
Ecstasy rises in overpowering waves, dragging me under.
My breaths come quicker and quicker. His tantalizing touch is divine, our kiss something closer to worship as he delicately slides in a second finger. His thumb keeps swirling around my sensitive clit while his fingers continue to pump into my pulsating core, searing him into my soul.
Leon keeps his rhythm with his hand, his lips returning to my breast, sucking the tender skin until I am bursting with pleasure.
The grind of my hips is frantic, demanding more from him.
I fracture completely with a broken gasp that draws his praise. “That’s it, my love. That’s it.” His fingers never stop their quest to claim every rivulet of my release. He keeps pumping in and out of me, that wicked thumb applying the perfect amount of pressure as it whorls around my clit.
We’re drunk on the afterglow, our kiss leisurely and sweet. His fingers slow, lazy, not leaving any part of me unexplored.
When I have finally caught my breath, his hand slips out of me.
He once again brings his glistening fingers up to my parted lips, tracing them twice.
His eyes widen when I open my mouth in invitation, my tongue sliding out for him.
Leon glides his two fingers in, and my lips circle around them, sucking the essence of my arousal.
He captures my lips with his for another demanding kiss, our ravenous mouths sliding together with the bright strawberry taste on my tongue.
We stay like that for a long time before he breaks our kiss, righting my nightwear and pulling the blankets over us.
I reach for his pants, but he brings my hand up to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “How is your head?”
Oh. The pain is gone, the lightness of my lingering orgasm replacing the pain.
“Much better. Thank you, Leon.” I kiss him again, letting my hands wander his body, but he stops me, closing himself around us and pulling me close. “Sleep, Strawberries.”
Safe in his arms, I do exactly as he says.
“Izzy, Izzy.”
I’m pulled from sleep by a giggly whisper in my ear.
When I finally open my eyes, I’m met with Viella’s smiling face as my sweet friend kneels beside my bed, hand reaching for mine.
A small crystal light floats above her shoulder.
The window beyond her shows a dark sky with dimming yellow and purple stars.
She is still dressed in a dark brown traveling cloak with the hood pulled over and a bag over her chest.
“We’re going to the temple! Tonight!” she says gleefully, practically bouncing when she says it.
My heart leaps for Lillian; I know she’s wanted this for so long. “Are you sure?” I hope she isn't offended by my words, but I need to ask them anyway.
“Oh yes, I’ve been asking for us to try again for decades. I need to fix my mistake. I will not be scared for a moment longer.”
I have dozens of more questions on the tip of my tongue, but Leon sits up behind me.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to intrude! Hello, Leon!”
He gives her a sleepy smile. “Hello. How did tonight go?”
“Oh, fine. Not a single problem. Mimi’s family is healthy once more and her mother was distributing all the provisions when I left. Your letter to Queen Erenia was placed in the mailbox.”
Jealousy slowly slithers around my gut. He wrote a letter to Grayden’s wife? Why? What does he need to say to her? What would be worth the risk?
“Thank you,” is all Leon says, smiling at Viella.
“Did you tell Nueena?” I ask, returning my attention to my giddy friend before me.
Viella nods enthusiastically with a dreamy expression on her face. She stands up and takes a step back to let me rise from bed, but we meet in the middle in a crushing hug. She’s shorter than I am, which is rare for a fae, and I squeeze her shoulders.
“Ellova open the gates to the temple.” I whisper the prayer into her golden curls as she nods, bouncing again.
“The temple will grant us entrance just as dawn breaks and we will find our Zemra stones.” When we break apart, she has tears in her eyes. “I can feel it! We’ve waited for a hundred years. I think that’s long enough,” she says, laughing.
“Yes, I think so too!”
“I saw Farren! He let out the cutest little annoyed chuff when he realized you weren’t with me, but he warmed up enough for some pets. He followed me for a while, but I think he realized I was headed back to the palace and scampered off. He’s such a sweet fox.”
A little bit of peace returns to me, knowing he is all right. “Thank you, Vi, thank you so much!”
I may need to find a way to bring him here, whether he likes it or not.
She pulls me into another short hug before heading to the door. “Next time you see me, I’ll be a bonded Zemra!” She giggles and blows me a kiss before closing the door with a soft click.
“I wrote a letter to Erenia, telling her the truth of the crown. Besides Lyrora, she is the only one I trust, and she needs to know where I am,” he explains and I’m relieved that he offers the truth freely to me without my needing to ask.
He knew I would wish to know but would feel I have no right to ask.
“What is she like?” I try to say it casually, as if I am speaking of the weather, but I only know two things about the downhearted princess: that she is as beautiful as she is cold.
“She is sharp, notices everything. Passionate and cunning, she is always a step ahead of you. Erenia and I spent countless hours in the library together, both looking for an escape from the Fasaile men for an hour or two. She has many wonderful ideas to change Adreania for the better, but Grayden ignores every one, the bastard.” He says the last words with such malice, but I cannot tell if they are on behalf of her or the oppressed people they shared a kingdom with.
“And the two of you never…” I let the words trail off and I immediately feel foolish for asking, turning my head away from him.
It shouldn’t matter. He never owed me loyalty, and still doesn’t, I realize with a stab to my chest.
Grayden will be locked in a dungeon soon and Erenia will be free of her horrible husband. Leon will return to Adreania with no attachment to me. Perhaps this is a pathway for them to be together. If they wish.
My thoughts betray me, and I suddenly see a vision so clearly, I break my own heart.
The two of them reading together in the Adreanian library; they’re curled together on a velvet lover’s couch, her head on his chest with a small smile I’ve never seen her wear, and his hand on her thigh.
Lost in the words but love found between them.
His warm hand slides across my cheek, taking my jaw in a surprisingly strong grasp and giving me no choice but to look at him, the night’s glow illuminating his eyes. He stares at me with such intensity, such longing.
“Never. There has only ever been you.” He kisses me softly under the moonlight, but when I lean in for longer kisses, he pulls me against him. “Rest.” He holds me ’til my thoughts dance somewhere between reality and sleep, dreamy visions of a soft life with Leon.