Chapter 24
It was foolish, but Gramlithyn was surprised by the ease with which he was falling into friendship with Pyxlevir again.
The sense of awkwardness that had wrapped around him since his arrival in Vegas had dissipated thanks to some shared lunches, chaste kisses, warm hugs, and a date on a themed golf course.
Both man and zebra were ecstatic and immensely grateful for the second chance.
Their relationship wasn’t fully reminiscent of their childhood.
Gramlithyn supposed that was due to the attraction sizzling between them.
Although Gramlithyn was hard on himself, he wasn’t obtuse, and Pyxlevir’s flirting appeared genuine.
Pyxlevir didn’t merely react to Gramlithyn’s bumbled attempts at romance but eagerly sought opportunities to be the aggressor as well.
That meant Gramlithyn was jerking off with abandon the minute he closed himself into his room each night.
No question whose name was on his mind as he stroked himself to completion.
Even when Gramlithyn was miserable and convinced his matebond was determined to be demonically separated, Pyxlevir had remained the sexiest man alive to him.
“Daydreaming?” Pyxlevir asked as he reached in front of Gramlithyn to grab glasses from the dinner they’d finished with their roommates off the table.
“Just thinking about a beautiful elf with five shiny rings on his toes.”
“What a strange coincidence,” Pyxlevir exclaimed. “I have five on my feet.”
“Weird, I wonder if you know each other.”
Pyxlevir chuckled and headed for the kitchen. For a man a couple of inches above five feet, Pyxlevir moved like lightning. Gramlithyn plucked the last dishes off the table and followed the elf to the dishwasher.
“What are you up to tonight?” Dasan asked Gramlithyn as he helped himself to a beer.
“Pyx and I thought we could all watch a movie tonight,” Gramlithyn suggested.
“That sounds like fun, but Cris and I already promised Dasan we’d play that video game with him,” Colburn said.
Those words sprang the three men into motion. Crispin took several beers from the fridge, Dasan snagged two full bags of chips from the pantry, and Colburn reached over the hummingbird’s head for a plastic container he’d filled with different candies.
“Okay,” Pyxlevir said, his eyes darting from one roommate to another as they dashed through the kitchen. “What game are you playing? Maybe we could all play.”
“Enjoy your movie,” Dasan exclaimed as the three men jogged out of the kitchen.
“Well, that was fucking weird,” Gramlithyn said. “Guys, aren’t you going to answer Pyx?”
“It’s not one you guys like,” Colburn yelled. “See you later.”
The door to the twins’ room slammed. Pyxlevir’s eyes met Gramlithyn’s, and they were as confused as the hybrid felt.
“Guess they don’t want to watch a movie with us,” Gramlithyn drawled.
“Their loss, we’re fun.”
“Should we grab a snack?”
“We just finished dinner; I don’t know how any of them have room for candy and chips right now.”
Gramlithyn shrugged. “Maybe it’s different if you eat more than fruits, veggies, and bread like elves.”
“I guess we’ll never know. Want a beer?”
Instead of answering, Gramlithyn grabbed one for himself and another for Pyxlevir. “Let’s head to the living room and figure out what we want to watch.”
“I guess you’re going to veto porn,” Pyxlevir teased as he curled his legs under him on the sofa.
Gramlithyn made himself comfortable a few inches from Pyxlevir and handed his other half an open beer. “The last thing I want to do is be sitting here fondling myself when one of our roommates decides they need to make themselves an ice cream sundae or something.”
“It’d be impossible for you to fondle yourself unless you slapped my hands away.”
“Calm down or you’re going straight to your room to take a cold shower.”
“Fine, but if I do, I’m not getting dressed before I come back out here to watch a movie with you.”
“No running through the apartment in all your glorious nakedness, Pyx.”
“You’re right, we should watch a movie in your bedroom.”
“We haven’t started the movie and you’re already trying to strip,” Gramlithyn said with a rueful shake of his head. It was flattering and dangerous. “Get it together. Drink some of that beer to cool yourself off.”
“Okay, put a movie on.”
“What movie?”
“Gramlithyn, I don’t give a shit what movie it is. I’m here to hang out with you. Put one on or don’t. I’ll have a good time either way.”
“Want to skip the movie and talk?”
Pyxlevir nodded. “But put the television on so everyone thinks we’re out here making out or doing something inappropriate on the couch.”
“Do you think they took off to give us the space to do that?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be asking them that question in the morning.”
Gramlithyn picked up the remote and picked a channel at random. “You’re ruthless.”
“Yep, the world should fear me.”
“I definitely do,” Gramlithyn assured him, setting his beer on a nearby coaster. “Is your plan to someday dethrone your father as both the Valzadari Chieftain and the leader of Elven D’Vaire?”
“Never,” Pyxlevir said. “That’s the last thing I want. But you know how that goes. Elf chiefdoms follow bloodlines. If something were to happen to our parents, we’d have a big problem on our hands in addition to our immeasurable grief. I don’t think either of us wants to rule a tribe.”
“I’ve thought about it, and I think it’d skip me if something horrible happened to my parents…which, for the record, I definitely don’t want.”
“Gramlithyn, be nice to yourself.”
“No, listen. This isn’t me being a jerk to myself.
I’m a hybrid. As chill as the Verdanyth are, I don’t think they’d be comfortable with a shifter as their ruler.
That’s what I mean. I think Fate would select a new bloodline or some distant relative since my father was an only child.
No elf tribe has a hybrid as a Chieftain. ”
“Maybe it’s time they did.”
“Well, it damn well better not be me. I don’t want to be a Chieftain, and that goes double for taking over for my own father.”
“You’re right. I don’t want anything happening to Laconifel and Semira either, but it’s silly that no hybrid rules a tribe. The co-ruler of the dragons is half elven. Hybrids are too often undervalued. I hate that.”
Gramlithyn’s zebra whinnied with approval. “Does that mean you’d like me less if I were a regular old elf?”
“Probably, because you wouldn’t be the Gramlithyn I grew up with and am getting to know again.”
Gramlithyn surprised himself by saying, “I think my mom tried too hard to make me an elf growing up. I don’t think that occurred to me until right now.
Why do I blurt shit out to you? She never gave me a choice about how I’d honor being both a zebra and an elf.
My father was the Verdanyth Chieftain, and I needed to follow every tradition of our tribe.
I had beast training, but otherwise, my shifter side went ignored. ”
Pyxlevir rested a comforting hand on Gramlithyn’s knee.
“You know I won’t judge you and we can discuss anything.
Your mom was in an awkward position. She was the lone zebra in an elf tribe, but her mate is the leader.
It couldn’t have been easy for her in the beginning.
Maybe she still feels like she must fit in so she ensured the Chieftain’s son didn’t step out of line with tradition. ”
“Yet you’re not a hybrid, and your parents took no issue with you wearing zebra beads—or whatever other pattern struck your fancy—in your hair. You grew up acknowledging my zebra more publicly than I did.”
“True, but my father had already gone through being judged by his tribe for surviving the death of his mate, which shouldn’t theoretically be possible.”
“So, you’d think he’d want to be extra careful about ever stepping out of line again, but he didn’t. He let you make the choices that were right for you, regardless of ancient tradition.”
“My father told me I was an elf, so whatever I did was elven tradition.”
“I’m an elf, but I’m also not an elf. Frankly, it’s easier to be stared at for being a pointy-eared guy in jeans than being expected to adhere to a culture that represents only half of me.”
“Then I’m grateful that time away from Vegas gave you the freedom to discover that about yourself because what I want most is for you to love and believe in yourself.”
Indescribably moved by Pyxlevir’s words, Gramlithyn lifted his chin with his finger and pressed a soft kiss to his pliable mouth.
“Thank you, Pyx. Someone else would be pissed at me and find it impossible to see any positives in my decision to leave, but not you. I’ve asked myself from the beginning what I did to be picked for your mate, and I still don’t know how to answer 1that question.”
Pyxlevir grinned. “I bet you sometimes wondered why Fate was so cruel.”
Dropping his hand to Pyxlevir’s waist, Gramlithyn settled against the back of the couch and returned the elf’s smile. “Because I was afraid you’d hate me.”
“Why would I ever hate you? Even if I didn’t want to be your mate, that doesn’t mean I’d go immediately to dislike.”
“To have that spell cast, we have to be indifferent to one another. I’m capable of many things, but it’s difficult to imagine a time when I don’t have feelings for you.
It’s probably way too soon to be saying shit like that to you.
I should probably keep that to myself, yet here I am spilling my guts again. ”
“Why do you think I agreed to move in with you?”
Gramlithyn shrugged and rubbed his thumb over the layers of silk covering Pyxlevir.
“You were raised a traditional elf, and despite my choices, you weren’t going to throw your tribe’s traditions away.
It was important to you to either make this work or walk away without a stain on your conscience.
Which is fair. Better than I deserve, especially if you consider that I basically told you we had to live together to dissolve our matebond.
I have to be honest. That was a fucking lie.
This is going to be hard to believe since I ignored you for a month after moving in here, but my goal was to convince you to give me a real chance.
The one thing I’ve never wanted was to have our matebond dissolved.
I’m sorry if that’s too much to hear or if it’s stupid to admit that now. ”
Pyxlevir scooted closer to Gramlithyn and caressed his cheek.
“Thank you for telling me that. I moved in hoping we could rebuild our friendship. You were the mate I wanted then, even when I was afraid to ask Fate to make you my other half. I’ve had my doubts.
I can’t deny that. You left, and I wasn’t sure if you’d ever give me a fair shot.
But I wasn’t going to let you go without a fight.
I believed that all we needed was the time to talk and rebuild what we lost. That’s what I wanted.
Thankfully, it’s also exactly what I’m getting. ”
“I don’t deserve you. No one does.”
“You’re only saying that because I’m being nice right now.”
Gramlithyn wrapped Pyxlevir in his arms and grinned as the elf flung a leg over Gramlithyn’s hips. Their mouths met. Pyxlevir’s fingers tangled in Gramlithyn’s hair. The scent of carrots grew stronger, and Gramlithyn’s zebra snorted with pleasure. Gramlithyn’s heart thudded in his chest.
“Kiss me deeper,” Pyxlevir whispered, tilting his head slightly to the right.
Although Gramlithyn lacked experience, he went with instinct and slid his tongue into Pyxlevir’s inviting mouth. His palms began to sweat, dampening Pyxlevir’s silk tunic, but he barely noticed.
He swore electricity crackled between them as they explored and eagerly sought to please one another with little flicks and longer strokes of their tongues.
In the confines of his boxer-briefs, his dick hardened.
Gramlithyn ignored it. Later, in the comfort of his room, he could relive each kiss as he stroked himself.
For now, it was about Pyxlevir and his exquisite taste.
The perfect way he fit against Gramlithyn.
And the tiny moans escaping him as they made out.
In that moment, Gramlithyn promised himself, the zebra dancing in his head, and an unknowing Pyxlevir, that he’d dedicate himself to ensuring he and his mate never missed another opportunity to hold each other close.
The comfort of having Pyxlevir in his arms was as beautiful as the pleasure zinging through him. Gramlithyn could escape to Europe or scour every other corner of the globe, but there was no one else as sexy, kind, and endearingly mischievous as Pyxlevir.
For the first time since Gramlithyn learned Pyxlevir was his other half, he thanked Fate wholeheartedly for bringing the elf into his life and tying their souls together. The goddess had understood things far better than Gramlithyn ever had, and he was grateful she existed.
“I won’t fuck this up,” Gramlithyn muttered against Pyxlevir’s mouth.
“Trust me, you’re doing everything right,” Pyxlevir replied, then bit gently on Gramlithyn’s bottom lip. Pyxlevir hadn’t known what Gramlithyn had truly meant, but it was satisfying to know he was pleasing his mate.
Eager to lose himself to their kisses, Gramlithyn shut his brain off. Worrying could wait, but moments with his lips sealed to Pyxlevir’s weren’t to be missed or wasted.