Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Gem
The sheets are cold against the backs of my thighs as I slide into them and wait while Gryffin uses the bathroom.
My heart races, and I feel twitchy for any number of reasons, but mostly because I’m spending the night in his bed.
It will be the first time since we admitted our feelings to one another, and I’m nervous as fuck.
We’ve been dancing around each other for so long, and if Colbie hadn’t revealed herself as our mate, I would probably pounce on him the minute he climbed in next to me, but I kind of like the idea of waiting so we can share our first time with her.
He walks out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a black pair of boxer briefs, and my mouth goes dry.
Sure, I’ve seen Gryffin like this before, but I’ve always tried to keep it friendly.
Now I can look at him like he’s the last drop of water in the desert, and I’m thirsty.
He’s all hard, sculpted muscle, and I can’t wait to feel him wrapped around me.
I drag my gaze down his body, past his brown nipples and rippling eight pack, to the large bulge behind the thin cotton of his underwear.
I know how he tastes and how he feels, having explored him with my mouth, but there are so many more things I want to do to him and for him to do to me. I want Colbie to be involved in it all.
I fist the sheets, nervous for the first time in a long while.
Is Gryff going to change his mind? I’ve wanted him for so long, the idea that he might reject me now is terrifying.
When we messed around at the ball, we didn’t know about Colbie, so does knowing she’s our mate change things for him?
He hasn’t tried to hide anything from her, and he’s been open, if a little reserved, with his affection in front of her and our family, so he isn’t trying to hide me like a dirty little secret, but I can’t help worrying.
He strides toward the bed, turning off the overhead light and leaving the bedside lamp on before sliding into the sheets next to me.
He tugs me down and wraps his delicious arms around me before placing a kiss on my lips.
I melt into him, his stubble scraping deliciously against my skin as his tongue explores my mouth.
I groan and rub my cock against his, allowing my hands to wander over his mostly naked body.
Both of us are breathing heavily when he finally pulls away.
“As much as I would love to keep exploring your delectable body,” he says, one of his hands cupping my ass and grinding me into him, “we need to get some sleep. It might be in short supply over the next few days, and I’d really like our mate to be with us for the first time.
” I can see he’s worried and bracing himself for my reaction, but I just smile and sigh with happiness before snuggling into his chest, his naked legs tangling with mine.
“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” I tell him, and I feel the tension in his body seep away. “I’ve dreamed of this for so long that a few more hours or days won’t hurt. I’m just happy to have you in my bed.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss against my head.
I chuckle. “Liar. I know both of us would like to be a couple of rooms over, but we’ll let Liam have his time. He’s waited for so long, and thankfully his bear seems to have settled down since they sealed the mating bond.”
“Hell, I saw the guy smile at least a dozen times today. I can’t remember the last time that happened,” Gryff says as my eyelids grow heavy.
I’m warm and comfortable and in the arms of the man I’ve wanted forever and never thought I could have.
All is right with the world, and when we finally get our mate between us, things are going to be explosive.
“Probably never,” I agree. “Can you believe the queen is our mate? I can’t believe how lucky we are.
She’s powerful, compassionate, and not concerned one bit about appearances or who we are.
It’s such a relief. I know fated mates are supposed to be the perfect complement for each partner, but it seems the goddess doesn’t always get it right.
Look at Councilor Mason. He cheats on his wife every opportunity he gets.
That’s not supposed to be how gifted mates work. ”
“Unfortunately gifted mates doesn’t always mean happiness. Some people are just rotten to the core, but I agree, Colbie is amazing, and I’m so happy to be fated to her. Hell, I was seriously worried we’d end up with Gianna or Isla Tideman.”
“Agreed. I’d rather have no mate than either of them, but we need to watch Colbie’s back.
They’ll both be gunning for her once they find out.
Even if they can’t harm her physically, they can do a lot of damage with their poisonous tongues, especially once they find out their parents aren’t going to be on the council anymore. ”
“Council? The Tideman family will be lucky if they aren’t sentenced to death for treason,” Gryffin snarls. “But yes, I’ll make sure my sisters are watching out for Gianna. She’s terrified of Gretchin, and Gracelin is no slouch with cutting comments and disdainful looks either.”
I scoff. “You don’t have to tell me, I’ve been on the wrong end of their tempers over the years, but they seem to be happy about you and me,” I say softly, and he gives me a squeeze.
“Of course. They have both been telling me to pull my head out of my ass for a long time. I just wish I would have listened sooner, because then I would have had you in my arms for much longer.”
My heart skips a beat at his confession, and I melt like a damn ice cream in the sun. I was so angry that he wouldn’t give in to the very obvious thing between us, but I now realize everything happens for a reason.
“Sleep well, Gem. When we wake up, we’ll be that much closer to sealing our bond with our mate,” Gryffin murmurs and rolls his hips, brushing his cock against mine again.
I groan with frustration, and he chuckles. I pull away and roll over so I don’t end up groping him in his sleep, but he just snuggles in, spooning me.
“That’s not helping,” I grumble as his hand strokes my abdomen, and I feel his rock-hard cock against my ass. My own cock jumps, and my balls tighten, but I grit my teeth and ignore the temptation. Once Colbie is between us, I can show both of them how amazing this will be.
Gryffin’s breathing evens out, and his arm gets heavier across my waist, but my mind continues to race as I try to figure out how we can find Colbie’s last mate.
Putting out a kingdom wide announcement would be dangerous.
If Colbie’s unknown final mate gets killed before they can seal their bond, then her chance of wearing the crown will disappear.
The sooner we can find Nox, the better. Even if they don’t seal the bond straight away, we are safer as a unit, but judging by Colbie’s blushes when she told us about him, I doubt there will be any delay.
Hell, he might seal it before all of us.
Then again, she was annoyed and hurt that he didn’t tell her he was a shifter.
If he rejects her, it’s going to be difficult to stop my phoenix from turning him to ash on the spot.
Hopefully the mating bond, which has now been triggered, will override his aversion to other shifters and help him see how being a part of our family is going to be the best thing for him.
I also wonder if he has a contact with the unicorn shifters, so that we don’t have to beg one of them to help us track the children. Shifter children are sacred, so it should override any animosity they have.
“Stop thinking so hard, I’m trying to sleep,” Gryffin grumbles behind me.
“Or do I need to distract you from everything that’s running through your mind?
” I stiffen as his hand drifts down my abdomen and slides into the top of my boxer briefs.
I thought he’d fallen asleep. Was I projecting all of my thoughts into his mind by accident?
Gryff wraps his hand around my cock, and all my troubled thoughts float out of my brain as I focus on how amazing his tight grip feels as he strokes my rigid length.
He nibbles my neck as he alternates between stroking my length and rubbing his thumb along the underside of my tip, using the fluid that is now steadily leaking from it to lubricate his caresses. I groan and push my ass back against his hard dick.
“Hold still or I’ll stop,” he commands, and I freeze.
“Please let me touch you too,” I implore, and for a moment, I think he’s going to reject me, but instead, he allows me to reach back and slide my hand into his underwear.
We stroke each other in tandem, my mind struggling to keep up a smooth motion when all the sensations of him finally touching me make my body tremble as my orgasm builds to a fiery peak.
His own breathing gets harsher, and his strokes falter a bit as I swirl my hand up and down his length, his precum hot against my palm.
“Your hand feels so good around my dick, and all I can think about is how you looked kneeling before me with my cock in your mouth. Such a good boy, pleasing me like that. I loved fucking your throat and seeing your eyes water. The only thing that would have been better was having Colbie at my feet as well, taking turns having me fuck her throat. If she was, I would have made you hold my cum in your mouth and feed it to her when I was spent.”
Gryffin is dirty as fuck, and his words and the images now planted in my brain have me moaning, my balls tightening.
I can’t hold back my orgasm any longer. I gasp, and cum erupts from the tip as Gryffin pumps my cock through my release.
I feel my own hand get coated in his sticky, hot fluid as he growls in my ear. “Such a perfect fucking boy.”
He pulls his hand from my boxer briefs and grabs my chin, his cum-covered grip like steel as he turns my head and kisses my mouth.