Chapter 23 Wen
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Wen
I woke up a few hours later with my body throbbing in a way that wasn’t quite painful but insistent. A low hum of need pulsed through me, manageable compared to the inferno from before. The heat was still there, just simmering instead of raging.
Mal was draped over me with one arm across my waist and one leg tangled with mine, his face buried in my neck as he breathed deeply in sleep. I was covered in sweat and felt sticky everywhere. Water sounded amazing. A bath sounded even better.
I carefully untangled myself from him, slipping out from under his arm and off the bed as quietly as possible.
The bathroom was through a door on the far side of the room.
I’d been using it for days now but I was still fascinated by their technology.
Sometimes things here felt medieval, like the torches and the lack of electricity.
But other things were surprisingly advanced.
The plumbing, for instance. They had hot running water through a system of pipes that I still didn’t fully understand.
I walked to the large stone tub and pushed the lever I’d learned controlled the water flow. Hot water began pouring from the spout with steam rising immediately.
I watched it fill while my brain tried to reconcile everything I’d seen in this realm. Magic had to be involved somehow. There was no other explanation.
The tub was nearly full when I felt arms wrap around me from behind. I jumped and gasped.
“Why did you leave me?” Mal’s voice was muffled against my hair and he sounded genuinely hurt. “I woke up and you were gone. Never do that again.”
I couldn’t help laughing at the kicked puppy tone. “I was just getting a bath. I’m ten feet away from the bed.”
“You were not there. That is too far.” He pulled me closer against him, possessive and needy in a way that was so unlike him. “I need you close.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“I am being a mated male whose wolf just claimed his mate for hours and does not want her out of sight.” He nuzzled into my neck and kissed the mark he’d left there. “Stay close. Please.”
My heart squeezed at seeing him this vulnerable. He was usually so composed and regal. This unguarded version of him was doing things to me.
“Get in with me,” I said softly.
He didn’t need to be told twice.
We climbed into the tub together, the hot water hitting my skin and easing the ache in my muscles right away. Mal pulled me onto his lap, positioning me so I straddled him, our faces close. His cock was already half-hard against my thigh under the water.
“Hi,” I whispered.
“Hi, little mate.” He smiled, that genuine smile that transformed his whole face. “How do you feel?”
“Sore. But good. The heat is still there but it’s manageable now.”
“It will come and go for another day or two. Less intense each time.” His hands ran up and down my sides in soothing strokes rather than demanding ones. “I will take care of you through all of it.”
“I know you will.”
We stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other as the frenzy from before faded into something calmer, more real. When he kissed me, it was gentle and soft, nothing like the desperate claiming, frantic hunger from earlier.
I sank into the kiss, tasting him, feeling his hands gentle on my back. The heat stirred in my core again, but it built slow, like a warm glow spreading through my pussy. I shifted on his lap, and his cock twitched, hardening fully against my folds.
“Wen,” he breathed against my mouth. “We do not have to...”
“I want to.” I kissed him again. “But slower this time. Gentle.”
“Gentle,” he agreed. “I can give you that, little mate. I can do gentle.”
He gripped my hips lightly, helping me lift up. I reached down under the water, guiding his thick cock to my entrance. I sank down slowly, the stretch making me gasp as his girth pushed apart my walls. Water sloshed around us as I took him all, bottoming out with his tip pressing deep inside.
“Fuck, yes,” I moaned softly, feeling so full, his cock throbbing in my heat. “You feel so good stretching me like this.”
We started moving together, no rush, just rocking our hips in a steady rhythm.
I rose up a little, then slid back down, his shaft dragging along my inner walls, hitting that delicious spot that sent sparks through me.
His hands stayed on my hips, guiding without forcing, thumbs rubbing circles on my skin.
His eyes locked on mine the whole time, gray now, clear and full of that raw love that hit me right in the chest. No red glow, just him, present and open.
“I love you,” he whispered, thrusting up gently to meet me. “I love you so much it scares me. You are my reason to breathe, the one who makes me strive to be worthy. Feel how your pussy grips my cock? That’s us - connected, perfect.”
I felt it all through the bond, his love flooding me warmer than the bathwater, wrapping tight around my heart as his dick pulsed inside me.
“I love you too,” I whispered back, grinding down harder for a second before easing off. “Even when I’m pissed at you. Even when I want to punch you. I love you.”
He kissed my forehead, then my cheeks, my nose, my jaw, his lips soft against my wet skin. Between each one, he murmured, “I will spend every day atoning for dragging you here without consent. I will earn your trust back. I will prove I deserve this tight little pussy wrapped around me.”
“You already do,” I said quietly, clenching around his cock on purpose, making him groan. “You gave me a choice even when your wolf was raging. That matters.”
“You are my choice. Every time. In every life and every world.” He kissed me full on the mouth again. “My perfect mate.”
We kept the pace lazy, my hips circling as I lifted and dropped a bit, water lapping at our skin.
His cock slid in and out smooth, coated in my arousal, the friction building that pleasure steady, like a rising tide instead of a storm.
I leaned in, my tits pressing against his chest, nipples hard against him as I rocked faster just a touch.
“Mal - oh fuck, right there,” I breathed, the pressure coiling low in my belly. His tip nudged my g-spot with each roll, and I felt my walls fluttering around him.
“Come for me, little mate,” he urged softly, one hand slipping between us to rub my clit in slow circles under the water. “Let your pussy squeeze my dick. I want to feel you come undone on me.”
The orgasm hit deep, waves rolling through me as I gasped his name, my pussy clenching rhythmic around his cock, pulling him in tighter. He followed right after, groaning low, his hips bucking up once as he came, hot spurts of cum filling me deep and mixing with the warmth of the bath.
We stayed like that, locked together, foreheads touching, breaths syncing up as the aftershocks faded, for a long moment.
“Thank you,” he murmured, still buried inside me. “For choosing me. For completing the bond. For letting me fuck you like this, for giving me your everything.”
“Thank you for giving me a choice.”
“Thank you for giving me a choice.” I kissed him light, feeling his cock soften.
We bathed after that and actually washed ourselves and each other with soap that smelled like herbs. He was gentle as he cleaned me, careful of sore spots. I returned the favor, running my hands over his body and marveling that he was mine.
When we finally got out, he wrapped me in a towel that was softer than anything I’d felt in this realm and helped me dry off before finding clothes for both of us.
I dressed in a simple gown with a high neck to hide my mark.
He dressed in formal clothing of leather and dark fabric that made him look every inch the king.
“I need to gather the council,” he said as he fastened his shirt.
“Talk about you being my mate. Address any animosity head-on before it festers. And Aurion has been investigating some financial irregularities. Money that might have been used to sway councilmen to support Andreas. If he finds proof, we can finally imprison Andreas, his family, and any corrupt councilmen.”
I nodded as hope bloomed in my chest. “That would solve everything.”
“It would solve many things.” He crossed to me and cupped my face in both hands. “This needs to work. I need my kingdom secure so I can focus on making you happy.”
“I’m already happy,” I admitted. “Frustrated and confused and still processing everything, but happy. Because I’m with you.”
He kissed me softly. “I do not deserve you.”
“Probably not. But you’re stuck with me now.”
“Best fate I could imagine.” He kissed me once more before heading for the door. “Stay in the chambers for now. Please. I will send for you when the council meeting is over.”
“I’ll stay,” I promised.
He left with one last lingering look.
I stood there for a moment staring at the closed door. Then I looked around the massive chamber.
I did not want to spend the entire day locked up.
Not after a week of mostly staying in these rooms. I was going stir-crazy.
The library kept calling to me. Sorcha had told me about it earlier this week, said it was beautiful with ancient tomes and high windows letting in natural light.
I’d seen the outside of the building during my limited walks but had never gone inside.
I wanted to see it. Badly.
I walked to the door and opened it. Two guards stood in the corridor and turned to bow slightly when they saw me.
“My lady,” one of them said. He was young, maybe mid-twenties with kind eyes. “Do you need anything?”
“I want to go to the library,” I said. “Can you take me there?”
They exchanged a glance. “The king asked that you remain in the chambers...”
“The king asked. He didn’t order. And I’m going stir-crazy in there.” I smiled at them. “Please? I’ll be in the library. It’s in the castle. It’s safe.”
The older guard, probably in his forties with graying hair, nodded slowly. “Very well, my lady. We will escort you.”