Chapter Nine
Virion
With the nymphs around, taking care of himself was a near impossibility. His unbearable hardness had relented by the time he got back to his room, met with a light repast and some nightclothes.
“Would you like another bath?” Ivy pulled the braid from his hair and ran slender fingers through the fine strands with barely a prickle. He shrugged.
A light floral odor of some scented oil floated about him as Artemis combed strands back into a protective hairstyle. “How was your afternoon with Nemiah?”
“It was good. We didn’t get to finish our meal, but we’re learning one another. I got to see his lab.” Virion lifted his arms as Clover got him out of his tunic and snorted with laughter.
Virion couldn’t help the heat that rose in his cheeks.
“Didn’t get to finish touring the lab, either.” Clover hummed and floated by, scrutinizing Virion’s face before rattling around in the vanity. He was certainly no stranger to being picked and tweezed at and tilted his chin up as Clover returned to do just that. “Are you in pain?”
“Oh, he didn’t hurt me.” Virion blinked in surprise and received a lingering stare from Clover.
“I mean, since you couldn’t fulfill one another. Are you in pain?” Clover spoke slowly, her misty eyes focused in on Virion’s intensely.
“Oh. It’s bothersome, I suppose…” Virion hesitated as Ivy and Artemis made a sympathetic noise.
“Kiara interrupted them,” Clover said.
Artemis and Ivy made coos of pity.
“It’s not an issue. I promise.” Virion waved his hand and was decidedly unhappy with his being interrupted. He wanted to go back and ask for more, to sneak out of the room to go find Nemiah’s quarters.
Virion settled at his table as the three flitted about, getting him ready for the evening, setting out a cup of warm tea. He’d barely been up too long that day, but a few sips into his tea, and he was ready to sleep again, still regaining his strength from the cleansing, the travel, and stress.
He forced himself to stay awake, fighting it even as the nymphs pushed him to settle into bed, hoping beyond hope that Nemiah would come.
But he didn’t.
At least the bed was warm.
***
It’d been three days since he’d seen Nemiah, and wandering the halls hadn’t given him a glimpse of his husband or an attendant that seemed to know more than that he was occupied in his lab, as he was often to do. Kiara didn’t seem to think he should be bothered, either.
He’d found his mother-in-law in her office off the library that morning and had been welcomed to her desk to aid in processing paperwork.
“It seems we’re receiving many congratulations for your nuptials and gifts.” She hummed and passed over a few packages that had been opened already.
Virion stared at them curiously before opening boxes and peeking at the contents. Curious baubles and folded tapestries revealed themselves. “I see.”
“You don’t have to feign enthusiasm. Just make a note of what it is and who gave it to you. The attendants will find some corner of the castle to display it.”
“I see. This isn’t something I’m familiar with— What’s this?” Virion stared into a box of carved animals, shaped of waxstone with brightly colored faces.
“Baby toys. Awful presumptuous, isn’t it?” Kiara gave a halfhearted huff of laughter before turning a page in a trade manifest and squinting at it. “Ugh. You handle this, dear. I officially quit doing trade manifests.”
Virion perked up and took the stack of papers, leafing through them. “See if cargo weight and quantity matches proposed value and description of goods?” Virion leafed over a page and pulled a fountain pen from her desk to make a few ticks. “I’m not familiar with the local currency but it’s based on ten grams gold, a half oz of silver, five grams of silver, three grams of copper, and a gram of salicate?”
“Dharni, lekma, chid, nik, and a chip,” she said, tallying off her fingers.
“Ah. Thanks.” Virion muddled some notes on a scrap of parchment and was happy that they used the same standard units as agreed upon in the allied nations. Usually, the currency traded easily between kingdoms; only the face on the currency changed.
“That does remind me. Has your allowance been discussed, yet?” Kiara glanced over as Virion flipped a page and ticked another line.
“No. Why would I need an allowance?” Virion blinked in surprise.
“It’s nice to be able to shop once in a while. I believe you’ll receive what I do, which is three dharni a week. I don’t shop much. We used to get twenty, but I cut myself back since…” She gestured about.
“Since?”
“We’re broke, dear. Nearly, anyway. Nemiah has money coming in from his inventions and production, but that’s the only thing sparing us at the moment.” Kiara frowned, and Virion’s stomach flopped.
“Is that why he’s in his lab and so desperate?” Virion frowned and took a shuddering breath, fearful of what his father had forced him into.
“That’s part of it, I imagine. Never you mind. Once there’s an heir, things will improve a bit as per our negotiations, but until then, we’ve got everything we need to function. Nobody will do without. Our people are fed, our attendants well-compensated, but we will not have excess luxury.”
“That’s comforting to know. I really appreciate how your first thoughts are for the people being fed and attendants, not your own ostentation.” Virion flipped a page and frowned. Three crates of imported wool pelts weighing far too much were brought over, but it matched to the same shipment that had other red flags. “Think I found a rat anyway.”
Kiara glanced over and pursed her lips. “You certainly did. I’ll send tax collectors out that way and fine him.”
“What’s the fine for something like this?”
“Oh, we assess them at the highest value per crate and weight and then fine them an additional 20 percent on top of that. It’s not enough to bankrupt a company but enough to make it far less prudent to cheat taxes.” She grinned and gave him a form letter to fill out for the assessors to investigate. “It bothers me that this hadn’t been caught earlier.”
Virion nodded, filled out the paperwork, and busied himself until dinner had passed and the meal they’d brought him had grown cold. He ate a few bites and grumbled before warm hands slid over his shoulders, giving him a peek of pink skin. Clover. “Good evening.”
“You need to rest, dear. Your eyes are tired.” Clover helped him tidy up, and Virion yawned as they carried his leftovers out and back to the kitchens. Doing little things like that for himself was a strange thing, but he rather enjoyed seeing the staff of the palace and how kind they were. It made him feel like family.
“Thank you, Clover. You and your sisters are wonderful companions to me,” Virion said after waving to the kitchen staff, who fussed over the amount he’d eaten. He should have eaten more, he knew, but nerves and a certain kind of homesickness had settled in.
“If only your mate were to be so. Come, let’s get you a bath in the hot springs.” Clover ushered him away and down the twisting stairs where Artemis joined them. Together, they plucked him free of his clothes and left him with nothing more than a towel as he approached the showers. He groaned with exhaustion and scrubbed himself nearly raw before striding out of the shower and making his way to the familiar ledge of the springs.
A soft gasp caught his attention first. Then, eyes like opals in dark stone peered back at him from the edge of the springs. “Nemiah?” Virion stepped back.
Virion had yet to see his mate shirtless, and what he saw was such a fine treat with taut muscles on painfully dark skin. He was the epitome of night fae, his hair a matching silken spill tightly wound over the steely hues of his flesh. A hairpin kept his braids from touching the heavily mineral laden water. “Virion? I did not expect to see you here.”
“Ah. I, uh. I’ll leave if you like? I’m clean.”
“No need. Come. I’m in better spirits.” Nemiah swam a few feet away from him, eyes boring holes as Virion hung his towel and strode into the water. Those twin pinpricks of color raked him from head to the water’s surface, practically glowing with desire as his lids hooded. “How have you fared with Mother? Is she driving you batty?”
Virion hadn’t seen the male in days, as if he were hiding from him. He’d sent no word or spoken once. But rather than unleash a catty retort, Virion shrugged. “I’ve been poring through shipping manifests to recoup some taxes.”
“And you can stand to do such menial work?” Nemiah continued his stare as Virion tied his hair up with a leather thong.
“Someone has to. I don’t mind it. Numbers are easy for me and I aided with manifest logs often when Seidrik was behind.” Virion sank into the waters to cover his body, letting the milkiness obscure everything Nemiah had locked his gaze upon.
Nemiah’s breath caught as he swam over, the lean lines of his form treading rivulets in the flow that tickled up Virion’s chest. “Truly?”
Virion had noticed the schooled expressions that Nemiah kept and echoed them in his own expression, holding back any reaction and affront. “Is it so difficult to imagine an omega good at maths?”
“That is not what I meant, and you know it.” Nemiah’s eyes narrowed into thin slits, that blue barely visible amid the black of his sclera and pupil. “I ask if you do not mind doing it.”
“I grow bored, and it entertains my mind. Even a caged wildercat needs something to occupy their mind or they grow violent.”
A soft grin twisted Nemiah’s lips as his eyes dipped to the water’s surface then up once more, bringing them face-to-face. “You are no wildercat.”
Virion shrugged. “Perhaps you are a wildercat. With those sharp teeth and dark fur.” Virion gave Nemiah his most seductive look and reached forward to trace a finger over his lower lip, pulling the plumpness of it lower to reveal his purpled gums and sharpened fangs. “But what would I be, if not a caged beast?”
Nemiah tilted his face and stuck his tongue out to take Virion’s finger in, pressing his lips in with a flick and suckle before parting. His face twisted for a moment as he paused and pulled free of Virion’s finger.
“The water is bitter, isn’t it?”
Nemiah’s expression broke, and Virion laughed, pulling back even as his cock twitched traitorously. He was angry at Nemiah, he had to remind himself.
Nemiah’s lips pursed, and he turned his head to spit and cough. “Goddess. Ugh.”
“Something better to taste?” Virion offered as he leaned in, invading Nemiah’s space to press their lips together. He decided he could be mad later, after he’d had an orgasm or two, let his king take his ass and all that.
A long second passed as their lips sank into that familiar kiss, as fulfilling as their first when their bonds were given. Sharp teeth scraped Virion’s tongue, drawing him into a shiver of pleasure. With a gentle press of his palms, Virion trailed fingers down Nemiah’s chest and slipped a hand over his growing hardness. Their lips didn’t break, but Nemiah’s breath hitched, stopping and starting every few beats of his heart. Words, unsaid, petered out between them.
He was big, his cock thick and heavy in Virion’s hand after only a few slow strokes. “What do you say, my husband? Can we try to finish what we started the other night?”
Nemiah’s hips pumped gently, his breath halting as his cock twitched in Virion’s hand. Lips slowly pulling back, Nemiah broke the kiss. “ We didn’t start anything. I did.” Despite breaking the kiss, he didn’t stop Virion’s slow stroke as he pushed in, letting their bodies touch.
“Well, would you be interested in finishing it?” Virion brought their groins in together and reseated his hand, pumping once more in a slow stroke.
“More so than you know,” Nemiah said, reaching around to cup Virion’s backside with a gentle squeeze. “Goddess as my witness, I want to.”
Virion’s heart sank as his stomach twisted. “But you’re not going to?”
“Not tonight.” Nemiah hooked a finger under his chin, tilting his face up for a soft kiss over his lips. “I want to be certain.” A firm hand pulled Virion away by his wrist, turning his back to the king’s front.
“How can you not be certain?” Virion resisted the desperate urge to grind his ass back. Remembering what it felt like to have that thick warmth between his thighs, grinding against the tender skin of his crease. “You married me. You took responsibility for me. And you’re—”
“Not a good enough reason.” Nemiah nuzzled against Virion’s scalp and pulled away, the splash of water growing quieter the farther he moved away until wet footsteps echoed. Resisting looking around, Virion stared at the water’s surface, his cock wilting.
“When?” Despite the pool being still and Nemiah not being in the water, a few errant drops splashed down, spreading from Virion’s stinging eyes.
“When it doesn’t feel like you’re doing it merely to appease me or some biological imperative.” Nemiah’s footsteps plodded away, and Virion stared at the rippling water. “I do look forward to it though.”
Virion wiped the tears from his eyes with a shudder.
The water stung.