Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Zephyr
It'd been a few days since we brought Sagar to the Sanctuary, and I'd seen the siren a few times since. He was settling in well in his new home, and I felt confident he would become a permanent resident.
Keoni and I had spent every night together this week, and I'd thought about asking him to fully move in with me more than once.
The only reason I hadn't was because I knew how much Keoni liked living in the Forest. All his closest friends lived there, and if I could, I would offer to move to his place.
I didn't think I would feel comfortable being that far away from the foundation spell, though.
From my office and bedroom, I could sense every little fluctuation in the spell.
Shaking my head, I decided to delay the question until I felt sure Keoni wouldn't mind living at my place.
It wasn't like things would be any different for the most part.
Neither of us spent our days in my bedroom.
We were always out and about in the Sanctuary, so we'd only be there during the nights anyway.
Right. I needed to focus on the now and stop worrying.
"Do you know where Keoni is?" I asked Rei as I left my office, and she glanced up at me.
"I was with you all day."
"You're right. Sorry."
"But I think he's in the Library," she continued, her eyes sparkling, and I huffed.
"Why didn't you just say that?"
Rei stuck her tongue out at me, then clutched her hands behind her back. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen and find something to eat."
I shook my head as she hurried off toward the Dining Room, smiling at her back. I'd never thought I would get her back, and now I felt like she'd always been here. Everyone in the Sanctuary loved her, and she seemed to adore them too, especially the naga babies.
I pushed the Library door open and stepped into the quiet room, letting the door fall soundlessly shut behind me.
The Library had been Keoni's preferred spot to hang out when he first got here, which made sense because centaurs were well known for their hunger for knowledge.
Keoni loved reading, but he was a friendly man, and also enjoyed gaining knowledge by talking to people.
Over the years, he'd stopped spending all his time here, but he still passed through a few times a week to get some books, return others, or add some to the collection that he purchased on his trips outside.
The first few aisles were empty, but in the fifth one, I found Keoni standing in front of a shelf, a book in his hand. He was reading the back cover, a soft smile curving his lips as his curls hung forward like a curtain.
He didn't look up as I approached him, but he knew I was there. His fingers twitched on the book, but he kept reading as he stuck the tip of his tongue out and licked his upper lip before biting the lower one.
"Hey," I murmured when I was beside him, and he finally glanced up, his gaze meeting mine as he smiled.
"Hey, Zephyr. Looking for something?"
I nodded, and his grin widened. "What are you in the mood for? Fiction? Nonfiction? Poetry?"
I pretended to think as I ran my gaze over the spines on the shelf beside us before resting my eyes on him. "You."
Keoni gave a startled laugh, his eyes sparkling as he slid the book back into its spot and turned to face me. "Is that so?"
Humming, I stepped closer to him and clasped my left hand on his hip.
While I loved it when he took charge and made me take whatever he wanted to give me—God, did I love it—I never wanted him to think that my feelings for him weren't just as strong as his for me.
I knew he'd had a crush on me when he first got here, but I'd never felt that way about him, not until he'd told me we were mates.
Maybe it was because I'd walled my heart off a long time ago, or maybe it was because I'd never allowed myself to think of any of the Sanctuary residents as anything more than my charges, people I was supposed to look after and protect.
Or maybe the fact that Keoni had called me out like that was exactly what had made me feel things for him. The fact that he'd cared enough, that he'd been worried about me, it had meant something.
Keoni gazed up at me patiently, like he could tell this moment meant something to me.
With a soft exhale, I leaned down and pressed my lips to his, brushing them softly, like we were doing this for the first time.
Kissing Keoni was like that first sip of cool water after a day in the blazing sun, or the way the first rays of the sun felt against your night-cooled skin.
Like a cool breeze brushing your face after you'd been trapped in a stuffy little room for far too long.
He was light and freshness. He was life and breath. He was everything.
And I loved him.
It wasn't a shocking realization. I'd been headed here since the day Keoni told me we were mates. Every kiss, every conversation, every moment spent together... it had all been leading to this.
I'd thought it would be... terrifying. I knew what it was like to love someone and lose them. I'd thought the fear of losing Keoni would never let me truly love him, but I didn't feel afraid.
Okay, maybe a little, but not enough to pull away.
I knew I wasn't alone anymore. I had people who would help me, people who would never let anything bad happen to Keoni.
It was okay to love him. It was okay to be in love with him.
Actually, it was kind of wonderful.
Keoni
Something was different about this kiss, but I couldn't tell what.
When our lips parted, I could feel Zephyr's soft breaths against my lips, and I gazed into his blue eyes. Were all of those emotions for me?
While I'd wished Zephyr would return my feelings since I had that crush on him years ago, a part of me had still been convinced it would never happen. After all, he was Zephyr. The Headmaster. The powerful sorcerer who'd saved mine and countless other people's lives.
For so long, he'd felt unattainable to me, like he was a celestial being among us mortals and I had no right to think about him the way I did.
But when the Sanctuary started having troubles, I realized Zephyr had flaws too. He was human, just like the rest of us—metaphorically, of course. He was stubborn, couldn't ask for help even when you hit him over the head with it, and yeah, he could even be a little arrogant sometimes.
And I loved all of it. I loved him.
I didn't know if he was ready to hear the words yet, but I also knew I couldn't say them here. Those weren't words to be whispered in a quiet room like a secret.
Instead, I kissed Zephyr again, turning him around and pressing him into the shelves as I deepened the kiss.
The younger me who'd spent hours in here daydreaming about just this would be ecstatic if he saw us now. Fuck, I felt ecstatic, and I'd kissed Zeph so many times before.
Zephyr groaned as he pressed his hips forward, his hard cock brushing against my abdomen through his many layers. My horse half was a lot tougher than my human half, and I imagined it felt great against his erection.
"Do you think you can come like this?" I murmured against his lips, and Zephyr groaned again.
He slid his arms around my waist before sinking the fingers of his right hand into my hair while the left stayed on my lower back. As we kissed again, he rocked into me again and again, rutting against me as I slid my tongue into his mouth.
Sliding my hand beneath his shirt, I trailed my fingers up and down his back, scraping my nails gently against his skin as he shuddered, his rhythm stuttering as he arched against my touch.
"You make such beautiful sounds," I said as I pulled back so we could breathe, and Zephyr gazed at me through hooded eyes as his head thunked back into the shelf.
I wondered what Zephyr would do if someone walked in and saw us like this.
The fact that we were mates wasn't a secret, and I'd caught an eyeful of some of the residents in much more compromising situations, but I knew Zephyr preferred some privacy when it came to things like these.
I also knew a lot of the residents saw him as a father figure and would prefer not to see him like this.
Zephyr had probably locked the door already, and if he hadn't, I was sure I'd hear it if anyone came in.
I trailed my other hand down his front, stopping at his bulge.
He pushed into my palm, and I grinned up at him.
His cheeks flushed a dark pink, his lips parted as he panted softly, and I wanted to take a picture because he looked so fucking sexy.
Or maybe I'd just have to make sure I put that look on his face every day. Maybe multiple times a day.
Leaning forward, I brushed my lips along his throat, then sucked his Adam's apple into my mouth. Scraping my teeth over it, I licked it once, then moved to the side, giving the soft skin of his neck similar treatment as he groaned and pushed into me again, his cock straining against his pants.
Moving my hand without pulling away, I unbuttoned his pants and pushed them and his underwear lower, freeing his cock. Giving it a few strokes, I trapped it between our bodies, and Zephyr took over, fucking himself against my abdomen as he bared his neck as far as he could for me.
Gripping his hips, I pulled him closer, and he moaned as he continued thrusting against me, chasing his release as I left my marks on his skin. They'd be hidden by his cloak collar, but just knowing they were there would give me great satisfaction.
"Are you enjoying this?" I murmured against his ear, knowing how much he enjoyed it when I teased him like this. "Does it turn you on, using my body to get your pleasure?"
Zephyr groaned as he sped up, and I grinned against his skin, sucking his earlobe into my mouth as I squeezed his hips tighter. Knowing he was getting close, I pushed forward, returning his thrusts and pushing him further toward the edge.
While I couldn't feel stimulation the same way he did, watching the way he reacted to my touch was satisfying. It made me feel high in a way the pot Silas had once secretly grown hadn't.
"Are you close?"
Zephyr nodded quickly, soft pants escaping his parted lips as he worked his hips against mine. It felt like a dance, a sensual, erotic thing that left me feeling breathless.
Licking the shell of his ear, I trailed kisses over his jaw before claiming his lips in a deep kiss, and he moaned into it as his body shuddered and I felt him come, his release spilling between us as we kept moving.
I tightened my hold on his hips when Zephyr started to slide down, chuckling into the kiss before pulling back.
"Careful," I murmured, and Zephyr blinked up at me, his eyes hazy and his salt-and-pepper hair clinging to his forehead.
The front of his shirt—black with tiny witch hats, the one I'd bought for him—was soaked with his release, and so was mine. Some of it had even gotten on my coat, and Zephyr winced when he followed my gaze to it. If I didn't wash it off soon, the hair would get matted and yucky.
Zephyr waved his hand between us, and all his cum simply disappeared, making me chuckle.
"I love your magic," I said, and he shook his head with a huff.
Straightening up his clothes, I pulled him into another kiss before slowly letting him go.
"So, were you looking for me for a reason, or did you just want to hook up?" I teased, and his cheeks went pink, making me raise a brow. "You did just want to hook up."
"No," he mumbled, and I realized he wasn't a very good liar. God, he was adorable.
"Oh yeah? What did you want then?"
Avoiding my eyes, he looked around, then pulled a book from a nearby shelf, holding it up. "I was looking for this book."
I glanced at it, then him, raising a brow. "You wanted to read The Evolution of the Ball-Point Pen?" Why was a book like that even here, and how had it never caught my eye before?
Zephyr glanced at the book he was holding and sighed. "Yes."
Then he turned around and hurried out of the Library, the back of his neck just as flushed as his face no doubt was.
I chuckled as I watched him leave, feeling like I would explode from all the love I felt for this ridiculously adorable man.