Chapter Twenty-Eight
Serenya
I was overwhelmed.
Kael’s knot was trapped behind my pubic bone and pressed on all the nerves in my pelvis, keeping me in an almost constant state of orgasm. Each time he shifted, even to take a deep breath, triggered a new one, mine pulling answering twitches from him, which started the cycle over.
It also created a plug, keeping all of his release inside me, and I was bloated with it after multiple surges.
Then there was the bond.
No one had ever really explained it. They said it was eternal, but not what it was. They had said I would be able to feel Kael’s emotions, but what bloomed in my chest was so much more than that.
It was an anchor, tying me to Kael.
It was a lifeline, offering his surprise, and care, and even his fears.
It was a buoy, letting me share what I felt so he could keep me afloat in the sea of new sensations as we adjusted to intimacy that was now unavoidable.
I hid my face in the blankets, his weight covering my back and comforting me in a way I didn’t understand. The purr that vibrated from him kept me relaxed even as the pressure in my womb grew uncomfortable, and I had to wonder how long his knot would last and he would keep filling me.
I never thought I’d wish a man would soften faster. They should have given us warning that being knotted wasn’t a quick thing.
I had no idea how long we laid there, my mind drifting, until his knot shifted. I couldn’t help tensing, and when he pulled out, the trapped fluids followed in a gush that soaked the blankets beneath me.
The Human part of me half buried in my mind was appalled, but the new side had taken over, and she thought it smelled delicious.
Kael must have thought the same, because he rolled me over and spread my legs, ducking down to lick my folds. The sensation of the texture on his tongue had been amazing before my heat, but it was twice as intense now, making me gasp and try to pull away.
“Mine.”
He growled the word against my core, curling his arms around my thighs to hold me in place as he lapped up our combined fluids. I was already wrung out from multiple orgasms, but somehow he pulled another from me before giving a final lick and pulling away.
“You’re delicious.”
He crawled up my body, pressing his mouth to mine before I could protest. I tasted myself on his tongue, a musky sweetness that hadn’t been there before, and I moaned as something surged inside me and demanded more.
Fresh need was already simmering in my belly, tension coiling through my muscles as I wrapped my arms and legs around him. I’d have been shocked to want more so soon if I had been able to think clearly, but my body was in charge and demanded Kael fill me again.
“More.”
I gasped the word when he released my mouth to drag his lips down my neck to the place where he’d bitten me. The feel of his tongue swiping over the sensitive flesh made me arch, my channel clenching on emptiness.
“Zhal'kai dravakh meyr'kal, Torvakai.”
The feminine voice made me snarl and tighten my limbs around Kael.
He was mine.
His chuckle said he’d felt the surge of possessiveness, and I realized not all of the lust flooding my veins originated from me. Some of it was coming through the connection tied behind my breastbone, right beside my heart, and it soothed some of the irritation.
“What do you think, tavehn? Stay, and let them keep watching, or return to your meyr’kal nessha?”
It was hard to concentrate on the words, and even harder to make sense of them so I could answer. All I could focus on were meyr’kal and nessha. Home nest.
“Home.”
I whimpered when Kael pulled away from me, but it was only a breath before he was gathering me in his arms. Then I was whimpering because he took me away from the nest I’d created for us.
“You said meyr’kal, tavehn. I’m taking you to your nest there.”
I was torn. I loved the crystal in the ceiling of our bedroom, and I wanted the privacy, but the blankets here were soft, and pretty, and drenched in our scent.
Reaching out, I snatched two of them, clutching them to my belly. Then I spotted a cushion that was the perfect balance between giving and firm and tried to reach for it, forcing Kael to shift his grip on me so I didn’t fall.
With a rumble that wasn’t quite a growl, Kael plopped me down on the bed again before shoving his arms beneath the blankets I sat on and lifting me back into his arms, dragging half the bedding with me.
“Better?”
Part of me wanted him to grab every single piece from the platform to take with us, but being bundled within soft blankets was enough to calm the frantic pace of my heart so I could nod.
Kael turned but paused again, dipping me slightly. I didn’t notice the Karzhari until she was at my side, covering me with the special cloak they’d given me at the beginning of my heat.
“Korrath vorr val’kethra shyren karin.”
I snarled at the female too close to my mate, but she was already drawing away, and the soft silk distracted me. It cooled my heated flesh, allowing me to breath easier as Kael climbed the steps towards the massive archway.
Scents beyond my sweetness and Kael’s smokey pepper caught my attention, and I blinked over my pile of bedding into the tiers we passed.
It was too dim for me to see more than vague shapes and the glow of kethra, but the way the markings intertwined and the noises that reached my ears told me what they were doing.
“See what you inspired, veyrari? Alphas mount their mates or those willing to rut in praise to your fertility.”
The tiny Human part of me in the back of my mind said I should avert my eyes, that this was scandalous, but the new part, the omega part, was enthralled. The scents and sounds of sex surrounded us, and my core clenched, new slick spilling from me into the blankets wrapping my body.
Kael must have felt what it did to me, because his chest began to rumble with a low growl that had me writhing in his arms as he increased his pace. I wasn’t a small woman, yet he was sprinting through the archway in moments.
The tunnels were a blur around us as a wave of warmth poured through my limbs, my flesh breaking out in sweat. Being bundled in the blankets didn’t help, but the thought of pushing them away made me whimper and clutch them tighter.
They couldn’t be left behind. I needed them as much as I needed my alpha.
Kael paused for a moment, and then the dark tunnels gave way to our familiar entryway. There was an odd sound from the datapad beside the door, and a blink later we were in our bedroom.
The tension in my shoulders eased as I spotted our bed, but the pressure in my belly only increased. I needed him inside me again, stretching me around his knot to make the pain go away.
“Kael!”
His rumble smoothed out into a purr as he crossed to our bed, setting me and the bedding he’d brought with us in the center. I reached for him when he pulled away, but a clump of bedding got in the way, stopping me from rolling to my knees.
I frowned as I looked at it, and then the tangle of blankets around me. I tried to push them flat, but a cushion was caught underneath, and I let out an irritated huff.
Everything else was forgotten as I untangled the mess. Laying each blanket and cushion out along the edge of the bed, I surveyed what was already there, deciding it could remain as the base layer for the others.
Once again, I built a nest for my alpha. Spreading and folding, tucking and fluffing, repositioning things that felt wrong, until the tightness around my ribs loosened as I sank into a soft pile of blankets.
I blinked up at the giant crystal, glowing red with sunlight. A steady thrum caught my attention, and I rolled my head to see Kael standing near my feet, staring at my glossy thighs.
My lips parted as I sucked in a breath, the muskiness in his scent stronger, a hint of brine making my mouth water. My belly clenched, wetness leaking from my center, and I opened my knees wider.
His approval spread warmth through my chest, lifting a weight I’d been carrying for too long. Pulling my heels as close to my bottom as I could get them, I let my knees fall wide, fully exposed.
Kael’s purr dipped into a growl that echoed around the room. Motion drew my eyes down his body, and I watched as his cock flexed again, his tail lashing behind him as his kethra pulsed with crimson light.
I licked my lips, rolling to my side before sitting up. Sniffing the air, I leaned forward, eyes locked on the glowing veins of light on each side of his shaft.
He moved forward until his legs were pressed against the mattress. His cock bobbed, glossy fluid beading at the tip before spilling down to the flared rim of his crown, then dripping onto the bed.
Panting, I leaned closer, extending my tongue to lap up the next drop that threatened to fall. My mouth tingled as the flavor spread across my tastebuds, Kael’s growl stuttering before growing louder above my head.
Another bead of fluid grew, and I flicked my tongue out to catch it. It was salty, and masculine, with a hint of the smokey pepper of Kael’s scent, but it was such a tiny drop. Such a small taste.
I wanted more.
Shuffling my knees closer, I went to lick it again, but it twitched as I extended my tongue. Making an unhappy noise I reached out, wrapping my fingers around his shaft to hold it in place.
Kael’s groan made me look up. His silver eyes were locked on me, his pupils a thin black stripe down the middle.
His lips were parted, showing the tips of his teeth, and his chest heaved, small quakes going through his thighs.
When I tightened my hand his mouth parted further, and a wave of pleasure flowed through the connection between us.
Lips tipping up, I loosened my hold, barely brushing his flesh as I slid my hand to the base of his shaft. His mouth snapped shut when I gripped him tightly again, pulling towards his crown, bringing a new bead of his fluid to the tip for me to lick away.
“Tavehn.”
The warning in his tone registered, but my smile only grew.