Chapter 5
Ael
The rest of the ball was fucking boring.
The housekeepers did a great job cleaning up the broken glass, and thankfully, Neoma was nowhere to be found.
After Ael walked back in, a line of women formed to talk to him, but he announced that he was not seeing anyone for the remainder of the night.
He sent them back to enjoy their evenings, noticing the many pouting faces at his command.
He didn’t care. All he could think about was Seda.
What was she doing now? When he found out from the witch that she would be arriving soon, he organized for her to be within his wing of the castle, a couple of doors down from him.
He wished for her to have the best room there—the one that was once his mother’s when he was a baby—and the finest selection of soaps, shampoos, and clothing.
She deserved all that and more. He even chose a toothbrush and toothpaste he believed she would prefer.
Was she in the bath now? He couldn’t pull his mind away from her. She looked vicious when she arrived, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, desire burning under his skin. He focused on the punch bowl, watching the boring Fae that were gathered around it, idly talking.
Praxis silently joined him, both watching the crowd dance and eat. Ael thought about how Seda had glared at Neoma, and was confused when she agreed to spend time with her.
When the clock struck three in the morning, and the crowd was thoroughly drunk from wine, he excused himself and headed back to his room.
The halls were quiet with the staff either in the kitchens or serving guests. He walked through the large, double doors of his wing and caught himself pausing outside Seda’s room, listening for sounds within.
He wanted to knock and say hello, to make sure she was okay, and to see if she had everything she needed.
He hesitated as he lifted his hand. It would be impolite to wake her if she were asleep. But what if something had happened and no one was around to hear?
He swallowed down the hesitation and forced himself to knock, anxiously waiting for her response.
Silence only responded to him.
He waited a few more moments before knocking again, this time cracking her door open and peering inside.
“Seda? Are you here?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper.
This was definitely a bad idea. She was so upset with him earlier. Entering her space might cause her anger to bubble over, leaving him a charred mass in the room.
He slowly entered the candlelit room and found the bed empty. A flutter of anxiety stirred in his stomach. Where was she? Was she okay?
A sound came from the bathroom, and he quickly turned toward the opening door.
Seda emerged… completely naked.
She gasped, her body freezing like a deer caught in the crosshairs when their eyes met.
He struggled to look away, but like a starving man tempted by a platter of desserts, his eyes slowly drifted downward.
He inhaled a ragged breath as he took in her full breasts, the peaks of her nipples firm from the cool air. The soft mound at the apex of her thighs and the supple curves of her hips epitomized her perfection.
The air thickened, and his breath stalled, his chest tight with her fresh lilac scent. He felt his pants tighten with desire as his body immediately responded to the breathtaking sight of her devastation before him.
He wanted to reach out and touch her, longing to feel her soft skin within his own, but like a rubber band snapping back quickly, he turned away, trying to hide the evidence of such carnal desires.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out, finally releasing his breath. “I only came in to check on you and became concerned when no one answered.”
Seda’s trance fractured, and she grabbed a throw blanket from a side chair, quickly wrapping it around her body.
He hesitantly glanced back at her.
“Since when do you not knock?!” she snapped, her cheeks flushed pink even in the dark of the room.
Her eyes widened with shock when she glanced down at his pants, his firm length unfortunately still visible with his body turned to the side. He went to apologize again, but a faint scent filled the room, growing stronger the longer he stood there.
He had never smelled that from her before, and its sweet aroma overwhelmed him.
His cock jerked.
He needed to leave her room as quickly as possible before his dick took over his thoughts and reason.
“I… I’ll leave you to it.” He rushed out of her room, closing the door behind him and leaning his back against it, inhaling ragged breaths. He should have known not to intrude. He always gave Seda the space she needed in their tiny apartment back in Joro.
Her being in Umbrea was no different.
But her unique scent…
A faint, flickering sound from the doorway of the two large doors separating the wing from the rest of the castle caught his attention, and he quickly glanced toward them.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!” he demanded.
No one appeared.
He walked to the doors and looked around. It was empty. He waited a few moments to hear the sounds of breathing or movement, but when none came, he shook his head. It was late, and he needed to rest and take a cold shower. He would have Praxis post guards here tomorrow.
He turned around and walked to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
His cock aggressively strained against the confines of his pants as he entered the bathroom and stripped off his clothes, slowly easing into the cold, running water.
Just as he had on all previous occasions, he let the freezing temperature shock his body.
Seda was absolutely beautiful.
He had never seen her nude body before. The closest he had come was that day when Roya busted through their window, and he walked in with her in a huff, only wearing that damn towel.
That fucking towel that he thought about too often after.
The fucking towel that made him ache for her.
The Hailec in the forest was way off when it pretended to be her in the woods.
Seda was divinity itself.
Was she mad at him or was she not?
Her scent tonight, though. Was it her arousal? It had to be. It was like the first bite of cake, the rush of endorphins, the craving to have more.
He thought about the full shape of her breasts, about the soft-looking hair between her thighs, and the thickness of her hips. He wanted to grab them and squeeze them between his palms.
His erection throbbed, and he groaned as the cold water washed over him, the years of agony fighting against his control.
He waited a few minutes, trying to think of anything other than her, but visions of her continued to galvanize his restraint.
He reached down and grabbed his cock firmly, slowly running his fingers over the beads of precum escaping the tip.
He paused and fought with himself.
He hadn’t earned her trust, and he felt guilty even placing his hand there.
But he did feel better about being honest. It was the first time in years that he no longer felt as if he had something to hide.
Like a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest, Seda knew who he truly was now.
The complicated past of hiding it from her was over.
The smooth sensation weakened his knees, and he supported himself with his other hand against the wall. He slowly and firmly stroked up his length, his throat emitting a growl behind his clenched teeth.
He cupped his palm over the tip and rested his forehead against the shower wall, fighting with himself one last time.
Fuck it.
He turned on the hot water and sighed as the heat soaked into his skin, dense steam rising around the walls. He slowly and firmly stroked himself up and down.
It felt so fucking good, like her lightning striking him in the eye of a storm, with every assault electrifying his core.
It had been years since he had done this, since he had felt this type of sensation.
He stood in the shower, with lips parted, and eyebrows furrowed, savoring the warmth of the water and the silky friction.
He tried not to quicken his pace, but it felt so fucking addicting to give in to this craving, to this consuming torrent of pleasure.
He daydreamed about her heavenly smell just minutes before.
The thought of making her orgasm and the possible sounds she might make caused him to shudder and stroke himself harder.
He ran his tongue across his lips and inhaled deeply while dreaming about how she might taste and the way her clit would feel pressed against his tongue.
The silky sensations were overwhelming, finally easing the years of tightly wound tension with each unyielding caress.
His abdomen tightened, and he gazed down, staring at the enlarged head of his cock—swollen, supple, and ready.
The thought of her sucking on it, with his cum dripping from her beautiful, full lips, was the final indulgence, the capstone to this rhapsody.
A growl erupted from his lips as he threw his face toward the ceiling, his legs buckling beneath him. Waves of tingling heat swept through him like a blazing storm, tearing through every nerve from the very core of his being.
He crashed down with the water hitting the top of his head, his climax breaking him open, uncoiling the tension and angst of years past.
He fucked his fist as hard as he could, not wanting it to end, never wanting it to end, feeling like he found himself in heaven, with her on his mind, and allowed his cum to paint the walls of the shower.
Seda is mine, was his final thought.
The only thought that mattered.