19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
River
After three orgasms, my knot finally deflated, a sure sign my dragon form had needed to reclaim our omega more thoroughly than I’d thought.
I had no idea a knot could even form outside of heats and ruts, but it wasn’t as if we’d asked these types of questions growing up.
Maybe it was a mate thing, but considering it hadn’t happened earlier today, I think it’s mostly my dragon side who needed to stay locked to Ember for as long as possible.
We were now back in bed, a huge food trolley next to us with loads of delicious food for us to eat. I felt a tad guilty that I had to cut our date short, but I hoped Dusty and Ember would forgive me for it.
Ember was humming happily as he ate a meat skewer with some type of beef that had been seasoned to have a hint of spice to it.
The kitchen had clearly tried out new recipes now that Ember was a part of our household and they wanted to see what he liked and disliked.
I loved that they hadn’t just continued making what the rest of us preferred, but instead were catering to what they thought a phoenix shifter would be into.
They were right on the spice, clearly, as Ember only picked out the options that held different levels of heat to them, but none of the mild ones.
“I love watching you eat,” I rumbled happily, satisfied that I got to care for my omega like this, feeding him even though I hadn’t made the food myself.
“And I love eating,” he countered with a wide grin, meat juice covering his lips and glistening seductively. How could he look so damn delectable even with food around his mouth? Leaning in, I brushed a kiss to those sexy lips and tasted the spicy oils left behind.
“Can I have a bite?” I asked, nibbling after the skewer teasingly.
“Only if you’re good,” he teased back, holding the skewer in front of my mouth.
“Always,” I grinned, taking a big bite. It was fucking amazing and a moan might’ve escaped me. We definitely needed more of those in the future, something I made sure to note down for the chefs.
We shared the rest of the food, each of us feeding the other and somehow our date ended perfectly even with all the drama. We’d both come (several times) and had ended the evening with amazing food. I couldn’t have hoped for a better evening with my mate.
And as we snuggled in bed, clean, fed, and sated, I felt immensely blessed that I got to have my omega for the rest of our lives.
“Are you sure this is right?” Ember asked, stepping out from our bathroom in his ceremony outfit.
The jewels gleamed as he moved, the golden chains over his bare torso a perfect addition to his already beautiful chest. The chains hung from around his neck, trailing down into his satin skirt, the jewelry underneath it hidden.
That part of the outfit was only for me to enjoy after he was welcomed into the royal family (officially).
The chains were also connected to his biceps where teardrop gemstones hung, their blue shade a perfect match to my eyes.
His skirt was a deep blue, matching my dragon and wow was he a treat.
“It’s fucking perfect,” I rasped, needing to touch him.
Once he was shown off, I would take him back to our rooms and fuck him in his outfit, leaving only the jewelry behind.
The chain wrapped around his dick and his butt, and I couldn’t fucking wait to see it.
His hole would be exposed, making it easy for me to take him without removing anything, even the skirt could be lifted off and—
“River?” my omega’s amused tone made me blink, returning to the present.
I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
He smirked, then turned to his side, lifting the skirt so I could see just a tease of his dick. “Does it look right?”
I nodded, rather eagerly, my eyes glued to his exposed skin where the hidden jewelry hung across his thighs. “Perfect,” I rasped, clearly forgetting how to speak properly.
“Then let’s go,” Ember said, letting the fabric fall down again, hiding away the jewelry I was planning on fucking him in.
A knock sounded at the door, making me hurry to answer it.
Our whole kingdom had been informed of our mating ceremony and many had shown up outside the palace, eager for a look at the first Taov in centuries.
Ember was also going to shift in front of them, something I knew he was nervous about.
It was tradition, though. Once I’d said that, Ember had seemed less against it, trusting that our people wouldn’t hurt him once they knew what he was.
It helped that there were a lot of dragons here in the kingdom, which were still considered a rare shifted form in his home kingdom, and no one was treated differently for who they were born as.
“Are you decent?!” Midos called from the hall. “We have ten minutes until you need to be there!”
I hurried to open the door, smiling sheepishly at my brother. He could without a doubt smell the lingering scent of arousal in our rooms, but I wasn’t about to apologize for wanting to fuck my omega at every opportunity. He was simply too delicious to resist.
“Good, you’re dressed,” he said, glaring at me like I was the reason for us being late. “Go.”
Ember grabbed my arm, holding on to it firmly and then smiled at me. I felt his nerves and excitement. He was also a little self-conscious only wearing the skirt and jewelry, but I found him absolutely divine.
We followed Midos as he made way down the hallway and up to our office/meeting room.
It had the biggest balcony which the townspeople could see us from.
I already knew thousands would be out there, looking up at Ember with both envy and excitement.
Mates meant babies, and even though it would be many years before we could have any ourselves, it still showed our people that they would come, even if Ember and I might never have them, I was certain my brothers would.
“There you are!” Ciris fussed, rushing over to us from where he’d hid from our people, peeping out over the balcony railing but staying out of sight. “Do you have any idea how many people have shown up?!”
“Um, no?” I answered, giving him my best smile, the one that radiated innocence.
“I was confused if I’d put on my outfit correctly,” Ember smoothly interjected. “River’s clear arousal told me everything I needed to know.”
Midos choked somewhere in the room and Ciris gaped, then threw his head back and laughed, all the tension and stress leaving him. “Gods, I needed that. “ He then wiped his eyes. “Thank you, Ember. Now, please take my brother out on that balcony and wave.”
“I’m here!” Reinos called out, rushing into the room. He was once again hurriedly dressed, a state he seemed to always be in lately.
“We won’t go out there until after Ember and River have had their moment,” Ciris reminded him, giving his clothes a once-over. “You haven’t even buttoned up your pants, for goddess’s sake!”
“Sorry!” Reinos turned around so as to not face us and then promptly got himself under control.
“I swear…” Ciris grumbled then said some words we pretended not to hear. “Go, before my headache worsens.”
I led Ember out onto the balcony already seeing way more people than I had imagined. The streets were filled with cheering crowds and more than one yelled their congratulations loud enough for us to hear. With our fingers laced, I held up our hands, showing everyone that Ember was mine.
Ember’s emotions were all over the place, but mostly he was excited and relieved as our people welcomed him with excitement. “There are so many of them,” he breathed, eyes wide as he took in the scene below us. “And they’re happy.”
“Of course they are,” I said, tugging him into my side.
“Their prince has found his mate.” I then kissed my omega, right there in front of our kingdom.
Their cheering grew louder, more exuberant, and I smiled into the kiss.
I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be, with my omega mate.
“Ready to fly?” I asked, my forehead now against his, like we were sharing a secret.
“Fuck yes,” he grinned, shifting in front of me.
And then, we flew.