Chapter 23 Rathal
twenty-three
Rathal
Waking up to Callie in his bed was the very height of lifetime achievements.
She was sprawled on her stomach like a deep-sea many limbed creature and snoring softly.
Her shirt had bunched up to expose her elegant back and his fingers nearly trembled to reach out and stroke her.
And then it dawned on him that he could.
She’d married him.
They were married.
This gorgeous creature was his wife and mate.
He could hardly believe it.
His fingers did tremble when he finally gave into the urge and reached out to run them along her curving spine, delighting in the rise of bumps on her lovely brown skin at his touch.
She didn’t stir at all, however.
He chuckled, leaning over to nip at her ass through her thin shorts.
Not even a pause in her snores.
Cocking his head, he gently shook her. “Callie? It's time to wake up, my prize.”
Nary a flicker of her eyelids.
“Hmm, a heavy sleeper are we?”
He blew into her ear, tickled her sides, and still she didn’t wake.
“Wow. A very heavy sleeper. However did you manage to wake up for your day without two dozen alarms? I suppose this means waking you with heated touches won’t be possible. That is, unless you have an interest in dormaphilia? I’ll ask you later.”
He shook her harder, jostling her whole body on the bed and still she did not wake. He circled around the bed, physically sat her upright, and then shook her again. This time, her snoring snuffled to a stop and she grumbled, trying to flop back down onto the bed. He held her fast, laughing.
It was his deep laughter that finally had her eyelids fluttering open. She yawned hugely, stretching her hands over her head before dropping them at her sides. She squinted at him.
“What time is it?” she mumbled, covering another yawn with her hand.
He made a show of looking at his Link. “It is halfway through rotation, dearest. You’ve slept most of the Dark away.”
Callie groaned, letting her head fall back. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.”
He knew his grin had grown lascivious but he couldn’t help it. “Not run over, darling. More like rutted. Vigorously, if I do say so myself.”
She eyeballed him, shifting in the bed to throw her legs over the side and winced. “Ugh, why haven’t my nanos done their job?”
“You aren’t injured, just sore. Why would they waste precious resources to cure you of a few sore muscles?”
She shifted around, testing to see the extent of her soreness and then grumbled some more.
“Well? Everything as it should be? I didn’t tear you asunder?” he asked, teasing her.
She eyed him again. “No. I guess I’m fine. Still, I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with soreness from sex anymore. Or working out.”
He pulled her to her feet with a smile. “Injuries, darling. Injuries. You should take heart though. Your sore body won’t last nearly as long as it would have in your old life. Once you get moving around, it should dissipate.”
“Goody.”
He chuckled gleefully. “Are you usually cranky upon waking?”
She shot him a glare before disappearing into the bathroom.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he called to her, laughing at her muffled curses.
He was still chuckling after he emerged from his dressing room wearing tight reptile print black pants and an open vest made entirely of yellow feathers.
He slid shimmering green rings onto each one of his fingers and added a bright green choker that covered his neck from jaw line to collarbones. He opted to go without shoes, instead slipping on toe rings attached to chains connected to gold ankle bells.
He changed out his hooped earrings for ten studded earrings with different color jewels, four in one ear and six in the other.
When Callie emerged from the bathroom with freshly styled hair and a washed face, she stopped dead to stare at him with wide eyes.
He did a little turn so she could get all the angles.
She burst out laughing, shaking her head at him. “How do you manage to make those ridiculous outfits sexy?”
He held his arms out wide and shimmied his shoulders. “Confidence, darling. It's all confidence. Now, come here. I have an outfit I’d love to see you wear. Oh, don’t give me that look. It's not overdone.”
He had picked pants that were very similar to the ones he’d provided her when she’d first come to the station.
A light and airy fabric that she would find comfortable and cool, but these were a bright orange, with little gold pieces sewn into the fabric so it shimmered as she moved.
The shirt was a complete departure from the simple ones she’d been wearing so far.
He’d picked a form fitting, ribbed backless top held together with delicate gold chains that swooped across her back and over the deep V in the front that showcased her fabulous, mouthwatering breasts.
When she came out of the dressing room wearing it, he’d had to stop himself from ripping it off her and taking her on the floor.
The gold sandals she’d chosen wound around her ankles in a way that drew the eye to her shapely legs and he was halfway across the space between them when she laughed and held up her arms.
“Oh no you don’t! Not until I’ve gotten some coffee.”
He stopped a few inches away and glowered down at her, pouting. “Spoilsport.”
“Hey, you picked the outfit. If you didn’t want my fine self tempting you, you should have let me dress myself.”
He kissed her softly before taking her arm and tucking it through his own. “Callie, you are temping in whatever you wear. But fine, I will get you your coffee before I seduce you.”
He adored when she blushed and her scent turned shy and heated at the same time.
“Thank you,” she murmured and leaned her head against his arm.
Oh dear. She had him wrapped around her slender fingers already. He was happily doomed.
They strolled through the palace to the dining room, ignoring the many, many stares from the staff.
He’d posted the wedding announcement the nanosecond after they'd finished signing the contracts and now the whole station was aware that Callie was his wife.
It was going to take a while before people stopped being shocked.
He wondered what Callie would think about his announcement to the entire universe that they’d married? He’d broadcasted it far and wide, a rather boastful shout from the proverbial rooftops as it were. She couldn't really blame him though, could she? He’d finally caught his prize.
He looked down at her as he pulled out her seat at the dining room table and poured her coffee into her cup for her, adding the appropriate amount of cream until he knew it was how she liked it.
His stomach clenched when she moaned softly after the first sip.
If she knew how erotic he found her every move, she’d run screaming from the station.
"So,” she said, leaning back in her seat with her cup while he finished loading her plate with food, “what’s on the agenda for today?”
He made his own plate and sat down before answering her. “I thought we’d tour the gardens,” he told her innocently. Nevermind that the hedge mazes were in the gardens and he had plans for the larger of the two.
She took another sip of her coffee and reached for a slice of seared meat, popping the savory morsel into her mouth and licking the grease off her fingers. “Oh, that sounds awesome. I love gardens.”
If she kept licking her fingers like that, he was going to clear this fucking table and bend her over it. Truly, she tested his control.
"Doesn't it?” he said tightly, his eyes riveted to each swipe of her tongue. When the simple act turned sensual, his gaze jerked to hers and found them filled with humor.
He bared his teeth at her. “You enjoy playing with fire, don’t you darling?”
Her answering laugh was rich and good natured and she winked at him over her cup. “It's your fault. I’d have been blissfully unaware of this part of my personality if you hadn’t dragged it out of me. Suffer the consequences.”
He leaned forward, smiling in a way he knew she found irritating. “It’s you who's about to suffer consequences if you don’t quit it. Eat your breakfast while you still can, my prize.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, but did what she was told.
Miracle of miracles.
He led Callie through the labyrinth of walkways and lifts until they reached his favorite spot in the station.
A gate arched before them, tall and imposing, with glowing stylized glyphs etched into brown stone that matched the walls on either side of the gate which stretched for two klicks before curving out of sight.
Rathal pressed his hand to the gate and looked down at Callie.
“When I was young, perhaps eight or nine cycles old, there were great gardens that my mother would take me to. Wondrous hanging gardens filled with every plant you could imagine and flowing streams and waterfalls around every corner. The walkways and buildings were awash in vivid mosaics made from tiny shimmering stones. It was always humid, but the fine mist from the waterfalls helped cool you and the sweet scents of flowering plants soothed away your worries as you meandered through the mazes. Great pools of beautiful blue water were filled with fish of every color that glided beneath floating lily pads of pale pinks and yellows. I used to run through this wondrous place with my cousins. Our laughter would fill the air. Our mothers would sit on the terraces drinking tea and gossiping while we played in the water. It was beautiful.”
Callie looked at the gate and then at him. “What happened?”
She had the loveliest brown eyes, dark like the deep woods of his homeworld.
They made him achingly homesick and brought him a strange sort of peace all at once.
Rathal sighed and pushed the gate open. “They were destroyed during the Fall. I come from Ara’Ama, the ancient home planet of the Rijitera. ”