9. No. Yes? No.
Chapter nine
No. Yes? No.
I can’t prove it, but he must but he must somehow know Ambra wants to see him because he shows up in all his otherworldly splendor.
“Show off,” I quietly mutter as he materializes in his astral form and then transitions into his human disguise; the first time around, I missed how breathtaking the transformation actually is.
He steps forward, his hand changing back to its astral form as he extends it towards my sister. “Eliam.”
“I heard you're one of the Pillars!” He laughs at her forwardness, watching as she scans him up and down.
“I am, Princess.” Her title is missing the tone he uses with me. But the brimming jealousy appears anyway .
“I can leave if that’ll help.” The comment is unintentionally snarky, which causes Eliam to chuckle and Ambra to playfully scoff.
“I don’t want to date your boy toy, Your Highness.” She turns back to him. “This one’s never learned to share anyway.” The two of them laugh and if I could, I would have thrown a pillow at Ambra.
“You sure y’all don’t need a room?” I ask mockingly.
“See what I mean?” Ambra giggles again.
“Are you ready to disconnect, Princess Ambra?” Eliam cuts in to remind us why he is there in the first place.
“Ready. Later, brat. Bye, handsome.”
Eliam cuts the transmission. “Your sister is fun.” The rigidity of his formal behaviour is gone.
“So they tell me. She’s mostly just a pain in the ass.” I laugh and head to the bedroom to grab the bottle of water I left there.
Eliam follows silently, walking behind me until his body collides with mine.
I am standing in the soft light of the bedside lamp. My right hand grips the bottle softly as he nestles his body against mine. My voice hitches in my throat but before I can speak, he starts talking.
“About earlier,” he brushes my curls away from the crook of my neck, “the thought of you with anyone else pisses me off. And I’m sorry for how I acted.” He kisses my neck, then my shoulder, pushing down the straps of the dress and my bra .
“You do know I’m engaged, right?”
He delicately sniffs my skin, and there’s a throaty rumble that follows. “Yeah, read it in your file.” He kisses me again, his hand roaming to places unexplored.
“Eliam, I—” Nerves are getting the best of me.
He freezes, his body instantly tense. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No. Yes? No!” The feeling of him against me is incredibly distracting but I manage to turn around.
“I’m going to need clear instructions before I continue, Princess.” His voice is barely a whisper; his lips moving tenderly against my neck.
“Yes. Definitely, yes. I’ve just—I haven’t— I never— I’ve just never done—” Embarrassment is making me feel like a protostar instead of a fully grown one.
He withdraws slightly and his gaze falls on me. The intensity of it makes me look away. Eliam uses his right hand to turn my face towards him.
“You haven’t done this? Is that what you’re struggling to say.” I nod. “It’s nothing to feel embarrassed about, Leeahla. But you need to be sure you want me to keep going.” I nod again, but this time, he doesn’t accept it. “Tell me, Princess.”
My body responds to the way his demand rolls off his tongue. “It’s all I’ve wanted since I’ve met you.”
“Good girl.” His lips meet mine once more .
His lips travel from my mouth to my neck, before he grazes my collarbone.
“Eliam.” He’s making me feel things I haven’t felt before.
“You’re so radiant.” He holds me skin-to-skin. I open my eyes the same time he pulls back to take me in. Our astral forms are glowing brightly; we lock eyes and he smiles at me, taking my breath away.
I smile back. “Hi.”
“Hi.” The velvety tone is a facade to the tension I can feel in every muscle in his body. He twists his finger around the loose curl on the side of my face. “Look at me. I want to explore the depths of everything you are.” And I’m more than willing to comply.
Our celestial forms swirl around each other, creating a prism of colours that mirrors the galaxy.
He pulls me onto him so my head is on his chest. Eliam randomly chuckles, and I realize the rich, endearing sound is slowly becoming one of my favourite things. He leans over to kiss me on the forehead before easing out of bed. He walks into the bathroom where I hear the tub filling up with water.
As soon as he comes back, he scoops me up and places me into the bathtub. Then he steps in after me. He bathes me tenderly and once I’m clean, we get out and he hops into the shower.
“You don’t have any clothes here!” I'm yelling to him from the bedroom, as I put on a matching lace set of underwear. It was lilac with tiny white roses all over it.
“That’s okay. I’ll take care of it!” he yells back.
While he’s showering, I call room service for clean sheets and order dinner for us.
I slide on a robe and pull the ridiculous amount of bedding off, balling it up in one giant pile to make it easier to transport.
I walk over to the balcony door, push it open and step out into the cool night air.
Too preoccupied as I relive the last couple hours, I don’t notice him walk up behind me.
Eliam’s arms snake around my waist as he nuzzles his nose into my neck. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure.” I lean into him.
“And no regrets?”
It was impulsive but I don't regret it. “I wouldn’t change a thing.” I turn around to answer so he can see my joy.
A giant grin spreads across his face and he kisses me. “Great! Then I’ll be back in a bit.”