CHAPTER 33
A few weeks had passed, and Maya and I were snuggled up in my bed together; the seasons were shifting, and the air had a cool nip to it.
The leaves on the trees had begun to change color, and some had already fallen to the ground.
The last couple of weeks were filled with many failed attempts to break one another’s incantation.
The Professor was unable to find any records of House of Flame bloodlines that I might be related to, but I had been able to conjure the candle flame whenever I wanted; I still could not light the fireplace in my room, even though I tried every night.
The voice was oddly quiet, but nothing too exciting had been happening except practice, training, and my secret rendezvous with Zen on the training mat.
A couple of days ago, he was called away on “princely duties” and had to visit the other houses in the kingdom.
He was returning today, which I only knew because a messenger delivered a note to me yesterday, which said:
Hello Sweetheart,
Even though it has only been a couple of days, I have missed you dearly. I will be home tomorrow, and we can resume our training lessons. Make sure to wear your training gear… on second thought, don’t. However, you may cause quite a stir walking around naked. Maybe Ulric can give you some tips.
Until Tomorrow,
Z
Maya stirred beside me and stretched her arms towards the sky.
“Good morning sunshine.” I chimed.
“You’re in an extra good mood this morning, that doesn’t happen to have anything to do with a certain someone coming home today, does it?” She rubbed her eyes with her fists, clearing the morning sleep from them.
I like her.
This is the first time the voice has piped up in a couple of weeks. Ah, I thought you had finally left my head.
Are you saying you missed me?
No. I fired back too quickly.
Too bad. I will have to make up for the time I was away.
I rolled my metaphorical eyes at it.
“I am excited that he is coming home; it feels like he has been gone for months,” I said to Maya, coming back to the real conversation.
“Avyn, he has been gone for five days. Not even a week. You’ve got it bad.” Maya hopped out of bed and walked over to the wardrobe. “But, because I am the bestest friend you will ever have, I got you a little something to surprise him.”
My curiosity piqued, and I watched as she opened the wardrobe and pulled out a leather corseted piece of clothing.
“What the fuck is that?” My face was a mix of confusion and disgust.
She snickered at my reaction, “It’s called lingerie. Apparently, it is all the rage between the brothels right now.”
The blood drained from my face. “MAYA!”
“What?! You know he will like it!”
“Are you trying to compare me to a mistress?!” I fired back.
“OH GOD NO!” She laughed. “I’m just saying, trust me, he will love it.”
I looked at the black leather corset dangling from a hanger. The bodice was completely black and tied at the back with a ribbon, but the top portion, which was supposed to cover my breasts, was lace. The bottom flowed down to a V shape, then dissolved into more lace.
“That can’t be very comfortable,” I said while grabbing it from her to inspect it better.
“Comfort isn’t the point, Avyn. Come on, get with the times.” She tossed a training outfit my way, “You’ll wear it underneath your usual clothes, and no one will know.”
“I will?” I questioned her while holding it up towards her and peeked at her through the laced bits.
“And so will Zendryk once he peels it off your body.” Her lips curled into a smug smile as the sensation grew between my thighs; maybe it won’t be so bad.
After dressing in the most uncomfortable piece of clothing that I had ever worn, and that included the wool skirts from The Academy, I was ready for the day.
Maya put my hair in a braided ponytail again, which was currently twisting around my fingers at the dining table.
We had finished a plated breakfast of eggs, bacon, and ham and were waiting, unsure whether the two men who normally joined us were even home.
“Why don’t we go for a walk? You’re restless, and you’re practically shaking the entire table with your leg.”
I immediately stopped, not realizing that I was bouncing it up and down in anticipation.
I agreed, and we spent the next couple of hours walking around the changing gardens; the flowers had not died but instead had changed color to match the trees' leaves.
Shades of orange, yellow, and red graced the bushes, and when the sunlight hit them, they stretched their petals towards it, soaking up what little warmth was left.
Leaves littered the ground and pathways around the manor; they rustled under our boots with a crunch.
We walked by the stables to see how the repairs were going and finally wound up in the field where Artemis and Ares were grazing.
Ares walked over to me and lowered his head to mine, and I ran my hand up and down his cheek until he caught the scent of the mints in my pocket.
He nudged me and nipped at the material holding the pocket in place, releasing some of the stitches.
“Oh, you silly boy,” I said and gave him a mint, which he gladly took. Artemis noticed and pranced over quickly, so I gave her one too, which caused Ares to nicker at her, as if he was saying ‘those are my mints’.
“Hey now, be nice.” I scolded him as I reached out and gave him another one.
“I don’t think I will ever get used to this world,” Maya said, watching the winged horses closely.
“It is still our world; it was just hidden. Which, in my opinion, is the dumbest thing that they could have done.”
“Tell me how you really feel.” She laughed, “Why do they do it again?” Artemis walked over to Maya and nudged her pockets. I gave her a handful of mints from mine to share with the winged horse that was now pulling at her shawl.
“Apparently, we all used to live together until there was a war, when mortals became fearful of immortals and their powers. The mortals obviously lost, and to prevent it from happening again, they put the incantation in place to avoid future uprisings. But now they have the Soulless to deal with. If it were up to me, I would just remove the incantation and let everyone live their lives. The mortals… unaware of what lies out there… it is just not fair. How are they going to defend themselves when they don’t know what they are going up against? ”
“We love hearing your honest thoughts, Avyn.” Ulric's voice came from behind us, and Artemis let out a whinny while she galloped towards him.
“Oh joy, it’s you.” Sarcasm laced my tone, even though I was slightly happy to see him. What can I say, he was growing on me.
I craned my neck to see if Zen was behind him.
He was walking up to us from the manor, shadows trailing behind him, curling around the empty spaces where he had just stepped.
Excitement rushed through me, and I was suddenly very aware of the lace on my breasts and the sensitive area between my thighs.
“Hello, Sweetheart.” He said to me, but stopped beside Ulric.
He ran his hand through his hair, his muscles flexed, and a couple of strands of hair fell to his forehead in just the right way.
I wished I could have hugged him, but there were too many servants and gardeners around, busy taking care of the fallen leaves, raking them into baskets.
We stared at each other, and the heat built between my thighs as the lace rubbed just right as I shifted from one foot to the other.
“Well, if these two are just going to stand here and eye fuck each other,” I whipped my head towards Maya with a look that could kill, “Ulric? Care to join me for a walk?”
“Yes, ma’am!” He enthusiastically replied, jumping forward and offering her his arm, which she gladly took.
They made their way towards the garden paths, and I yelled after them, “She’s off limits!”
They both raised their hands at the same time and gave me a rude gesture; my mouth dropped open in disbelief. Those two would be the death of me.
“I’d take that as a sign that they are going to do whatever they want.” Zen walked up beside me, arms crossed, restraining himself from touching me.
“Oh, I know, but I won’t make it easy for them.” Smirking, I turned towards him.
“Care for a training lesson?” A hint of a smile graced his features.
“So soon?” I feigned disappointment as my lips formed a playful pout. “I guess if we have to get back to business.”
His only response was a wink, and we began the torment of a walk back to the manor. I had a strong urge to reach out and hold his hand, but I knew better than to tempt the gods.
The private training room was bright; the windows let in sunlight that reflected off the cedar walls.
A servant in a brimmed hat walked by, and before I could address the obvious issue, a mist of shadows lowered over each of the glass panels, causing the fairy lanterns to come to life.
The room took on an entirely different ambiance as the light from the lanterns spread shadows that danced along the grooves of the walls.
Zendryk rushed towards me, and in one swift motion, my legs were wrapped around his waist as his hands gripped the curve that met my thighs.
His lips collided with mine, taking what he wanted.
I was his, and he was mine. I could not hold back the low moan that rose in my throat.
“How is it possible to miss one person this much for such a short length of time?” His lips were back on mine before I could respond.
His kiss was hunger and desire, fire and longing, wild and desperate, and nothing close to gentle.
His hands squeezed me tighter as he held me around his waist, my one hand wrapped around his neck, the other lost in his unruly hair.
I laced my fingers through the strands, running them through the soft tendrils, and gently tugged his head back, pulling his mouth away from mine.
The moan he let out vibrated through me, almost sending me over the edge.
“Put me down,” I ordered.
His gaze snapped forward to mine, but he slowly slid his hands from my thighs, and I untangled my legs and hands from his body, attempting to stand, although my nerves were battling my desires.
“Is everything okay?” Worry flickered across his face.
I took a deep breath; it’s now or never. Maya gave me a brief lesson… well, a set of instructions… during our walk earlier.
“Sit.” Another order.
He lifted a brow in quiet interest but did as I said. He lowered himself to the mat and balanced his weight on his arms behind him.
“I’ve heard….” I grabbed the hem of my shirt.
“That lace is the must-have right now.” I pulled the shirt over my head, exposing the leather bodice and barely-there lace covering my breasts.
The cold air hit me, and the peaks of my breasts hardened, pushing against the lace, which caused another flood of sensations to run through my body.
His jaw dropped. His jaw fucking dropped to the floor.
I couldn’t help but smile at his reaction, so I continued, placing my fingers at the top of my pants. Fuck, he was already hard; the bulge strained against his pants.
“Well, at least at the brothels it is.” I pushed my pants down and took them off, kicking them to the side. His eyes wandered down until they met with the lace covering my most tender parts.
His breath caught in his throat, and he swallowed…hard. “Avyn… you're fucking beautiful.”
His eyes met mine as I walked towards him. I lowered to my knees, shifting between his legs, spreading them slightly.
“I’ve also heard…” I began to untie his pants, “that they also do this little thing…” I tugged them down, “with their mouths.” He broke free, and my eyes shot up to his, woven with a quiet hunger.
Before he could respond, I lowered my head and took him in my mouth.
He gasped and inhaled sharply as soon as my mouth was on him, as a cloud of shadows crawled along the floor.
I used my hand to hold his base and tried to remember what Maya said earlier.
Suck, lick, and move. NO TEETH. I ran my tongue from base to tip, making sure to hit the spot she had told me was extremely sensitive for them, and then took him as far into my mouth as possible.
“Fuuuuuuuuck.” He groaned while throwing his head back, releasing shadows and the tension in his neck.
I began with a small amount of sucking and moved my head up and down slowly.
“I won’t last long...” his breathing was rapid now, “If you keep moving like that.”
A smile tried to pull at my lips, but I shoved it away as I sucked faster and harder.
“Fuck! Avyn!” He grabbed a handful of my hair, and he pulled and tugged on it in motion with my mouth.
“Avyn…” He growled my name, “I’m close… I can’t hold on much longer.” He could hardly get the words out.
I moaned with his cock in my mouth, and the vibration of my moan was all he needed for his release.
His moan of pleasure filled the room, echoing off the walls along with an explosion of shadows.
A burst of his pleasure spilled into my mouth; the heat of his essence was surprising as he released it.
His hand left my hair, and I freed him from my mouth after consuming everything he had to give.
I reveled in his taste; his warm, salty but sweet taste lingered in my mouth.
He was fully sprawled on the mat, arms behind his head, eyes closed.
My jaw was slightly sore, but nothing I couldn’t manage.
I lay down beside him and placed my head in the nook of his arm, which he brought down and around me, pulling me closer to him.
“You,” he inhaled deeply, “are a fucking amazing woman.” He gripped me tighter.
I felt a sense of pride in this moment, knowing I just had one of the most powerful immortals in this kingdom at my mercy.
“Where did you learn that? Did you visit some brothels while I was gone?” His chest rose and fell under my head with each breath he took.
“No, surprisingly Maya gave me all the instructions.”
He laughed, “I don’t know if I’m that surprised,” and I playfully smacked his chest. “What! She is going after Ulric. They will make the perfect pair of horn dogs, and yes, pun intended.”
We shared in a laugh, and for a heartbeat, everything felt exactly as it should.