Chapter Eighteen
Lulu
It wasn’t the first time that I had felt his venom. I had felt it the night we kissed against the wall after our date. I’d even felt it in those other moments—when we brushed against each other, that inexplicable urge to be closer to him.
What I wasn’t expecting was just how much it amplified my feelings for him right now.
This went so far beyond sex that I wasn’t sure I could even relate the two things anymore.
This was a claiming. He was mine now, forever, and I could feel it in the very bones of my body, and I would never be the same.
Leaning forward, I braced myself on those beautiful, ridged muscles and lifted my hips, moving them up and down, letting him slide in and out of me in tiny increments—trying to give my body a moment to adjust. Not only to his size, but to the fact that every part of me was tingling with the urge to come again already.
I didn’t know what to do with this. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had my share of partners before, but nothing had ever felt like this.
Every touch of his claws against my skin, every pump of his hips as he helped guide me on that huge, beautiful cock, felt like I was being remade. And I was being made just for him.
“Zaldi,” I whispered into the quiet, the dark shadows from the trees closing around us. “I’m getting so close again. I don’t know what to do.”
His head pushed back into the soft, pine-needle-covered earth, his horns a dark curve that my fingers itched to hold.
“I’ve waited so long,” he said, the words a mumble in the darkness. “Waited so long to feel this. And now that I know what you feel like, you’re never going to get rid of me. I’m going to be inside you every day, every minute that I can, just so I can feel like this with you every time.”
I whimpered in agreement. I had been denying us this, all this time. No more waiting. “Please.”
“One more time,” he said quietly into the air. “Come for me one more time, and then I’ll let you feel everything.”
I knew what he wanted. I could feel it burning through my blood. I rode him slowly, shifting my body forward with every thrust so that his cock dragged against the most sensitive parts of me. My muscles tightened, my vision going white as the tension grew impossible to deny.
“I need—” I said softly, my hips jerking now, desperate, my clit rubbing against the perfect curve of his body. “I need something.”
With a growl, Zadi leaned forward just enough that his claws scraped my breast and pulled me toward his mouth. A long, decadent tongue slipped free–dark red, nearly black. It lapped at my nipples before slowly circling them, tightening in the most obscene suction I had ever felt.
Pain. Pleasure. Perfection. It snapped through me, my body instinctively, pushing down against the pressure of that thick cock as I rode the first waves of my orgasm. Zaldi’s hands left my breasts to cup my hips, keeping me flush as his mouth broke free of my breasts to let out a hoarse shout.
“Fuck, oh fuck,” his words barely audible as I tried to focus on the feeling of his body inside me.
The pulse of heat, the thickening pressure, and then, more bliss.
My head flopped back, my hips twitching as I let go and trusted his body to feed mine more of this ridiculous pleasure.
His claws pricked me as he held me flush against him, his body curled up around mine as Zaldi came deep inside of me.
Minutes later, or hell, it could’ve been hours, I collapsed forward onto his chest. “Are you alright?” His rumbled question made me smile. I shifted a little against him, surprising myself when starbursts of pleasure started up against, making me gasp against him.
Zaldi groaned, his hands pressing against my back and more heat flooded me. “Easy,” he said, caressing my skin with careful fingers. “We’ll be a little…sensitive for a while.”
I snorted, or tried to, “Sensitive? That’s what you're calling this?” I just came from shifting to look up at him. Which had instantly made him come again.
“Are you complaining, mate?” Zaldi said, and I could imagine the smile even if I didn’t dare move to see it.
“No, not at all,” I nuzzled against the firm skin of his chest. “I’m half tempted to do it again just to enjoy it.”
Zaldi growled at me, but it was playful. “Evil, evil mate, taking advantage of your male while he is vulnerable.”
We lay together, the slow hum of movement between us as we simply enjoyed each other.
“What happens now?” I asked him after a while. “Do we go home? And where exactly is home?”
His chest rose and fell beneath me, the motion rocking my head just enough that I could tilt my face up to see him. His dark—dark—eyes were fixed on mine.
“Where do you want home to be?” he asked quietly. “Because wherever you are is where I want to be.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Are you really making me decide this?” I asked. “That’s not very nice.”
He smiled, waiting.
“If you asked me,” I continued, forcing myself to be honest with him, “I think I’d like a little more time with our families–especially my grandparents. I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but I’d like to explore what’s happening in Salus Glen. Do you think that would even be allowed? Us, I mean.”
Zaldi shrugged, making me moan softly as our positions shifted. He shot me an apologetic grin before continuing. “I think it’s worth asking.”
“And how are we going to do that?” I asked.
A slow grin spread across his face. “I think it’s time for me to introduce you to the Prince of Hell.”
It wasn’t until we were getting dressed—just a few minutes after we finally disentangled ourselves—that I realized something.
“You didn’t bite me,” I said, my voice trembling as the thought hit. Had I done something wrong? After all this time, after keeping him waiting… somehow it felt like rejection. I’d thought the bite was a key part of the whole mate-bond thing.
Zadi shrugged honestly. “I was spending the whole time trying not to come too early. I guess I didn’t get to the biting part, yet.” He flashed me a fanged smile. “Don’t worry, sweet thing. I’ll bite you when I’m ready.”
I scoffed and stomped toward the more sunlit fields just beyond the stand of trees we’d been hiding in. I’d only made it a few feet when a warm, strong hand wrapped around my elbow and jerked me, gently, back against his body.
“Lulu,” he said softly. “Look at me.”
I refused, staring stubbornly across the small, wooded clearing. There was a tree there. I decided it was the most fascinating, captivating tree I had ever seen. Definitely worth me staring at it.
“Lulu,” he said again, his voice threaded with warmth. “Look at me. Please.”
I finally gave in, slowly tipping my chin upward until I met his eyes. My mate’s eyes.
Oh shit! Was he, my mate?
Unwelcome panic swirled in my chest as I stared up at him. His hand rose to cup my cheek, a sharp-clawed thumb smoothing gently over my cheekbone.
“I’m sorry if I teased you,” he said quietly. “I only meant to say that the bite is an outward sign of the bond. It isn’t the bond itself.”
He paused, watching my face. “It’s like a wedding ring. Just a symbol that there was a wedding once, not the marriage itself. Does that make sense?”
His finger kept brushing away my worries even as I nodded. “I think so,” I said softly.
His smile turned lopsided. “Besides, if I bit you now, we’d be here all night—and I’m fairly certain someone is already looking for both of us. So, unless you want one of my family members wandering down here…”
“Absolutely not,” I said, shoving him backward. “I want none of that. It’s going to be awkward enough walking back knowing everyone already knows what we just did.”
Zaldi laughed, then came up behind me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Sorry about your clothes, by the way,” he added casually.
I rolled my eyes, tugging the remains of my shirt closer as I tried to walk back toward the village with whatever dignity I had left.
He chuckled, the sound warm and rumbling against my side as he tucked me closer.
“I’ll run ahead and get you some of my clothes,” he said with a smile.
“Not that you don’t already smell like me, but wearing my clothes and my scent like this…
” He shot me a wicked wink. “Now everyone will know exactly who you are to me.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest. “Does that include this Prince of Hell we need to find?”
“Especially him,” he said, already jogging ahead. “I’ll see if anyone has an obol to call him.”
I sighed. “Okay, but how are we doing this? Do I need to ask him something? Or do I just sit there quietly and pretend to be a dumb human?”
Zaldi stopped so fast he nearly stumbled then swiveled to stare at me in horror.
“No. Please, don’t do that,” he said firmly.
“He’ll want to know why I intend to remain in the living world as much as possible.
And having a mate who can’t speak for herself isn’t a reflection of what I want to build there.
” He softened. “Besides, his mate is human too. Maybe, we’ll even get to meet her while we’re there. ”
“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” I said honestly, hurrying to catch up with him for a moment. “What kind of woman marries the Prince of Hell?” I added with a crooked smile.
“Probably the same kind who falls in love with a sex demon in college,” he shot back, giving me a pointed look.
I huffed out a short laugh. “Good point. I should probably keep my opinions more open, shouldn’t I?”
“Probably,” Zadi said with a soft chuckle. Then, he slowed. “I’ll set you down. I can tell my brother is coming—and he’s going to see you.”
With a squeak, I was immediately lowered into the grass.
I crossed my hands over my legs, arms wrapped tight, ensuring there was absolutely no chance anyone could see my lacy thong.
I sat there in the middle of the gold-and-green field, feeling utterly disheveled.
I couldn’t even imagine what my hair or my face looked like.
Zadi was already running, his soft footsteps swallowed by the field as he crested one hill and disappeared over the other.
I sighed, relaxing despite myself, and tipped my face up toward whatever passed for a sundown here. It was going to be okay, I promised myself, both out loud and inside my head, letting the air steal the words, as I slowly sank back into the grass.
It really was surprisingly comfortable, even with the grass on ass situation I had going. And God knew I was still feeling the glowy effects of being with Zaldi. Just for a moment, I promised myself, Zaldi would be right back anyway.
My eyes fluttered shut.
The next thing I knew, I was waking to a human woman smiling down at me, one hand extended in greeting.
“I’m fairly certain you don’t belong here,” she said with a grin. “But I can’t wait to hear the story.”
With a gasp, I shot upright. One hand flew immediately to my crotch, the other scrambling to tug my gaping shirt back over my breasts.
The woman laughed, the sound light and cheerful in the warm, Underworld air.
“I’m so sorry,” I said after a beat, suddenly feeling ridiculous. “Is this your field?”
She shrugged, the gesture friendly and relaxed. “I don’t really think fields belong to anyone, do you?”
I laughed nervously. “I guess not. I’m just… super nervous. And, obviously, not dressed to introduce myself.”
She shrugged again, retracting her hand. “Good point. No offense, but I’ve already seen plenty.” With a soft grunt, she slipped a heavy looking leather bag from her shoulder. A quick rummage later and she held out a soft-looking hoodie. I stared at it, then back up at her.
“Take it,” she said. “Between the two of us, I think you need it more.”
She grinned as I took it with a huff and quickly pulled it over my head. Shoving the hood back when it flopped over my eyes.
“Where did you even get a hoodie in the Underworld?” I asked.
She paused, setting the bag at her feet. “First,” she said gently, “you should probably tell me why you’re in the Underworld at all.”
I swallowed, tugging the hoodie down as far as it would go, trying to cover more of my butt before settling back into the grass. “It’s kind of a long story.”
The dark-haired woman glanced around, then gestured broadly to the empty space stretching in every direction. “Looks like we have a minute.”
“Yes,” I said, swallowing hard, “Yes, it does. I–uh–came here with my mate to visit his family,” I said carefully, avoiding words like boyfriend or husband or partner. None of them fit Zaldi. Not anymore.
“Your mate?” Her brows lifted as she studied me more closely. “And who might that be?”
“He’s one of the incubi,” I said, jerking my thumb toward the hill Zaldi had vanished over. I silently begged him to reappear.
“An incubus,” she repeated, “Who? I might know them.”
Now, it was me who gave her a long look, “You might know them?”
The woman smiled slowly. “Perhaps. You can call me Lucia. And who might you be?”
“My name is Lulu. I’m from Salus Glen.”
The woman’s eyes immediately lit up, her smile broadening. “Are you kidding me? Salus Glen?”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “I’ve lived there most of my life. I just moved back for a job recently.”
I barely got the words out before she was interrupting, “Oh my gosh. Do you know Bailey?”
I nodded, trying to connect the dots. “Of course.”
Lucia was tapping her chin now, her fingers drumming the neat red nails.
“That must mean that you are Zaldi’s mate.
” She nodded as if that made perfect sense and continued before I could even confirm, “A human mate–It makes so much sense. Arafel and I have been trying to figure out why he wanted to stay in the living world so badly. We always wondered. He never told us, but, clearly, there was something there that was keeping him tied to the living world.” Her eyes met mine. “That must’ve been you, huh?”
I wasn’t sure whether she really needed me to respond, but when she blinked expectantly at me, I finally nodded.
Lucia looked around the field again. “Why are you out here? And sleeping in a field? I know the village isn’t that far away, and it’s plenty nice.”
I blushed, and she must’ve noticed, because immediately her head fell back, and she was laughing.
“Okay. I’ve been there before, too,” she said, “I don’t have any extra pants on me, but I will stand here, and we can pretend that it’s normal if any other incubi come by before he returns.” She cast me a knowing look. “I’m guessing he ran back for clothes, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “We were hoping to chat with his boss about him coming to stay in Salus Glen for a longer period of time. But I obviously couldn’t do that looking like this.”
Lucia’s lips puckered for a minute, her chin tightening as if she might be suppressing a laugh, before she cleared her throat. “Yeah, for sure, you shouldn’t talk to him like that. Pants are a requirement for the Prince of Hell.”