Chapter Twelve #2
Everyone scrambled quickly out of the meeting house, some tripping over themselves as they rushed to leave on their king’s orders. Zahra was so wrapped up in Weiyu’s kiss, in his embrace, that she hardly noticed when the last person darted out of the room and shut the door behind them.
Weiyu walked forward several steps before trapping her against the wall and pinning one of her wrists above her head. Zahra pulled herself closer to him so no space remained between them.
Mine, the Aquatic Core seemed to whisper in her mind, her head growing dizzy with desire. Claim. Submit.
The Aquatic Core grew warmer against her skin as she fully and willingly gave into her alpha phoenix’s insistence. I’m yours.
As if he felt her acceptance, he spun her around, swiped parchment and maps and scrolls off the table, and laid her on top. He broke the kiss only long enough for her to gaze into hooded golden eyes heavy with longing.
Finally giving into her long-suppressed desire, she lightly touched his face with the tip of her finger, trailing a path from his cheekbone, over the bridge of his nose, across his other cheekbone, and skimming the feathery tips of his eyelashes.
Beautiful. Stunning. Captivating.
Hers.
When she next brushed his bottom lip, he playful nipped at her, capturing the tip of her finger between his teeth.
Despite her heart pounding against her ribcage, playfulness struck a mood within her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and used them to pull him closer until they were flush against each other.
If she hadn’t made it perfectly clear up till now that she wanted to be his mate, she was sure this closeness did the job.
Weiyu breathed out a hot breath against her skin, kissing her finger, then her knuckle. Her wrist. And then he bit the fleshy part of her thumb.
The corner of her mouth lifted in amusement when she realized before the night was over, she was going to be covered in love bites from an overly enthusiastic phoenix king.
He circled his tongue over the spot where he’d bit as if soothing away the pain and continued placing soft kisses along her collarbone and then a lingering kiss above the place where the piece of his Aquatic Core rested against her skin.
Now that she knew what the gemstone was, the intimate action reflected something beautiful and everlasting.
“Weiyu,” she whispered.
It was all she needed to say before he captured her lips with his once more. Pulling her closer. Taking the kiss deeper. Leaving no space between them.
Without warning, Weiyu scooped her into his arms and exited a second door near the back of the meeting house.
She kept her eyes on his face rather than at the ground below as they climbed outdoor wooden stairs winding around a large tree, across a rickety wooden bridge, and through the door of another treehouse building.
This building was homier, decorated with hanging vines and the quiet trickling of an indoor waterfall.
She glanced around only long enough to note the soft, green drapes billowing over a spacious bed and a row of potted plants sitting beside a window before Weiyu once more pinned her against the wall and kissed her so deeply to cause her legs to go weak.
She dug her fingers through the soft strands of his hair, releasing a ragged breath as he pressed hot kisses to her neck, her throat, and when he pushed aside the fabric of her sleeve, he bit down on her shoulder.
“Ah!” she gasped, clinging to him. Pressing him closer. Wanting more, more, more.
The Aquatic Core pulsed with warmth between them as if the two pieces reacted to each other. As if they wanted to join as one.
In a deft movement, Weiyu pulled the pin out of her bun, and her hair fell loose around her shoulders.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he murmured against her neck before his lips once again found hers.
She pulled away slightly, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. “Must have been a really long time, seeing as we haven’t known each other for more than a few months.”
“Mm, exactly,” he teased back. “A few ages.”
Not once did they break eye contact as he maneuvered them toward the bed and gently laid her on top of the sheets. Unbelievably soft and silky like water stroking against her skin.
Gazing up at the gorgeous hue of his golden eyes, she said, “I may have been more partial toward the table.”
“That can be arranged.” He looped both arms beneath her as if to scoop her up, but then she shouted that she was jesting and pulled him closer until they laughed with both joy and desire. She wanted to become his. Now and forever.
Unable to wait any longer, she fumbled for the buttons on his vest. When the last refused to cooperate in a timely manner, she tugged a little too hard, enough for the button to pop off the vest entirely, roll across the floor, and disappear somewhere beneath a desk.
“Good thing you know how to sew,” Weiyu breathed, shrugging out of the vest and working on unfastening the buttons on the back of her dress beneath her.
“Good thing,” she said, laughing breathlessly when his touch stole the very air from her lungs. “Because it likely won’t be the last time.”
He managed to slip her out of her dress, leaving her in only her undergarments. She ran a hand over the muscles of his chest, to his torso, and ran a teasing finger along the waistband of his trousers. She loved the shape of his body. Slim but muscular. And she wanted to explore further.
Leaning down, he swiped a slow tongue across her bottom lip. Her entire body quivered in response.
Her grip tightened in his hair as he kissed slowly across her shoulder, her jaw, her neck, and then he nibbled lightly on her ear.
Taking her by surprise, Weiyu slipped a hand beneath her and rolled her onto her stomach. She let out a gasp at suddenly facing a light blue bedspread the same color as the under feathers of a blue phoenix.
Weiyu planted a hand on either side of her, and her eyes widened when she noticed a mix of beautiful feathers and tanned skin with the beginnings of black talons replacing each fingernail.
She turned her head to the side to find hooded golden eyes gazing down at her.
Blue feathers puffed out around his neck before retreating until nothing remained but skin.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
“Don’t be.” She threaded her fingers through the top of his, his hands transitioning between tan skin and blue feathers as if he found it difficult to control his transformation. “I want all of you. I don’t care what you look like or which form you take.”
“Zahra,” he rasped. He placed a hand against her chin and turned her head enough to give her a long, deep kiss.
After their sweet kisses turned ravenous, and they made love to each other, Zahra lay curled up beside Weiyu. Her eyelids suddenly felt heavy, especially when the soft mattress and Weiyu’s scent lulled her into a warm feeling of comfort.
Weiyu pulled her close until they were nose to nose beneath the warmth of a soft, cozy blanket as soft as feather downs. The piece of Aquatic Core heated against her skin, pulsing in response to Weiyu, to becoming his mate in every sense of the word.
Unexpectedly, she laughed, the sound filled with disbelief and joy. For so long, she had never felt like she’d belonged anywhere. But she knew without a doubt she belonged here. Beside Weiyu. In his arms.
As his mate.
“Why are you laughing?” Weiyu playfully nipped at her ear and pressed a light kiss against her jaw.
“I just didn’t expect this to happen. Especially not so quickly.” She released a long breath and shifted closer to him. “You really wanted me as your mate all this time? I’m not mistaken?”
He gave her a playful glower. “You are here in my home, in my bed, in my arms, and you are asking that question? A hard one to convince, hmm?”
She laughed again and rested her forehead against his chest. “I’ve never meant much to anyone. I am...overwhelmed. And happy.”
“Good. You’d better get used to being wanted and cherished and loved.”
Loved...
She could not remember a time when anyone had loved her. Not even her sisters. Even if they’d felt a singular thread of affection for her, they would have hid it, especially from their father.
Her fingers closed around her necklace, and she lifted it between them. “I finally figured out what this means.”
“You really didn’t know?”
“I didn’t.”
A puzzled expression lingered on his face. “Truly? But you grew up in a phoenix clan. And even then, I would have thought you’d learn its significance quickly at the Roost.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Truly. I was ignorant of this particular custom.”
“Huh.” He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “When you asked what it was, I thought you were playing coy. Now I feel a little foolish for not asking you to become my mate forthright.”
Shifting closer to him, she planted a gentle kiss of adoration on his cheek. “I thoroughly enjoyed the shock of discovering what it meant. Poor Ye-Ye had to help me out of my ignorance.”
“Ah, poor Ye-Ye, indeed.”
They laughed and snuggled closer to one another. Zahra wrapped an arm around his waist, but as she looked into his eyes, guilt pricked her like a griffon shifter’s talon pressing into her neck.
Weiyu still had no idea who she really was.
But did it matter? Must she claim her past in order to have a happy future? Couldn’t she simply let it all go and start anew? No one had recognized her here, and at this point, she doubted anyone would. Hers was not a face many outsiders of the Perch got to see.
But...more people might get hurt. And she risked Weiyu finding out on his own. The betrayal he might feel was not worth her secrets.
In her mind, she promised to tell him the truth. From her own lips. Not now when things were still so sweet and tender between them. But soon.
She lazily traced his jaw with the tip of her finger. “What now?” she whispered to take her mind off her guilt.
“I’m leaving to meet with the griffon king tomorrow.” He lifted her hand and placed a slow, gentle kiss on her knuckles. “Come with me.”
The idea of leaving the safety of the Roost both excited and terrified her. She attempted to pull her hand away in her hesitation, but Weiyu only held tighter and placed a lingering kiss on her wrist.
“I-I-I don’t know,” she stuttered. “What if I’m not welcome?”
Weiyu snorted. “You’re the phoenix king’s mate. No one would dare to make you feel unwelcome.”
Mate...
A smile lifted at the corners of her mouth at the word. She was Weiyu’s mate. And he was hers. She still found it difficult to wrap her mind around, but she looked forward to getting used to the idea.
“All right,” she murmured. “I’ll come with you.”
“Good.” In a fluid movement, he turned until he suspended himself above her, trapping her against the bedspread with his body and the piercing gold of his eyes.
“Now...” He leaned closer until the whisper of his breath caressed her lips.
“I don’t intend to leave this bed for the remainder of the night. ”
She blinked alluringly at him before placing her hand behind his neck and pulling him into another kiss. One that she never wanted to end.