Chapter 26
Marik and I step out of the portal, my hand in his.
The guard exits behind us and closes the portal.
After my conversation with Elle, I went to the guest cottage to see if anyone wanted to grab some coffee at a nearby café that Holly recommended.
Marik was the only one in the living room, and he jumped up, visibly excited, when I asked if he wanted to join me.
The quaint café is steps away, the exterior covered in white-painted brick, a butter yellow front door inviting patrons into the cozy interior.
Once we’re inside, Marik orders a black coffee, and I order a coffee with cream and sugar.
The guard, dressed in plain clothes, sits in the back of the café, discretely eyeing the patrons.
Marik and I sit down on one of the light brown leather sofas in the back of the shop. He throws his arm around me, and I settle against him.
“So, you just like to drink dessert in a cup?” he asks me.
“Shut up,” I say, nudging him with my elbow.
We fall into a comfortable silence, drinking our coffees and people-watching, his thumb rubbing my shoulder through my jacket. It feels good. He feels good. I feel like I’m enjoying a normal Saturday morning with my boyfriend.
“If you choose me, can we agree that Saturday morning coffees are our weekly tradition?” he asks me.
The image of routine coffee dates with Marik, my husband, with rings and crowns glinting in the sun, makes my heart warm. “Only if we can wear our crowns without glamours.”
He smiles and says, “Deal.”
“Would that be possible?” I ask him. “Are normal day-to-day things like that possible for me? For us?”
He glances around and says, “To an extent. We missed the early-morning rush, so it’s not too busy right now. I guess it’s possible, but you probably wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without being stopped.”
I nod and take another sip of my coffee, thinking about how much more my life will change once I’m married. Beside me, Marik clears his throat and sits up straighter. “Will I ever get to meet your aunt?”
I glance at him, but he won’t meet my gaze. Is he…nervous? Prince Marik, one of the most powerful in the kingdom, nervous?
“I think I can arrange that,” I say, smiling at the thought. I think Willa would like him, but I’m not sure.
One time, I brought home a human male. He was cute and had the biggest dimples.
Willa brought us a plate of homemade cookies.
His mom was a baker, so he asked her what kind of sugar she liked to use when making cookies.
They talked about the different kinds of sugar while I listened to them, shoving chocolate chip cookies into my mouth.
I remember feeling so happy, thinking about how my aunt and my crush were bonding, every teenage girl’s dream. After he left, she told me that a relationship with a human male would never work. I didn’t invite him over again after that.
“She can be difficult sometimes, but she’s basically a mother to me. She raised me,” I explain. “Sometimes, it was like she was my mom, but as I got older, she was like my best friend.”
I should go see her, but I know it’s not smart right now with cambions roaming around her neighborhood. Whoever is responsible for them is probably expecting me to visit her soon. If I went, I’d be falling right into their trap.
“If I’m being honest, I felt hurt when I found out that she knew who my father was the whole time, so things are a little strained between us right now,” I say.
His arm around me tightens and he says, “Sometimes our parents make questionable decisions in raising us, believing it to be the best.”
He sounds sad. I wait for him to continue, hoping he’ll open up about his parents and his past, but he doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he stares off, his eyes trained on the exposed brick wall across from us.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask. “Whatever it is that’s bothering you?”
He shakes his head and says, “Not really. I’m just thinking about our conversation from the other day. I think you’re right about not putting our kids through the kind of training and childhood I went through. When I’m a father, I don’t want to raise them like I was raised.”
“Our kids, huh?” I ask, one eyebrow raised.
His cheeks turn pink. “Yeah, I mean, if you pick me.”
“And how many kids do you want?” I ask, avoiding responding to that. Although I’m leaning toward Marik, I don’t want to give any false promises or false hope if it doesn’t end up working out.
He hesitates. “I’m not sure if kids are something I truly want.
Because I wasn’t first in line for my court, they’ve never been at the forefront of my mind.
But now that I’m in this process, I’ve been thinking about how that aspect of my life might change.
It’s difficult to wrap my mind around, if I’m being honest.” His foot bounces against the worn hardwood floors.
I suck in a breath. He’s right. With everything else on my mind, the responsibility of having children soon wasn’t something that I had been thinking about. But now…my stomach clenches at the thought.
“I feel the same. Everything has changed for me now.” I tilt my head up, admiring the angular cut of his jaw and the slope of his nose as he surveys the room. “But you know you don’t have to do this, right?” I whisper.
He looks at me, a sad smile on his face. “Choice is an illusion. But the choice to be with you is one that I would be proud of.”
Of all the princes, Marik has made it clear that we share the same hesitancies about the responsibilities of the roles we’ve been forced into.
To some, that might not be a reason to choose him.
But I like the idea of knowing that I would sit beside someone with the same vulnerabilities as me.
Sitting beside someone like Koa or August would be great, but I worry that they would never truly understand me on a deeper level and the things that I struggle with.
Being able to bond with Marik over this is a deeper level of intimacy that I need in a husband.
He places a soft kiss on my forehead and I nestle into him further as I think about Marik beside me on the High Throne.
We portal back to the guest cottage and sneak up to Marik’s bedroom. The moment the door closes behind us, Marik presses me against the bedroom door. His body is lean and taut, fitting perfectly against mine.
I angle my head up as far as I can, but my antlers knock against the door and stop me from being able to look up at him fully. He steps back to allow me some room, and I lift my chin to take him in.
His gaze is locked on my antlers. “I’ve never met a female deer hybrid with antlers,” he says. “Other than Elle, of course.” He pulls one of his hands away from the door and gestures to my antler. “May I?”
I blink. Touching a deer’s antlers is an intimate thing. The velvet casing is full of sensitive nerve bundles. But if Marik is someone I’m seriously considering marrying…
“Yes,” I say as I lock eyes with him.
He dips his head and places his lips against mine. His lips are so soft. My back arches as I lean into the kiss. He pulls away, his bottom lip clinging to mine, as if our lips can’t stand to be separated.
His gaze returns to my antlers as he uses one finger to gently stroke the velvet lining. A delicious lick of pleasure shoots through me at the feeling. It’s been so long since I’ve been touched like this. This is a different form of intimacy, one that I don’t share with every male.
He smiles at my response to his caress. “Does it feel good?”
I close my eyes and nod. He repeats the motion and I can’t help the whimper that comes from my mouth.
He winds his other hand around my waist and pulls me against him. He dips his head to press his lips against mine again. Each brush of his lips is soft and easy, but slowly building into something more.
His hand inches closer and closer to my breast and I arch into him, but his hand. His hand travels from to cup my backside and I shove against him, pushing him toward the bed. He lands on the bed and stares up at me with hunger in his eyes.
I climb on top of him and dip my head down, eager to continue kissing him. Our tongues collide once more and he hardens beneath me. He pulls away to run a finger along the velvet lining of my antlers. I gasp at the feeling, at the pleasure as it races down my spine, at the way it sets me alight.
I rock against him, eager for more, more, more. He grinds his hips into me, perfectly aligned with my center. Every movement is rhythmic and adds to the well of pleasure that’s been slowly building.
He pulls me down to him, lips and tongues moving in unison once more.
He rocks against me and I can no longer contain my moans as the wave builds.
He nips at my bottom lip, and it sends me into overdrive.
I feel like I’m melting. He grasps my backside, pressing me against him, and I gasp as the wave breaks, every muscle tensing and releasing at the feeling.
I collapse against him as the wave recedes. He strokes my hair as it dissipates. My breathing slows, and I go to reach for him, but he stops me. “Just lay with me,” he mutters into my hair.
“Wh—are you sure?”
He nods against my head. “This is all I need,” he whispers.
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. In this moment, I wouldn’t mind spending every day this way. With a kind, selfless, caring prince, who I’m feeling more and more likely is destined to be my king.