Chapter 35
MALIK
I arrive at the banquet hall before Amri, which is perfect.
With hurried steps I walk around the room, physically and magically locking the doors leaving only the main set of French doors open in invitation.
I will not be interrupted. Then I go about setting the mood, nerves making my stomach flutter.
As I set the lighting and cue the music, I look to my panther for reassurance. “I hope she likes it.”
“She will. The question is, will our efforts be enough?”
I stand tall, looking around the room to make sure everything is perfect. “I hope so, but if not, we will keep trying.”
My beast purrs in agreement, but then our attention snaps to the doors as Amri steps through.
She’s in her same dark clothes; the only thing changed about her is the Aries tattoo on her neck where her enforcer tattoo used to be.
She looks around, eyes wide, but when she sets her gaze on me, there’s a small, hesitant smile on her lips. “What’s all this?”
I hold out my hand, and she closes the distance to take it, but when her fingers twine with mine, she gives me a little yank, preventing me from taking her where I want.
When I look down at her, I find her eyes on my arm, on my new claiming scar.
Amri traces a feather-light touch over the mark and says, “I’m so happy for you.
For you both.” And when she lifts her gaze from my arm, her expression holds true delight.
Something inside me unravels, and I realize how important it was for Amri to accept Askari as part of my life …
as part of our lives. As I lead her over to the raised platform, I say, “Thank you. It was a long time coming, and well …” I place my free hand on my chest. “I’m a bit more whole with him here. ” Amri’s smile grows brighter.
I direct her to where a single ornate chair sits—Leonora’s chair.
Amri’s beaming expression fades as she eases into the chair at my gentle bidding.
Her spine is stiff, and she perches on the edge of the seat, her knee bouncing.
I lean over, tracing my fingers over her jaw as I say, “I want to dance for you.”
Her eyes go wide once more, and then she blinks too fast as her gaze darts around the room. “Here? Are you sure?”
With a flick of my hand, the main doors click shut and lock with a soft snick . “No one will bother us. It’s just you and me, and I thought, maybe … doing this for you, for us, here in this place that holds the echoes of so much pain … Well, it’s a good place to start healing.”
Her leg stills, and the tension in her posture melts away. Amri slides back, settling fully in the chair, and as she crosses one leg over the other, she looks every inch a queen. My queen. My little warrior. She waves a hand with a sassy smirk on her face. “Then show me what you’ve got, Alpha.”
I resist the urge to lunge forward and grasp her by the throat and take her right here. I have plans, and what I said was a truth that I need to follow through on. I need this. I need to show her how I feel about her. And I need this for me.
As I back up and take the single step down to the floor, I weave a quick sign. The torches along the walls dim, and a spotlight hits me. Music swells, and though this is a recreation of my performance in this very room just a short time ago, everything is different. I am different.
Another flick of my fingers, and a feathered mask settles over the top half of my face.
My claws slide from my fingers, glowing gold with my magic.
My panther ears peek from my black hair that falls down my back.
The tiny bells strung around my ankles tinkle softly as I begin to move.
My hips dip as I tap my heels with a feather-light touch to the floor.
My abs ripple as I roll my torso, and my arms float up and out from my sides, gold light tracing my movements.
I feel Amri’s gaze on me as I dance. The music drives me, the beat swelling then slowing.
I keep perfect pace, showing off for her.
Sweat sheens on my skin, glistening in the spotlight, and when I spin, my eyes find Amri through my mask.
The heat in her gaze nearly has me faltering, but I don’t miss a beat as I slowly dance my way towards her.
My hips roll as I place one foot on the platform.
Amri’s eyes track the flex of my muscles, and she uncrosses her legs, planting both boots on the floor.
I step up, keeping my knees soft as I lift and lower my heels to create the quick dips of my hips side to side.
When I roll my body in front of Amri, she licks her lips, gaze glued to my stomach.
She leans forward, but I move out of her reach, taking the dance in a slow seduction around her chair.
I spin, and my hair fans out, brushing against her, drawing a soft gasp from her lips.
As I come around the other side of her chair, she shifts in her seat to better watch me, and she follows as I come back to stand in front of her.
Bracing my hands on the arms of her chair, I lean into her space, my hips still moving with the music. Then the beat slows, and so do I.
With trembling hands, Amri reaches up, deliberately pushing my mask up off my face to the top of my head.
The music drums a seductive rhythm as I kneel between her thighs.
Her fingers trail down my face, over my lips, and I kiss them before her touch travels down my throat, over my collarbones and to my chest. The music continues, but fades to the background as Amri presses her palm over my heart and whispers, “You are so beautiful.”
Cupping her free hand, I lift it, pressing it to my face.
I nuzzle her palm, then place a gentle kiss there, saying against her skin.
“You wrapped yourself around my shattered heart. You protected it. You fought for it. Even when I insisted it wasn’t yours, you held my heart with careful hands, and now it’s yours.
Forever, if you’ll have me.” When I reach both hands to hold her face, she keeps hers pressed over my heart and on my jaw as I say, “Will you claim me, Amri?”
Her smile spreads across her face like the rising sun, and I bask in it. She leans forward, her lips a centimeter from mine, our breaths mingling. “Only if you claim me too, Malik.”
All it takes is a fraction of movement to bring our lips together. Our kiss is soft and simple, and too quickly, she draws back. But she stays close as she holds my gaze and asks, “Where?”
I tilt my head to the side, baring my neck. “Here, mate, where I can show it off proudly.”
My little warrior doesn’t waste any time, as if she’s afraid that I’ll change my mind.
A grunt of pleasure punches from my throat as she sinks her fangs into my skin.
Magic swirls through the bite, similar but so different from Askari’s bite.
While his was warm and familial, Amri’s screams through my blood, carrying with it a rush of heat, lust, yearning, and love.
I’m glad I’m already on my knees, because I would have fallen to her feet at the rush of everything she sends me through her bite.
When she pulls away, the both of us panting softly, I am possessed by her, but like Askari, it’s in the best way possible because I know my heart and soul are safe with her.
The bond thread shimmers from her chest, dancing in the air, aiming right for me.
There’s no fear, no hesitation to be found anywhere inside me as I welcome the bond between us.
The skittering of phantom spiders comes from overhead, but neither of us look up, instead holding each other’s stares with happy smiles.
I sigh, smiling and feeling slightly drunk on Amri’s magic. “Thank you for being patient with me. I will endeavor to be worth the wait.”
She angles her head to the side, her eyes glazed with desire as she says, “You already are.”
I lean into her, brushing my lips against the side of her neck, and she shivers. I whisper against her skin, “Let me pleasure you as I claim you.”
She releases a breathy, “Yes.”
As I sit back, I weave the signs and her clothes disappear.
I keep my pants on for now, needing the thin barrier of silk to remind me to focus on her …
for now. With hands pressed to her inner knees, I spread my mate’s legs wide against the arms of the chair.
I dip my head, pleased when the scent of her arousal spikes as she sees the rough tongue of my beast flick out.
Her taste sinks into my tastebuds, and my fingers dig into her flesh as I lap and suck on my mate.
Her thighs clench, but I hold her open as I feast. She wr ithes in the seat, and by the pace of her breaths and the pleasure thrumming down her bond, I know she’s already close.
I lift my head, letting my breath skim over her sensitive clit, and she bucks her hips. I’m mesmerized by her as I slip a finger inside her, and her lips part and her flush deepens.
I say, “You are perfection, my little warrior.” I slide in another finger, stroking her slowly, deeply, curling my fingers to draw beautiful whimpers from her sinful lips.
She reaches down, gripping my wrist. “Please, Malik. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
I rise over her, keeping my fingers buried deep as I grind my palm against her clit. “I am your alpha. Yours to command, my beautiful mate.”
She rolls her hips into my hand, her inner walls clenching as she says, “Then claim me, body and soul.”
My beast roars at her command, and the sound escapes me, but instead of being scared at the primal sound, Amri groans, hooking one leg over the arm of the chair and tilting her head to the side.
Yes. My mate needs her alpha.