Balbus bowed. “Of course, my prince. I shall endeavor to have all of it delivered swiftly.” He gave me a bow as well. “Lady Seary, a pleasure to see you again as always.”
“You too, Balbus,” I replied. “I’ve missed our chats. Tell me, how’s Marcina?”
Surprise flitted across his face, then he beamed. “She’s fine and has recovered completely from her ailment. I shall tell her you asked of her.”
Still beaming, the servant swirled from the room, and when it was just me and the prince, Norivun sat beside me on the bed as his wings draped behind him. “You know his wife?”
I shook my head. “I’ve never met her, but he’s told me about her and his family. She got sick a few months ago. I’m glad she’s better.”
Raw emotion filled his eyes as he grasped my hand. “You amaze me more and more every day.” His finger stroked the back of my hand as his frown returned. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” My cheeks warmed as the bond between us billowed, as though an invisible tether connected us, and each of us was tugging at the other.
“Come here.” He pulled me to his side, tucking me into him. Unlike our usual time spent in his bed, he didn’t try to seduce me or drive me to distraction with his mouth.
He just held me.
I laid my head against his chest, and his steady heartbeat was like a soothing balm on my nerves. With each of his breaths, my head lifted slightly, and soon, my eyes were closing as sleep pulled at me.
He stroked my hair, his hand moving up and down my back and arms. They were soft, lulling motions that made me shiver with need while wanting to sleep simultaneously.
A soft knock came on the door, and then Balbus bustled through with an enormous tray.
“My prince and lady.” He bowed. “Where shall I set this, Your Highness?”
“By the fire is fine, Balbus.”
The servant did as asked, moving around the room on ghostly steps until everything was ready for our meal before departing just as quickly.
Once we were alone again, my mate lifted me and carried me to the couch, and I let him since I knew keeping me close and feeling that he was doing something to protect and care for me were what his instincts demanded.
“Are you warm enough?” His brow furrowed, worry lining his eyes as he settled me on the sofa.
I sat back more and tucked my legs beneath me. “Yes, I’m fine.”
He proceeded to dish up a plate for me, and I ate everything on it. He joined in, eating his fill, but his eyes never left mine as he watched me carefully, as though he was afraid I would pass out again or the pain in my gut would resurface.
When I finally finished, he whisked my plate away and cleaned everything up before returning to my side. The couch sank under his heavy weight.
I nestled against him and trailed a finger up his chest. Even though the aura around him began to rise as desire tingled in my belly, neither of us acted on it. It seemed both of us were content to enjoy the quiet, the feel of our arms wrapped around the other, while we enjoyed our solitude. It was all oddly peaceful despite what had happened, and the bond deep inside me hummed.
It was crazy that in all of the months I’d been in this castle, we’d had so little down time with just the two of us. We were always working, training, learning, or trying to save the fields. Hardly any of our time had been devoted to just us, and since I’d only recently discovered that he was my mate, it felt like I’d been living in a fog the entire time I’d been here.
“I’m sorry for how I treated you when we first met,” I said quietly.
His wandering hands, gliding along my back and arms, stopped. He tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Why? You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I do. I thought you were a monster, and I treated you horribly. I have everything to be sorry for.”
His breath stuttered, and then he pulled me up his chest, draping me across his body.
Instinctively, I straddled him. Our lips met as his hands settled on my hips, gripping me to him as my hands splayed across his shoulders.
He kissed me softly, reverently at first, but then heat between us began to build. In a sweep of power, the prince had me in his arms and was striding toward his bed. We fell onto it in a tangle of limbs as his wings stretched around us.
“I want to make you mine so badly,” he said, kissing along my throat.
I arched into his touch, breathless as he trailed kisses down my neck. “Tomorrow, after the final test.”
He stopped, his head lifting. “Truly?”
“Yes, I just need my mind clear until then and not gripped in the haze of a newly sealed mate bond.”
With a growl, he stripped me of my clothing, and then devoured me in earnest.
I arched against him as a low, pulsing ache uncurled deep in my belly. He soon had me writhing against him, feral in my desire as my naked body was his to attend.
I was clinging to his shoulders, my lips swollen from his demanding kisses and my fingers like claws as aching lust burned through me.
The prince picked up the potion from Murl. Before I could ask what he was doing, he brought the vial to my mouth and tipped it between my lips.
I swallowed it hastily, my grip questioning as his large hands moved down my sides to spread my legs.
“Let me make you come,” he said huskily. “After you climax, the potion will kick in, and you’ll fall into a deep sleep.”
A smile curved my lips. “You sound quite confident in your ability to pleasure me.”
His look turned reverent as he dipped lower in the bed, positioning himself over the edge as his mouth came to my core. “I was born to pleasure you, Ilara Seary.”
“But what about you?” I asked before he could make good on that promise. “If the potion makes me sleep right after, what about your pleasure?”
He shook his head, his eyes like blue diamonds as he regarded me in the firelight. “Tonight is about you. My mate. My queen.”
My breath sucked in when his tongue ran up my center, and then my head was tipping back, my hands clawing the sheets as he laved me with his tongue.
His mouth had the waves building inside me so quickly, so easily. He licked and sucked, eating me out in a way that was nearly feral.
“I could suck your pussy all night,” he murmured as he paused only long enough to slide a finger inside me. He hooked it at the end, scraping against me as though he knew exactly where my body would respond most.
I bucked against him, and the satisfied expression on his face was overpowering.
“You’ll always be my female.” He licked me again, the motion teasing as he began pumping his finger into me. His gaze darkened into a carnal and savage expression that made me almost come just looking at him. “You are mine, Ilara Seary. Tell me you are. Tell me that only I will ever be the one to touch you, fuck you, love you from this moment forward.”
My breath caught. Love.
I nodded and was unable to speak as my head tilted back when he licked, then sucked my clit into his mouth, biting it to the point that my breath stopped completely.
I forced myself to gasp in air as my legs trembled with the uncoiling climax that kept building and building.