Whatever this mate bond forced upon us, there was no doubt in my mind of Tyrrik’s desire for me or his joy when we touched.
Heat pulsed between us. Our lips and bodies tangled with a frantic edge I’d never felt before. His lips were soft and warm, and he tasted of nectar. The nectar I’d made for him. He coaxed my lips open and brushed his tongue against mine, pulling me closer. I threaded my hands through his dark hair and stood on my tiptoes to meet his hunger with my own. He pulled away suddenly and I made a sound of protest until his lips pressed to my neck. I arched again as he trailed kisses from my ear to my chest.
“Uvijek sam te voljela,” he growled. I have always loved you.
His hands tangled in my skirt, and I grabbed either side of his torso, my mind clouded with a thick haze. Tyrrik backed me to the wall, only breaking our kiss to whisper in my ear. My entire body shivered with want for him.
“Mistress moons!” Dyter sputtered.
I screamed, jumping a meter off the ground.
“Oh my stars,” Dyter hollered as he stepped back out the open door. “My eyes. Oh stars. I can’t . . . I can’t unsee that.”
Tyrrik pulled away as I dropped my skirt which had apparently migrated during recent events. As I did so, I heard a series of clinks.
Drak!
35
Dyter and I froze and Tyrrik raised his eyebrows, a slow smile spreading as he looked at the three beautiful sapphires on the stone floor.
Dyter’s lips dipped into disapproving lines. “Please tell me you’re not stealing from our host, who is also a king.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” I protested weakly.
We all stared at the glinting gems again.
Tyrrik wrapped his hand around my waist, and my blush intensified due to Dyter’s presence as the Drae spoke. “Ryn is indulging in her instincts.”
I had a feeling I didn’t want to know anything about this, but I felt braver after our kiss. “What does it mean? This shiny obsession. Really mean. I want the full scoop this time.” Why had I already assumed I wouldn’t be able to crush them in my teeth and spit shiny daggers into my foe’s eyes?
“Your horde is for our family. By collecting precious objects and keeping them safe, you are showing me you would make a good mother to our children.”
My attention caught on good mother and children, and my mind blanked. I edged out of Tyrrik’s grip in a subtle movement no one probably noticed.
Dyter chuckled and mumbled something about family jewels. He straightened, grinning at my slack face, and said, “If you’re done using the facilities, may I?”
Tyrrik exited the restroom. I blinked, mouth open, and swooped to pick up my pretties and Tyrrik’s discarded carrot top. Collecting sapphires and rubies and gold stuff didn’t mean a thing. They were an investment. Carrying them was a smart business choice.
I trailed out of the bathroom, unresponsive to Dyter’s light pat on the shoulder.
“How many have you taken?” Tyrrik asked, plucking one of the jewels from my hand.
“That’s mine!” A fierce protective instinct gripped me. I whirled on him, throwing the carrot top at him.
“Ryn,” he said, his voice muffled with laughter. He held the gem out to me. “Please, forgive me.”
I grabbed my sapphire from his hand and sauntered past him. “Don’t take my jewels.”
Dyter came out of the bathroom, and his gaze went from Tyrrik to me. “Enough tomfoolery. We all need our rest. Tomorrow we need to search for the other Phaetyn girl. The emperor likely knows we are here, so we cannot linger before traveling to Azule.”
“I always knew you’d be powerful, my Khosana,” Tyrrik whispered to me, tracing his fingertip over my face.
Now I was his princess, was I? The Drae had boundary issues. I smiled as the last bit of sleepiness rolled away. I stretched and opened my eyes to see Tyrrik sitting beside me, his dark gaze fixed on my face.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Me tackling you with the carrot greens?”
“Maybe, or perhaps I’m telling you that no one in this Realm can do what you do,” he said. “Let’s go have some breakfast and go to the garden.”
“I thought we were going to find Kamini’s twin. What time is it? How long did I sleep?”
“It’s late afternoon. But you needed your sleep. You’ve pushed yourself too hard for several . . . months. You needed the extra rest.”
“That’s true. Even after the castle, I had to build the tavern business up.” I yawned, stretching again.
Tyrrik stood, giving me space to get off the narrow bed. Maybe I should suggest pushing the beds together before we next slept; these beds were barely wide enough for one person, and falling asleep took several hours last night without Tyrrik next to me. Even knowing he was on the other side of the room wasn’t enough for my Drae to be comfortable though. Clearly, I was too exhausted to sleepwalk over there.
“Our bond feels stronger,” I blurted as realization hit me. “When we kissed in the bathroom yesterday, that intensified the bond, didn’t it?”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Tyrrik certainly hadn’t forced the kiss to happen; I’d practically jumped him. No, I wasn’t mad. I felt like I should be mad, but I . . . wasn’t. I was just, still, scared.
I gazed up at Tyrrik and saw worry cross his face before he smoothed his features. But he couldn’t hide what he felt through our bond. Not now that the gates were open, and everything seemed to have focused since last night. I could feel his panic, though the panic didn’t seem in response to my reaction but over the intensity itself.
He took a deep breath, and after his measured exhale, he said, “It will intensify every time we are intimate.”
I tilted my head, studying the Drae. Something about that felt right, even if part of my rational mind screamed I couldn’t handle much more intensity. I knew he wanted me to be his mate, but something was off. I puzzled for a moment before asking, “Does that scare you? Our bond growing stronger?”
His fear pulsed through our bond, and I waited for him to explain though I could already guess at what bothered him. Considering his past with a blood oath, and what he’d confessed so far, it seemed reasonable for him to be afraid.
Tyrrik stiffened, his gaze dipping to the floor. Several moments of silence passed before he sat on the edge of the bed again. He scooped my hands in his, bringing them to his lap. With his other hand, he traced the back of mine as he spoke, “I am not afraid of our bond.”
Well, there went my guess. I thought he’d been scared of our bond feeling like a binding promise he had no control over.