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Planet Etteria
Issneen, the Royal City
A day later.
Xeus was on his way to meet Macera as per their old ritual. He hadn’t seen her, not since he’d laid her down to sleep the evening before. She’d attended her morning training with Nuos, had breakfast in the dining hall, and spent the morning with Lady Olivia. Xeus was too eager to see her at their alcove. He’d just reached the outside walkway when the skies opened, and the rain poured down. He sighed. Now what? He hurried toward the other entrance with long strides. Perhaps they could meet in the archives?
It was the sight of Azan and Nuos standing on the covered walkway that halted him. They had their backs to the rain. She is not out in this downpour? Is she?
He bolted, bursting into the rain without stopping to look first, the deluge drenching him in seconds. She stood there, soaked through, spinning, and laughing with her arms outstretched. Her white shirt was saturated and clung to her body. He groaned at the sight of her breasts and pebbled nipples. His mouth watered.
“Macera?” he growled as he approached her, not willing to hide his longing a moment longer.
She stopped spinning, lowered her arms, and smiled at him. Water glistened off her eyelashes and plastered her hair to her head, but it was her glorious joy that broke his control. He yanked her against his chest and crushed her to him. One hand clasped her cheek as he slashed his mouth over hers, kissing her as he’d yearned to do.
He rumbled his approval, at her sweetness, the heated silkiness of her mouth, at her soft lips under his. She clung to his chest, and with a roar that tore out of him, he lifted her off the ground, crushing her soft breasts against him. Now at his eye level, he proceeded to conquer her mouth, accepting and defending when she brought her tongue to meet his.
“Maker,” he rasped as he abandoned her mouth to brush kisses along her jaw, to latch onto her earlobe to suck.
She whimpered, fisting his wet tunic.
He traveled back along her jaw to claim her lips again, nipping at them, swirling his tongue in the recesses of her mouth. He was Fuyra hard, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the taste of her, the feel of her against him. He had craved this, as revealed by his morning chore. He hadn’t realized just how much.
“I need to kiss you more often,” he said into her mouth before plunging in again.
She moaned, wrapping her legs around his hips to cling to him. He wanted her legs spread, just not in the rain and not clothed. Tugging on her braid to arch her back, exposing her throat to him, he pressed open-mouthed kisses along the length of her neck, across her jaw to claim her mouth again, marveling at the sheer joy and heated pleasure coursing through him.
“Your taste is incredible,” he said, allowing his breath to mingle with hers, wishing he could meld his soul to hers for an eternity.
“Your taste is addictive,” she said, running her tongue along his bottom lip, making him shiver in reaction. She raised her arms to wrap around his neck, then kissed him, claiming him as he’d done her. He crushed her to him, tight enough that a Maloidian dagger couldn’t pass between them. He ached for her heat and softness more than he needed to breathe.
When she shivered, he realized she was cold, not that she gave any indication it bothered her. But he minded that she was cold, his Dar Eth. Cupping her backside, he marched, not releasing her lips once until he reached her chambers. He broke off the kiss, trembling for another reason unrelated to the rain.
“Cleanse, dress, and I shall meet you in the archives, ensa.” He lowered her feet to the floor.
She gasped when she encountered his interest in her, and the heated glance she gave him snatched his breath. He opened the door and urged her inside, fighting his body’s demand he follow her. After the door closed, he stared at it, despite knowing Nuos and Azan hovered nearby.
“When she is ready, escort her to the archives,” he said before heading to his chambers to cleanse.
He commed Kanzo on the way, informing him to reschedule his next meeting, that there’d been a delay. Not that I consider kissing Macera a delay. Alodon’s balls, anything to do with Macera is never an intrusion.
He rushed through his cleanse, and with a fresh tunic, military pants, and dry boots, he was waiting in the archives for her. She arrived after him, wearing blue breeches and a pale pink tunic. She smiled in such a way, it made his heart staccato again.
“Do you know I saw you once,” he said to her as she sank into a comfy next to him. He laced his fingers through hers, needing the contact. “You were on the beach in an incredible outfit, a swimsuit. We do not have those on Etteria.” He pressed a kiss across her knuckles. “It was dark blue, the color of my bloodline, as you now know,” he said, stroking her silky skin. He couldn’t refrain from touching her and was incapable of commanding his hands to obey him. “To wear a male’s color is to state to all Etterians to whom you belong.”
“Oh?” she gasped before shaking her head. “I thought it was your favorite color.”
“It means much more to me seeing you in blue. I wanted to meet you face-to-face that day, but I had vowed that you could reveal your identity to me when you were ready to do so.”
“I was hiding from you?” She twisted in the comfy to face him.
“Yes, when we met in my gardens, you asked me not to look upon you.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean forever. I’d been crying, which makes my nose red and my eyes puffy. I wouldn’t want anyone to see me like that.”
“I want to see you no matter what color your nose is.” He brushed her cheek.
“Next time I cry, I’ll let you see me.” Her brown eyes crinkled at the corners as her pink lips parted to smile.
“If my Dar Eth cries then I would be a bad Eth,” he said, not wanting her to have any reason to be sorrowful.
“Then you’ll be a bad Eth at least once a month,” she said, and this time her cheeks splashed with color.
Sharp anger cinched his lungs. “How could you say such a thing?” How had he disappointed her that she would believe him unworthy?
She jerked back, but instead of ducking her head, she tightened her fingers over his. “Because one week a month, I bleed, and my hormones go all over the place. Sometimes I cry for no reason.”
“You bleed? Why would you bleed?” he asked. The tests done on Oriana hadn’t revealed a fundamental death-defying weakness in humans. He brought Macera’s hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. She wouldn’t suffer, not when he had excellent medics.
“Because my eggs weren’t fertilized, so my body sheds my womb’s lining to prepare for the next month.”
He blinked at her for a long moment attempting to understand what she was saying and what an impact this would have on Etteria if what he suspected she meant was true.
“Are you telling me you are fertile once a month?” He held his breath as he waited for her response.
“Yes, women are fertile one week out of every month, and we carry the baby for nine months before giving birth,” she said. “You need to compile a pamphlet on humans. I can’t keep repeating this.”
He grinned, too happy to respond to her suggestion. “A child every nine months? Alodon’s balls, this is wonderful.” He fought the urge to holler a battle cry.
“For Etteria, yes. Now to come back to my point, I don’t want you to believe you’ve been a bad Eth if I cry for no reason. Just hold me and let me cry on your shoulder,” she said.
He dragged her onto his lap. “You ask too little of me.” His voice roughened. “Maker, Macera, I would hold you all day if you allowed me to.”
“You would?” she squeaked, twisting to meet his gaze. “Who’s stopping you?”
“Not who, what...duty, honor.” He rubbed his chin over the crown of her head. “And having you in my arms makes me think of other things. This is not conducive to running a nation.”
“Mm, other things?” she said as her eyes drooped. She snuggled into his embrace and sighed. “Would it be too bold of me to ask if you could hold me tonight until I fall asleep?” she mumbled into his chest. “I just can’t sleep, but I slept well when Illan was in the bed with me.” Her eyelashes fluttered open when Xeus growled. “Not like that, my Eth.” She caressed his cheek. “Picture two brothers sharing a bed. Regardless, his presence soothed me.”
“You wish to fall asleep in my arms as you did last night?” He frowned at how she had his emotions fluctuating.
“If you don’t mind. Just being in your arms makes me feel safe, not alone.”
He glanced at her pressed against his chest. Her eyes were huge, but the shadows beneath them indicated her exhaustion.
“I do not mind, Macera. Whatever you need, you have only to ask.” He wished he could give her more. Holding her until she sleeps pales against the salvation she is to me.
“That applies to you too, Xeus.” She smiled before shifting to sit up. “I assume you have appointments for the remainder of the day?”
He frowned, not wanting his duty to intrude on his time with her. Allowing her to climb off him, he didn’t expect her to place a kiss on his mouth.
“Shall we meet for dinner in the hall? Perhaps then you can explain what my duties will be as your queen.” She kissed him again, this time lingering until her breath merged with his. With a deep sigh, she left him.
He wanted to stop her, to call her back to him, to cancel his meetings for the remainder of the week, and to show her how much she’d come to mean to him in such a short time. But she stumbled, with Nuos steadying her. His Dar Eth came first, and she needed to rest, not deal with his amorous advances. At least, this evening, he could hold her for hours. For now, that would have to suffice.
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