“A few more sessions and a dip in the healing baths and you’ll be as good as new.” Nyx pats the top of my head, and I swat him away with a roll of my eyes.
Sitting up, I’m pleased to find my shoulder no longer feels like it’s on fire. I rotate the joint slowly, testing it out before flexing to demonstrate my prowess in front of my mate.
“Yes, you’re super hot, Rhune. Now up you come. You need a bath.” Nyx pinches his nose to demonstrate the power of my body stink, and I instinctively recoil from Willow.
“I’m sorry, Willow. I don’t want to offend you with my smell.”
She claps a hand over her mouth, muffling the sound of her giggles. “I promise you don’t stink, Rhune. Nyx is just teasing you.”
“Is he?” I lob a glare at my brother, to which he responds with a cheeky grin.
“What? I can’t exaggerate a little?” He nods toward the exit. “Youdoneed a bath, though. Come on.”
Together, the three of us make our way down to the bathing chamber. Willow sits at the edge with her feet in the water, watching me undress with a heated look in her eyes. I’m pleased that she’s watching me, and I make sure to show off my colorful wings as I descend into the pool.
I swim over to her, resting my head on her knees and gazing up at her with wide eyes. “Did I tell you that I missed you?”
“I think so,” she says, running her hand through my wet hair.
“Good. Because it is true. I missed you, Willow. I do not think my soul would have survived another moment apart from you.”
Pink colors her cheeks—as it always does when I say these truths to her—and she dips her eyes, seemingly taking up interest in the lines on her palms.
The necklace sitting between her breasts catches the light, and I reach up, tapping a claw against the ornate face. “Does it please you?”
“What?”
“The necklace.”
She reaches up, capturing it in her tiny palm. “Of course it does! You have no idea how much it means that you got it back for me, Rhune.”
I nod, pleased that she is happy. “Then the pain was well worth it. If you are happy, I am happy.”
I nuzzle into her knees, and Willow lays her hand on my head, her fingertips lightly brushing against my horns. A deep purr builds in my throat as warmth rushes through my veins, and my cock twitches as I remember the last time her hands were wrapped around my horns.
“You okay? You went still all of a sudden.”
“I’m perfect,” I say, my voice coming out a low rasp. “Just hungry.”
“Oh. Well, then, I’ll ask Nyx if he can find something for you?—”
“What I need is right in front of me.” My grip tightens on her calves, and Willow’s throat bobs, her pupils blowing wide as the bond between us begins to wake.
Sensing the change in energy, Nyx floats closer to the two of us, his eyes lowered with a seductive glint.
“Don’t you want to come inside?” I ask, toying with the edge of the fur wrapped around her torso. I want to rip it from her, to expose her beautiful curves and love every inch of her, but I don’t want to move too fast or pressure her. I never want herto be angry with me like she was the first time we mated. I will show restraint until the moment she tells me otherwise.
Swallowing hard, she nods, letting the fur slowly drop from her shoulders as she slips into the water. I get a flash of her peaked nipples before she slips below the surface, and a growl builds in the back of my throat as I imagine how it would feel to take one into my mouth and suck.
She resurfaces a moment later, brushing her wet hair back off her forehead with a playful grin. “Well, I’m in the water. What will you do with me now?”
If you had any idea what I’d do to you, you wouldn’t be smiling so brightly.“What doyouwant me to do?” I ask, caging her against the wall of the pool. “Tell me what you desire, and it’s yours.” I reach up, taking her necklace between my clawed fingers, twirling it in front of her beautiful green eyes. “I live to make you happy, my mate. All you have to do is say it.”
She swallows hard, her gaze flicking between me and Nyx, that beautiful pink color spreading across her cheeks. “I… I’m not sure. All I know is I’ve been craving your touch since you left. It’s like I’m burning up inside, and I just… I want it to stop.” An unexpected wave of tears springs to her eyes as she looks up at me. The desperation swimming in them makes something inside me ache, and all I want is to take it away.
“We can make it go away, Willow,” Nyx soothes, twisting a strand of her wet hair on his finger. “Let us help you. Let us make you feel good.”
She nods, the heat in her face spreading across her skin as a wild glint enters her eyes. “Yes,” she begs. “Please. I want… I need to feel better.”
