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Mirri chuckled, his voice huskier than usual. "I told you before," he murmured against my temple. "I'm not exactly made like the others. But that doesn't make me any less capable of pleasing a woman."
I wanted to know more. There were so many questions bouncing around inside my head. But the moon was coursing through my veins, lust and wild, primal need drowning out everything else. "Show me," I whispered, leaning in to capture his sweet lips again.
Mirri might be gentle and kind, but that didn't keep him from asserting himself. I gasped again as he lifted me off my feet and lowered me onto a mossy patch of ground. The sweet male above me devoured my lips as he pressed between my legs, aligning my clit perfectly with the slight hardness I could feel through his clothes. His glossy dragonfly wings lifted, buzzing behind him. His lion's tail curved down to wrap around my thigh. Then he vibrated again, sending shockwaves of pleasure tingling through my core.
Like Fife before him, this male didn't need to remove a single article of clothing to have me climaxing so hard I saw stars.
"Mirri!" I gasped, clutching at his back and shoulders as I gave into the startling sensations he pulled from me with whatever was hidden in his breeches.
He pressed fervent kisses along my neck and to my ear, trapping the lobe between his teeth as the vibrating started up again, harder this time, pushing me right back over that edge again.
I wasn't quiet about it.
I panted as I came back down to earth, stroking my fingers through Mirri's thick waves of hair, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst free from its cage. "I'm pretty sure everyone heard that back at camp," I said with a breathless chuckle.
Mirri just kissed the upper swell of my chest, where it was visible above the neckline of my shirt. "I certainly hope so."
I shook my head at his smugness. But then he added, "Maybe Bach will finally loosen up and realize what he's missing."
And there it was again. I stared up at Mirri's soft smile and wished for the millionth time that I could explain myself and come clean about who I was. I couldn't quite find the courage to tell Mirri that Bach knew exactly what he was missing out on. And my heart panged again at the reminder, at the whispered thought that maybe Bach wasn't interested in moonlight revelries because of that knowledge. Maybe he hadn't enjoyed our previous interlude as much as I had.
Well, if so, that is his loss, I told myself firmly. I would not let myself feel inadequate on his account.
I wrapped my arms around the glorious male above me and soaked in his warmth a moment longer. The alluring song of the moon goddess above sang through my veins, urging me to embrace the night and make its magic my own. Fuck Bach and his damned moral code.
The night was mine. And I was going to spend it however I pleased.
Chapter 34
Eventually, Mirri and I returned to camp with our cooking pot overflowing with edible berries, mushrooms, nuts, and all sorts of treats to tide us over for tonight and into tomorrow. Hopefully, by that point, we'd be well on our way back home. My heart gave a brief pang at the idea of going back to playing my part, of pretending I was a shallow, impartial court gossip and nothing more.
Perhaps it was time to end this ruse. There was no way to call an end to the tournament now, not with how far things had progressed and the entire kingdom awaiting the results and my unveiling. But perhaps if I was honest with the king and queen about my feelings, they could devise a way to make sure the points were tallied in Raven team's favor.
The magic was ebbing and swelling through the forest in waves, growing stronger the higher the wild moon rose. Fireflies appeared in droves, dancing in the canopy of trees and winking out from the deep dark around our clearing. A cloud of pixies swirled through the clearing and away, their laughter holding a wicked note as they chased down mates or prey. Creatures of all sorts cried out from deeper in the trees and underbrush, all singing the song of the magic inside them.
And despite having just quenched my lust with Mirri, the need was rising in me again. To run, to sing, to mate…to let the wildness in my veins take over and be one with nature in a way that couldn't be put into words.
Adder joined me by the campfire, where I was sorting the things Mirri and I had gathered. "It appears that you and Mirri found a bounty on your little trip," he said, his deep voice carrying a seductive note as his dark blue-black eyes swept over me and my harvest.
"Enough for vegetable stew, if you’ve managed to salvage any spices. And some roasted nuts and berries as well. We will not starve tonight, lord Adder." I finished emptying the pot, and he took it from me, his long fingers brushing mine. "We'll need water for the stew," he said evenly, those intense eyes sweeping over my body again, lingering on my lowborn curves. His features looked sharper somehow, and I glimpsed a flash of fang.
I normally would have had to fight to find my daring if I was going to flirt with a stoic, sharp-edged man like Adder. But with the magic running wild around and inside me, I had enough confidence to conquer the world.
"Mmm, we do," I said in reply to his statement. "And I suppose you know just where to find fresh water?"
One corner of his chiseled lips twitched upward. The moonlit night and the wavering flames of the campfire cast strange shadows on his handsome face, making him seem dangerous. "I do."
"And I'm guessing you'll need help," I said, stepping closer to the tall, silver-haired male. "I should probably come with you and bring something else to be…filled."
He didn't laugh at my horrible innuendo, but amusement glinted in his dark eyes. "I believe a couple of our flasks survived the attack. Perhaps you could bring those."
I glanced around the camp. The others were seated on the other side of the fire, far enough away to give us the illusion of privacy, though I knew their highborn ears would pick up on everything we said, even if we whispered. Bach shifted around to grab the pair of flasks that were lying on the ground near him. He held them out to me, and I went around the fire to retrieve them.
"You aren't obligated to help with all the…chores," he told me softly when I stopped in front of him. His face was serious, but not angry or as stubbornly set as before. And I knew he wasn't talking about chores at all. I wondered if Fife and Adder had said something to him to put him at ease while I was off with Mirri.
"I'm fully capable of deciding for myself what I wish to do," I informed him, arching a brow at him as I took the flasks.
He stared up at me for a moment from his seat on the ground, then nodded, the moon glinting off the shiny surface of his long black horns. "I understand. I only wished to avoid putting any pressure on you, or placing you in a precarious situation with your employer."
