"Amichai," she whispered in the soft purr that reminded me of the first night she'd said the word to me.
"I love you," I said, although the sentiment fell a bit flat. I was starting to think the Ravens had something with these special words.
She leaned up to capture my lips and pull me on top of her.
Theo
He moved slowly, taking his time unbuttoning my jumpsuit and kissing every inch of my exposed skin as he went. I was grateful for his restraint, for I wanted to savor every second with him. He reached the last button and climbed his way back up my body, covering my mouth again and wrapping a hand around one of my breasts. I moaned slightly and he lifted his lips.
"Now remember to be quiet," he said, nipping at my neck. He pushed the sleeves off my jumpsuit and unhooked my bra. "Or, on the other hand, don't."
Before I could respond, his mouth had covered the mound of flesh and I arched my back, letting the sensation roll over me. With his other hand, he massaged the other breast, toying with the sensitive nipple and glancing up at me with inquisitive eyes.
He lifted his mouth and pulled the rest of my jumpsuit off, kneeling over my body with an odd look on his face. His gaze slid over every inch of my body, slowly and deliberately.
"I want to imprint you into my brain," he said with a smile. "Because my memory of you is not nearly as good as you look right now."
"I've bathed a few more times," I retorted, earning a devilishly handsome smile from him. I kissed him again then pulled his shirt over his head to reveal the chest that I'd seen downstairs. The memory made me laugh.
"What?" he said.
"I was just thinking about you down at the pool," I said, running my hands along his bare skin. "Flirting with those girls."
"I had to make it look good," he said, removing my hand from his chest and pushing me back down on the bed. Before I could say another word, he hooked a finger around my underwear and slid them off.
I sat up when he pressed his mouth to the warm center between my legs, the unfamiliar feeling almost overpowering. He looked up at me, waiting for my signal, and I half-smiled at him. Then he went to work, sucking and nipping and licking and all manner of other things I couldn't even begin to describe. My body was no longer my own, twisting and gripping the sheets as he drew me higher and higher, slowly pulling me to the apex which I hadn't felt since our night on the island.
My body seized, and I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming. I came back to myself, although the ecstasy was still flooding my body. I caught his eye as he kissed the inside of my thigh and climbed up to join me at the head of the bed.
"You okay?" he asked, running his hand down my side.
I nodded, as words weren't coming. I couldn't even remember my own name.
"You sure?"
I nodded faster.
"You need a second?"
I nodded again, but cracked open one eye. He looked awfully smug. And I would be lying if I said I didn't love his smug face.
"I used to think about doing that to you when I saw you in the news," he said.
"You've been watching me?" I whispered then smiled. "I've been watching you."
"You mean the tabloid photos?" he asked. "Have you been getting the magazines just to gaze upon my face?"
I snorted and rolled my eyes. Just because I hadn't seen him in four months and couldn't keep my hands off him didn't mean I was going to let him get away with his pompous princeling act.
"Oh, so you've recovered?" he asked, moving his hand to where his mouth had been. I was still sensitive, and I jumped as he slipped his fingers inside of me.
"Barely," I whispered, closing my eyes and letting him work his magic. He knew the right way to touch me, the right movements, and before I knew it, he was covering my mouth with his as I came again. He paused a moment before continuing, apparently intent on making me pass out from pleasure, but I stopped him. I didn't want his fingers, I wanted the hardness pressed against my leg. I wrapped my hand around it and he moaned as I gently stroked him. I took my time, exploring the sensitive part of him, until he growled and wrenched my hand away, gasping for air.
"Enough of that," he said, his cheeks flushed. His hand still around my wrist, he grabbed my other and pushed them over my head. He spread my legs with his knees and settled between them, watching my face. I nodded to him and he slowly entered me.
I let out a breath. It was still painful, but not nearly as much as our first night together. Like with everything else, he went slowly, taking his time to make sure I felt every inch of him. I arched my back and moved with him.
"Theo," he whispered, stopping and looking down at me.
I closed the space between us with a kiss, and he pushed me back on the pillow, exploring my mouth with his tongue. I wrapped my legs around his waist to keep him close and he groaned, panting.
Then, in a move that I wasn't quite sure how I managed, I rolled him onto his back.
He frowned and his mouth opened in confusion, but I grinned and moved my hips against him. Almost immediately, his face relaxed into a smile.
"Where'd this come from?" he asked, his voice gravelly.
"Do you like it?" I asked, though the answer was written on his face.
He grabbed my hips and adjusted the movement and a shiver ran up my spine. I continued to move as he'd showed me, and his hands fell away to grip the edges of the bed. His eyes closed, and he groaned, his face turning redder with each passing moment. My own fire was growing and I knew I was about to reach my peak again. I closed my eyes and moved harder, quicker, his soft moans telling me that this was what he wanted as well. I felt myself reach the edge again and let the beautiful feeling wash over me as I slowed my rhythmic movements to a stop.
"God damn, Theo."
I looked down at my amichai, his eyes wide, his mouth open and pink, his cheeks and the top of his chest bright red. The light sheen of sweat that glistened on his chest as it rose and fell with great effort. His eyes finally settled on me, and he laughed, running his hands along the sides of my body.
Unable to resist, I grinned down at him. "That is what I used to think about when I saw you in photos."
Galian
She climbed off me and I pulled her into my arms. There was nothing in my brain but the ceiling and my rapid heartbeat and her resting in my arms.
After a moment, I noticed she was watching me. "What?"
"How've you been?" she asked with an amused smile.
I couldn't help but smile back at her. "You pull that move on me and ask me how I've been?"
"You're the one who started taking off my clothes, princeling."
"I missed that—princeling," I said, cupping her cheek. "I missed you. I missed everything."
"Me too," she said, leaning into my hand. Her brow knitted together. "I missed you so much."
Before she got emotional again, I pulled her close to me and held her tight. "Ssh, I'm here now."
She nestled her head in my neck and sniffed hard. "I never thought I'd see you again." My face fell at her words, and she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Just...I haven't done anything I promised you."
"You went back to the hospital. And," she smiled, "you helped that little boy in the market."
I groaned and tilted my head back. "You heard about that?"
"Showed up in our intel briefings about you." Her smile faltered, and she pursed her lips. "And who...is Olivia Collins?"
I groaned again, louder. Of course Theo had seen all that. "That was a favor to my mother and nothing more. I hated every moment of it. Wished I was with you. It was awful. She smelled bad—"
Theo leaned forward and kissed me. "Amichai," she said, resting her chin back on my chest. "It's okay. And even if you liked her—"
"Which I didn't—"
"It would be a lot easier to be with her than me," she finished.
"She's way too...submissive. I like a woman who can put me in my place." She caught my meaning, and the smallest blush
appeared on her cheeks. "So where'd you learn that move?"
"Nowhere," she said. "I've been too busy...parading behind Bayard. Being told to look interesting and smile."
"Are you serious?" I said with a small laugh. "Theo, you're..." She cocked her head to the side, curious. "Damn, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"That's not what you were going to say."
"I don't want to talk about anything else but how good you look naked and lying next to me." I ran my hands down her back. "Theo—" Her body shook underneath my hand. "Theo?"
"I'm losing myself, amichai," she said, as two thick tears rolled down her face. "You have no idea. I'm so glad to see you... I needed you so much. This speech...and it's a lie...and I can't even do it...and I don't know what I'm going to do..."
"What are you talking about?" I said, rolling over onto my side so I could hold her better.
She rested on the crook of my arm, but wouldn't meet my eyes. "I have to give a speech tomorrow."
"I know."
"And it's a lie."
"So what's new?" I said. Her eyes met mine, but there was no levity in them. "Theo, politics...it's all lies."
"I didn't think that Rave lied though!" she exclaimed, nuzzling her head into my arm. "I thought we were better than this. I thought..." Her face grew hard. "I thought we had no money, but suddenly, there are fancy buildings and people who weren't conscripted, and I just wonder...am I still on the right side of things?"
None of this surprised me—not that Rave was corrupt or that she'd no idea. She'd been entirely too patriotic for her own good when I met her, and knew little about the realities of politics. Still, I hated to see her lose her faith.
"And now," she said, moving closer to me, "now instead of fixing planes, I sit behind the president and listen to him give the same fucking speech every day, and wonder why he's not doing more. They tell me 'look interested, 'neechai' and 'you're too stiff, 'neechai' and it's all I can do not to scream. Then they tell me that the best way for me to help is to stand up and talk about Mael. They want me to talk about the horrible things Kylae is doing while they do horrible things to our own people!"
"I know," I said, stroking her hair gently.
"And the worst part is," she said, her voice growing thick again. "Amichai, the worst part is that I have to play their game if I want to help people. To change the country, I have to get into his inner circle. To get into his inner circle, I have to be the one everyone wants to photograph. And to do that, I have to...lie." She closed her eyes. "I have to lie about Mael. I have to get up there and tell everyone I was there for two months, and I can't even say the words."
"Why not?" I asked. "You were there... Briefly, but you were there."
She sniffed. "It's not...all those other people...Galian, they died because of me. Because of what we did. Because you decided to rescue me. And..."
"And you think that means you can't speak about Mael?"
She nodded before her face twisted in anguish again and she buried it into my chest. I held her tight, thankful, at least, that I was there to comfort her. "Theo, do you remember what you said to me on the island when I realized no one was coming for us and we'd run out of food?"
"I said..." She lifted her head to look at me. "I said that we wouldn't have survived as long as we did if we didn't have a greater purpose." Then, almost immediately, her brow furrowed, and she shook her head. "This is different—"
"How?"
"Because I know why I survived Mael," she said. "I survived because I fell in love with you."
"Maybe you didn't survive Mael because you fell in love with me," I said, taking her cheek in my hand and brushing away the tears. "Maybe you survived Mael because it's your purpose to tell others about it. Falling in love with me just put you on a path to be able to speak the truth. And now you can. Now you can tell the whole world about it."
She swallowed. "But what if I can't? What if I'm not strong enough?"
"You are. You're the strongest person I know." I pulled her face to mine in a gentle kiss. "I love you, Theo."
"I love you too, amichai." She swallowed and glanced at the ceiling. "Damn, I am so glad you're here."
"Well, let's not talk any more about that," I said, pushing her onto her back. "Because I have four months of you to catch up on."
Theo
When the first tendrils of waking reached me, I squeezed my eyes shut. I'd had this dream many times before. I'd be so sure I was back on the island with my amichai next to me then open my eyes and be all alone.
This particular dream was quite persistent, for I felt his breath on my cheek, smelled his skin. My fingertips rested on his strong chest, which rumbled when he spoke.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm not opening my eyes," I replied with a smile. "Because when I do, you'll be gone. I've had this dream bef—"
He pressed his lips to mine again, opening my mouth with his tongue. Pushing me on my back, he climbed on top of me, traveling the length of my body with his hands.
"Wake up."
"No," I said, jerking when he brushed the tops of my hips where I was ticklish.
"Wake. Up."
"No." I squeezed my eyes together and held in a squeal when he dug his fingers into my hips. My eyes flew open finally, rewarding me with my amichai's sparkling brown ones staring back at me.
He kissed my nose gently. "See? Still here." The unspoken end to his sentence forced a grimace to my face. Galian cooed and kissed the side of my head, then left a trail of kisses down my collarbone. His hand cupped my breast and he gently massaged it.
"Again?" I asked, cracking open an eye to his boyish grin.
"Again and again," he said, opening my legs and entering me gently. After a long night of practice, we now made love without adjustments or awkwardness. He'd been a quick study in my body and where I was most sensitive. And the more I touched and felt, the more confident I was as his partner.
As we rocked together in the early morning light, he attended to my body with a lazy sort of passion, marking each place he knew made me moan with pleasure. When we'd had our fill of each other, he held me close, and we watched the rays of sun creep closer to the bed. Soon I would have to leave this room and this bliss, but not yet.
"After your speech today, you should come with me," he said after a while.
I sighed. Still my naïve princeling. "We tried that, amichai."
"Not there. Here. In Jervan. I'll get us a little apartment and we can start over. I'll get a job at the hospital, and you can do whatever you want."
"And you think the world will just let us? The prince of Kylae and Rave's 'neechai. Living together in Jervan." I closed my eyes, imagining the furor in both nations.
"I could give a shit about them," he whispered. "I want to be with you."
"And what about the war? All the people in Rave? We'll just let it rage on while we honeymoon?"
"We could end it together, you and me."
"From Jervan?"
"Sure, why not?"
Bam, bam, bam! "Kallistrate!"
My entire body went rigid. Cannon banged on the door and called my name again, and I sprang out of bed. Galian sat up, confused.
"Hide!" I mouthed to him.
He nodded and gathered his clothes on the ground, jumping into the closet. I grabbed one of the discarded robes and wrapped it around myself, pushing my underthings to the floor on the other side of the bed.
After a few calming breaths, I opened the door to Cannon's angry face.
ELEVEN
Galian
I barely breathed in the closet, praying to God that the sour-looking man at the door didn't search the room. That was just what I needed for my tabloid persona: Playboy Prince Found Naked in Hotel Room with Raven Woman. I'd never be allowed back into the country. Not to mention what they'd do to Theo.
"You missed your scheduled pre-brief with Emilie this morning. She sent me to fetch you," he said, his words laced with disgu
st.
"I was taking shower," Theo said calmly.
"Your hair isn't wet." I didn't like this guy already, and I really didn't like him when I found a small slit in the closet door to watch through and he was ogling Theo like she was a piece of meat.
"I was about to get in, but someone was banging on the door." I detected the smallest hint of fear in her voice, and I prayed the other guy didn't know Theo as well as I did.
My alarm bells went off when he stepped into the room, using his size to try to intimidate her. If push came to shove, I would step out of this closet, buck naked, and protect my Theo.
"If you don't mind, I need to get ready for my speech today," she snapped, before adding with a smile, "Tell Emilie I'll be down in a moment."
He paused at the closet, but something she said had pissed him off because he turned around to face her again. With a growl, he stormed out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind him.
Theo cracked a half-smile at me when I walked out of the closet and said, "So that's Cannon."
"He's into you. I don't like him."
"Me neither, but not because of that," she said, looking at the closed door before coming over to stand in my arms. I liked how she leaned into me, as if I could shoulder the weight of the world for her. "He's always been an ass, but now that I'm giving this speech today, he's been horrible. I think he's worried I'm going to take his spot on Bayard's council."
"Do you want that?" I asked.
She chewed her lip. "If it meant I could get the war to stop, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But...somehow it doesn't seem as simple as it used to." She groaned and pressed her head into my chest. "I didn't practice at all last night. I am so screwed."
"Nah," I said. "You were just holding too much inside. Now that you've let it all out, I bet you'll get up there and give the best speech of your life."
The Complete Madion War Trilogy Page 31