by Zoey Draven
“I like when you fight with me,” he said.
Lainey chuckled. “Fine. I promise I’ll still fight with you. Better?”
“Better.”
“So, we’re all made up, then?” Lainey asked. It was her turn to ask for clarification.
“Tev, luxiva, we are all ‘made up.’”
Bright relief went through her and she smiled up at him in a way that made him growl, his hands flexing at her waist.
Slowly trailing her hands down his chest, stopping at his tight abdomen, she said softly, looking up at him underneath her eyelashes, “You know, when humans make-up after fights, there’s usually make-up sex involved.”
Kirov purred in his chest. “Tev?”
“Oh yeah.”
She ached for a repeat of their time in the meadow, but she wanted more. All of him. She wanted to feel him against her body, wanted to feel his heavy weight between her thighs, his warmth covering her, as he slid deep inside.
That crooked grin reappeared, making her heart pound with excitement.
“It is unfortunate then, luxiva,” he began, dropping his voice in a way she found irresistibly sexy, “that we will not mate until our ravraxia.”
Cue record screech.
“What?”
Kate had told her about the ravraxia. It was the mating ceremony. The one with the Fates entering their bodies, or something like that. The one with the blood bond.
“Kirov, we just talked about taking this one day at a time,” she said, her mouth hanging open.
He looked a little smug as he said, “Tev, and we will. You may take all the time you wish to take. But like I said, we will not mate until the ravraxia. We can still pleasure each other in other ways until then, but in this, I stand firm.”
“Are you serious?” she asked, still a little dumbstruck. “Because I’m pretty sure you would’ve banged my brains out the other night if I had asked you to.”
“Tev, most likely,” he answered, which further boggled her mind.
“Then why do you want to wait now?” she asked, incredulous.
His eyes focused on something in the distance, his jaw setting, before looking back down at her.
“Because, luxiva,” he said, “you have forgiven me and I have forgiven you. However, what you said on the terrace that night made me realize that you might not revere intimacy with a mate as I do. Perhaps humans are more lax about these things.”
“Of course I—”
“I believe you called it fooling around,” he said, making her mouth snap shut. “A human slang, tev?”
“But I—”
“Sex between fated mates is sacred,” he said, his expression serious, almost grim. “Considering that fated mates are more likely to produce offspring more quickly, I can not risk you changing your mind if you decide to leave in the end. I would lose not only you, but my child as well.”
Lainey hadn’t even thought about children. And looking at Kirov, she realized this was important to him, realized that he was still scared that she could leave.
Swallowing, she realized she held the power in this relationship because she had the choice to leave, not him.
“If I ever got pregnant, Kirov,” she said slowly, a little hurt that he would think what he did, “I would never take the child away from you.”
“Tev, I know,” he said, which confused her.
“Then why would you say something like that?”
“I meant that you might not even realize you were with offspring when the time came to choose,” he amended. Then he confessed, “Cruxan believes he is close to finding the crystal.”
Her lips parted. So that was what it was all about. If they had sex and Cruxan returned with the crystal, Lainey could go back home, possibly within the week. Kirov believed they were running out of time.
Wanting to comfort him, she pressed a kiss to his chest and, looking up at him, said, “I meant what I said Kirov. I’m giving this my everything, okay? I’m not thinking of this in the short term.”
“Then perform the ravraxia with me. Tonight.”
She bit her lip.
She paused too long.
Kirov stroked a hand down her hair, exhaling. “You see? I am certain about you, Lani, about a future with you. When you wish to perform the ravraxia with me, I will know you feel the same.”
“I just need time, Kirov,” she whispered, not wanting him to think that she was already backing out. “Everything has happened so fast.”
“You have all the time you need,” he reassured her. “But until then, no mating.”
Because he didn’t want to get her pregnant, because he wanted her to fully give herself to him, without worrying she would leave right afterwards.
Lainey blew out a breath of frustration.
“Okay, I understand,” she said, but she looked up at him and said honestly, “But I warn you that I will do everything in my power to make you change your mind about this whole mating thing.”
His lips quirked. “You are welcome to try, luxiva.”
“I won’t play fair,” she warned.
“I look forward to that,” he murmured, tilting his head down to give her a small peck of a kiss, which she happily received. “Now, look. We are here.”
Lainey turned, curious. In the distance, she saw a city, sprawled out in a beautiful valley between two green, massive hills. And just like the Golden City, this city crawled up these hills in terraces, utilizing them for space and marketplaces and homes.
Beyond the city lay the biggest lake she’d ever seen. If they weren’t so high up, she would think it was the ocean. Shimmering waters and calm shores.
Beautiful, she thought, her lips parting.
“Troxva,” Kirov said quietly in her ear, pressing a kiss to her temple. “We are home.”
Chapter Twenty
Kirov landed the hovercraft on the easternmost hill of the two, at the very top. Similar to the Golden City, which was built into the mountain on terraces, a large part of Troxva was built in a similar fashion into the hillsides, except a large part of the outpost was situated in the valley below as well.
Similar to the Golden City, Kirov’s home was perched on the top level of the eastern hill, allowing privacy and an unbeatable view. At least that was what Lainey assumed when he landed them there.
Lainey gaped up at the house and Kirov led her off the hovercraft with a hand at the small of her back. Lainey had played piano at her fair share of extravagant parties over the years. She’d seen her fair share of beautiful, towering houses, with elaborate entryways, curving driveways, and beautiful gardens.
While Kirov’s home wasn’t quite as big as those, it was just as elegant and beautiful. Looking at it from below, it looked to be two stories high, made out of a white stone swirled with grey and gold, that resembled marble. The back of the house was built into the hill, so above the house Lainey could still see the top of the hill peeking out, the green, lush color a sharp and beautiful contrast to the white marble.
Kirov led her to what she assumed was the front door, though it was made of mirrored glass, just like all the tall, huge windows that adorned the front and sides of the house. It gave privacy, since no one could look in.
Lainey glanced down the terrace, to see another house. While not as big, it was a similar design, made out of the same stone, with the same beautiful windows.
“Who lives there?” she asked, just as Kirov placed his hand on the glass of the door. A blue light bloomed from his handprint and then the glass slid away, just like the windows in the Golden City, to reveal the inside.
Lainey gasped, forgetting her question entirely and not realizing that Kirov hadn’t answered her.
Because the inside of the house was...
Incredible.
For one, it was wide and open. The same marble stone lined the floors, but it was light grey in color, with streaks of cobalt and white threaded through, creating a swirling, elaborate pattern through the house. Considering the floo
rs were darker, it was surprising that the space felt surprisingly bright.
But it was the windows and the open floor plan that made it so.
For once, Lainey didn’t feel trapped by walls, because there were hardly any. And when she strode into the space immediately off to the left of the entryway, she looked wide-eyed at the towering glass windows that showed the beauty of the lake, the outpost below, and vast land that stretched miles and miles beyond.
She guessed that room was the living space because there was a fire pit—true to Luxirian tradition—surrounded by cushions, though it was the largest fire pit she’d ever seen. Looking away from the windows, into the room, she saw it was divided by a clear glass panel. When Kirov went to touch that as well, the panel lit to life and she saw a video image feed of the lake, its waters lapping at the shore. Sound accompanied it, coming from speakers she didn’t see, that seemed to surround the entire room. She heard the gentle waves, heard a small humming from what she assumed were insects similar to those pink fireflies, and the gentle rasping whisper of the wind. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and could almost imagine she was there, like she’d been teleported there.
That was how good those speakers were.
She swore she even felt that gentle breeze on her face.
Lainey turned to look at the windows and she asked Kirov softly, “How can you ever stand to leave this place?”
Kirov approached her, stroking his fingers down her cheek. It was right then that she realized her bare feet weren’t cold on the marble-like floor. In fact, they felt quite warm.
When she looked down in confusion, he murmured, “I programmed the floor to sense weight. It will heat where you step. It is necessary when the cold season comes. It warms the whole dwelling then, but takes little energy.”
Lainey smiled. He truly was brilliant.
“Come, luxiva,” he murmured. “I will show you the rest.”
Lainey went with him gladly as Kirov took her from room to room. The bottom floor was mostly made up of the vast living space, where Lainey already knew she’d be spending the majority of her time. The back area of the bottom floor was divided by a huge, magnificent bathroom. It was similar to the one they had in the Golden City. In the middle was a perpetually filled hot spring for bathing and soaking, but the far wall was all windowed glass, showing a different part of Troxva, towards a forested area to the right of the lake.
There was another room on the bottom floor, filled with screens and another fire pit and she wondered if it was like his home office.
“No kitchen?” she wondered aloud. Perhaps it was upstairs. Although, she’d noticed that the house in the Golden City hadn’t had a kitchen area either. They’d had all their meals delivered.
“Most Luxirians take their meals at the meal halls, or have them sent,” Kirov explained.
“Oh,” Lainey said.
He studied her expression and asked slowly, “You wish to cook your own meals?”
“Well, I did enjoy cooking back on Earth. A lot of people cook,” Lainey said, looking around. She gave him a small smile, “But we’re not on Earth, are we?”
Kirov was silent a minute, his eyes suddenly looking past her to look at the space. He nodded finally and said, “I will build you a kitchen if you wish to cook, female.”
Lainey gaped. “That’s…that’s not what I…you can’t simply build me a kitchen, Kirov. Where would you put it?”
“There,” he said, gesturing to the office. “It would be easy to reconfigure. No time at all to build once I design it.”
“But that’s your office,” she said, protesting.
“Nix, it is a small Coms room. I have another on the second level. Your kitchen will go there.”
Lainey dragged in a breath, her mind a little boggled that he would just…build her something in his house because she wanted it.
But his tone told her not to argue, though Lainey would bring it up again at a later time. Instead, she simply followed him back to the front of the house and he brought her onto a slightly raised platform near the front door.
Placing his hand on a silver pad on the wall, Lainey cried out in surprise when the square platform began to lift upward quickly and she grabbed onto Kirov’s arm. The platform was large enough where she didn’t think she’d lose her balance and fall off, but it was still a startling and unexpected motion, like a fast elevator just without the walls.
Guess this is the Luxirian version of stairs, she thought, ignoring the amused look Kirov sent her way.
The platform locked into place on the second level and they stepped out. The second floor was constructed in a way where she could still see the ground floor below if she peered over a balcony railing.
On the second level, there were three rooms. The first seemed to be a guest bedroom. The second was Kirov’s other ‘Coms room’ and Lainey could see that it was much, much larger and more elaborate than the first. A metal table lay in the center, with a bunch of different projects Kirov was working on. Lainey was surprised because it looked like a chaotic mess, whereas the rest of the house was immaculate and spotless. But perhaps, Kirov worked best that way when it came to his projects.
The third room, with the best view, was Kirov’s bedroom. Lainey stepped inside, eyeing the huge, raised bed, with cushions and furs piled high onto it. There was a second fire pit off to the side and one of the walls was completely filled with the same glass windows, that showed Troxva in its finest. Lainey couldn’t help but imagine looking at that view, lying in that bed with him. Through the door on the far wall, there was another bathroom, though it was smaller than the one on the ground floor. More intimate.
Lainey touched the furs on the bed and asked, “Where will I be sleeping? In the guest bedroom?”
“Nix, never.” She turned to face him and he purred deep in his chest, approaching her, as he rasped, “You will be in here. With me. Under my furs. Where you belong.”
Lainey’s belly clenched with heat at those words. “Well, alrighty then.”
It was still late morning, far too early to go to bed, but Lainey was eager to test out just how durable those furs were.
“Did you build this house?” she asked him, though she thought she already knew the answer.
“Tev.”
Lainey was learning just how talented he truly was. He amazed her, what he could accomplish.
“It’s beautiful, Kirov,” she said, placing her palm on his chest, feeling his warmth. “It’s quite big for just you though. Don’t you ever get lonely?”
Kirov stilled before gathering her close. Lainey rested her cheek just over his heartbeat, looking out one of the windows. “When I built this dwelling, I had imagined it filled with offspring.”
Lainey’s breath hitched and she pulled back to look at him.
He continued, “When the Jetutians released that virus over Luxiria, I thought that future lost to me.”
But not anymore, she thought. She could give him children. If she chose him, if she stayed.
She imagined how lively the house would be with children living in it, how voices and laughter would echo off the walls.
Sudden longing surprised her and she covered that emotion by jokingly saying, “I don’t think that platform lift is very baby proof, Kirov.”
He growled, “Then I will ‘baby proof’ it when the time comes.”
When, not if.
Lainey bit her lip, but didn’t say anything in response. She’d never really given children much thought, especially considering she’d thought it very unlikely that she would ever find someone she wanted to have children with.
But now, Lainey thought about children.
A sudden mechanical chiming sound echoed around the house and Kirov cursed.
“What is that?”
Kirov led her out of the bedroom and down the hall until they reached the platform lift. Kirov activated it and it took them back down to the first level.
“That would be Vaxa’an,” Kirov
said. “It seems they have discovered you missing.”
“He’s here?” Lainey asked, blinking.
“Nix, he hails me on the Coms,” Kirov replied. “Stay here, luxiva. Let me deal with him.”
Lainey grabbed his arm. “You won’t get in trouble, will you?”
Kirov didn’t answer her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and urged, “Stay here.”
And then he walked back into the living space, rounding around towards the clear glass panel that had shown the live feed of the lake. Out of sight.
Lainey bit her lip.
A moment later, she heard the chiming stop and Kirov spoke in Luxirian.
Next, she heard Vaxa’an speak, his voice ringing through the speakers, as if he was in the room.
She didn’t need to speak Luxirian to know he was pissed.
Chapter Twenty-One
“It seems that all my warrior brothers are betraying me lately,” Vaxa’an said, his tone cold, his eyes as hard as Luxirian crystals.
Kirov clenched his jaw. “You know that under no other circumstance would I betray you like this. I never have before.”
“You have been lying to me. Vixron reported to me just now, after he found the female missing. Do you know what he had to report?”
Kirov could only guess.
“He said that you seemed rather intent on the female, that he suspected there was an attachment. Yet, you hid it well, so well that he did not think it serious enough to report. Until now.”
Kirov’s spine straightened.
“So, tell me, brother,” Vaxa’an continued. “What have you been hiding from me?”
“My Instinct awakened for her,” Kirov said softly.
Vaxa’an cursed, exhaling a sharp breath. “At this rate, there will be no more females to return back to Earth!”
Kirov would’ve found that statement amusing, at any other time except that one.
“Vaxa’an,” Kirov said. “You have been a good friend, a good leader. I understand that I betrayed you, but I felt like I had no other choice. Cruxan said he was—”
“You and Vikan have made fools of me,” Vaxa’an said, his tone soft. “Both of you. It cuts deeply.”