Page 99 of The Witch Queen

Unknown Story, Unknown Origin

I lose count of the number of times we come together. As soon as a passionate round ends and we settle into one another, curving our bodies together, another spark of need ignites. We fuck on every inch of the suite, moving from the bedroom to the sitting room to the office, leaving a hurricane of destroyed furniture and general disarray in our wake. Our power is uncontrollable, aether exploding out of us in waves. Through it all, we don’t hurt one another, subconsciously protecting the other from the force of our magic.

We orgasm together again in the bathing chamber, Laurel pressed against the vanity and my eyes watching every movement from the mirror, hungry for whatever glimpse I can get of her as she comes. When we’re done, I stare at our reflections, matching marks over our hearts, hair tousled and unkempt. Words can’t describe the way Laurel looks, standing there with her hair hanging over her breasts, leaning on my body for support because of how satiated and relaxed she is. She meets my eyes, and I beam at her.

“You’re so perfect,” I murmur, kissing the top of her shoulder, the words not enough to convey the deep well of feelings I have when I think of her.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she teases. “But we’d both be more perfect if we bathed. We stink of sex.” I growl, the idea of her washing my scent off sending a possessive ripple through me. Laurel seems to understand, and I’m grateful that we’re going through the confusion of the mating bond together. “We can fuck again immediately,” she soothes, eyes bright. “But I need to relax my muscles for a minute and clean myself up.” Suddenly, worry for her consumes me.Have I hurt her?I’ve been demanding and exacting, without once thinking about how that might make her sore. Again, she seems to know my thoughts before they fully form in my mind. “You didn’t hurt me. I wanted every backbreaking thrust. Trust me.” Her eyes light up. “But I do want to soak for a minute, and this is my favorite bathtub in the entire kingdom.”

I look at the tub that’s big enough for four fully grown fae, dominating the bathing chamber. Laurel pads over to it, hips swaying, and channels steaming water to fill the tub. Then she walks to a built-in wardrobe and pulls out two plush robes and various soaps and creams. She dumps several of them into the running water before lowering her body into the mound of bubbles.

“Are you going to join me?” she asks, invitation in her eyes, and I’m in the tub in a flash. An involuntary moan escapes my lips at the steaming water that instantly releases the tension in my neck, arms, and legs. I lean my head back.

“This bathtubisdivine,” I sigh, and she chuckles with anI told you solook in her eyes. When the water level sits a few inches from the lip of the tub, I grab Laurel and bring her to rest between my legs, massaging her shoulders. She lets out her own contented sigh, and the sound settles something deep inside of me, like her satisfaction is my own. I press more kisses to her shoulders, then wrap her up in my arms. “Can we stay here for another week?” I ask, and she bursts out laughing.

“While I’d love to, I promised Silene I’d join you guys for dinner tomorrow night. She said she had some big surprise. And the idea of disappointing Silene upsets me way more than the idea of disappointing you.” I huff out a laugh.

“On that, we can agree. If Silene has a surprise, then it’s something enormous. She’s incapable of small gestures.” I don’t tell Laurel the reason for tomorrow’s surprise dinner, not wanting to ruin our moment. She smiles, a vulnerable and open quirking of her lips, and the sight steals the air from my lungs, the sensation not unlike the one when Laurel does it with her magic.

“When we go back to the palace,” she begins, tentatively, “would you consider announcing to the Council that you and Silene aren’t really engaged? We won’t tell them we’re mates, but I don’t want to hide my relationship with you. Or at least, I don’t want others to think I’m desperately flirting with a betrothed prince. We don’t have to confirm anything about us yet, but I’m sure they’re whispering. Let’s at least let them know our flirting is wholesome.” I can sense Laurel holding her breath, but the worry is entirely unnecessary. I kiss the top of her head.

“First, how dare you say our flirting is wholesome. I don’t do anythingwholesome.” She laughs, and it eases the worry in her gaze as I intended. “And second, nothing, and I meannothing, would bring me more happiness, Laurel. I want to hold your hand whenever I’m in your presence, and now that you’ve accepted the mating bond, I think it’s going to be extremely hard for me to keep my hands off you, anyway.”

She grins. “It really is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” she admits. “I love Silene like a sister, but there’s a part of me that wants to rip out her throat when I remember that she’s pretending to be engaged to you.” I bark out a laugh, and she grins.

“I love your dark possessiveness, witchling.” My voice is low and full of need, and her hips arch into me. My cock is instantly hard, pressing into her ass. “But if we talk about that much longer, you won’t get the soak you deserve. Dip your head under the water.” She obeys, and I pump out what I think is hair-washing soap. “This?” I ask, wanting to be sure. She nods, so I lather the sweet-smelling soap into her hair, making sure I scrub every lock. I massage her head, and she moans in satisfaction.

“No one has ever washed my hair before.” The comment is quiet and innocent, and pleasure jolts through me at being able to care for her in this way.

“I’ll wash your hair every single day, witchling, if that’s what you desire.” And I mean it. I would do anything for this female, for my Queen, my mate. I have no intention of ever leaving her side again, my father and his plans, my throne, and Velmara be damned.If Laurel isn’t with me, I won’t step foot on Velmaran soil again.“Dunk,” I order, preparing the conditioning treatment she points to as her head dips below the water. When she reemerges, I run it through her long reddish strands, letting it soak in. “Is this what makes your hair so shiny and soft?”

“Exactly how much time have you spent studying my hair?” she teases.

“More than is entirely appropriate,” I tell her. “Especially for someone who was supposed to be engaged to another and an ambassador from an enemy kingdom.” Her melodic laugh lights me up inside.

“I could tell. That’s why I always wore it down unless it was impractical not to.” Her smirk is intoxicating. I lean down to whisper in her ear.

“I knew you like my hair too, ya know. That little piece that always falls in my face. I might have intentionally coaxed it to fall a time or two.”

She turns around in my arms, expression incredulous. “You depraved, deviant flirt!” she teases as she lightly slaps my chest. Our laughter makes the water slosh out of the tub, but neither of us care as the laughter quickly turns to slow, sensuous kisses. This time there’s no hurry, no need to even have sex. We sit in the bath, pressing our bodies together and exploring one another slowly.

We finish the bath, and Laurel wraps herself in a thick robe, then hands one to me. When we’re seated on the bed, I comb her hair for her, and she closes her eyes in bliss. When the knots are all out, I realize she’s fallen asleep. I slowly lower her to the bed, then cover her with blankets. Crossing to the other side of the bed, I crawl in behind her, cradling her body in mine.

We wake late the next morning, still in our robes. I don’t know who woke first, only that my eyes opened from slumber at the same time Laurel’s did. We were instantly on one another, needy and frantic in our joining.

“What do you think Silene has planned for tonight?” Laurel asks when we manage to pull ourselves into a semblance of normalcy, resting her head in my lap while I sit against the headboard.

“I have no idea, but considering it’s my 350th birthday, I would imagine she went all out.” My grin is teasing and knowing.

“What?” Laurel sits up, eyes churning with an emotion I can’t place. “Today’s your birthday?”

I shrug. “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have brought you here, wouldn’t have stolen you away from your friends.” She stands from the bed and paces. I stand too, unwilling to stay away from her side for even a moment. I grab her hand and pull her to my side, preventing her from continuing her anxious pacing.

“Are you suggesting you think I would have rather spent the night playing Skran with Silene and Fionn instead of endlessly fucking my mate for my birthday?” I ask, wrapping my arms around her body in a tight embrace. “Are you serious? This is the best birthday ever, and it’s only just started.” She blushes.

“I don’t have a gift for you. Do you give gifts for birthdays in Velmara? I don’t even know!” She sighs.

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