Page 27 of Kenan's Mate
“Do you have any idea how largely swollen your clit is, Laylah?” His words are strained, threaded with a dark but sexy growl.
“I-I can’t help it,” I say, flushing hot all over.
“Do you want to come again?”
“I…” I should say no, but I’m not sure I have the strength to refuse the pleasure he’s possibly offering.
“Answer the question and be honest. Do you want to come again, little human?”
“Y-yes, Kenan. Very badly.”
Before I can inhale another breath, his mouth descends to my throbbing clit. He circles my engorged nubbin with precise movements, applying the perfect amount of pressure. I lift my bottom even higher to give him better access. He feasts on me, and I surrender to the building euphoria of his tongue lashing on my most sensitive spot. Gyrating my hips in tune with the steady motion of his tongue, I cry out and shatter into a million pieces, panting hard and trying desperately not to collapse on the bed.
I feel him withdraw from my center, and then he lifts me in his arms and carries me into the bathroom. I rest my head against his sweat drenched chest, reveling in his maleness and smiling in contentment—because I know he’s carried me in here to take care of me.
There’s a huge bathtub across from the shower, and he props me on his knee while he fills the tub with steaming water. He tosses a cube of soap in that instantly makes the water bubbly. I’ve taken showers with Kenan before, but never a bath, and I hope he joins me. I want nothing more than to lean against him in the warm water and listen to the steady beating of his heart.
When the tub is full, he shuts the water off and rises with me still in his arms, then he steps into the bath and sinks down with me in his lap. I curl into him, relishing the feel of the soothing warm water and his strong embrace. Will I ever become accustomed to the ways of his people? I think of Helena’s mate teaching English to Kleaxian males and wonder if perhaps the presence of human females will have a lasting effect on the culture of Tallia. Maybe if we both meet in the middle and strive to understand one another, our two cultures can meld together, rather than the Kleaxians forcing all human females to bend completely to their ways.
Kenan rubs my back and murmurs in my ear, uttering what I hope are heartfelt phrases in his own tongue. I hang on every syllable, intoxicated by his deep rumbling voice. His tone is always more guttural and savage sounding when he’s speaking his own language.
After we rest in the water for several minutes, he begins running a soapy cloth over every inch of my body. As he washes me, his eyes gleam with the tenderness I’ve come to crave more and more. Does he love me? I think he must, in his own way, but I don’t dare ask. Even if he utters those three words, I’m not sure what I would do with them, or how I would respond.My heart is softening to you, Kenan, though I wish it weren’t so, is the most honest reply I could offer.
Once we’re both clean and dried off, we don robes and he leads me down the hall, to the steep staircase that ascends to the roof. I’ve been there before during the daytime, when I’ve gone exploring on my own, but never during the full brilliance of a clear Tallian night.
He directs me to peer over the forest far behind his house, and I gasp at the incredible sight of huge blinking orbs sailing over the trees.
“Are thosebugs?” Even from this distance, I can tell they are larger than fireflies. Perhaps as large as bats, but glowing pink and white.
“Yes, very big bugs. Harmless, though. They are calledteasnin yerlosis, which translates towatchers of the night. It is said they bring good luck to all who wish upon them.”
“Like shooting stars,” I say, in awe of the sea of lights floating above the vast forest.
“What?”
“On Earth, it’s considered good luck to make a wish upon a shooting star. Or upon the first star you see at night.” But I’d learned at a young age that wishing on stars was nothing but superstition. Wishing on a star never brought my grandmother back. Wishing on a star never made my mother stop crying after my brother died.
“Did the Kleaxian’s planet of origin have such bugs?”
He nods and draws me closer, and I welcome the warmth of his huge body next to mine, chasing away the cool breeze. “We brought several species native to Kleaxia with us on our journey to Tallia, including theteasnin yerlosis.”
“Oh. What other kinds of species did you bring to Tallia?”
“The blue birds you probably saw flying overhead while we were on the lake. Those are calledteasnin ghelosst, orwatchers of the water. We also brought several varieties of fish. We don’t typically eat creatures that roam the forests and prefer species from the lakes and oceans, as I’m sure you’ve surmised from the meals served each day.”
“That surprises me.” At his confused look, I continue, “As fierce and strong a people as Kleaxians are, I am rather shocked you don’t hunt bears or large cats in the forests for meat. On Earth, hunting has remained a popular sport for thousands of years. Even though most humans don’t need to hunt for survival, many do so because they enjoy it. Some eat the meat from their kill, while others simply go trophy hunting.”
The moonlight illuminates his ruggedly handsome face. My neck hurts from always staring up at him, but I can’t look away. “If it came to survival, Kleaxians would have no problem hunting bears or large cats for food, however fish and other sea and lake creatures are more nutritious and more easy metabolized by our bodies.”
“Ah, I suppose that makes sense,” I reply quietly, then lower my head to relieve the ache in my neck. “Thank you for showing me thewatchers of the night. This view, it’s breathtaking.”
“It’s my pleasure, Laylah. I should have showed you sooner.”
I stare at the incredible scene that’s spread out before me, the two full moons of Tallia in all their glory, the stars glimmering like diamonds strewn across the clear black sky, and the enchanting flashes of pink and white orbs over the trees that appears to stretch for miles and miles.
Then I do something I’d sworn I would never do again.
I make a wish. But not on a star—I make a wish on the closestwatcher of the nightI see.
