Page 69 of Fae Mates

I blinked at the odd phrasing. “A kiss?”

He lowered his lashes. “If that’s too much—”

“It’s not.”

With the gentlest of caresses, I placed my hand on his bare chest, which resonated with the frantic beat of his heart. Ignoring my quickening pulse, I slid my hand over his broad, muscular shoulder and around his neck.

Pokeweed’s breath caught, and his full lips parted. I wondered if this would be his first kiss, but the pulse between my legs pounded, distracting me from that thought. He only made the barest move toward me, as though he hadn’t quite believed that I would agree to the kiss.

“You’re the only person I’ve met at this academy that I could fully trust,” I said. “And you’ve been there for me whenever I’ve needed help.”

His chest heaved with rapid breaths, and he stared at me with an intensity that lit a fire in my core.

I raised myself onto my knees to reach Pokeweed’s lips and wrapped both arms around his shoulders. “When we first met, I told you it would be an honor to be your mate. I meant that then and I mean it even more now.”

His eyes dampened. “Unity.”

“Shhh.” I lowered my lips onto his in a chaste kiss.

As soon as our flesh touched, a bolt of heat shot through my core. One of Pokeweed’s large hands curled around my waist, and he ran the other down my back.

“Your heat has started again. I need to find one of your princes,” he said in a tight voice.

“No.” My lips descended on his in a soft peck, and I drew back to see his reaction.

Pokeweed wrapped his strong arms around me, and we were chest-to-chest, our rapid hearts beating in unison. For that moment, all thoughts of princes and poisons and plots flew from my mind, and it was just me, Pokeweed, and the anticipation thrumming through my insides.

His warm hand cradled the back of my neck, and he drew close, filling my nostrils with the mingled scents of raindrops on fallen leaves, sandalwood, and freshly dug roots. It was intoxicating, and I yearned for more.

“Unity,” he whispered, “Are you sure about this?”

“I need you.” My hand slid up his furry chest.

Pokeweed’s lips descended onto mine in a kiss as soft and as sweet as the petals of an apple blossom. My vision blurred as the press of his lips became firmer—more intense, and he kissed me with the urgency of a man about to die.

I squeezed my thighs together to hold back the onslaught of arousal flooding my core, and my lips parted to let him in. Smoothing my fingers into the depths of his fur, I moaned my pleasure, only for Pokeweed’s tongue to slip into my mouth.

My head spun. My core pulsed. My nipples tightened. Pokeweed’s tongue stroked mine in a series of caresses that stoked me from the tips of my toes to the roots of my hair. Every nerve ending sang, and I lost myself into his delicious kiss.

“Pokeweed,” I whispered into the kiss. “Please.”

His hand slid over my bare thigh and under my nightshirt. “I know what you need.”

My breath came in shallow pants, and all my awareness concentrated on the heat gathering in my core. I rested in Pokeweed’s arms, my limbs trembling with anticipation I couldn’t explain. Less than an hour ago, all the princess had filled my every hole in an unforgettable feat of aerodynamics. Now, my pulse quickened at the thought of having sex in a bed.

Pokeweed didn’t ask me again if I was sure. Perhaps he could smell my need or feel the heat emanating from between my thighs.

With another kiss, he wiped my mind of all thoughts, leaving me gaping and hungering for his dick.

His kisses trailed down my neck, hot and wet and demanding, making me shiver with delight and curl my toes. The hand caressing my bare thigh slid over the swell of my belly, over my ribs, and to my breasts.

“I must see you,” he murmured into my neck, fanning his hot breath over the sensitive skin.

“Take it off with your—” My nightshirt vanished before I had even finished that sentence.

Pokeweed laid me down on the soft mattress and crouched over me, his dark eyes soaking up my nakedness. He was backlit by the morning sun, which made the orange patches on his wings glow like flames. “You are exquisite.”

My gaze dropped down to the thick bulge protruding from the crotch of his white overall bottoms.