Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
So, curious, I get to my feet and pad into the darkness, listening for sounds of Nemeth’s wings. I don’t take a lamp with me. There’s nothing in the darkness in the tower that can frighten me.
I’m only a few steps into the hall, my hand on the wall to guide me, when I hear Nemeth’s voice. It’s coming from downstairs, the first floor. Curious, I head in that direction, wondering who or what he could possibly be talking to at this moment. Have the other Fellians returned? Are we no longer safe?
I creep down the stairs as quietly as I can, listening as Nemeth continues to talk. I can’t make out his words, and I realize he’s speaking in Fellian. Well, he’s taught me a few words of his language in our flirty moments. Maybe I can pick a few of them out. I press my ear to the stones, listening as Nemeth’s words spill through the darkness.
Wait…was that the word for wife?
I peer around the corner, into the large chamber, and see Nemeth stands in front of the altar, a single candle flickering in front of him. He does not have his hands clasped in prayer but atop the altar itself, and his expression is troubled.
The moment I look around the corner, he sees me and goes silent, a look of guilt flashing across his face. “Candra. Milettahn. I woke you up?”
I cross over to his side, fighting back a yawn. “I woke up and you weren’t in bed. Who are you talking to?”
He looks flustered by my question. “I…the gods.”
I arch an eyebrow at his answer. “The gods? Truly? You have never been particularly religious before.”
“Yes. It seemed like a day to pray.” Nemeth strokes my cheek with his knuckle. “I am sorry if I worried you. Prayers for my people are…private things, and I wished a moment alone.”
“I understand.” I slide my arms around his waist and smile when he holds me close. I get wanting to be alone with your thoughts. “Can I ask what you were praying about? Feel free to tell me no. You did say it was private, but I am simply curious.” I gaze up at him, his face cloaked in shadows. “I heard the word ‘wife.’”
He pauses. Strokes my cheek again. His reluctance is clear. “You will not get hurt feelings?”
“Well, now you have to tell me,” I say, poking a finger into his stomach. “You can’t just approach it like that and not expect me to worry.” A new thought occurs to me and I hesitate. “Do you have…regrets? Do you feel like you made a mistake?”
“What? Never.” He bends over and cups my face, pressing a kiss on my forehead. There’s something so very empowering about such a large, dangerous-looking male hunching over to shower gentle kisses to my face, and it soothes my worry a bit. “I am concerned that I am selfish, actually. That is why I pray.”
“Selfish?” I’ve had selfish lovers in the past and Nemeth is most definitely not one. “In what way?”
His expression is tormented. “In that I pressured you to mate me. I know you were hesitant. I worry I have been selfish in my need for you, and pushed you more than I should have. I worry that I convinced you with caresses instead of letting you decide for yourself. That I rushed you.”
I make an exasperated face. “You didn’t rush me, Nemeth. It was my decision. It has been all along. I knew what I was getting into when I married you, and I decided I wanted to do so anyhow.”
He caresses my face, his expression sad. “And will you abandon me when the tower doors open, like Ravendor did her mate?”
“Of course not. My love is stronger than that.” I put my hand over his. “I knew what I was doing when I decided to mate you. I knew I was giving up on my people for yours. They won’t accept me now because of what I’ve done. I’ve thrown my lot in with you. I suppose in a way I am Fellian, now.”
Nemeth looks sad. “Not Fellian,” he says softly. “Just mine.”
“That’s all I need.” I smile up at him. “Come to bed now?”
He blows out the candle.
Chapter
Fifty
Being mated to Nemeth makes me happier than I ever thought I could be. If I thought being with him was pleasant before, it is utterly joyous now. We spend several days in bed, doing nothing more than touching and learning one another. I learn that if I scrape my teeth on his knot, he will come instantly. He learns that there is a spot behind my knee that, if touched, will make me go mad with need. We learn how to make each other’s bodies sing, and I never tire of his touch.