Page 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gem

T he sheets are cold against the backs of my thighs as I slide into them and wait while Gryffin uses the bathroom. My heart races, and I feel twitchy for any number of reasons, but mostly because I’m spending the night in his bed. It will be the first time since we admitted our feelings to one another, and I’m nervous as fuck. We’ve been dancing around each other for so long, and if Colbie hadn’t revealed herself as our mate, I would probably pounce on him the minute he climbed in next to me, but I kind of like the idea of waiting so we can share our first time with her.

He walks out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a black pair of boxer briefs, and my mouth goes dry. Sure, I’ve seen Gryffin like this before, but I’ve always tried to keep it friendly. Now I can look at him like he’s the last drop of water in the desert, and I’m thirsty. He’s all hard, sculpted muscle, and I can’t wait to feel him wrapped around me. I drag my gaze down his body, past his brown nipples and rippling eight pack, to the large bulge behind the thin cotton of his underwear. I know how he tastes and how he feels, having explored him with my mouth, but there are so many more things I want to do to him and for him to do to me. I want Colbie to be involved in it all.

I fist the sheets, nervous for the first time in a long while. Is Gryff going to change his mind? I’ve wanted him for so long, the idea that he might reject me now is terrifying. When we messed around at the ball, we didn’t know about Colbie, so does knowing she’s our mate change things for him? He hasn’t tried to hide anything from her, and he’s been open, if a little reserved, with his affection in front of her and our family, so he isn’t trying to hide me like a dirty little secret, but I can’t help worrying.

He strides toward the bed, turning off the overhead light and leaving the bedside lamp on before sliding into the sheets next to me. He tugs me down and wraps his delicious arms around me before placing a kiss on my lips. I melt into him, his stubble scraping deliciously against my skin as his tongue explores my mouth. I groan and rub my cock against his, allowing my hands to wander over his mostly naked body. Both of us are breathing heavily when he finally pulls away.

“As much as I would love to keep exploring your delectable body,” he says, one of his hands cupping my ass and grinding me into him, “we need to get some sleep. It might be in short supply over the next few days, and I’d really like our mate to be with us for the first time.” I can see he’s worried and bracing himself for my reaction, but I just smile and sigh with happiness before snuggling into his chest, his naked legs tangling with mine.

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” I tell him, and I feel the tension in his body seep away. “I’ve dreamed of this for so long that a few more hours or days won’t hurt. I’m just happy to have you in my bed.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss against my head.

I chuckle. “Liar. I know both of us would like to be a couple of rooms over, but we’ll let Liam have his time. He’s waited for so long, and thankfully his bear seems to have settled down since they sealed the mating bond.”

“Hell, I saw the guy smile at least a dozen times today. I can’t remember the last time that happened,” Gryff says as my eyelids grow heavy. I’m warm and comfortable and in the arms of the man I’ve wanted forever and never thought I could have. All is right with the world, and when we finally get our mate between us, things are going to be explosive.

“Probably never,” I agree. “Can you believe the queen is our mate? I can’t believe how lucky we are. She’s powerful, compassionate, and not concerned one bit about appearances or who we are. It’s such a relief. I know fated mates are supposed to be the perfect complement for each partner, but it seems the goddess doesn’t always get it right. Look at Councilor Mason. He cheats on his wife every opportunity he gets. That’s not supposed to be how gifted mates work.”

“Unfortunately gifted mates doesn’t always mean happiness. Some people are just rotten to the core, but I agree, Colbie is amazing, and I’m so happy to be fated to her. Hell, I was seriously worried we’d end up with Gianna or Isla Tideman.”

“Agreed. I’d rather have no mate than either of them, but we need to watch Colbie’s back. They’ll both be gunning for her once they find out. Even if they can’t harm her physically, they can do a lot of damage with their poisonous tongues, especially once they find out their parents aren’t going to be on the council anymore.”

“Council? The Tideman family will be lucky if they aren’t sentenced to death for treason,” Gryffin snarls. “But yes, I’ll make sure my sisters are watching out for Gianna. She’s terrified of Gretchin, and Gracelin is no slouch with cutting comments and disdainful looks either.”

I scoff. “You don’t have to tell me, I’ve been on the wrong end of their tempers over the years, but they seem to be happy about you and me,” I say softly, and he gives me a squeeze.

“Of course. They have both been telling me to pull my head out of my ass for a long time. I just wish I would have listened sooner, because then I would have had you in my arms for much longer.”

My heart skips a beat at his confession, and I melt like a damn ice cream in the sun. I was so angry that he wouldn’t give in to the very obvious thing between us, but I now realize everything happens for a reason.

“Sleep well, Gem. When we wake up, we’ll be that much closer to sealing our bond with our mate,” Gryffin murmurs and rolls his hips, brushing his cock against mine again.

I groan with frustration, and he chuckles. I pull away and roll over so I don’t end up groping him in his sleep, but he just snuggles in, spooning me.

“That’s not helping,” I grumble as his hand strokes my abdomen, and I feel his rock-hard cock against my ass. My own cock jumps, and my balls tighten, but I grit my teeth and ignore the temptation. Once Colbie is between us, I can show both of them how amazing this will be.

Gryffin’s breathing evens out, and his arm gets heavier across my waist, but my mind continues to race as I try to figure out how we can find Colbie’s last mate. Putting out a kingdom wide announcement would be dangerous. If Colbie’s unknown final mate gets killed before they can seal their bond, then her chance of wearing the crown will disappear. The sooner we can find Nox, the better. Even if they don’t seal the bond straight away, we are safer as a unit, but judging by Colbie’s blushes when she told us about him, I doubt there will be any delay. Hell, he might seal it before all of us. Then again, she was annoyed and hurt that he didn’t tell her he was a shifter. If he rejects her, it’s going to be difficult to stop my phoenix from turning him to ash on the spot. Hopefully the mating bond, which has now been triggered, will override his aversion to other shifters and help him see how being a part of our family is going to be the best thing for him.

I also wonder if he has a contact with the unicorn shifters, so that we don’t have to beg one of them to help us track the children. Shifter children are sacred, so it should override any animosity they have.

“Stop thinking so hard, I’m trying to sleep,” Gryffin grumbles behind me. “Or do I need to distract you from everything that’s running through your mind?” I stiffen as his hand drifts down my abdomen and slides into the top of my boxer briefs. I thought he’d fallen asleep. Was I projecting all of my thoughts into his mind by accident? Gryff wraps his hand around my cock, and all my troubled thoughts float out of my brain as I focus on how amazing his tight grip feels as he strokes my rigid length.

He nibbles my neck as he alternates between stroking my length and rubbing his thumb along the underside of my tip, using the fluid that is now steadily leaking from it to lubricate his caresses. I groan and push my ass back against his hard dick.

“Hold still or I’ll stop,” he commands, and I freeze.

“Please let me touch you too,” I implore, and for a moment, I think he’s going to reject me, but instead, he allows me to reach back and slide my hand into his underwear. We stroke each other in tandem, my mind struggling to keep up a smooth motion when all the sensations of him finally touching me make my body tremble as my orgasm builds to a fiery peak.

His own breathing gets harsher, and his strokes falter a bit as I swirl my hand up and down his length, his precum hot against my palm.

“Your hand feels so good around my dick, and all I can think about is how you looked kneeling before me with my cock in your mouth. Such a good boy, pleasing me like that. I loved fucking your throat and seeing your eyes water. The only thing that would have been better was having Colbie at my feet as well, taking turns having me fuck her throat. If she was, I would have made you hold my cum in your mouth and feed it to her when I was spent.”

Gryffin is dirty as fuck, and his words and the images now planted in my brain have me moaning, my balls tightening. I can’t hold back my orgasm any longer. I gasp, and cum erupts from the tip as Gryffin pumps my cock through my release. I feel my own hand get coated in his sticky, hot fluid as he growls in my ear. “Such a perfect fucking boy.”

He pulls his hand from my boxer briefs and grabs my chin, his cum-covered grip like steel as he turns my head and kisses my mouth.

“Now hopefully we can both get some sleep,” he says as he releases my chin and brings his hand to his mouth, licking my cum from his fingers. My cock kicks again as I groan at the filthy sight. He grins, rolls off the bed, and disappears into the bathroom. I hear the sink running, and I contemplate getting up and washing off my hand, but he returns with a washcloth and tosses it to me. He then goes to the drawers and pulls out two pairs of underwear, stripping off his own before replacing them. He brings the other pair over to me, and I do the same. He takes both pairs and the washcloth back to the bathroom to throw them in the laundry basket.

When he returns to the bed, he switches off the lamp and plunges us into darkness. Our rooms have black out blinds because we often work night shift, and no light gets through. I feel him climb into the bed, and he rolls me over and scoots me back into him again, the little spoon to his big spoon. The room is silent except for my and Gryffin’s breathing, and it doesn’t take long for my eyelids to grow heavy as he gently strokes my stomach in a soothing pattern. “Sleep, my pretty firestorm,” he whispers as I drift off to sleep, comfortable and sated.

* * *

T he alarm on my phone rings, and I reach out to turn it off, but I realize I can’t move because my body is trapped beneath a giant, hairy white tiger. Gryffin must have shifted in his sleep. Sometimes our animals take over when our subconscious is asleep, and he rumbles with annoyance when I try to extract myself from his grip. He places a large paw on my chest, pinning me on my back, as he licks my face, and I grimace as he leaves slobber behind.

“Not cool, dude,” I complain, trying to push him off me, but I can’t budge him. He moves his grooming to my neck, and I feel a tooth scrape the skin and freeze. The tiger’s actions are very territorial and mimic how he would treat his mate. Does his tiger want to claim me as well as Colbie? My phoenix screams inside me with part defiance, part want. It’s all we’ve ever dreamed of, Gryff’s teeth marks beside our mate’s. Hopefully one day, it will become a reality, but right now, I need the big hairy fur ball to get off me so we can get ready for the mission. Instead of fighting him, I use my brain to manipulate him into wanting to get off.

“Hey, fluffy kitty, how about you get off me so we can get our mate some food? She’s going to need to keep her strength up for the mission,” I coax him, and he freezes and tips his head to the side. The same ocean blue eyes he has in his human form stare at me, his elongated pupils shifting as I see him think over my words. I guess he likes what I have to say, because with one more lick across my face, he leaps off the bed, heading for the bathroom. Gryffin must grab control, because I hear the shower turn on not five minutes later as I drag myself out of bed and look at the time. It’s midnight, and the neutral zone curfew goes into effect in an hour. We have just enough time to order some food before we need to be on our way. I place a large order with a food app and contemplate joining Gryffin in the shower, but that would probably be a bad decision. I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands or mouth off him, and that would make us late, so instead, I grab my clothes and head back to my own room to shower.

When I emerge dressed in a clean watch uniform that will shift with me if I need it and a pack of essentials, I find everyone in the living area passing around boxes of Chinese. I placed a huge order, so there’s enough for everyone, and I feel happy when I see Colbie has a big plate of food in front of her.

“Good call on the food.” Hunter lifts the box he has in his hand in thanks. “I was just going to place an order when the front desk called and said there was a delivery for us.”

“I figured we want to keep a low profile in the human zone, and going through a drive-through probably isn’t the way to do that,” I reply as I grab a plate from the kitchen counter and start serving myself. “I’m sorry, I probably should have asked what you two like, but I was trying to be efficient,” I say to Micah and Colbie.

Colbie shakes her head, but her mouth is full, so she can’t say anything, but Micah just waves a hand.

“I’m not fussy. Hell, I eat raw fish and sea life when I’m in the ocean. Honestly, one thing I love most about being in the military is the variety of food. Although we don’t live in the ocean, we source most of our food from it, and it becomes boring after a while. There are only so many ways you can cook fish or shellfish.”

Colbie finishes her mouthful and looks at Micah. “You don’t live in the ocean?”

He shrugs. “We have a couple of underwater colonies, and the majority of the mer live there. My family has two residences, one underwater and one on the coastal village that is the mers’ life blood. We survive on supplying seafood to the rest of the kingdoms. Although the fae, witches, and vampires all have their own coastal villages, none of them are as efficient with sea life as we are.” He stops for a moment. “Actually, some of the fae are, but they tend to keep all their produce for their own people, so despite the indifference from shifters, we’re the reason they get seafood.”

“I just don’t understand the prejudice. Who cares what you shift into? It’s stupid,” Colbie mutters aggressively, and I smile. She’s exactly what the shifters need. Lucas tried to integrate the three shunned breeds, but he wasn’t successful. I’m sure our queen will have more success, especially since she has three mates of those exact species, and she won’t stand for them being treated badly.

“Come on, eat up,” Hunter announces, standing and putting his plate in the dishwasher. “We need to get going soon. Curfew came into effect ten minutes ago, and the streets should be clear. I want to get to the human zone and the pegasus’s house while it’s still dark. The less humans who see us around, the better.”

“The human zone will probably still be busy, since they don’t have a curfew,” Brodie points out.

“My grandparents’ village is out of the city a ways. I wouldn’t worry too much. Nox’s place is secluded, and there are no houses around. We should be able to get in without being detected.”

“Okay, good. We’ll leave in half an hour,” Hunter warns us, and the rest of us finish eating as he disappears, probably to brief his dad on our departure.