Chapter 23

Rojtar

My shoulder still slightly throbs despite the large dose of burim root I took, but it is nothing compared to the wounds I suffered from the Njeri. Yet, for my keeshla , I had let her guide me to the healer’s tent. We are gone from there, but she has not left my side since we returned to the village. While I will be perfectly fine, I love the fact that she hovers. It is a sign she truly cares for me.

Carter heard what happened and came to check on us, but once he saw all was well, he and the rest of the kits left to go explore the hills. They will return by the evening meal.

“You’re going to sit here and let me take care of you,” Abby says sternly.

A large bandage covers the wound near my shoulder and she carefully wipes the cloth around the outside of it to cleanse the dried blood Kyler did not get off.

“Nothing would please me more.”

She glances at me—perhaps to judge my sincerity—before returning to her task. “This is going to leave another scar.”

I stare back at her. “Do they bother you?”

Abby jerks her head up and shakes it rapidly. “No, of course not. I mean other than the fact I hate you were injured so badly to get them. It hurts knowing you’ve been so severely wounded. It also scares me a little.”

“What is it you fear?

She pauses from her task, folds her hands in her lap, and stares down at them. I tip up her chin with my fingertip so she has to meet my gaze. “My keeshla should never hide her thoughts and feelings from her mate.”

“I’m scared you’re going to die and leave me with a broken heart,” Abby cries out and wetness pools in her eyes, but does not spill from them.

Despite her tears, hope rises and my soul light flares brightly within me.

“I’ve tried and tried to keep myself from falling for you, but no matter what I do you keep whittling away at my defenses.” She shakes her head. “You’ve kept every promise and made me trust you. You’ve made me believe in someone again. You’re steadfast and sure and I know I can count on you. With every word you speak, with every action you take, you show me how much you love me. That it’s safe for me to love you, too.”

Abby gulps in deep breaths. “Seeing you lying on the ground today—bleeding—and not knowing if you were going to live or die made me realize I need you in my life. I need your warmth. Your kind heart. Your protection. Your love . I need you with every fiber of my being. I don’t want to keep myself closed off anymore. I want to be free of the past. Free of the hurt my father and Henry caused me. I want to give my heart to you because I know, more than anyone, you’ll keep it safe.”

There is no resisting dragging Abby onto my lap and into my arms. I seal my lips to hers in a fierce and possessive kiss. I love this female more than anything. She is everything I ever wanted and more. Deeka knew what she was doing bringing my keeshla to me. We were meant for each other. To heal each other’s loneliness. Our fate was written in the stars and beyond.

Abby draws her head back, but only far enough that she can meet my gaze. She scans my face and caresses my cheek with her soft fingers. I wait as patiently as I am able, because the next several beats of my heart are going to bring everything I ever desired. I feel it deep within me.

“I swore to myself that I had no desire to be vulnerable with someone again. It hurts too much. But there’s no denying how you make me feel.” Abby breathes in deeply and releases it. “Thank you for sharing your soul light with me. I will treasure the gift you’ve given me for all of eternity. I love you, Rojtar.”

As though understanding her words, the light within me shines as brightly as the sun and illuminates the interior of the tent. The strength of it reflects back at me from my keeshla’s eyes. Warmth fills me, becoming hot enough to burn and yet I am completely unharmed.

“Deeka has blessed me beyond measure by bringing you into my life. From now until we pass through the lands of the goddess—and even after that—my heart belongs to you.” I rest my brow bones against the furry lines above her eyes. “I love you, my Abby. My keeshla . My fated one.”

She tips her head back and our lips meet. The kiss is not rushed. It is filled with more than just passion. It is filled with hope. With trust. With love. It is the connection of two souls coming together to become one, no matter that she does not have a soul light. Abby and I are bound to each other in the way only fated mates can be.

“Make love to me,” she whispers.

“With pleasure.”

I slowly draw her chest covering up and over her head. Flame-colored hair spills down around her shoulders and grazes the hardened tips of her chest mounds. They are a pretty color that matches the shade her cheeks turn when she is angry. My mouth waters with the need to taste them. For whatever reason I imagine they are the flavor of the sweet shurup nectar I love so much.

Carefully, I lay Abby onto her bed of furs. She raises her hips for me to bring her leg coverings down. During our many pleasure sessions, I have touched her cunt with my fingers, but this is the first time I am seeing it. Her clit—the name she taught me—is swollen and begs to be caressed the way she likes. She is soft and pink—another word she shared—and before this turn is over, I will be inside her.

“You are the most beautiful being on the planet.”

“So are you,” Abby tells me.

“I do not think scarred males can be beautiful.” I smile softly at her.

She caresses my chest, careful of my recent injury. “If they’re you, they can be. Besides, if I think you’re beautiful then you just have to accept my word for it.”

“Then I will take your compliment and hold it close to my heart.”

“Good.”

I lower myself over Abby and bring my mouth to hers. Our tongues twine and she runs her hands along my back, dragging her nails over my flesh. A shudder courses through me and heads straight for my cock that is begging to be released from my leg coverings. I keep myself restrained so this first time with my keeshla lasts. She must reach her peak first. Only then will I allow myself my own release.

Abby rubs her chest mounds against me and I palm one within my hand, kneading it and plucking the rigid tip while my tongue continues to play with hers. I trail my fingers down her belly until I reach the sweet spot between her thighs. She spreads herself wider for me to slide them through her slit and gather up all her wetness.

“Open,” I command.

She parts her mouth and I place my fingers within so she can lick her essence from them. Watching her taste her own flavor does something to both of us. When I am satisfied she has gotten it all, I go back for more. Only this time, it is for me. I drink down every drop of her sweet nectar and while it is most delicious, I want to gather it straight from its source.

I slide down Abby’s body and settle in the cradle of her thighs. Without taking my eyes from her, I dip my head and swipe my tongue through her sweetness. Her back arches and she goes rigid, but I do not cease devouring her. Soft cries of pleasure spill from her lips and she clutches my head. For a single beat I worry she is going to push me away, but instead, Abby draws me closer.

I lash at her clit and nibble it with my teeth, only to soothe any sting I might have caused with my tongue. My tail unwinds from where I wrapped it around her ankle and it glides up the full length of her leg. She casts her gaze down and does not take her eyes off me as I slowly enter her cunt with the tip of it. Abby’s chest heaves with every breath she takes, but she does nothing to stop me.

She moans the deeper I push it inside, stretching her the way my cock soon will. Once I can go no farther, I fuck her with it. The dirty word she taught me resonated the moment she spoke it. While I have heard Zander use it as a curse, it is more fitting for the sublime act between my mate and me. Yes, Abby and I are making love, but the primal sensations that live within me resemble this fucking more than anything.

My pace quickens—both the tail I use to penetrate her and the tongue lashing I am giving her clit—and I have to hold her thighs down because she writhes harshly beneath me. Instinct and the intense need to please my mate drives me although I have never fucked before. Before long, Abby’s entire body trembles and her cunt clenches my tail tightly. A loud keening sound escapes her and she shudders.

I push my cock hard into the ground to the point of pain in order to stave off my own release until I am inside her. While her trembling and breathing slows, I remove my own leg coverings and glide up her body to claim her lips with mine. The kiss goes on until her passion rises again. I position my hard length that is slick with my mating fluid at her entrance and only then do I draw my mouth away from hers.

“Are you sure you are ready?” As excruciating as it will be to stop, I will. There is nothing I will do to break the trust my Abby has given me.

“I love you,” she says. “Please, fuck me.”

That is all I need to hear to surge forward until I am buried to the hilt. She screams my name and wraps me tightly in her embrace. Nothing in life has prepared me for what it is like to finally be inside my keeshla . The feel of her cunt surrounding me is the most wondrous sensation ever. I could almost believe I see Deeka.

Unable to help myself, I move. In and out I thrust, my pace slow to start but as the pleasure rises, it increases until I am pounding into my sweet mate. She takes everything I give her and begs for more. Our bodies slap together to make a glorious sound. Between her sweet nectar and my mating fluid, liquid pools below us and the scent of the two of us mixed together is something I wish I could capture in a vessel and bring out to enjoy later.

“I’m going to come,” my Abby cries out. “Faster, please.”

I feel my release coming, but she needs to reach hers again first. My tail slips between us and tickles her swollen and needy clit. In a few short beats of my heart, her peak hits and once again my name leaves her lips. My thrusts turn harder—deeper—until, at last, my whole body tenses and my seed erupts from my cock to fill her up. Tremors shake me until I have emptied myself completely.

With great care, I partially collapse on top of Abby, whose hold on me has not loosened. We both take great, gasping breaths. Euphoria swarms through me and my soul light is blinding. If I had not already shared it with my keeshla , there is no way we would not have bonded after this.

She shivers and I bring a fur up to cover us. I roll to my side and bring her with, my cock still within her heated depth. Dampness makes her hair stick to her brow. I swipe it away and her closed eyes flutter open to lock on mine. The sweetest smile curls her lips. I return it.

“I did not hurt you?”

Abby shakes her head. “It was perfect. You were perfect.”

Pride swells that I was able to please my mate. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Her words make me chuckle. “I do not believe that is possible. For so long, I have prayed to Deeka to help me be worthy of a mate. With every passing season, I worried my prayers would go unanswered. Then I met you. Even before you touched me, my soul knew it belonged with you. I am the most blessed male and will spend the rest of my existence showing you how much I love you.”

Tears well in Abby’s eyes, but do no spill. “Thank you for loving me. For being so patient with me and for showing me what trust looks like.”

“You are worth it all.”

I pull her closer and revel in the rightness of her being in my arms. No matter what our future holds, Abby will never doubt me or my love. I will continue to keep her heart safely within my grasp and protect both it and her.