21 Zinnar

We stand atop a circular stone in the center of the pavilion, fresh flower garlands filling the space with a lovely scent that compliments Rosa’s natural one. She wears the ceremonial red gown of a mate, my family crest pinned to her chest. A thin cloak hangs from her delicate shoulders and drifts lazily on the breeze.

“Prince Zinnar, do you swear to honor, care for, and protect your mate, Rosalynn, until you are ash and one with the land again?” Rorlin asks. He’s dressed in ceremonial armor and looks like he couldn’t be happier.

“I swear.”

“And do you, Rosalynn, promise to honor, care for, and protect your mate, Zinnar, until you are ash and one with the land again?”

Her eyes shimmer with happy tears. “Hell yes.”

I hang my head and chuckle. Aryssa, who stands behind her giggles, too.

Rosa clears her throat. “I swear.”

“Then by the grace of our Kingdom of Magnus, and the power vested in me by King Zaphes, I formally Bond you, Zinnar, and you, Rosalynn, for eternity.”

Rorlin steps back so I can draw my beautiful wife against me. I kiss her gently. But one taste of her has me quickly aching with need.

As we walk down the aisle amid friends and guards, my father stands from his seat and wishes us his best, then shakes Rosalynn’s hand. “You’re going to be a great addition to our fuels team, but more importantly, our family. Thank you for doing what I couldn’t.”

“What’s that?” she asks.

“Being there for my son.”

He pats me on the back as we walk by, toward my chambers in the castle.

The moment the doors to the room close behind us, I kiss her neck and draw the edges of her dress up. Laying her back on our bed, I feel her open the buckle of my kilt. It drops to the floor, and she smiles.

“So sometimes you don’t wear anything underneath?”

I crawl over her, gather her in my arms, and when I feel her heels dig into my ass, I sheathe myself inside of her.

She gasps and arches, tightening around me. It’s a struggle to pump when she clenches with such strength. I feel wild and savage as the heat fills my body. My heart begins to race.

“I’m still not used to this.” She speaks airily between my thrusts. “But I like—all the magnetic things—you have and the way they—snap together when they touch—like they were meant to be together.”

She bucks onto my shaft, and her subtle movement sends a wave of lascivious pleasure through me. I bury myself deep and hard, trying desperately to surround myself with her and the way she makes me feel powerful and in control of my life—but more than anything, loved.

“Mostly—” Rosa reaches for something on the table. It wiggles and slides across the surfaces into her hand. “I get to have a little residual fun.”

She ratchets a special set of cuffs around my wrist, then the other to one of hers. “Now you’re stuck with me.”

I lift my wrist and it raises hers with mine. “Where did you get these?”

“Bai’rin’s sister.” She gives me a wicked smile and tugs me down to her. Her pussy tenses around my cock. It’s been a month since she first arrived, but she looks very comfortable in my bed. And it’s by far the best life I’ve had.

She digs her heels in, and I push inside her until she cannot take any more of me. I pick up speed, and soon, her pussy quivers and clenches my shaft with strength I admire.

“That’s it.”

She cries out my name and tenses harder. Her silken flesh slicks, pushing me over the edge. My erection flexes, and I break a sweat pumping my seed into her again and again.

“I love you,” I say as she catches her breath. “I love your playful side, your sweet side, and the way you always think about those around you. You’ve given me something wonderful to look forward to.” I slide out of her and lie next to her on the bed. “Now how about that key?”

She lifts a hand and catches it midair.

It takes me a second to realize what’s happened. I prop myself up and look down at her. A faint patch of hexagonal scales fades from her wrist.

“What was that?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Are your talents passed down by the mom or the dad?”

“Either.” As I say it, I realize what’s happened and straddle her on the bed. I brace her face in my hands and admire her for a long breathless moment.

She beams up at me. “Bai’rin’s sister, Kessi, and I are getting to be good friends. She’s due a month before me.”

“You’re— already?”

Her eyes roll skyward. “I mean, we do it basically every day. What did you expect?”

I curl myself around her, elated and terrified, and hold her tightly. “Anything you need, I’ll take care of it.”

“Just to be here with me. I want us to be a family.”

I collect her in my arms and carry her to the bench by the window that looks out over the valleys. “I will stay by your side, whatever it takes. Life has never been as beautiful as it has been with you.”

She kisses me and rests her head on my shoulder in the evening lights, and I’m certain this is what family was meant to feel like.

I pinch her chin and nibble her ear. “I will never ever walk away from you again.”

“You better not.”

I smile and rest my forehead to hers. “Pretty sure I’d fall apart on day one without you.”