Chapter Thirteen

The latest letter was tucked into my jacket pocket, its words warming me just from their proximity. My admirer was getting bolder with every one until he now hovered on the edge of eroticism. The letter in my pocket confessed his fascination with my chest, of all things. I mean, sure, I loved a muscular chest, but he enjoyed mine because it wasn't as broad or hard as most lords. He wrote about the curve of my pectorals and the peak of my nipples. He said he fantasized about sucking upon them. The letter was so fucking hot, it was a miracle it didn't set my jacket on fire.

It was to the point that I didn't care who he was. He could have been General Ranor, and I would have ridden him until his eyes rolled back in his head. Actually, I was certain it wasn't Ranor since our general was straight. Still, I would have dropped my pants and bent over if he had said the magic words to me—"Please, see me."

I looked around the dining hall again. We were at lunch, my body still in that pleasant lethargy that follows training. I had gone to the suite to shower with Xae and Rath—and do some other things while wet, and while we were dressing, my admirer had slid the letter beneath the door. If I hadn't just had sex in the shower, I would have gotten hard again. As it was, my heart was more aroused than my cock. Because even the spicier letters were beautiful, and always spoke of how he wanted me for more than my appearance. He truly saw me.

But I still hadn't seen him.

I grimaced at my plate and glanced at the dining hall entrance once again. Then I froze. Caleb was walking in and our gazes happened to meet. He stopped and stared at me with such longing that my breath caught. It was what I'd been searching for. The love. The unfulfilled desire. The stark need. Then he looked away and headed for the buffet.

Holy shit. I never once considered that my admirer wasn't a Wraith Lord.

"Ember?" Nex slapped the table.

"Huh?" I looked over at him.

"Uh, excuse me, but do my mating plans bore you?"

"No. Of course not. What were you saying?"

Nex rolled his eyes. "I asked if you thought the Fress people would be all right with us holding our mating ceremony there."

"I don't see why they wouldn't be. But why not have it here?"

Rath winced.

"Ember," Keltyr said in his you-just-fucked-up tone.

"What?"

"You really haven't been listening!" Nex growled. "I'm sorry, Chosen One . Not everything is about you. This is about me . And I told you already that Evina's clan is coming, and she doesn't want them in the citadel."

"Why not?"

Nex grimaced. "I don't know. Something about bears and warriors and wide open spaces."

"Uh-huh," I drawled. "So, I'm not the only one not paying attention to your mating plans."

"Watch it, kid," Nex said. "I get to be flippant about this. You don't."

"All right, fair enough," I said. "Did you want me to talk to your soon-to-be neighbors?"

"Actually, yes. Could you?"

"Sure. Anything for you, buddy."

Nex grinned. "All right, no need to butter me up. I'm over your self-centeredness."

"You calling me self-centered. That's hilarious."

"It's a testament to just how self-centered you are," he shot back. "If I think you're self-centered, you must be on a whole new level of ego."

I burst out laughing. "Well played, Tytra."

Nex grinned. "Seriously though, I'd appreciate you speaking to them. They always get fidgety around me. I think I scare them."

"No, not you." I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't say I don't understand it. I mean, their fear is rational. I'm a terrifying beast of a man with an enormous cock. But it's annoying when I'm trying to have a conversation with one of them."

"Dear Goddess, make him stop," Keltyr whined.

"No one can make Nex stop," Rath said.

"Nex," Evina stepped up to the table.

Nex straightened in his seat, a big grin spreading across his face, and asked, "Yes, my love?"

"I stand corrected," Rath whispered to us, making us chuckle.

"Have you spoken to them yet?" Evina asked.

"Them?"

"The villagers of Fress." She lifted a dark brow. "I need to tell my clan where the ceremony will be."

"Ember has volunteered to speak to them on our behalf."

"That's sweet of you, Ember, but this is Nex's responsibility," Evina said to me.

"Yes, but Nex is a big scary beast of a man," I said. "With an enormous—"

Nex kicked me in the shin, cutting me off.

"He's a what?" Evina scowled at me.

The men at the table snorted and laughed as Nex rolled his eyes.

"I scare them, my love," Nex said with a shrug. "Nothing to be done. I mean, just look at me. I'm intimidating."

"You had better do something, Nexhavaren ," Evina snapped. "Those people are going to be our neighbors. If you can't convince them to trust you, we'll never be accepted. Now, get over there and be nice!" She pointed at the table where Caleb and the other people of Fress were eating.

"Yes, sweetheart." Nex stood up. "You're right."

Evina instantly softened. "Thank you, Nexy."

As she left, the rest of us looked at Nex, eyes round and lips twitching.

"Don't fucking say it, you assholes!" Nex growled.

"Oh, Nexy, you're the sweetest," I cried.

"And you're the second sweetest, Emby." Nex yanked me off the bench. "You're going with me to put them at ease."

"All right, all right." I pushed his hand away. "You could have just asked. I already told you I'd talk to them."

"Have fun, Nexy," Xaedren called after us.

"I will shave you in your sleep, Ladrin!" Nex called back. "Try me!"

Xae went silent.