His ears tint a shade darker. He shakes his head. “No. The Glowranth do not. It’s… not our way.”
“You’ve never…?” I sit up a little straighter, blinking. “You’ve never had this done to you?”
“No,” he admits softly. “Royal guards are meant to remain chaste until they leave their service after at least three decades. Focussed. We’re trained to protect our mark, not to seek pleasure.”
His confession hits me like a bolt of lightning. “You’ve never—” I blink, leaning back slightly to study his face. “Wait. You’re actually a… virgin?”
Kael frowns, that familiar furrow pulling between his glowing brows. “I do not know that word.”
I blow out a slow breath. Apparently the romances he read weren’t full of blushing virgins. Got it. “You’ve never been with anyone? Never had sex?”
A pause. Then, softly, “No. The royal guard are sworn to chastity while serving. Focus. Discipline. My body has always belonged to my duty. Until now.”
I stare. My brain goes offline for a second. “But before we left, you said”—I mimic his low, flirty voice “—‘For what it’s worth, you were right about one thing.’You were teasing me.”
His markings flare. Not just glowing—they ripple in a cascade of soft bioluminescent pulses. His embarrassment brushes against me like a wave, all through the bond.
“I said it because of you,” he murmurs. “I had never said anything like it before. But… I remembered your words. The way you spoke of me. Of my body. Of… what we might do.” His voice dips to a rumble. “I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to try. For you.”
I’m speechless for a long moment. Then, gently, I say, “You flirted for the first time in your life… and nailed it?”
He shifts awkwardly. “I was… compelled.”
My heart damn near breaks. “Kael.”
I reach for him again, letting my fingers trail down the hard planes of his chest, over the ridges of his abdomen, lower still. He doesn’t flinch—he leans in. His body hums beneath my touch, his breath hitching every time I graze a sensitive spot.
“Do you trust me?” I whisper.
His answer is immediate. “With everything.”
“Then let me take care of you.”
He gives the faintest nod. It’s all I need.
I move slowly, letting him feel every moment. My hands explore the deep blue of his skin, learning his shape, the places where he tenses and the places where he shudders. His body isn’t like any I’ve touched before—larger, denser, other—but it’s his, and I want every inch of it.
Kael’s head tips back slightly, his eyes fluttering shut, his lips parted as if he’s barely breathing. He’s never done this. Never felt this way. And now, here he is—laid bare, letting me lead.
“You feel amazing,” I murmur, voice thick with awe, every word trembling with the weight of how much I mean it.
Kael’s eyes flutter open, their glow softer now, almost shy. Vulnerable in a way that knocks the breath out of me. “So do you,” he murmurs, and there’s a reverence in his tone that goes straight to my chest.
His hand lifts, tentative at first—like he’s afraid I might disappear if he touches me too roughly. But then his clawlike fingers graze my chest, slow and searching, mapping the curve of my ribs, the dip of my waist. His touch is warm, a little unsure but achingly intentional, as if he’s learning me by sensation alone.
When his hand finally wraps around my cock, I suck in a sharp breath, my hips jolting before I can stop them. His grip is gentle, almost hesitant, but the effect is devastating. Pleasure crackles through me, sharp and sudden, chasing up my spine. Each stroke is slow and deliberate, his glowing gaze fixed on me like he’s memorising every gasp, every hitch in my breath, every twitch beneath his palm.
I’m already too close. Embarrassingly close. My thighs tremble with the effort to hold back.
“I—fuck, Kael. That’s—yeah. Just like—” My words break off in a gasp as I press my forehead into the crook of his neck,desperate to ground myself. “Okay, I have to slow down, or I’m gonna—fuck.” I arch back.
Kael’s lips curl, smug and pleased, and of course the bastard loves it. He’s proud of every unravelling second.
I huff out a shaky laugh and lean in to kiss along his jaw, open-mouthed and slow. His skin tastes faintly of minerals, like the first drops of rain hitting sun-warmed stone—strange and addictive and uniquely him. My tongue flicks out, chasing the flavour as I trail lower, kissing down his throat, his chest, then lower still.
When I nudge his thighs apart, he goes rigid—nervous—but I pause, resting a hand on his stomach. I glance up, giving him the space to stop me. “This okay?”
His eyes meet mine, glowing like wildfire in the dark. His breath catches, and then he nods—tiny, breathless. “Yes. I want it. I want… you.”
