Page 9 of The Wish

Lily nodded and bent to scoop up the kitten that came racing toward her. Clutching Nimh to her chest, she followed her to the door and waited patiently as Delilah stepped outside and firmly closed the door behind her. She waited, listening, until she heard the familiar sounds of the locks sliding into place.

Good girl.

Turning toward the central road, she tipped her head as she walked toward the center of the village, examining the skies and the nearby rooftops for the males. Usually, they were easy to spot at any random time that she chose to look for them and yet now that she actually wanted to find them, they were gone. Had they finished and left already? Her heart constricted painfully, and she picked up her pace, hurrying through the village. She peered into the cottages as she passed them with the hope that they might be scouring the other residents for more supplies, but she came up empty. She tried to tell herself it was fine. That she would come across them at any moment and then would feel silly for the pressure twisting her insides. She didn’t truly panic, however, until she reached Mrs. Murgun’s cottage, only to find it eerily silent as well.

Delilah spun away, her heart hammering as a sick feeling crept through her, pushing bile up her throat. They left. They didn’t even say goodbye. Perhaps it was a ridiculous expectation, but she couldn’t help but feel stung by it. She’d been so certain that they wouldn’t just disappear on them… not without saying something.

It seemed that she was wrong.

Her heart weighed down with disappointment, she left the empty cottage. How was she going to explain this to Lily?

It was the loud sound of splashing, however, that penetrated her thoughts and made her freeze in place. The last time she heard splashing like that, a large animal had managed to make its way into the village and decided to avail itself of the large pond there. It had taken the strongest men and all the village’s bravest women to bring it down before it could harm anyone. If there was another out there, she didn’t know what she would do.

Her heart beating trepidatiously, she headed toward the sound, needing to know for certain exactly what she was dealingwith. The pond had been the jewel of the village. Nearly the size of a small lake and blooming with lilies, it had been a welcoming place of beauty and refuge. It was the one thing she found pleasure in, and yet now she wished that there was no pond there.

Stepping through the bushes that created a natural privacy screen between the pond and the nearest cottages, Delilah froze in shock. There, standing waist-deep within the pond, was Gehj, his blue feathers distinctly setting him apart. His wings and tails feathers shimmered in the sun as they drifted across the surface of the water. The gold strands within the red feathers picked up the sunlight, making them almost glow. And, though his back was turned toward her, she could see that he was very naked.

A blush climbed high into her cheeks. She was relieved that he hadn’t left, but she also couldn’t believe that she was spying on him while he bathed. His lean hips were kissed with the water lapping over them, the strange split covering that he wore absent. Gehj’s wings stretched, fanning wide as they sprayed out water droplets before flapping and withdrawing out of the way as Agrel surfaced gloriously from beneath the surface, all burnished red and gold blazed with green. His wings rose over his head, the sun catching the feathers and making them glow with incredible radiance. And he is facing her. Just beneath the surface of the water, between his thighs, there is a bulge of flesh, like a pouch with a front seam that was far more generous in size than anything she could have imagined. Something thick and red pushed out slightly with a girth that split it in a way that had her draw in a ragged, panted breath before it slipped back inside.

Oh gods.

She stared in awe, unable to look away until Gehj suddenly moved, turning in place as he too faced her. Their powerful bodies were slick with water, smooth skin in matching hue with the patches of downy feathers. When they were dry, it waseasy to imagine that their entire bodies were covered with red feathers, especially since she tried to be polite and not look too closely. But now there was no looking away. She was caught. She knew it… and they knew it.

“Delilah,” Agrel murmured, his voice piercing her with a heat that she could feel straight down to her toes. “Are you looking for us?”

This was it… the opening she didn’t realize until then that she needed. She had initially planned to discuss matters, but this was more efficient. It would be easier to bargain once they had an idea of what she offered them. She knew she wasn’t the best of lovers—Zack had begun to complain frequently about it shortly after they were stationed in the village—but perhaps the aliens wouldn’t notice her shortcomings. Regardless, she couldn’t back down now if she wanted to get Lily out of the village.

She regained her composure and smiled at him in a way that she hoped was seductive. “Actually, yes.”

A smile stretched across his face told another story, and he began to wade from the pond. “Good.”

Chapter

Seven

Water ran off Agrel as he waded to the shore where Delilah waited. Gehj watched and waited for all but a heartbeat before he, too, began to make his way toward her. He could feel every feather on his body, down to the very quill, vibrating with need. While they were bathing, they had discussed how to best approach her, given that their time was nearly at an end in the village, and instead, she had come to them. She had approached them for the consummation. Her entire body was soft and welcoming, the pupils of her eyes blown out with desire even as a musk of need rose from her flesh. It was truly happening. Never had he dared to imagine a female approaching them, much less Delilah.

Agrel had been right. By keeping close to her and slowly accustoming her to their presence, she had begun to unconsciously bond with them, relating the sense of safety and affection with their devoted attentiveness. She responded like an Atlavan female, except far bolder. A female of their species would still wait until the ahaku pair made an official declaration to her.

Keenly aware of the momentous occasion upon them, Gehj arrived at Delilah’s side just moments after Agrel and extended his hand in welcome to their female. He expanded his feathers, his crest rising and tailing fanning wide gloriously to convey his interest, but barely dared to breathe until her hand slid into his ahaku’s hand. Nearly trembling with the enormity of the moment, Agrel took her other hand so that they were able to draw her with them into the soft grass beside the pond, fragrant with small yellow flowers. It was not a nest worthy of a mate, but their circumstances were not typical of an Atlavan mating.

They would owe her all formal rituals and oaths at their nest once they were settled among their people, where they would be protected and provided for while they went into seclusion. Such a thing was not possible now. Even the courting flight would be too risky. It was not how he imagined his mating would go, but he did not think of it. Instead, working cooperatively with Agrel, he focused on the task of wooing her with the tender brush of his wings over her body, stroking leisurely over every bit of exposed skin with gentle sweeps. He admired the hue of their feathers against her and her incredible responsiveness.

Many females barely tolerated wing-grazing only for the levels of arousal that it brought them, but not Delilah. She shivered at their touch, her breath catching in small, telling gasps, her skin pinkening with her heightening desire. She took great pleasure in their wing-grazing, her body softening and leaning into them as the signs of her arousal deepened further. It was only then when her body was rubbing against theirs and her body arching into the touch of their wings that they knew that she was ready. Only then did they slowly begin undressing her.

Exchanging a look with his ahaku, Gehj gripped a long feather and singed it free from his crest with a curl of flame that rose from it. He held the long red feather between them for Delilah to see, the radiant blue of its tip catching thefirelight so that it shimmered. He brushed it against along her jaw before lovingly setting it on the bed of grass where Agrel’s green-tipped feather quickly joined it. The two feathers weren’t enough for one’s mating and the wrongness of it shook him. He was tempted to singe several more feathers free, but Agrel cooed softly, bringing his gaze to him. Gehj swallowed and nodded his thanks for the reminder. They had discussed this and had agreed that waiting was the best course of action.

“Just two feathers for now,” he rasped, and Delilah glanced at him curiously. He knew that she did not understand the enormity of the feathers, or how much it cost him to wait to feather their bed properly. He would explain it to her later.

“This is honestly beautiful just as it is,” she whispered, and a small quiver ran through her that he knew was just as much from nerves as it was from her own rising desire. “It’s really been a while since I’ve done this. I’m not sure?—”

“Then let us lead,” Agrel cooed, its resonating purr growing in strength as the sound thickened on his tongue. “We have never done this before, but when we were young, we were taught by an elder about the ways of mating and pleasure. I would be happy to show you.”

“As would I,” Gehj echoed in agreement, his eyes opening as he trailed a claw along the hem of the fabric laying against her collarbone. “I am an eager student and would be delighted to show you what I have learned.”

She shivered in response, her teeth sinking into her lip to stifle her moan as she jerkily nodded in agreement. He smiled as he trailed his hand lower to stroke over the fullness of her breast. Exchanging a look with his ahaku, they lifted her together and set her on the bed between them. Gehj carefully undid a button with his claws. Atlavan did not often use such things on their clothing, preferring ties for even their cloaks worn in the winter, but they used them occasionally enough that he understood howto release its hold on the material. He opened one button after another, revealing more and more soft flesh.

They took their time removing every article of clothing. Atlavan females wore the split wrap tied at their hips like males did, and nothing else except layers of beads and chains over their breasts. Much of Delilah’s clothing was a puzzle to him, but one that he enjoyed while uncovering each new discovery as he slid his fingers and his tongue over every bit of exposed skin as Agrel did likewise at her other side as they held her between them. The heat of their magic snapping along their tongues to dance over her flesh and make her gasp with pleasure.

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