Page 64 of Orange Lake
I shivered.
“Cold?” Coone said as he dragged me towards, of course, a bed.
Coone never initiated sex with me. Is he going to?
I can’t stop to think about sex, mating, and Zirc. We just sat at the edge of the bed but Coone dragged me so that I sit in on his thighs. I can’t believe he is this touchy feel. And I’m letting him!
“Have you had sex with Roqs?” I asked Coone. Great, my brain is in the gutter.
Coone looked puzzled. “Plenty of times.”
“Always with Zirc?”
“Not always. But when I mated with Zirc, I can only have sex with others when Zirc is around or males he approves.” Males, not females. I was too chicken to ask.
“Even when he is not around?”
“Yes,” he nodded. Oh, it’s like they have an open relationship. “Only with those people he approves. Are you asking if we get jealous?” I nodded. He scoffed. “With Zirc, so far we are completely compatible. The males I meet and the males he meets, we usually like. It’s only you,” he stopped.
“Only me?” I prodded.
He sighed. “Only you he haven’t told me before he fucked you,” he looked serious as he added, “Zirc is not the one to sleep around when we mated. He always, always asked me and I him. When you and I first had sex, I was devastated because we did not mated. I saw how desperate Zirc acted towards you. It can only mean you are my mate as well.”
“Then why did you give me a hard time since we met?” I cried out.
He blushed from neck upwards. “Coone,” I urged him.
He chuckled. “I was jealous. All of a sudden, hearing is different from seeing. It’s like all he sees is you. You were both in a mating dance. I did not realize I was also in a mating dance with you so I reacted differently. Don’t feel bad,” he brushed my forehead with his thumb. “Zirc should have told me, and I should have remembered. I acted this way too when Zirc and I first met.”
“Then why did you mate with me only now?”
His eyes glittered. He is debating to tell me or not so I gently placed my hand on his chest where his heart should be. His eyes softened and he bent to whisper, “When you jumped on the water, I thought I lost you and felt like how can I explain it to Zirc who is clearly wild about you. But then I realized. You are loyal to Zirc. You are willing to sacrifice yourself for him. My heart cannot comprehend it until then.”
“Wha-“ I said dumbly. I should just shut up and let him talk.
He shifted me in his arms. This close I can see how thick his lashes are. He chuckled that sent shivers along my body. “Zirc told me a lot about you in very few words. In every message he sent me, you were always there. Like he tried to keep it a secret but he can’t. I was excited to finally meet his potential mate. I could feel it -“
“- Wait,” I cut him. “I’m Zirc’s mate?”
He looked at me confused. Then his mind cleared. “Ah, now I know why Jigen thinks Zirc is a fool!” He sighed and looked at me.
“Tell me,” I urged him. But he kept silent. I opened my mouth but he hushed me with a finger on my lips.
“It’s better if Zirc tells you. But in my world, the fact I am mated to Zirc and I am mated to you, shows a high chance that you are also mated to him.”
That was highfaluting math right there. My nose crinkled making Coone smile. His eyes are laughing at me. He smoothed out the crinkles on my eyebrows.
“Are you jealous of Roqs?”
“Always,” he answered immediately. I sighed. I feel the same. There are days when it feels like Zirc is rejecting me in favor of Roqs.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“He needs to rest so he can gain back his arm. Then we will go to a mission.” At this point, he got a worried look on his face. I can roughly make a guess as to what he is thinking. Do we bring our newmateto this mission? It’s going to be a long fight for sure. I don’t want to be parted with them.
Coone’s mind went to mission mode. It’s like I can also see through him even though he assured me he can’t read my mind, just my facial expressions. But he can feel what I feel. I can influence him the same way he can influence me. He promised he will not influence me as much as possible but right now, I don’t have a filter. So all my feelings, he can feel it. And probably Zirc’s too.
He sighed then straightened up, making me stand up with him.
