Page 27 of Unfinished

She had to admit it; it was weird between them. Not bad, but definitely…strange. She was trying to piece this stiff, intense man together with the R’kash she knew from their messages.

All of those worries were easily swept aside beneath the light pressure of his mouth against hers. She waited for him to deepen the kiss, but his lips stayed frustratingly closed. She’d been dreaming about this for months. In those daydreams, she’d never once assumed she’d need to be the aggressor, but maybe she should’ve. The man lived in an isolated temple with only a few other male priests. Yes, he had Veesha, but from the little he’d communicated, he and her mother had never had a real relationship.

Sienna pressed one hand against his chest and let it slide up over his collarbone, feeling the firm dip and swell of his muscles before she wrapped her fingers around his neck. She parted her lips, letting the lower one catch on his before she bit down lightly. He gasped, and she felt the flick of his thinner forked tongue. The two points teased the delicate skin of her lip, and she made a soft sound as her body shuddered. Her own tongue felt thick and unwieldy in comparison, but she wanted to taste him before he had time to retreat.

It was unlike any kiss she’d experienced before. Edgar had always rushed through kissing to get on to the main event, but she felt R’kash bloom beneath her, his confidence growing the longer they touched. His throat vibrated, his scales hot beneath her palms. He purred like a big cat, and she could feel the hum every time his tongue brushed against hers. His teeth were sharper than hers, and more than once the points of his tapered fangs pricked along her mouth, but it never truly hurt—the contact only heightened the sensation.

Eventually, R’kash forgot to be tentative. He coiled his nimble tongue around hers, massaging it until she moaned into his mouth. He may not have been comfortable kissing her in front of the spaceship when they first met, but it seemed her worries were unfounded. He may have been restrained earlier, but he was proving he had no difficulties revealing that fire she’d seen in his eyes now that they were alone.

This wasn’t quite how she’d pictured the first time between them, but she couldn’t find the will to object. Her hand snaked up the back of his neck, her fingers pushing through his already ruffled feathers. He pulled away with a low hiss, his tongue flickering rapidly, his fangs glinting against his lower lip before he closed his mouth and just stared, wild-eyed, chest rising and falling like he’d stopped running mid-race.

R’kash shifted towards the edge of the seat, leaving a sliver of space between them. “Are you hungry?” he asked, that buzzing rumble deepening his voice even more than usual.

Sienna pressed her shoes into the floor, hoping that might ground her enough for her to regain her balance. She felt like the whole world had tilted and she was the only one left behind. A quick press of her hand to the wall of the flyer revealed that she hadn’t imagined that feeling. The vessel was pitched to the left as they completed a wide loop, and she saw only a broad expanse of blue water beneath them.

“I guess,” she replied, although honestly, she had no interest in food at the moment. She could still feel the weight of his lips over hers like a ghostly echo, and she had to bury the urge to touch her mouth to check and see if it was as kiss swollen as it felt. “Are you?” she asked, a hint of disbelief bleeding through into her voice. They’d kissed—likethat—and he was acting like it was time for a cup of tea?

He made an indeterminate sound before he got up and headed towards the back of the small aircraft. There was a second row of seating behind theirs, but not room for much else. R’kash’s robes swished as he waited for a narrow door to open, and then he disappeared into the rear chamber. It must’ve been even more cramped, because from her impression as they’d walked up to the flyer earlier, it’d hardly looked like there should be space for another room back there.

It didn’t take him long to return holding a round tray with some food piled on a curved plate and two steep-sided, steaming bowls.

“They must’ve served you chocolate aboard the ship,” he stated as he angled his body to slide into the seat beside her again.

The tray didn’t shift an inch. He bent his head forward, the curve of his neck as graceful as a swan as he offered it to her. His formality was a different flavor from the soldiers on the Fleet ship that’d brought her to Xithilene. They’d been gruff and stiff, but R’kash could move like a dancer when he chose to.

Sienna carefully removed one of the bowls. It was fancier than what they’d used on theBite of the Fa’asath, a deep red color with tiny stars etched below the rim in blue and gold. “Thank you,” she said as she raised it to her lips. She lifted her head in surprise at the first taste. “This is different from what they gave us then—spicier, sweeter.”

R’kash smiled, and that almost shocked her more than the unexpected flavor of the chocolate. “It’s Evathi style chocolate, lady. We do things differently in the north. You’ll see,” he added. A beat later his smile vanished and he looked down, setting the tray on his lap and holding it in place one-handed as he picked up his chocolate with his free hand. He lifted the bowl like it was a wine glass and met her eyes. “In thanks for a safe journey and in anticipation of a blessed new beginning,” he said before he took a sip.

Sienna lifted her bowl, albeit a little late. “To new beginnings,” she repeated.

Her hand shook slightly as she took her next drink of chocolate. R’kash in person was just as disorienting as the many versions of R’kash from his messages. The taste of the chocolate twisted with the flavor of his kiss, and it burned as she swallowed it down too fast. It seemed she was no closer to discovering which face he’d be showing her when he welcomed her to Evathi.

* * *

Maybe the foodand drink had been a good idea. It certainly made the rest of the trip pass faster. She’d killed the time asking him questions about the temple and the surrounding areas, and being able to fill the little silences with a sip of chocolate or a bite of fruit had eased the tension to a comfortable level.

“Do you see it?” he asked, dipping his head toward the now transparent flyer wall.

She glanced to the side, but didn’t look straight down. She’d learned her lesson there and was in no mood to experience another wave of vertigo, especially after that big bowl of rich chocolate. It’d been thicker than what she’d had aboard the Fleet ship, too, almost like a hearty soup. She felt like she’d eaten a whole meal when she set it down empty on R’kash’s tray.

A tall building stood amid the plains, and it reminded her of a cathedral or a castle, maybe a little of both. The wall around the roof rose at each of the corners, and although she couldn’t make out the designs, there were roughly carved blocks of stone lining the edges of the building. The stone was pale and sun-bleached except for the dark lichen that had settled into the depressions in the reliefs. A bright flash of color caught her eye when a length of fabric snapped through the opening of one of the tall, narrow windows dotting the facade.

“That’s Evathi?” she asked, although it was already clear. She’d seen the images, of course, but they didn’t do the place justice. “The plains are just as beautiful as you described,” she told him, and they were. The grasses swayed beneath the wind, the movement like waves on the ocean as they shone straw gold and then honey amber and back again. Rolling hills in the distance rounded out the picture, appearing dark violet with their slopes set in shadow.

“Yes, that’s home.”

She received another one of R’kash’s rare smiles and couldn’t help but return it.

The flyer descended quickly now. She could probably count in seconds the time it’d take for them to land. As they neared the temple, two massive doors began to open at the front of the building. One man stood at each door, pulling them apart, but a small figure hopped past them before they could finish. Three men in similar robes to R’kash’s ran out after her. A flap of her wings as she leapt as high as the men’s shoulders told Sienna that she must be watching Veesha.

“It looks like she missed you,” she said with a glance towards R’kash. He was watching Veesha with his hands clenched, his face as expressionless as stone. She set her hand over one of his fists. “It’s going to be okay,” she added, speaking softly. “Look, your men already have her. They must love her very much, too.”

R’kash dipped his head sharply and then looked up at her face, some of the severity leaching from his features. “They do, but I wonder where Faseeth is? He should’ve been watching her.”

“Faseeth? Who’s that?” Sienna asked as the flyer settled smoothly on the ground.

“Veesha’s tutor.” R’kash stood and turned his arm, forearm facing up, before he bent down slightly to offer it to her.

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