Page 34 of Unfinished

R’kash pulled them forward as he reached for the curved handle of a heavy looking door. The wood was almost black it was so dark in color, the edges carved deeply into the shapes of strange animalistic faces and twisting flowers.

Sienna drew in a deep breath as he opened the door. The room was large, the ceilings high, making it feel airy and spacious even with R’kash standing there so tall and regal. The wall to the left was the same stone she’d seen on the exterior, but it was half covered by a heavy curtain of dark blue fabric. Gold and silver embroidery dotted the expanse, and in the center was a large, silver threaded circle, the edges lined in light blue. It was covered with what looked like glyphs.

“A star map,” R’kash said, his hands curving over her shoulders as he moved in close behind her.

Garlands hung in great, twisting loops along each wall. “Is that corn?” she asked. The pale husks seemed to have been woven into loose braids, and beads the size of her fist in shades of red and green ornamented the strands. Every few feet or so, little corn husk dolls had been attached where the loops hung low.

“The outer coverings from the maize, yes. It’s a fertility charm meant to bless our union.” His touch was light, but she could still feel the slight tremor that ran through him as he spoke.

Sienna turned towards the back of the room and the bed that dominated it. She’d been expecting more red, but the coverings were the same velvety deep blue as the curtain. Tied back drapes hung from the ceiling, casting the head of the long bed in cool shadows. A thick throw lay across the center of the blankets. It looked like fur, but the diamonds in the pattern reminded her of rattlesnakes, and the muted browns and tans were cut through by lurid stripes of cherry red. A gold-edged tray had been set atop the fur, and it held a dark green crystal decanter with two tulip shaped glasses beside it.

R’kash hissed behind her, but it was different than when he’d made the sound before. Now it was drawn out and pained, like he was fighting for breath. “Let me pour you a glass of balché,” he said, and his mouth was close enough that she felt his lips brush the side of her neck. This time it was Sienna who couldn’t repress a shiver.

“What’s balché? If it’s whatever’s in that decanter, I’m not saying no—I’m just curious.” She hoped it was alcoholic. Now that they were completely alone again and staring at that big, sumptuous bed…well, it’d been a while since Edgar, and she could use a shot of courage.

He moved to her side and walked around the edge of the bed, letting his long robes slide down his arms. R’kash swept up the fabric and laid the robe over a rack standing a few feet away from the wall. The ends pooled over the dark blue tiled floor, the color as luxurious and rich as spilled rubies. The view directly in front of her was even more impressive.

Without his robes, the length of R’kash’s back was on full display, and the fitted kilt was short enough for her to confirm the man must’ve done more than gardening to maintain all that beautifully sculpted muscle. She hadn’t expected him to look like one of the Xithilene dancers, and she hadn’t minded, but now that she had her own personal fantasy standing an arm’s length away, she wasn’t going to complain. R’kash was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen, and that was only from the back.

The black feathers that brushed his shoulders went completely still before they started slowly lifting. There was something mesmerizing about watching them move as they revealed the line of his neck and the dip where his back muscles met, a furrow that arrowed down to the base of his spine. She could almost feel what it’d be like to drag her finger across his scales there.

His rattle started off low, just a heavy thrum that she imagined buzzing across her skin. When he lifted the tray and turned back to her, the sound grew louder as he tipped his head back, eyes half closed, and extended his tongue. The forked end flickered, and she saw his throat work as he swallowed. He’d barely touched her since they’d entered the room, but it didn’t seem to matter. Her body responded to his presence alone. Her chest felt too tight, her pulse fluttery, like a small bird struggling to catch air. Her skin tightened, her nipples peaking against the barrier of her bra. She sucked in a ragged breath as R’kash passed her to place the tray on a table near a low, armless couch that made up a sitting area to the right of the bed..

“Come, sit down,” he told her.

Sienna walked towards the couch, watching as he removed the stopper and began pouring them each a glass.

“Balché is a traditional Xithilene ceremonial drink. Your people brought it to us and taught us how to produce it. We have our own liquors, of course. I believe most advanced species we’ve encountered do.” He looked over at her, making sure she was aware of him before he spoke again. “They say the finest balché tastes like honeyed fire on the tongue, that it whets a man’s appetite for his mate’s sweetness.”

Her butt hit the couch as her legs gave a graceless lurch. Sienna looked up at R’kash towering above her, the valleys and peaks of his physique emphasized by the downlight hitting his scales. He set the decanter back on the tray and picked up both glasses, holding one out for her to take.

“Thank you,” she said. Her hand looked so much smaller than his with both of their fingers wrapped around the deep green glass. She moistened her lip as she waited for him to sit beside her.

The cushion depressed beneath his weight, and his thigh was warm against her leg. He made no effort to keep any polite space between them.

“Sienna, lady, you bless me.” His low whisper had the skin on the back of her neck prickling as she fought not to gasp.

Had she been worried he wasn’t interested? She could feel desire rolling off him in waves. She inhaled, and the scent of him left her yearning. The faint hint of chocolate still laced his breath, and she could almost taste it again.

“What are you waiting for? Drink.” She heard the smile in his voice, but when she looked over at him, the curve of his lips was positively sinful. He lifted his glass, pausing to lock eyes with her. Then he tipped his glass and swallowed, a low moan of appreciation following as he lowered it.

Sienna’s lips parted, and she raised her glass quickly to hide how helpless he’d rendered her with that devastatingly seductive little sound. She wanted to trace the column of his neck with her tongue, to feel his throat contract with each swallow. She wanted to coax another one of those moans from him, to leave him tensing and gasping for more, and why shouldn’t she if they were to be mates—partners?

Sienna took a quick sip. The balché was thick on her tongue, and his words repeated in her mind.Honeyed fire.That was exactly what it tasted like. She took another drink and firmly set down the glass before she turned to face him, raising her hands to place them over his chest. He froze under her touch for several long seconds before his heavy inhale made the layered chains of his necklaces shift beneath her palms.

“Sienna,” he said, one big hand grasping her jaw, fingers tickling against that little hollow at the base of her neck. Her name was its own sentence on his lips, one that promised passion and heat, reverence and worship.

R’kash tipped her face up, and she waited, the taste of honey still coating her tongue. His kiss when it finally came was a fragile thing, a brief press of his mouth against hers. Her fingers curled around his necklaces, and she clutched the ropes of chains in her hands harder just to keep herself upright.

Another soft, feathery kiss, and her heartbeat kicked up another notch. When his lips parted, it was as natural as breathing for hers to follow, for her to welcome him in. That tongue of his was designed for torture. Little flicks of the points alternated with long, broad strokes, and she chased the taste of him, willingly submitting to more.

His hand dropped to the junction between her neck and her shoulder. She could feel her pulse pound beneath the pad of his thumb. Sienna angled her head to the left, relishing the slide of his lips over her skin before she kissed over the corner of his mouth. Then she dove back in, determined to swallow down his moans before she pulled back.

R’kash’s hands were going wild, stroking and caressing, his fingers greedy and searching as if he couldn’t possibly believe he’d be able to feel all of her before his time ran out. He finally gave her what she wanted—his groan was a deep, smoky rumble, and it felt just as good to accept it as she’d hoped. His tongue hummed with the vibrations from his rattle, and it was easy to imagine what it’d be like to feel it move over other parts of her.

She shivered and gave his necklaces a firm tug as she let her weight fall back, pulling him after her as her back hit the cushion beneath her. God, but the way he looked at her. Had anyone ever directed so much desperate need at her before? She doubted it, but the sight of him starving for her was heady. It was exhilarating to think she’d inspired that fire burning deep in his autumn dark eyes.

She dropped the chains and slid her hands up over his shoulders and into his sleek feathers. He started to lower his face, and she knew the next kiss was inevitable. Her eyes began to drift close as his breath ghosted over her lips. She startled at the obnoxious sound of a rapid drumbeat. Her eyes flew open, and R’kash stilled above her.

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