“Why do you allow your loyal and good-hearted priest to suffer from this illness, Seta Zul?” she asked, slightly cringing as if she believed she would be struck down by the dragon goddess for daring to question her motives.
A part of her kind of did.
She jumped when a feminine voice answered from behind her. “Seta Zul’s will is rarely understood by the mortals who worship her, and because of that, it can often seem cruel.”
Sarah climbed her feet and turned around, a smile of greeting on her face as she swiped her cheeks, hoping she’d wiped away all the dampness there. “Farona! I didn’t hear you come in.”
Farona returned her smile with a tilt of her lips that spoke of a friendly greeting. “I only just arrived, in time to hear you ask your question.” She shook her head. “I apologize for intruding.”
Sarah stepped aside and gestured to the altar. “No, it’s okay. I was just leaving.” Her gaze shifted to the offerings in Farona’s hands. “I see I’m not the only one who seeks Seta Zul’s advice.”
Farona’s dainty head spines quivered with her amusement. “I would not dream of expecting a response, but I revere Seta Zul.” She held up the flowers, pouch of berries, and small glass vial that looked to be filled with a cloudy liquid rather than a transparent oil. “I came here in the hopes of petitioning Seta Zul for a mate.”
Sarah had no idea what to say to that. Farona had never tried to make her feel bad for stealing Jotaha, always brushing off any apologies Sarah tried to make by insisting that she revered the goddess and therefore respected her choices.
It still seemed so bizarre for Sarah that Farona would forgive and forget so easily after openly stating that she’d loved Jotaha her entire life.
Instead, she tried for a hopeful, positive response. “I’m sure Seta Zul will reward you with a mate truly worthy of you, Farona. You deserve it!”
Farona’s yan-kanat style smile stretched, sphinxlike, at the compliment. “Thank you, my friend.” She lifted the vial. “I have taken a lover, and perhaps Seta Zul will choose him for my mate.” Her close-lipped smile became a baring of teeth more like a human grin. “Once I convince him that he wishes to accept the seal, since he has already agreed to contributing to my offering.”
Sarah felt a blush burn her cheeks at Farona’s openness about sexual matters. The yan-kanat females were not shy about discussing sex and their lovers, nor about taking on casual partners—often more than one at a time. Though mating was for life, both males and females were quite promiscuous until they were sealed to their mate. This sort of thing wasn’t openly announced on some public forum, but they had no sense of shame when speaking about it among their circle.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” she stammered, her cheeks still burning.
She wished she possessed the coolness and unflappable serenity that Farona always displayed. There was something so worldly and glamorous about the other female that made Sarah still feel inadequate—like Jotaha was being forced to take a step downwards.
She left Farona to her worship, wishing she could stop in and visit Zan Cyall as she passed the door to his quarters, as if her presence could somehow help him, even though it might have ended up harming him.
Her trip back to the wing district was uneventful, but apparently, Jotaha had arrived home before her, and she realized that a lot of time had passed while she’d made her visit to Seta Zul. When she walked into their housing pod, she saw that he had already set out their dinner, poured a light, fruity fermented beverage that had become one of her favorite drinks, and had scattered flower petals all over the floor around his sleeping furs and over the bed.
She didn’t get a chance to speak before he caught her by the arms and bent to kiss her. She moaned in pleasure as his mouth claimed hers, his tongue flicking along her lips until they parted to let him in.
She expected him to stop, as he always had to because of his arousal, but he kept their kiss going, plunging deeper, like he was consumed with hunger for her taste.
She shivered in his arms, her core heating up like the infernos the yan-kanat revered so much. Somehow, he seemed to sense her arousal, because he pulled his lips away from hers just long enough to tell her how good her desire smelled, his voice rough. Then his lips caught hers again.
His hands did not remain still while his kiss tormented her with lust they both knew he couldn’t fulfill in that moment. They skimmed over her clothes, tugging at the wrap dress until she released his waist and held out her arms, allowing him to pull the layers of fabric away from her body.
She moaned with pleasure as his scaled palms finally slid over her bare skin. His lips caught the sound. Then he lifted his head to look down at her, his slit pupils almost fully dilated, as if he had drunk a whole jug of yanhiss.
“Jotaha, are you okay?”
She shivered with pleasure, her skin pebbling with goosebumps as his cool palms stroked over the naked flesh he revealed with each impatient tug on her dress. The last thing she wanted to do in that moment was remind him that continuing this would only end up hurting him.
“Your skin is so hot, my drahi. I can only imagine how warm your vessel will be around my salavik.”
“Jotaha?” His name ended on a low moan as he bared a breast, his palm sliding across her hard nipple, the rasp of his scales shooting a delicious sensation through her body.
He lowered his head to nuzzle her hair as he stroked over her nipple again. “It is Jotahan now. Does this feel good to you?”
“Yes,” she whispered. Then the rest of what he said broke through her fog of lust. “Oh, Jotahan! The chanu zayul have chosen a new guardian! I’m so happy for you.”
“For us, my drahi. Soon, we will be bonded and begin our seclusion.” He followed his words by pressing kisses down her face, nuzzling her temple before making his way to her neck.
Her head leaned to the side automatically, even though she now knew this was a sign of submission. She didn’t give a damn about that when his tongue flicked over her throbbing pulse and his lips teased that vulnerable area.
“How… how are you doing this without pain?” she wondered aloud.
“I have taken some herbs to inhibit my arousal.”
He lifted his head to look down at her, but his hand still teased her nipple, making it difficult for her to concentrate fully on his words. “Our ceremony has been delayed again, but I realized that I could still give you pleasure if I took the utiva mixture.” His lips trailed over her collarbone, his tongue flicking out to stroke her skin. “I could learn your body, and how to please it.”
“Is this numbing mixture safe to drink?” She clutched at his head, her hands skimming his prominent cheekbones as he dipped lower, his forked tongue finding the hard bead of her exposed nipple.
“For a short time.” His lips closed over her nipple, teasing it without bringing his sharp teeth into play.
She gasped, the damp heat between her legs increasing to the point that Jotahan pulled his lips away long enough for his tongue to flick the air, barely brushing her heated skin.
“I always wondered what this would feel like,” he said, his breath cool as it brushed over her sensitive nipple. “This mound is so soft,” his claws dented her breast around her nipple as he gently squeezed it, “but this,” his tongue flicked her nipple, “is stiff now, though it is only that way sometimes.”