"No," Kassam murmurs, and pulls away slightly to gaze down at me. "No, I am going to savor this today. This is not hedonism. This is Kassam and his wife, Carly."
I gaze at him, surprised. He pulls me against him once more and then tugs me down onto the soft grass. As he does, the deer nearby move away, and we're alone—or as alone as one can be in a clearing full of magically called wild animals of all kinds. He holds me against him, searching my face before he leans in to carefully kiss me again. Instead of the frantic, desperate need of before, this kiss is soft. Tender. It's like he realizes I'm not going anywhere, and he can slow down and enjoy. The kiss changes, and he licks at my mouth as if I'm a delicious treat that must be savored. I whimper against his mouth, digging my hands into his tangled, thick hair.
"My wife," he breathes against my lips, and it's the sexiest thing I've ever heard.
He caresses my breast through the cup of my bra, teasing my nipple until I'm pressing up against him with hunger. I forget about the wolves, the shitty day we've had, my endlessly growling stomach, everything in light of his touch. When he undresses me, it's with reverent fingers, as if he's seeing me for the first time. He touches me all over, skimming his hands along my flesh and watching me with such awe that everything feels different. When he touches me between my thighs, I gasp and cling to his neck, our gazes locked as I ride his hand until he makes me come. As I shudder with my release, he works me with delicate touches, whispering about how beautiful I am, how special, and that I belong to him and no one else. It's a bit of possessiveness tangled with the sweet, and it absolutely makes me hot.
When he pulls me into his lap and seats me atop his cock, it means that we're making love facing each other. There's no getting away from looking at him, not like when we're in missionary style and I can just close my eyes and lose myself to the feelings. This feels ten times more intimate, and I cup his face and kiss him as he rocks his hips in time with me moving over him. Kassam gazes at me the entire time, not breaking eye contact once, and just the intensity of his stare adds another level of arousal. I come again, lost in his eyes, and then come a third time before he comes.
I collapse against his chest, sweaty and sated, even as I'm still speared atop him. He presses delicate kisses to my face and murmurs my name over and over again, and I don't think I've ever felt more cherished or more seen in a relationship.
It's absolutely wonderful…and absolutely terrifying.
I know this thing with Kassam isn't going to last. I'm his “little light,” his expendable human sidekick. For all that he's feeling things right now, it's not going to last. He's said himself he's had plenty of anchors before and he can't remember their faces. He probably won't remember mine once this is over, and I resign myself to that fact. He can call me “wife” all he wants, but the reality is, he's a god and I'm a mortal. Meeting Seth made me start to realize just how vast that gap can be.
But that's something to worry about tomorrow. For now I cuddle against Kassam and run my hands over his skin. "I'm here," I whisper. "I'm here." He needs me right now. Maybe he won't in the future, but at least I can be there for him right now.
34
I wake up the next morning to the sound of the griffins screaming.
I jerk upright, terrified as two of the largest griffins settle in the clearing, clawing at one another with their oversized eagle-like beaks. Nearby, Kassam watches with an almost bored expression that turns to a smile at the sight of me. "My little light," Kassam declares. "You are awake."
"I don't think anyone could sleep through that," I point out, moving to his side and carefully avoiding the griffins that circle and snap at one another. They won't attack me—they're obedient, unlike the conmac—but it doesn't mean I can't be accidentally trampled by a clawed foot. "I've never heard anything so damn loud."
Kassam just chuckles and slings an arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to my temples. "I seem to recall someone crying out just as loud last night as she rode my lap—"
I smack him lightly to silence him, blushing. Okay, so I get a little loud during sex. But it's not griffin-loud. The griffins are screaming at the top of their lungs, and they sound like cats in heat—or cats that have been stepped on—but with megaphones strapped to their faces. I've never heard anything like it, and it's completely jarring. "Why are they so mad?"
"They are not mad. They are vying for who will have the honor of carrying us as we lead our army."
Oh. "Are we going then?"
Kassam nods. "Today. With the return of the conmac, I have realized that there is no point in waiting. If someone wishes to join us, they will have done so. We cannot wait forever for my glorious return. I am needed back in my realm, where I can make a difference. I am stranded here, powerless and weak, and I hate it."
"You make it sound terrible," I say lightly, trying not to feel hurt. It's stupid to feel hurt. Of course he hates being stuck in the mortal realm.
"It is terrible," he agrees, then looks over at me as I slip out from under his arm. "You are the only thing that makes this bearable, my Carly, but I plan on having you at my side when I return, so why waste time?"
Why indeed. He says it so flippantly, despite the fact that we still haven't figured out the whole “the anchor needs to die” part of his return. He swears we will, but I haven't yet heard a solution. I'm trying not to worry because Kassam promised me. Even so…I can't help but think about it. "I see. So where are we taking the army again?"
"The birds whisper that there is a city of some size to the west of my resting place."
"Resting place?"
His sunny expression darkens. "The Blood Glacier."
Shit. Right. "Ah."
"I am not happy there is a city so near the mountains," he continues on as the griffins scream at one another again, and I wince, instinctively drawing closer to Kassam again. He pulls me against him automatically. "These lands are supposed to be wild. But I suppose I cannot fault those that settled in my territory when I was silent." He glances down at me. "If Lachesis has left Seth nearby, he will be there."
"So we take our army." I gesture at the animals that teem in the clearing and spread into the woods beyond. "And then what?"
His eyes gleam cruelly, and for a moment, he no longer looks like my cheery Kassam, but like a vengeful god. "Then we find Riekki and make her pay."
Traveling at the head of a “wild” army is…unlike anything I've ever experienced before. As we move out, the noise is deafening—birds calling, wolves howling, lions roaring, mountain goats bleating—it all rises into an endless cacophony that probably announces our presence before we come into sight. It's a slow-moving army, because even the animals with the shortest legs are valued as part of the “team” and so our army stretches out as far as the eye can see, across the rolling plains toward the snow-capped mountains in the west. The griffins finally settle on who is going to be Kassam's mount, and since our army is mostly ground-based, Kassam insists upon riding at the front instead of flying.