I open my eyes with the light sifting through the window of the inn room. I shift and realize that Klevon has his massive arms around me. I look up to see him sleeping peacefully. And events of last night appear in my mind. That dizzying intensity of my release. The dark thoughts that accompanied it. The weeping afterward.
And now, I feel ashamed. After giving me pleasure, I wasn't able to keep the end of the bargain. All I did was apologize until I fall asleep. I am not just a whore; I am a very selfish whore. Now, I know how kind Klevon really is, or maybe, he did like me. If not, he could have forced me last night.
His eyes open and upon laying his eyes on me, he smiles, "Good morning, beautiful. Feeling better now?"
I nod. "I'm so-"
He places a chaste kiss on my mouth. After pulling back, he grins. "Sorry is not the first word I'd like to hear from your mouth. I heard it a lot already, so I'm quite miffed by it by now." He thinks for a while and adds, "How about a thank-you? That was a dizzying pleasure I give you last night, right?"
I look away. It is, but I don't want to admit it.
He pulls me closer and asks, "Want to have my fingers inside you again? It will be my morning treat."
I tap his chest. "Stop teasing, Klevon." I sit up and look at him. "Besides, I should… somehow… return the favor." I am not sure how though. In the morning light, he is still huge and intimidating.
He laughs. He lies on his back and places his hands behind his head, giving me a full view of his muscular torso. "How? I wonder. Come on. Do it. If it's you, I am very open to exploitation."
I look away. "I don't know. What do you want?" I ask, my hands tightly gripping the blanket that hides my naked body.
I feel him shift and he hugs me from behind. "How about becoming my friend?"
"A friend who fucks each other?"
He laughs again. "We haven't fucked."
"You give me pleasure last night," I whisper and I blush at the confession.
"It was also my pleasure."
"So, friends who give pleasure to each other?"
"Oh, so you are insisting to give me pleasure? Or maybe… are you insisting that I give you pleasure? Which is it?"
I keep my mouth shut this time. And so, he lifts me and makes me sit on his lap. He even wraps his limbs around my smaller frame.
"I know we jumped in our relationship last night, but can we return to step one?" he asks.
"Why? I am even willing to whore myself to you."
"Ha! You really did enjoy my fingers last night."
I am about to turn towards him when his arms on me tighten. "Kaiya, I am in love with you. I liked you the first time I met you in the hunting park. Back then, I become too excited that I wasn't able to give proper control over myself. There is something that's pulling me to you. If this is how mate bond feels like, I think I am tied up to you forever."
"You are not a werewolf," I state. "You are a mage hunter. You hunt us."
"Even so, right now, I irrevocably adore you. I want to be friends with you. I want you to know me and I want to know more about you. I want to be closer to you, soul first, body second. I want to share everything with you, if only you will allow me. If only you will allow yourself."
My body relaxes, and I lean against him. "I will treat you like a friend if that's what you want. But if you act perverted towards me, I won't be able to stop myself and I will lash out at you."
"Refrain from acting perverted towards you? That would be hard. Sometimes, I just can't help it. How about if you punish me instead every time I do that?"
"Punish you?" I ask. I remove his arms around me and face him. All I can think of is the punishment that Theo had done to me.
"Or maybe I can give back something to you. How about I pleasure you again?" he asks and winks at me.
I hit him, and he laughs. When his laughter dies down, he says, "From now on, we'll be friends, so don't walk away from me, okay?"
I grin at him. "Okay. I will give you friendship."
He brushes my hair. "Better hide those bruises then, if you don't want the King to see them."
I smirk at him. "Actually, I am tempted to let him see."
He flicks my forehead. "Now, you are going evil…" he says and I massage the stinging part. "I like it," he adds.
We smile at each other, but all I can think of is how hurt people will pass their pain to others. And I know, that this is such a mad way to heal.

********************
It's our third day in Duran and I spent the past few days with Klevon and the trio of magicians, Ami, Nadif, and Elroy. Sometimes, Silvino comes with us. And it was fun. Everything is nice and good, and I enjoyed every hour.
The pleasurable night with Klevon never happened again even if the five of us sleeps in the same room. Sometimes, Silvino and Ami will go out on their own though, which leaves me beside Klevon. But one thing about him is that he is serious about being my friend first before returning to physical intimacy.
And it's something I need right now. Sleeping next to a male friend, but with nothing but hugs. Sometimes, he won't even touch me. If it's Theo, we will spend half of the night getting drowned in our pleasure.
Klevon and I are sitting on a bench when we heard a loud boom by the port. I am licking on an ice cream bar as I lean on the bench which is shaded by a tree.
"Seems like they are back from the Duran castle," Klevon interrupts as he also licks on his ice cream bar.
Another thing about him is that, since he doesn't need to hide, he captures the attention of others without doing anything extra. Some are afraid of him, while some look at him with desire. During our night strolls, there are even women who invite him to play with them. And I am sure that's a play that I don't want to be involved in.
"That's early. Aren't they supposed to return tomorrow morning?" I ask, referring to the returning Pitchford group from Duran. It's just late afternoon.
He places his arms on the back of my chair and leans forward. "You forget that Theo is obsessed with you."
I instantly blush and look away. Although, I didn't make any action to move away from his proximity. I still owe him one night of pleasure. Besides, I am getting used to his musky smell, in contrast to Theo's lavender scent. Loving the lavender scent is the doing of the mate bond though.
"I'm sure he misses you. A night of passion with him perhaps?" he asks. "I wonder how he will handle that Princess."
I didn't respond. Rather, I continue licking on my ice cream.
"Kaiya…"
I shift my attention to him. He catches my wrist and my neck then kisses me. It is a longing type of kiss–hungry and thirsty. Very sweet too. I can taste the ice cream in his mouth. And his initially cold tongue, turns warm and then hot, the longer he plays with mine. I didn't make any move to pull back, so he continues nibbling on my lips.
"You are being too relaxed with me already," he says, licking his lips as he stares at mine.
"Hmmm," I mutter. After that night, this is the first time, he kisses me again. His kisses really are different. "I wonder where you learned to kiss like that."
He grins and I realize that I said it out loud. "You think I am a great kisser? Want another?"
He is about to lean towards me when I push at his chest. "You smell musky," I say, trying to change the topic.
"I don't like that kind of description concerning my smell."
I lean closer to his neck and sniff. "Woodsy too. And steel and iron. Are you practicing swords?"
"When you are asleep, yes. And the woodsy smell might be because of my magic."
"I thought yours is fire."
"My magic is the one from Owusu. And as you probably know, it's mostly wood and forest magic."
"I like the Owusu smell then," I say.
"Like how you like your mate's smell?"
"Theo smells like lavender to me," I say. "How does he smell to you?"
"Ahm, probably, perfume, not lavender, and freshly washed clothes."
"That sounds clean to me."
Klevon laughs. "He smells clean and is actually clean. He is a King. He needs to be presentable."
He pulls me closer and I frown at him. "What are you planning?" I ask. I can sense his tightening grip on my shoulder.
"I said I won't be jealous, but as expected, I am," he says, exasperated.
I look around. A woman is looking at us with her hand covering her mouth. It's also obvious that she's flushing scarlet. I look at myself and realize the reason why. Klevon's hand is on my shoulders and the other is on my waist as he continuously pulls me closer to him. And yes, there is that bulge in his pants too that the woman is staring at.
"Ahm, Klevon," I call.
He presses his forehead on my shoulder and exhales, "I know. Let me just calm this beast down and we can return to the ship."
Beast? I laugh. Even behind a cloth, I think it is a little beast because of its size. "Stop calling it a beast!"
"Don't laugh at me now. This is your fault."
"You should cover it with something," I say. "Or maybe, we should chop it in half. To make it less arrogant."
"Ah, is that so."
He pulls me close and I squeal in surprise. When he embraces me and takes a couple of sniffs, I thought he was going to do something perverted. From what I gather from Theo, men can only calm it down once they had sex with the cause of it. It's also the reason we stay so late making love.
But now, that I am with Klevon, I realize that it's not true. He is successfully calming himself down. His breathing is slow and deep. His eyes are closed as if he is focusing on something. And then it's back down, and he is grinning back at me.
"How did you learn that?" I ask, amazed at his control.
"Having a beast in my pants, it's a necessity."
"I said to stop calling it a beast!"
"Women call it a beast so I caught the pet name."
"Aren't you just bragging about your other women?!"
He pinches my nose and adds, "Maybe, so stop arousing me so we can return to the ship."