I follow Theo into his room. He is not speaking to me, and I can sense his anger growing as Seth tells us his plan. He opens the door to his room and enters. I am about to enter too when he bars my path.
I look up at him, and his eyes flash as he glowers down at me. His fists are tightly clutching the frame of the door.
"Theo..." I whisper.
He radiates waves of anger, and I am suffocating from it. I don't get it. When we broke our mate bond, I thought I had his trust. I told him, right? That with or without the mate bond, I will always love him.
"Theo, are you jealous?" I finally ask, breaking up the silence between us.
"Who would not be jealous?! You have a mate bond with Seth, and you plan to go with him to Orttenburg!"
I touch his forearm, but he slaps my hands away. Instead, he groans and enters his room. He sits heavily on the couch and leans his head on his arm.
I enter, closing the door behind me. I kneel before him and wedge myself between his legs. His gaze falls on me, a look of desperation.
"What should I do to make you trust me?" I ask.
He groans. "Rather than that, tell me what I should do for you to stay. Should I take out all your family from the hunting park and let them live here?"
I shake my head. "No. What you are doing there is just fine. Besides, not all of them would like to leave. They love the island now."
"Then what if I make you my concubine?! I will fight all my generals and advisors for that."
"I am not leaving because of my position here, Theo. I enjoy being a warrior. I like being able to contribute and help you."
He gazes at me, pained and desperate. "Seth plans to make you his queen, so how about becoming my Queen instead?"
"Theo, you know, you can't do that. You will have problems if you do."
"You have been contributing to the Kingdom. Surely, my people can accept you now!"
"Oh, goddess," I whisper as I envelop him in my arms. He is trembling as he allows me to sit on his lap.
"Kaiya, I want you to stay. I am afraid that if I leave you there, Seth will succeed in seducing you."
"You can visit me from time to time, you know, those diplomatic visits you have."
He buries his face in my chest as his arms tighten around my waist.
"Theo, I need you to let me go."
"I will allow you to travel, but only if it's not with your mate."
"You know that I need to travel with Seth. We have no other choice."
"Yes, you have a choice. You can copulate with Klevon, and then we can be together. There is no need to risk your life like this! There is no need for you to leave for a long time!"
"I can't do that to Klevon. He is a dear friend to me. I can't imprison and bind him like that to me."
"Or rather, you are just falling in love with him!" he accuses.
"Of course not! I promised you, didn't I?"
"But I am not there! You might be able to control yourself, but how about Seth?!" he screams.
His walls seem to crack and splinter around us, causing the very fabric of his room to break apart. I touch his face to calm him down. His breathing is labored, and I can clearly see the fear in his eyes.
"Please, Theo," I whisper, desperately wanting him to understand our situation. "You need to trust me on this."
He pulls back, his mouth set in a grim line. The desperation and the anger are palpable. And yet, the emotions playing on his face; I know he is thinking hard about this.
After a while, he says, "Then promise me one thing."
"What is it?" I ask.
"If I hear a single piece of news that you succumb to the mate bond, I will pull you out of there, no matter the cost. Do you understand?"
I frown before understanding what he meant. "You mean, you will pull me out even if it means war against Orttenburg?"
In a voice so low and menacing, he responds. "Yes. After that, you will follow my plan instead."
"Okay," I respond, leaning closer to him.
He gasps, taken aback by my agreement. He might be assuming that I will disagree with that. "Are you sure?" he queries. "It's the same thing we are trying to avoid."
"I am sure, Theo," I whisper, touching my nose to his. "I love you and won't succumb to the mate bond. Not anymore. It has controlled and hurt me for far too long. I already learned my lesson."
I stand up from his embrace, and he moves to me. "What-" I remove my top. "-are you-" I let my skirt pool around my feet. "-doing?" he asks, as I completely bare myself in front of him. I watch his expression darken with desire. I stand before him, no longer ashamed to show my love and craving for him.
I move closer to him and unbutton his shirt. "Undress now, my King. I want you all night," I say, pushing him onto the couch.
"But your mate bond with Seth just activated."
Taking off his clothes, I let my tongue glide from his stomach to the middle of his chest. He shivers at the gesture.
Wedging myself between his legs, I say, "I am sure I can't have penetrative sex with you. But I remember that we both reach our peaks with just you between my legs," I say. "Do you remember that time when we were in the sunroom?"
When he nods, I pull at the hem of his pants. "Let me taste you again, Theo."
He helps me remove his clothes until he is completely naked under me. He really is as beautiful as a god. His skin glows in the dim light, a divine masterpiece. Every inch of him radiates perfection until I'm lost in a trance, staring at him.
"Kaiya?" he asks.
I let my fingers run across his perfect chest, stomach, abdomen, and then to his crotch, which instantly stands in attention. I gaze at him and place my hair on the back of my ears. It's funny how pleasure works. Earlier, when the mate bond had just activated with Seth, I could feel no desire for him. But now that Theo is under me, his breathing getting heavier, I can feel a desire so pronounced it feels like I am still mated with him.
"Since I will leave tomorrow, let's spend the night together..." I whisper again, my fingers circling close to his crotch, trailing every curve he has.
He catches my hand and is about to shift position with me when I push at his chest. "Stay, Theo. Let me start our night together."
And then I lower myself onto him with ravenous hunger, my lips wrapping around his throbbing erection. I take him in further and further, inch by inch, until I can feel every vein of his arousal.
"Oh damn, Kaiya..." he groans as if being pained by something unknown.
When I start to move, he gasps in pleasure. I move my head up and down his shaft, devouring him with every move as he quivers beneath me. And the more he writhes and moans, the more it fills me with a burning desire. His groans of ecstasy fill the room as I drink in every last drop of his passion.