Page 39 of Keeping His Mate
“I do,” he mutters into my mouth as he swings the door open.
My breath hitches at the sight in front of me. Dusk has just darkened the sky to a deep, eggplant purple, and dozens of douku orbs line the wall enclosing the garden. The flowers dance in the slight breeze, and the newly bloomed pilois, some tall, some short, and in various shades of pink, provide a warm, romantic contrast to the cool greens and yellows of the rest of the plants.
But the best part is the pile of furs situated between the beds of growing piloi flowers. They’re growing so tall, and there’s a subtle droop to their thick, velvety petals, indicating they will fall soon. For now, though, they lean over the blankets like a protective canopy shielding us from the night sky and the rest of the universe.
I’m about to tell Bruvix just how lucky he’s about to get, but I’m pretty sure I’m the lucky one here.
CHAPTER 18
BRUVIX
The glow of the douku orbs pales in comparison to the breathtaking sight of Elle-noor’s smile as she takes in the romantic setting I created for her. She has been so focused on the well-being of Stahn-lee and the tr’gorys ever since she arrived, and I realized when I was deep inside her wet heat that I have not done enough to prioritize her. I want so many more of her smiles. I am greedy for them.
She takes my hand and leads me toward the stack of furs I assembled and pulls me down with her until we are seated side by side. “This is...wow,” she mutters, looking around with wide eyes. “You did all this for me?”
Of course, it is for her. “I did not do it for myself,” I reply. Handing her a mug filled with amber liquid, a thick layer of white foam hovering at the top.
“Is this…” she asks.
I nod, reaching for my own full mug. “It is. Ale-noor, ready to taste.”
She lets out an excited giggle, then tips her head back as she takes a big sip. I watch, studying her reaction, hoping with every cell in my body that she likes it. “Mmm,” she mutters, smacking her lips together as she looks down at the remaining contents of her mug. “It’s the perfect amount of sweet! I honestly did not expect it to taste good at all.” Her eyes widen as she takes another sip. “I’m not much of a beer person. Never have been, but this is delish!”
I had a feeling she would enjoy it. I tasted it the moment I removed it from the container of darkness, and while it is sweeter than I usually prefer my ales to taste, I knew Elle-noor would deem it perfect. “I am glad your ale is to your liking.”
She laughs, and the way it causes her breasts to jiggle makes my cock stir.
“Tell me about Earth,” I say, after taking a pull of ale-noor. “Do you miss the life you had?” The more time I spend with her, the more I realize how little I know of her life before she came here. I wish to remedy that this eve, because when it comes to Elle-noor, I want to know everything there is to know.
“Well,” she begins, tilting her head back to stare at the sky above, “Frank was the center of my universe before I was taken, but you already knew that.”
This is true. She has told me many tales about her dog-goh, as she refers to him, and how his humorous antics would make her laugh.
Sadness flashes across her face as she takes another sip. “I just…” she stops, sucking in a breath. Clearing her throat, she starts again. “I found Frank at an abandoned house down the street from me. His owners moved and just…left him there, in the front yard.” A tear slips down her cheek. “My neighbors told me about it, actually. They said he was super aggressive and wouldn’t let anyone get close. But when I went through the gate,” she wipes the drip from her nose and smiles, “I crouched down at the edge of the property and waited.
“And within ten minutes, he came to me. Just…trotted over with a nervous, but hopeful wag of his tail. At that moment, he became mine. I took him home and we were inseparable.” Elle-noor stares off into the distance and puts her mug down. Then her forehead creases and a sob racks her body. “I know Olivia will treat him well, I just…” The tears are coming in steady streams, and the muscles in my chest clench at the sight. “I don’t want him to think that I-I left him t-too,” she mutters through deep sniffles. “He deserves better th-than that.”
I am desperate to take her pain away. But I do not know how, and it is breaking my insides. “What can I do, Elle-noor?” I plead. “Is there someone I can destroy? Would that ease the pain in your heart? Give me a name and I shall bring you their head.”
“No,” she chuckles, wiping her sleeve across her cheek. “But you can hold me. That will make it better.”
Before I take my next breath, I lift her into my arms and drape her sideways across my lap. She drops her head against my chest and sighs.
“Mmm, thank you,” she whispers. After a few moments of quiet, she says, “I had a good childhood.”
“Oh?” I ask. “Tell me.”
“My parents worked hard. We didn’t have much,” she says with a nod. “We had all the basics to keep us comfortable, though.” She is no longer crying, and that puts me at ease. I feel her smile against my chest. “Once a month, my mom would take me with her to the Korean grocery store in the next town, and she’d let me pick out candy or a treat. Whatever I wanted. I remember running through the aisles and grabbing the biggest treat I could fit in my hands.”
“These tiny hands?” I say, flattening her palm against mine. “I do not imagine you were able to hold much.”
She laughs, the sound warm and sweet. “Usually, it was just tea cookies or rice cakes.”
“Your mother sounds kind.”
“She is,” Elle-noor replies. “She was tough on me sometimes, mostly about my weight, but I know she loved me, even if she didn’t always show it. Whenever I had a friend stay over, she always had a new pair of slippers for them to wear. And her kimchi!” She lets out a squeal. “It was the best.”
I press my lips against her mane, breathing in her scent.