Elodie
I'm fast asleep when a thundering knock sounds at the door. I stretch, my limbs sliding against the smooth sheets. My naked skin prickles with warmth as a hand slides slowly up my back. It's a big hand. I grin at the reminder.
Barre is sitting up above me, eyes alert as he stares at the door where the sound just emanates from. He's naked too. Of course he is. We made love twice last night. I grin into my pillow, hugging it to my chest as I roll onto my back.
"Who is it?" I wonder aloud. Barre grunts, running his hand continuously up and down my arm, plunging his fingers into my hair and massaging my neck.
"I don't know, but I don't care to find out." He responds, his gruff face covered in the early morning light. I lift my hand to touch his lips that are still pink and swollen from my kisses.
I grin. Maybe that can be my form of a mark. My teeth are far too dull to pierce his skin.
Another knock echoes through the room, and my master groans gruffly as he stands swiftly from bed. I turn just in time to see his tanned, toned backside as he stomps to the door completely naked.
A blush floods my cheeks, and I cover my cheeks with my hands. His butt is absolutely perfect.
"Good gravy." I mutter under my breath, plopping back into bed, covered in red waves of hair that fan out all around me, a stark flash of color against the white sheets.
I don't pay much attention to the conversation at the door, I simply burrow into the covers like a hibernating animal. I'm content and sleepy, ready to doze back off any second. My body is sore but thrumming with glee. I just want whoever it is to go away and not come back. I want Barre all to myself. He makes me forget that there's even a world outside of here.
The door closes, and my mate returns quickly, gently touching my shoulder.
"My love, you need to get up and get dressed." I shoot him a look to show him my displeasure. He chuckles.
"I know, but it is important." He pets my hair, pushing it from my sleepy face. "I wouldn't pull you from the nest unless it was important."
I nod, wondering what on earth could be going on. I start to pull my clothes on, but Barre stops me for a quick but heated kiss, letting go of me to get dressed himself. I stand still for a moment. I'm still completely in awe of this between us.
It's a dream come true.
When we're finally dressed, and sure we can keep our hands off of each other, Barre opens the door and The Emperor struts in in all his gilded glory. I freeze, my limbs going rock hard as he makes himself at home by sitting on the couch. He looks far too shiny and important to be laid back so casually.
He motions for me to sit across from him, his expression grim.
So, he's here to discuss Locanas. I was afraid this would happen.
"Please sit, Elodie."
"I haven't decided what to do with him yet." I blurt out, clutching my arms to my body to try to appear as small as possible as anxiety finds a home in my chest.
Barre is quick to come up beside me and put his hands on my shoulders, turning me towards him. I don't look him in the eyes, too afraid of what I'll see in his mismatched eyes. I know he wants Locanas dead. I also know that he's frustrated with me for not making a decision yet. I'm stalling, and he knows it.
His warm hand goes under my chin, tipping it up until I'm forced to look way up into his handsome face.
He pretty much had a full beard when we woke up yesterday, but he shaved it off. I'm not used to seeing his bare jaw yet. It's so sharp it could cut diamonds. I don't expect the compassion I see, but I should have, he's too sweet.
"It's alright, Tiny. The Emperor is just here to offer a solution. Just listen to him, alright? There is no pressure for you to decide right away, alright?" Voice calm and even, Barre's words make me nod my head.
He always knows what to say to reassure me.
Taking a deep breath, I address the elephant in the room, or should I say the Emperor in the room. I sit across from him in a large chair. Before I can settle, Barre comes over and picks me up with one arm, taking my seat and nestling me in his lap.
Calm reassurance washes over me, and I'm now 95% ready to talk with the plante's leader.
"Elodie, as you know, Locanas admitted guilt and wants to be punished. As you also know, us Rytarians do not take such a crime lightly. If it were up to me or your mate, Locanas's head would be hanging over the castle gates, showing every male here what we do to rapists."
I shutter at his words, wanting to escape this conversation already.
Barre narrows his eyes.
"Easy. My mate does not like violence."
The emperor releases an exasperated sound.
"I am just saying what both of us were thinking." He defends himself, holding his hands up, each knuckle decorated with a ring. His nails are short but elegantly rounded, painted a deep blue color.
I look up at my mate, confirming that he agrees with the Emperor's thoughts. He bites the inside of his cheek, but he doesn't disagree. I turn my head down. The thought of someone's head being torn off freaks me out. The more I consider it, the more queasy I get.
"See what you did? She is too delicate for this."
"I am not! I'm fine!" I'm really not, but I hate being treated like a piece of glass.
They're both silent for a while before I clear my throat.
"Go on." I encourage, and the Emperor nods his head reluctantly.
"Well, I want to launch an investigation into who told Locanas this false information about females. Obviously, in the wrong hands, this information has led to you being attacked. I don't want a repeat of that. Locanas was too naive and uneducated to know better. While I want to gladly end his life, I can't exactly do this until we find out who told him these lies. I need him alive, but I don't want him in the city, or anywhere near the humans we've brought here. So, I have thought of a solution I would like you to consider."
His reasoning makes sense, and I can't explain the pain in my gut, even as Barre's arms tighten around me.
"We have a distant continent, far from our main land, it is covered in mountains, it's called Kalinda, and it is where we once mined for precious metals, the most important being malikondite. Once our society panicked over the loss of females, this metal was no longer mined as it once was, because it wasn't needed anymore. The main thing we used it for was translation devices. We didn't think we needed anymore because..."
"Because the population wouldn't continue." I finish his sentence for him.
The Emperor nods solemnly, staying quiet for a pause before continuing.
"Now that we have lots of females in need of translation devices, we need to continue harvesting the malikondite. The only thing is that it is very secluded. So, I have been thinking of a solution, and I think I have found it with our predicament."
Barre caresses my neck, pulling my t-shirt back to look at the mark on the soft spot between my throat and neck. He grins. It's so sexy, I'm almost too distracted to keep my mind on track.
What were we talking about again? Oh yeah, Locanas.
"So, what does this have to do with Locanas?" I wonder aloud, trying to calm my breath as Barre continues to subtly touch me and turn me on so bad that my head is swimming. Based on his smile and lazy eyes, I know that he knows exactly what he's doing to me.His big body is rock solid under me, nothing like my own trembling pile of limbs that want to crumble under his fingers.
"We can make the mountains of Kalinda a place to send criminals. They have no choice but to work mining the mountains. Locanas would be the first. He would be far away from any females, and he would live a solitary life." The Emperor shrugs, looking like he's restraining his excitement at his idea. "And, of course, we would get the malikondite we need. Send some males every now and then to collect the metal and check on Locanas, I can even call him if I have more questions about this gossiper in our midst."
The way he explains it makes everything fall into place, like this was the missing solution all along, a puzzle piece clicking perfectly. Not killing Locanas, but not ever having to see him again, and never having to worry about him.
I gulp, questions buzzing around my brain.
"What if he escapes?" My voice is tentative, small. I sit up straighter, clamoring to get away from my mate as he moves to touch my neck and further play with me like a toy. He knows all the buttons to press, and I can't deal with it right now. This is an important decision to make.
The Emperor is already shaking his head.
"The continents are separated by a large, fresh water ocean. He wouldn't have a boat, and he would not be able to swim across the ocean." He assures me. "Not to mention, he seems sincere in his regret. He asked to be punished. I doubt he would try to escape his imprisonment."
It's comforting, but I still feel uneasy, scared of the male that hurt me. As long as he's under the same roof as me, I will not be able to fully relax.
Turning into the solid warmth that Barre offers, I play with the collar of his shirt as I look trustingly up at him, feeling semi-safe in his arms.
"What do you think? Does it seem like a good idea?" I ask him.
He gives me a small smile.
"It's up to you."
"I still want your opinion. Just because you have a penis doesn't mean you shouldn't help decide."
Barre's eyes grow wide. The Emperor coughs. I chuckle.
"Well," My mate starts thoughtfully, clearing his throat. "I would prefer killing him, but this seems to be the next logical decision if you don't want me to kill him."
"I don't want you to kill him. I guess this is what we should do, right? It seems like the best course of action. I want him far away. That way, I won't have to be scared of him anymore, and he can't hurt anyone else."
Both enormous rytarian males nod at my words, and it helps to sound out my thoughts and have them understand. I crack my knuckles in my lap as I continue to weigh it in my mind.
"What are you..? What is that?" My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I look up at Barre. He seems disgusted.
"What?" I hold up my hands. "This?"
I crack more knuckles, the crunching sound making him cringe as he covers my fingers, trying to put an end to the habit with the strength of one of his hands. It reminds me of when he pinned my arms over my head last night while he..
"Don't do that. It's horrible. I cannot stand it." Barre insists, and I laugh, shaking my head in amusement.
"Dude wants to tear off someone's head, no problem, his mate cracks her knuckles and all of the sudden he's squeamish."
"My name is not dude."
That earns another laugh from me, and then he's tickling me, making me hunch over as the giggles take over. The Emperor tells us he'll make the arrangements for Locanas before he lets himself out, leaving us to ourselves.
I thought when he left I would want to go back to sleep, but as Barre carries me back to bed, better ideas start to form of what we can do to pass the time.
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