Olivia shifted around to face the courtyard, pressing her back into his front again. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she studied his world, her feelings flickering through their link, entertaining him.
She was desperate to go down and interact with the elves she could see. He wasn’t sure they were ready to meet her. He needed to make a formal announcement and then give them time to become used to the fact that he was mated to a human, and then she could meet her people. If she went down now, they would notice her marks and the council would be demanding a meeting with him.
He didn’t have time for such matters, and he didn’t really have time to linger here at the castle with Olivia. Vail was still on the loose back in the mortal world and Loren wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to Bleu or Archangel, and he knew Olivia wouldn’t be able to either.
He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, lingering with his lips against her warm skin, breathing in her soft scent. “We should return. Bleu will be worried... and he tends to end up scolding me if he is worried. I do not want to face an angry Bleu the moment I return. It would rather spoil the moment.”
She giggled. “He just cares about you. You must have been together a long time. I’ve never seen someone act so protective of someone as Bleu does of you.”
Loren smiled against her. “We have been together since Vail went to war with me. Bleu was in his regiment and one of the survivors. You should have seen him. A scrawny, reckless and disobedient two hundred year old. He had a fierce temper and set me to rights without caring who he was speaking to. I had never met a male like him.”
“Sounds like Bleu,” she said with a smile in her voice. “I bet he’s been setting you to rights ever since too.”
He chuckled now, the weight pressing on his heart lifting as he thought about Bleu and all the years they had shared. “He has learned a modicum of respect, or at least learned to show it around others for the most part. If we are alone it is a different matter... and I admit it is nice having someone who is unafraid to speak his mind to me and who treats me as a friend.”
Olivia looked across at him.
“He doesn’t treat you as a friend, Loren. He is your friend... I’m sure he will be able to find a way to occupy himself in your absence though... he hasn’t taken his eyes off Sable since he met her.” Olivia turned in his arms, her expression fading to one of concern and then seriousness. “Is Sable Bleu’s ki’ara?”
Loren shook his head. “I do not think so. I think Bleu desires Sable, but I am not sure she is his fated female. Bleu has had many females in his time and more than one at a time for some of those.”
Olivia’s right eyebrow arched. “He’s a player. No wonder he and Kyter seemed to get along. Sable can handle herself, but I don’t like the idea of Bleu trying to get into her knickers if he isn’t serious about her. Can fae and demons fall in love with people other than their mates?”
He nodded now. “It is possible. My parents were not fated.”
She looked relieved to hear that and he admired how much she cared about her friend, although he seriously doubted Bleu had any intention of falling for Sable. Bleu clearly desired her, wanted to bed her, but he had often spoken of his easy conquests in the mortal world, and Loren had the feeling that he saw Sable as a challenge and liked it. A female who hadn’t immediately thrown herself at his feet. Loren could almost guarantee that if Sable succumbed to Bleu’s charms, his friend would be content and then return to his bachelor life. He could be wrong though.
“Are you a player?” Olivia said, teasing him. She knew the truth about him, but the sparkle in her eyes said that she wanted to hear it again and liked knowing that he had been alone for a long time before he had met her.
“I am not a player... as you put it. I never have been. I began searching for you a very long time ago, Olivia, and now I have you.” He grasped her waist, pulled her against him and kissed her.
She leaned into it, her hands coming to settle against his bare chest, and then pushed back, breaking away.
“Is there a difference between a normal female and a ki’ara?” There was his little scientist, her eyes gleaming with interest and curiosity.
Loren stroked her sides and nodded. “A vast difference. Being with you... my ki’ara... is bliss, wonderful, like being complete for the first time in my life. What I have experienced with you is a thousand times more intense and satisfying than what I have experienced with other females.” He ignored the way she frowned and pressed her short nails into his chest, secretly enjoying the jealousy that coiled through her. “It is the reason many fae species and demons place such importance on our mates. Nothing compares to being with them. Everything else is a shadow of what we would have with our fated one.”