Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Mama ride Papa!
This Chapter is a bit spicy 🥵 Be warned!!!
Outside the barrier, Kael roared.
"Swanly!"
He slammed into the barrier.
It flashed violently but held.
Inside the stream, Swanly shoved at Soren’s arm.
"Stop staring!"
Soren’s mouth curved faintly.
It was not a warm smile.
It was cold, wicked, and far too alive.
"Were you insulting me, little female?"
"First of all, I am not little." Swanly grabbed at the water as if water could become clothing through pure desperation. "Secondly, yes, I was. What are you going to do about it? Nothing. Release me."
Soren’s hand stayed at her waist.
"What if I do not want to?"
Swanly gasped.
"You shameless snake."
His eyes dropped again.
She splashed water into his face.
"Look at my face when I am threatening you."
He blinked water from his lashes, still smirking.
Outside, Kael struck the barrier again so hard the whole stream trembled.
Swanly jabbed a finger at Soren’s chest.
"Release me, bastard."
Soren leaned closer.
For one terrifying second, she thought he was going to kiss her.
Her heart kicked.
Her hand moved by itself.
Slap.
The sound cracked across the stream.
Soren’s face turned slightly.
Swanly froze.
Soren froze.
For one breath, the barrier outside went silent, as if even Kael had stopped in shock.
The slap echoed across the stream, sharp and loud.
Swanly stared at her own hand like it had betrayed her.
Soren slowly turned his head back toward her.
His cheek was not even red. Of course it was not. Snake skin was too tough, and her hand probably hurt more than his face did.
But his silver eyes had changed.
The smirk was gone.
He did not look angry. He looked worse.
Hungry. Calculating.
Like she had just done something that made him want her more.
"Bold," he murmured, his voice low and silky. "Very bold."
Swanly’s heart slammed against her ribs.
She did not wait to understand what his expression meant.
She shoved at his chest, sending water splashing between them.
"Release me, you bastard."
His hand remained around her waist, his cool, strong fingers flexing once against her bare skin.
For one terrifying second, she thought he might pull her closer instead of letting go.
Outside the barrier, Kael slammed into it again with a roar that shook the water.
Swanly tore herself away, grabbed her clothes, and dressed so quickly that she nearly shoved one arm through the wrong hole.
Then she ran through the barrier with wet hair, burning cheeks, and the dignity of a thief caught stealing fruit.
Kael caught her the moment she came out.
His hair was damp too, because he had washed quickly after returning from the Rot Nest, but now the clean scent of smoke and warm panther was buried under fury.
He looked her over first.
No blood.
No wound.
No torn clothes.
Then his nostrils flared.
His eyes sharpened.
He smelled Soren on her skin. Cold river water and that sharp, dangerous scent that made his instincts scream mine.
Not mating.
Not claiming.
But touch.
Water.
Soren’s cold scent on her skin.
Kael’s face went dark with pure, burning jealousy.
"Did he touch you?"
Swanly opened her mouth.
Closed it.
She could not lie to him.
That silence was enough.
For one second, she thought he would storm into the barrier and try to murder Soren through ancient magic.
Instead, his hands moved before thought. He stepped forward, grabbed her around the waist, lifted her like she weighed nothing, and threw her over his shoulder in one smooth, furious motion.
Swanly yelped, her face burning as blood rushed to her head.
"Kael!"
He turned and walked.
"Put me down. This is embarrassing."
He did not answer.
His big hand stayed locked on the back of her thigh, his fingers digging in just enough to feel possessive. Every step he took pressed her body against his shoulder and back.
She could feel the heat of him, the hard tension in his muscles, and the possessive grip of his hand against her thigh.
"Kael, people are looking."
He kept walking.
People were absolutely looking.
Riverbone’s side path had never been so alive. Guards stared. Females froze with water gourds in their hands. Raku watched with both brows raised. Nahla pressed her lips together and looked like she was praying to old roots for patience.
Then the cubs saw and lost their minds with delight.
The smallest gasped first.
"Mama ride Papa!"
The eldest pointed.
"Mama trouble."
The second, now awake and freshly sticky from fruit, clapped his hands.
"Papa carry Mama."
Tilla’s little mink cub giggled so hard he almost dropped his fruit.
Swanly covered her face with both hands.
"I am going to die. Stop laughing at Mama!"
The smallest laughed louder.
"Mama red!"
"I know I am red."
"Mama tomato."
"I am not a tomato."
Kael carried her straight into their sleeping area and set her down on the fur bedding.
Not roughly.
Never roughly.
But with enough silent anger that the fur might as well have been a judgment seat.
Then he turned away.
Swanly sat up.
He did not look at her.
Oh.
Silent treatment.
That was his weapon.
She blinked.
"You are giving me the silent treatment?"
Kael’s ears flicked.
He said nothing.
"Seriously?"
Nothing.
Swanly stared at his back.
He was so handsome it was unfair. Broad shoulders, damp black hair, warm skin, claw marks and scars from surviving a world that kept trying to take from him. Even angry, even pouting, he looked like the kind of male a person would make terrible decisions for. (Check comments so you can visualize who’s she’s flirting with🤤)
Swanly hated that this was working on her.
"I did not know he would wake up," she said.
Kael’s jaw moved.
He still did not turn.
"Kael."
Silence.
She crawled closer on the fur.
"Please talk to me."
Nothing.
She narrowed her eyes.
Fine.
If he wanted to be stubborn, she could be worse.
Swanly crawled onto his lap and straddled him without warning, her knees on either side of his hips.
Kael went completely still.
Immediate.
Wonderful.
His hands lifted halfway, then froze like he did not know whether to push her away, pull her closer, hold her, or ask the ancestors why his mate was like this.
She was warm, soft, and pressed right against him. The thin hide between them did nothing to hide how hard he already was.
Swanly placed both hands on his shoulders.
"Talk to me," she whispered, her voice breathy. "Please."
He turned his face away.
She leaned to that side.
He turned the other way.
She followed.
He tried to turn again.
She caught his face and kissed him.
Kael stopped breathing.
Swanly pulled back with her face close to his.
"Do not be mad at me. I did not know he would wake up."
Kael looked at her now.
His jaw clenched. His golden eyes were hot and unhappy, burning with jealousy, anger, and raw want all tangled together.
"Did he see you naked?" he growled, his voice low and dangerous.
Swanly froze.
Her face flamed.
Kael’s expression darkened.
That answered him.
He turned his face away again.
Swanly grabbed his cheeks.
"Wait. Do not get mad again."
"I am already mad."
"Yes, but do not get more mad."
His eyes cut back to her.
"That is not how anger works."
"It can work that way if you love me."
Kael stared.
Swanly smiled sweetly.
His ears heated.
She felt victory bloom.
"You are so easy," she whispered.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"You still want to tease me?"
"No. I am saying there is no difference between you and our sons. You are just as cute as them."
Kael looked offended.
Deeply.
Painfully.
Adorably.
"I am not cute."
"You are."
"I am your mate."
"You are my cute mate."
His hands finally settled on her waist, gripping hard enough to leave marks.
Swanly’s teasing smile trembled.
The air changed.
Because she was on him.
Because he was warm under her.
Because his hands were large and firm at her waist, and his body had reacted before either of them could pretend this was still only a joke.
Swanly’s face heated all over again.
For one startled second, she almost pulled away.
Then she stopped herself.
This was her mate.
Her husband in this world, basically.
The father of her cubs.
The male who had held her through rot, blood, terror, and almost losing their child.
Why was she always acting like warmth was a trap?
Kael’s fingers tightened as if he sensed the shift in her.
"Swanly," he said, his voice low.
A warning.
A plea.
A growl.
She shifted on his lap without thinking.
The friction made both of them inhale sharply.
"I slapped him. That’s it."
Kael’s grip tightened. One hand slid down to her ass, pulling her harder against the thick line of his cock.
"He touched you."
Swanly’s breath hitched. Heat pooled low in her belly. She rocked against him once, slow and deliberate, feeling him throb under her.
"He tried. I handled it." Her voice dropped, teasing but shaky. "Are you going to handle me now, or keep pouting like one of our sons?"
Kael’s eyes flashed.
His other hand fisted in her hair, tilting her head back.
For one intense second, she thought he would kiss her, hard and claiming, right there where anyone could walk in.
Instead, he leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear.
"When I take you," he growled, his voice rough with need, "it will not be quick. And you will scream my name so loud the whole tribe hears who you belong to."
Swanly shivered, her thighs clenching around him. Her hands slid into his damp hair, pulling just enough to make him groan.
"Big words for a male who’s still sulking."
Kael’s hips rolled up against her once, a slow, filthy grind that made her bite her lip to stay quiet.
She leaned closer, a dangerous little thought lighting in her eyes.
Then a tiny voice from the cave entrance said, "Mama, what are you doing?"
The cubs.
Swanly froze.
Kael cursed under his breath.
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