Love’s Eternal Fire

Chapter 9: Acceptance

Solaris’ POV

“Solaris, I love you,” Kesi mumbled, wrapped tightly in my arms, head against my chest, my chin on the top of her head. Hearing her say those words made my heart swell. All I had wanted to hear from her for so many years was precisely that.

“I love you, Kesi, for eternity,” I told her, rolling so she was pressed underneath me. There was no way I could be without her; at this moment, I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to be with her. Kissing her again, I felt her hands take hold of the bottom of my shirt. Sitting up, to make it easier, Kesi pulled my shirt up, and I helped take it left and leave it lying with her underwear. She bit her lip, and I watched as her hungry eyes looked me up and down. Reaching out, she traced every line and divot of my muscles, gently committing each to memory with her hands. The feeling of her hands on me sent a shiver running down my spine. I ached to be inside her and claim her as mine, but I couldn’t mark her yet because it would be noticeable to her parents.

“Do you want this?” I asked, her hands resting on the waistband of my jeans.

“Yes,” she nodded, undoing the button. Without another word, I captured her lips in mine, desperately grabbing at her dress, trying to pull it down to expose her perfect t**s to me. Kesi had my jeans pulled down just enough to expose my hard di*k. She moaned loudly as I ran it up and down her slick folds.

“I can’t mark you yet,” I told her.

“I know, it’s okay,” she told me in a breathy moan, lifting her hips up to pull me inside of her. Giving her what she wanted, I slowly slid inside her tight pu**y. Kesi sucked in a breath and lifted her head off the blanket as I filled her completely. Groaning, I moved in and out slowly, letting the fantastic sensation of our connected bodies take over.

“You feel amazing, babe,” I told her, picking up the pace, Kesi writhing in pleasure under me.

“Kiss me,” she moaned. Crushing my lips to hers, she gasped slightly, opening her mouth. My tongue dived inside and explored every inch of her. Our moans grew louder and more frantic the closer we both came to release. Kesi’s walls tightened around me, sending me over the edge, and I exploded deep inside her, both crying out at the same time. We stayed connected for a second, panting and staring into each other’s eyes. I couldn’t believe I was here with her, the sounds of the forest the only thing except for our breathing. Rolling off her, Kesi tugged her dress down to cover herself, and I pulled my pants back up but kept my shirt off for her view.

“I brought something else,” I told her, standing up to fish into the basket I had managed to get out without anyone seeing.

“What?” Kesi asked, sitting up before grabbing her underwear to slip back on.

“This,” I said, coming back with a small container. Opening it for her to look inside, there were a bunch of raspberries and chocolate.

“I can’t believe you remembered that,” she said, a large smile spreading across her face, making the corner of her green eyes crinkle.

“Of course,” I told her, sitting beside her and offering her the container. Kesi took one of each and popped them both into her mouth.

“I haven’t had this in forever,” she said, smiling at me.

“It easily became one of my favorites after you introduced it to me,” I told her, taking each of myself.

“What are we gonna do?” Kesi asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

“About us being together?” I confirmed, watching her shake her head. “We can do whatever we want.”

“Even trying to convince our families being together isn’t a crime?” she asked.

“I think you know as well as I do that their prejudice runs deeper than that. Our kinds have been fighting for longer than we’ve been alive,” I told her.

“I know; I just wish I knew why. What started it?” she questioned.

“My parents always said it started when the fairy king killed one of our clan leaders' children. Then he killed the fairy king in response,” I explained.

“That just doesn’t make sense; that’s not something the king would do,” she replied.

“I don’t know. Does anyone know what others can do until they are put in a difficult situation?” I asked.

“I suppose that’s true,” she replied, taking another raspberry. “You just want to run away together? Disappear without telling anyone?”

“Do you think telling our families the truth will result in a better outcome?” I asked.

“They can’t lock us up again; we’re adults,” she replied.

“Try telling that to a hierarchy that goes by demand and order. No one is supposed to defy the leaders' orders, especially not their kids,” I reminded her.

“I’d at least want to leave a note. I don’t need to say where we’ve gone but just that we’ve left,” she said.

“They’ll come looking for you,” I said.

“They’ll look for me either way, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to find me,” she replied.

“We’re doing this? We’re leaving together,” I asked, hopeful at the thought.

“I think so,” she said. “I talked with my friend, and she told me to follow my heart. They chose you as my mate for a reason, and I want to be with you.”

“Nothing has ever made me happier than hearing you say that,” I told her.

“I think I thought about trying to fight it, but I know I won’t be able to. Something has always drawn me to you, even when we were kids,” she said.

“Today’s been one of the best days of my life,” I admitted, watching her beautiful slender face light up.

“I just wish I could stay with you here forever,” she told me, leaning in to put her head on my shoulder.

“Me too,” I replied. “Tell me more about your family. How’s your older sister?”

“She’s fine, getting ready to take over for my parents at any minute. Ordering people around left and right.”

“Does she have a mate yet?” I asked.

“Yeah, she met him a while ago. His name is Indi, and he’s a light fairy. They have two kids, Genevieve, who’s about to turn three, and Labivia, who’s five,” she explained.

“Do you get along with your sister after what happened?” I wondered.

“I do; our relationship was strained for a while, but eventually, we became friends and sisters again. Our relationship was never quite the same, but that’s how it is. I never felt like I could trust her again,” Kesi told me. “And Indi just flat out doesn’t like me.”

“Why?” I asked, slightly more aggressively than I meant to. The thought of someone not liking my mate or being mean to her increased my body temperature, and my phoenix threatened to come out.

“I think he just never really got over the fact of our friendship. Thazel told him what happened, and he was more disapproving than my parents,” she said.

“Does your entire tribe know about everything?” I asked.

“No, only a select few, and my parents swore then to secrecy,” she replied.

“Why did Thazel tell him?” I wondered why they would tell him what we did if they didn’t want people to know.

“I’m not sure why, but he treats me as if I’m damaged or have some disease. The good thing is that my two nieces and I get along great; I love them so much. That’s one thing that will be hard to leave behind,” she sighed.

“Maybe one day we can come back, or maybe one day our families won’t hate one another,” I told her, placing my arm around her shoulder to squeeze it.

“You know, I walked in here fully prepared to tell you we needed to take things slowly,” Kesi laughed. “But that idea flew out the window the second I saw you.” Her comment made me laugh, considering I was prepared to run away with her this second.

“I’m not letting you go anywhere this time,” I told her.

"Don't worry, I'm not," she said, turning to kiss me gently.

We sat in the clearing near our tree for a few more hours. We finished all the food I had brought, talking the entire time about our families and what our lives had been like for all these years. She told me how, as soon as she turned sixteen, her parents had tried to push her into taking a chosen mate. I explained how my parents had done the same, and it seemed both had the same idea that we might become mates one day. The sun was beginning to set when we realized we needed to both get home before anyone questioned where we were.

"Can we meet again tomorrow?" I asked, my arms tightly around her waist as we stood at the base of our tree.

"I promised Thazel I would help her plan Genevieve's party, but maybe I can get away in the evening," she told me, head against my chest.

"I'll bring us some dinner, and we can have another date picnic," I told her.

"I'm looking forward to it," she told me. Reluctantly, we said goodbye. I stepped away from her, letting my wings spread behind me before taking off into the air. I stayed low in the trees, watching her stare up at me with a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I yelled, darting away before I turned around and went for round two with my beautiful mate.