The Lost Queen

Ch. 6: Glass Box

The warmth of Jarrah's lips crawling along the back of Rayne's neck as his palm snaked against the front of her stomach made her groan and swat him away half-heartedly. His deep chuckle sent a shiver down her spine, igniting her desire for him as he traced his kisses over the corner of her jaw that he could reach. So much for sleeping in.

Rayne, tangled in a sheer nightgown and purple sheets, rolled over and swung her leg over Jarrah's hip to straddle above him. Her curls rustled from her bonnet falling off during the night, spilled around her sore body and into Jarrah's fingers that now squeezed her waist. His eyes were soft and loving in the glow of the rising sun outside of his open balcony, and trailed over her body from head to toe, though lingered on her belly where his thumb traced a pattern. She didn't have a bump yet, but that didn't stop Jarrah from loving their ʋllosi iskitini. Their little baby.

"You know, the baby isn't coming anytime soon," Rayne reminded him, stifling a yawn. The thought of a baby was still mind ogling and she didn't know when she was going to get used to it. "If I were you, I'd get your sleep in now."

"Where's the fun in that?" he teased, his hands sliding away from her waist to play with the hem of her gown bunching at her thighs. "And maybe . . . I'm excited for sleepless nights."

"Really?" she asked, dryly. She glanced down at where she housed her baby and wrinkled her nose at the thought. Wolf pups were hard enough on their own as it was. And now, they were having a hybrid—a Fae hybrid at that! She didn't know what to expect and honestly, part of her was already terrified.

Jarrah's eyes glowed. "Really. I don't think you know how much having my heir means to me, wolf."

Rayne's gaze flickered to him again. He sat up beneath her and propped himself up against the wooden headboard behind him. She didn't move from off of him, but tilted her head, giving him her attention as he searched for the words and squeezed her thighs.

"You being a mother, a mother to my child, is the greatest gift my kingdom and I have ever been given," he whispered. "Since I've met you, you're all I've ever wanted, Rayne. And this family, our family, is everything I never thought I could have. So when you ask me if I'm ready for the sleepless nights, the crying, the laughing, the flying lesions, just know I'll always say I'm ready for it all."

Her eyes stung at the love in his eyes, at the sincerity on his tongue behind the elation of a beautiful smile. She mirrored it with a watery one of her own and let him press his palm to her stomach again. He couldn't help himself, and honestly, she couldn't blame him.

"We're really doing this," she partially laughed, partially sobbed. Rayne wasn't a crier by any means, so like any expecting mother-to-be, she blamed it on the hormones.

Jarrah's grin broadened with emotion, a flicker of water ghosting over his eyes. "We're doing this," he reaffirmed.

He moved to lean towards her, his lips puckered and ready to make her heart flutter, but the knock at the door prevented it from happening. Rayne tried not to deflate into the pout she knew was on her lips.

Jarrah sighed and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Yes?" he called out, his eyes flickering with annoyance towards the door.

The door nudged open just enough for the spokesperson on the other side to be heard but not seen. And by the clearing of their voice, they knew it was Takoum. "Your mother has requested for you and Senator Terryn to meet with some men in the village, Your Highness. They believe they may have a lead on the person who killed our guards," he said, then added with disinterest. "And the wolves."

Rayne perked up at that, but Jarrah's hands tightened on her hips, preventing her from getting out of bed.

"Thank you, Takoum. Is there anything else?" Jarrah asked.