The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince (11 page)

several Sidhe stepped out of the aircraft. True enough, the distance

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between the platform and the plane wasn’t very large, but Corbin still hadn’t expected it.

The first people who showed up were the Sidhe priests who would

be officiating the ceremony. The great prelate always looked like he’d just bitten into a lemon, and today was no different. Winter had told Corbin it was highly unusual for the prelate to leave Sidhe grounds,

and the man must probably be in fear for his life. They jumped out of the plane, falling slowly, as if some force was fighting gravity for

them. It was quite impressive.

All thoughts of other people vanished, though, when Winter

appeared from above. The only word that came to Corbin’s mind was

angel
. Winter jumped out of the plane like the priests had. As his mate stepped out of the plane, his majestic motions left no doubt as to his royal blood. His fall was graceful, as if he were a petal that even the planet’s force didn’t dare to harm.

Winter landed next to Corbin, a smile on his beautiful face. The

lining of his clothes seemed to make him glow, and the fall of his

crimson hair contrasted with the silver of the outfit. Winter’s wedding garb as a whole was not composed out of shirts and pants, but rather

robes that were tight against the chest and flared at the bottom. They were almost like Chinese changshans, only with a distinctive magical

feel. He was almost too gorgeous, so much so that for a minute,

Corbin actually stopped breathing. He couldn’t possibly be the one

meant to wed this ethereal creature. It was too much of a gift. He

didn’t deserve it.

“Hello, Corbin,” Winter said in a soft voice, and that was enough

to snap Corbin out of his trance.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Corbin answered. “You look amazing.”

And then Winter dropped his outer cloak, and Corbin’s mind just

about melted. He’d known about the sequence in the ceremony, but

merely the swish of the fabric made him want to pounce on Winter.

Everything inside him roared to ignore all the guests intruding on

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their private moment, steal his mate away, and claim him the shifter way.

But this ceremony was important for Winter, so Corbin swallowed

his frustration and leashed his beast. Like Winter had taught him, he took his mate’s hand and stepped in front of the stoic-looking prelate.

Skylar and Byron stood on the side, ready to take heed of the vows.

At last, the Sidhe priest started to speak. Corbin didn’t understand

quite everything since Winter hadn’t actually had the time to teach

him the ancient Sidhe tongue. However, for the purpose of the

ceremony, Corbin had been provided with a minuscule headset where

another Sidhe translated what the prelate was saying.

The translator’s voice droned in his ear. “The Nameless One has

blessed us all today to witness the union of two souls and two

energies. May the blessings of his magic shower over this, your

servant, and grant me the power to reach them in his name.”

In a way, the words were distracting and somehow didn’t suit the

way the prelate actually spoke. The ancient Sidhe tongue was a

beautiful language, far too beautiful for the translator to fully grasp its flow in English words, and Corbin looked forward to learning it. He

could bet it sounded great when Winter was screaming in passion.

Shaking off his lustful thoughts, Corbin focused on the ceremony.

Finally, the prelate finished his discourse and the most important

moment arrived. Corbin and Winter turned toward each other,

entwining their fingers together. Corbin looked straight into Winter’s eyes, entranced by the happiness he saw there.

“
K’arian yadar k’adar challa Hastri D’Or orti gar
,” they said at the same time. It literally meant, “I vow myself to you under the

blessings of the Nameless One.”

The words flowed from Corbin’s tongue with far more ease than

he’d expected. Almost instantly, Corbin felt a power flow over him,

foreign but so familiar. It was warm, almost liquid, like the water in a pool lapping against Corbin’s skin, and yet electric. Where his hands
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touched Winter’s, it felt like he was touching an outlet. Energy and magic sizzled over his skin, so powerful, but so kind.

Corbin had never been a religious person, but in that moment, he

truly sensed there was a higher power watching over them. The

prelate’s words, beautiful simply through the way they’d sounded,

had also been true. And right then and there, Corbin understood that

his entire life he’d waited for this. He’d waited for Winter, the only one who could complete him.

Winter released a small gasp, as if overwhelmed by the moment.

His smaller hands squeezed Corbin’s in a nearly painful grip.

A voice seemed to whisper in Corbin’s ear. “Kiss him.”

It could have been the translator, or maybe this unseen deity that

had blessed their union, but Corbin didn’t care. He just knew that he’d never heard of a better idea in his life, well, except the one that had brought them to this point in the first place.

Barely managing to suppress a growl, Corbin pressed his mouth to

Winter’s. The beautiful Sidhe melted against his chest, his lips parting in a soft, soundless gasp. Corbin greedily thrust his tongue inside the wet cavern, devouring Winter, taking what was his. He hadn’t kissed

Winter since the day of their rushed engagement, and he was

ravenous.

Energy rushed around them, the sound of restless water reaching

Corbin’s ears. As Corbin broke the kiss to breathe, he saw the entire ocean, as far as the eye could see, sparkled like a white jewel. It was beautiful, almost as beautiful as Winter himself.

In the silence that followed, Corbin distantly registered the shock

on the guests’ faces. Alexis’s eyes were a little glazed, the incubus obviously affected by the lust in the air. The shifters weren’t much

better off, but Corbin didn’t really see anyone except Winter. If he’d looked like an angel before, now…Now, there were simply no words.

When another layer of clothing dropped, Corbin’s lynx clawed at

his insides, angry at being denied. Winter must have sensed it because
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he licked his lips, his ice-blue eyes glittering like diamonds. Alas, they were not alone, and nor would they be for a great many hours.

Skylar cleared his throat, notifying them that there were still a

couple of formalities to deal with. Normally, shifters would claim

their mates in private and register it through the Agency. Now,

however, Corbin hadn’t actually made the first step since there hadn’t been time. The Sidhe bonding ceremony would count as the original

shifter claiming, but Skylar still needed to make it official.

Thankfully, the shifters were efficient where paperwork was

concerned. A transparent slab emerged from the platform, and Skylar

placed the documents on it, not even blinking an eye at the

demonstration of magic. After reasserting the fact that they did indeed want to be mates, Corbin and Winter signed the documents. With that,

it was finally done. They were married by the standards of both their nations.

Corbin would have expected it to feel more earth shattering, and

in a way, it was. However, as he stood there looking at Winter, he

realized that, in his heart, he’d been already sworn to Winter. There was just one more thing he needed to do, and he intended to take care of it tonight, after the ceremony.

Confirming Corbin’s guess, Winter said, “We should go.

Everything is ready for the party back at the house.”

Indeed, now that the light on the ocean was starting to dwindle,

the ceremony was over. The celebration would be continued at the

Cunninghams’ household. Knowing that he still had hours to wait

before he could feast on the delights of Winter’s flesh, Corbin

surrendered to the inevitable. He leashed his beast and nodded.

“You’re right.” After a brief pause, he couldn’t help but add,

“Actually, that house is huge and has many nooks and crannies.

Maybe we can lose ourselves in one. The guests will never know.”

Winter blushed prettily, the hue of his cheeks almost reaching that

of his hair. He looked like he was considering it, but alas, the

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exchange was overheard. “Don’t you dare,” Preston said. “You’re

going to have to stand there and smile like the rest of us did.”

It wasn’t exactly the same, but Corbin couldn’t bring himself to

get angry with his brother. In fact, if there was anyone who

understood waiting for one’s mate, it had to be Preston, who’d been

denied his bond for many years. In spite of his animalistic urge to

claim Winter, Corbin acknowledged the need for control.

“Don’t worry,” he told the younger lynx. “We’ll behave.”

The trip back to the house was uneventful compared to the

ceremony itself. Well, in truth, Corbin was too lost in Winter’s

presence to care about anything else. Unlike before, they flew to their destination in the same aircraft and held hands all throughout the

journey. Winter’s scent, the warmth of his fingers, and the way he

would steal looks at Corbin from time to time, everything was driving Corbin crazy.

By the time they reached the house, Corbin was hard as a rock,

painfully so. He felt thankful for the fall of his formal tunic that

helped him hide his state. It didn’t much help his arousal, but at least no one would be staring at his swollen cock.

Skylar, Byron, Garth, and Nicolas immediately set about to check

the last of the arrangements. King Sterling was also in the middle of it all, ensuring his nephew’s wedding party went on without a hitch.

Corbin still didn’t know what to make of the man but decided to

worry about it later.

Gradually, the guests began to appear, flooding the house. There

were so many people, some of them very important, and Corbin’s idea

to flee the party early became more and more unlikely.

At one point, Garth approached him, a tall, Asian man following

behind him. Corbin had always thought Asian people had a slighter

build, but he guessed that the paranormal world was made out of

exceptions. And of course, Kaname Yamamoto, the vampire elder

with whom Skylar and Byron had been in contact for around a year,

could only be one of these exceptions.

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Corbin and Winter had met Kaname earlier that day when the

vampire had arrived, entourage in tow. Between him, the mer elder,

and Sterling, the reunion made for the first time where so many

powerful people were gathered together.

“It’s an honor to congratulate you on your mating, Tomacelli-

san,” Kaname said, bowing at Winter. His foreign accent gave the

sound of Winter’s last name an odd lilt that seemed strangely

seductive. Corbin was not amused, especially since Winter’s last

name was no longer just Tomacelli, but Tomacelli-Mckenna.

Alexis took it all in stride. “Thank you, Yamamoto-san.” He

offered Kaname a perfect return bow, as if he’d been sharing Japanese greetings all his life. “It is Tomacelli-Mckenna, now.”

“Ah, of course.” Kaname smiled. “I must apologize. I did not

realize you would take your consort’s name.”

Corbin gritted his teeth in anger but managed to suppress his

growl. Of course, he’d known the difference in rank would also be an

issue. However, lines needed to be drawn from the very beginning.

Winter would be the Sidhe king, yes, but Corbin had no intentions of

allowing predators like Kaname to get their grubby paws on Winter.

“I have taken my mate’s name in turn,” he said. “We’re united,

you see, and I am convinced that together, Winter and I can achieve

many things.”

Kaname just arched a brow. “Of course. I admit, you are quite

brave to take on the role of a future Sidhe king consort. I admire

courage in a man.”

Corbin’s eyebrows shot up when he realized Kaname was flirting

with him, too. A small smile fleeted on the vampire elder’s lips, and Corbin’s lynx settled down at the realization that the other man was

only playing. He didn’t actually have any intention of initiating an

intrigue or trying to mess with Winter. It was a game, and Corbin

started to understand that his life with higher-up politicians would be much like a tennis match.

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81

The ball was in his court now, and Corbin decided it was time to

strike back. “Oh, I’m sure that’s nothing compared to your initiative to come here, in foreign lands. After all, you don’t know the

Cunninghams that well.”

Kaname chuckled. “You almost sound like you wish I hadn’t

come.”

“Of course not,” Corbin answered. “Both Winter and I are

honored.”

“In fact,” Winter added, “we’d love to have you as a guest to the

Sidhe palace sometime in the future.”

Corbin wrapped an arm around his mate’s waist, grinning in

contentment. He loved it that Winter had included him in the offer. In fact, it felt natural. As strange as it might have seemed to some that Corbin had become Winter’s consort, he actually had experience with