Once Upon a Child of the Stars

Thirty Nine- Alone Time

The dinner was wonderful and for a whole schools worth of children they were all well behaved. I am sure my father giving them speeches about how we are supposed to act almost every year at the school helped with that. After all, he was kind of scary when he was mad. 

I felt a sort of excitement at the thought of being alone with Xavian and on good terms. It was our first time to get to know one another as well. 

My body's natural reaction to even the thought of being alone with my mate was almost embarrassing. I could feel my chest tighten and my cheeks heat up when the idea crossed my mind. I would be lying if I said there was not a heat pooling inside me as well. I could not control the embarrassing amount of sexually suggestive thoughts, but that was heavily due to the connection Xavian and I shared. 

Once the dinner had concluded, Xavian and I made our way back up to the room to quickly change into some warmer, more comfortable attire. Due to the phoenix kingdom being encased in a mountain, its temperature is always cooler than our kingdom, making it necessary for us to bundle up a bit. 

"Are you ready?" Xavian asks as I pull my sweater over my head. 

"I am now. Are we just going to go out and wander around?" I ask. 

"That seems to be the plan unless you know somewhere specific you'd like to visit," he answers as he walks to the door, opening it up and holding it open for me. 

"I think seeing where we end up is a fine idea," I say with a light smile. 

We make our way out of the hotel and begin our little adventure down the rocky sidewalks of the kingdom. There are lights lining the streets giving us a little help in seeing our surroundings. We do have better vision than humans, and Xavian and the Hellians' probably have even better sight, but it is easier when we have the help of lights. 

We quietly walk the streets, looking around as we go. There is a certain tension between us. I wonder to myself if he too thinks the strange, intimate thoughts as I do. I would bet the answer is yes, but I could be wrong. 

"It is quite different here. Such a unique place," Xavian finally breaks the silence. 

"Yeah. My mom said the first time she ever came here she was blown away that a civilization could be inside a big rock," I say with a light chuckle. 

"She is not wrong. It is strange. Everything on Hellian is on the outside of the planet," he replies as he looks around curiously, examining our surroundings. I hum in response. 

A chill fills the air, spiraling in from the mouth of the kingdom. I shiver lightly, but it does not go unnoticed. 

"Are you cold?" Xavian asks. 

"No, just a chill. I'm fine," I say with a soft smile. 

"Alright. Let me know if you get too cold," he says and I give him a nod. 

We continue our walk until we get to the outskirts of the kingdom. We walk through the entrance, the guards giving us a light head bow to acknowledge us. I give them one in return and we leave the kingdom and enter the wooded area outside it. 

We take a trail through the forest just outside of the kingdom and suddenly we are surrounded by beautiful, blue flashes in the trees and around the path. 

"What the fuck is that?" Xavian asks, sounding shocked at the light show in front of us. Me, I was just smiling. 

"They're glow dragons. They're the smallest breed of dragon, and they only come out once a year for two months," I answer. I hold my finger out and a little dragon around an inch long lands on my finger. Its little tail has a small orb on it and it flashes blue a few times before it flies off. 

"Why do they flash blue like that?" he asks with curiosity, his eyes darting around to see the small dragon insects. 

"Every single one has a mate, and only its mate has the same flashing pattern as it. They use it to identify their mate. They mate for life like we do. Every year the unmated and newly matured glow dragons come out and flash their lights for a couple months, trying to find their mate," I explain. 

"It's beautiful," he says softly, a small smile appearing on his lips. 

"My parents would bring me out here every year to see them. We would stay with Uncle Thane for a few days and we'd come out here and enjoy the little creatures," I say, reminiscing about my childhood and my upbringing.  

I grab Xavian's hand and drag him a little more down the path and into a field that has become a sea of flashing blue. I look over to Xavian and for the first time ever, I see a genuine, innocent smile on his lips. He looks out at the field in awe at the small dragon lights. 

"It's amazing isn't it? Something so small can be so beautiful," I say softly. 

"I'd say you're pretty small and even more beautiful," Xavian's voice adds in. 

I chuckle and look up to the large framed man standing beside me. He is already looking down at me in pure adoration and a flutter begins in my stomach. 

I gently pull my bottom lip into my mouth for a moment before letting it pop back out. Xavian's eyes travel from my eyes down to the lip that was just between my teeth. His body turns to face me completely, and I do the same subconsciously. 

He takes a careful step forward and slowly slides his hands to my sides, resting on my hips. A light gasp escapes my lips as one of his hands trails back up and our skin makes contact on my neck. A warm feeling flows through my whole body, like a fire has been ignited in my blood. His hand rests on my jaw, his thumb tracing my cheek. 

I slide my own hands forward and feel his abdominal area. I too slide my hands up, both of them wrapping around his neck. His eyes have changed from their normal dark purple to a glowing crimson, and I am sure my own are a shade of pink or red as well. 

Slowly, his frame leans down as he holds my jaw with his large, strong hand, and he captures my lips with his own soft ones. I instinctively move my body closer to his, pressing my small frame against his large muscular one. 

Our lips dance together, and time fades away as our fire ignites within us, our passion warming even the air around us. His lips are soft but dominant in a way, moving as though they have total control over my entire being. 

Xavian's hand that resides on my hip slides back and under my shirt, his warm hand causing a shiver of pleasure with just his touch. He pulls me even closer, our bodies completely against one another's. 

The kiss ignites more passion, his tongue gently slipping through to my mouth and grazing my own. Our tongues twist and dance with the rhythm of our kissing, slipping in and out as we move our lips. 

The lights of the glow dragons dance around us like they are serenading us with their lights as our kiss heats our hearts and warms our insides. 

Eventually, our lips part and our eyes open. His glowing crimson eyes are gorgeous, like a ruby in a display case with a light shining through it. I see my own red orbs through the reflection of his eyes, shining at the man who is destined to be the man I am with for the entirety of my life. 

"I love you," Xavian says suddenly. 

"What?" I say, not comprehending his words. 

"I love you, Luminara."