my answer?” Zana waggled his eyebrows teasingly.
Navid grinned. “I think he’s horrified by your city manners.”
“He probably is, isn’t he?”
“Thank you,” Navid repeated, trying to put all his awe and gratitude into those two simple words. Zana had stood up for him in front of all the alphas in the family. Navid had been equally alarmed and impressed at the ease with which Zana had sealed his claim on him. His father and grandfather had no power over him anymore. He belonged to Zana. Curled to Zana’s side, Zana’s lips brushing his temple, he let the knowledge spread and settle in his bones. My name is Navid Massoud now. And yes, he knew what his responsibility was without his father’s reminders. He would take his baba’s advice and make Zana happy and proud. Surrounded by Zana’s warmth, Navid felt giddy at the prospect.
They boarded the private plane just after eight o’clock. Zana had hired it only for them, an unnecessary luxury, but Navid wouldn’t complain. After sinking into the plush seat and securing the seat belt around his hips, he met his husband’s eyes. Zana was staring at him with his head leaning on the backrest. He was smiling softly, his eyes gentle, and he ran a finger down Navid’s cheek.
“How do you feel, my love?”
He’d asked the same question many times, and Navid was learning to answer honestly and not what he thought Zana wanted to hear.
“Nervous but excited. And you?”
“I don’t know where to start. Exhilarated, greedy, guilty… In love.”
How could he be so sure? They barely knew each other. Then Navid remembered the butterflies in his stomach this morning when he’d woken up naked in Zana’s arms. In love.
Zana’s hand cupped his jaw, his gaze inviting, and Navid leaned in for a chaste kiss. He’d quickly learned to love those kisses. He couldn’t get enough of them. He stayed close, hoping for more, and true enough, Zana trailed kisses over the corner of his mouth, his cheek, just underneath his eye.
In love.
As the plane took off, the floor swooped under his feet, and he got pushed deeper into the seat. Zana found his lips again and deepened the kiss, stealing Navid’s breath. Their tongues tangled together, and their tastes blended. They were airborne, the plane rising sharply. He was leaving his youth behind, his entire life as he’d known it, but with his husband’s lips on his, he didn’t feel any regret.
“You’re so sweet. Irresistible.” All those things Zana said, his voice like a song, his words like poetry… “I can’t wait to hold you in my arms tonight. To feel your skin against mine.”
Heat rushed up Navid’s chest and spilled into his cheeks as Zana captured his mouth again. Navid knew the rear cabin was a bedroom, and soon they would retire there for the rest of the eleven-hour flight. He would never admit it out loud, but Navid was beyond excited at the prospect of Zana touching his body again. His cock tingled, and his hole got a little wet. Could Zana smell it? Navid thought of the ways Zana might pleasure him tonight. He’d loved the tight suction of Zana’s mouth on his nipples, and the wet heat around his shaft had been heaven. The feeling of Zana’s tongue inside him, Zana’s lips on his opening… Oh, please let Zana kiss him there again.
Yet it was the memory of Zana’s thick hardness jerking in Navid’s hand that had arousal burn through his body. A soft moan escaped him before he could catch himself.
Zana broke the kiss and stared into his eyes. Could he read Navid’s desire?
“Navid,” he breathed. “I want to—”
Just at that moment, a steward appeared with two glasses of champagne, a bowl of fresh strawberries, and two bottles of water. Navid glanced down at his hands in his lap.
“Thank you,” Zana said.
“You’re welcome, sir,” the steward replied. “We expect a steady flight tonight. The captain will warn you in time in the unlikely case there are any turbulences. The rear cabin is open and ready for you whenever you wish to retreat for the night.”
“Good. When do we land in Dalton City?”
“The descend will begin just after seven in the morning.”
“Wonderful.”
Navid didn’t look up until the steward disappeared behind the curtain in the front.
Zana handed him the glass, smiling softly. The champagne tasted excellent. Navid wasn’t used to drinking alcohol, and the small glass made him a little lightheaded.
When Zana unsnapped his seat belt, Navid did the same. Wordlessly, Zana offered him