We continued kissing as he moved us away from the door. The bed hit the back of my legs, but I didn’t break the kiss, running my fingers across his scalp. I felt him shiver.
Brion leaned back, breaking the kiss. “Lissa,” he sounded winded. “Wait.”
But I didn’t want to wait. I’d never felt such emotion before, and I didn’t want the feeling to end. I followed his retreat and locked my lips on his.
Brion growled low in his throat. He moved back again, but he was off balance and fell onto the bed. I followed.
Lust filled my thoughts, and I couldn’t get enough of the prince. It was as if my soul had been yearning for this contact for years, and now that I’d experienced the invigorating sensations, I never wanted to stop.
“Lissa,” Brion murmured as I took a quick breath. “Please, wait.”
Nothing other than the word “please” would have been enough to make me stop.
Moving my hands to his shoulder, I pushed up and looked down at Brion. “What is it?” I asked breathlessly.
His eyes were dark—darker than normal. Their depths were endless, and I wanted nothing more than to get lost in them forever. I bit my lip. Brion noticed and his nostrils flared. I thought of all the times I’d seen that reaction, realizing it was an indication the prince was aroused.
Desire pooled in my stomach. I leaned forward, but Brion put a hand against my chest to stop me.
“Wait,” he repeated. “Just… give me a moment.”
“But I don’t want to.” I sounded like a harlot but I didn’t care.
Brion released a strangled laugh. He threw one arm over his eyes. “You are going to unravel what little self-control I have.”
“Good.”
What was happening to me?
“Please, Lissa. We need to talk before anything else happens.”
I didn’t know how I found the restraint—perhaps it was the desperate note in his voice—but I managed to slide off Brion’s lap onto the bed. I folded my legs underneath me and gazed down at him.
He exhaled a long breath, uncovering his eyes and regarding me.
Fire continued to spark in his gaze, but there was also tenderness peeking through the blackness. He reached up and brushed a strand of fallen hair behind my shoulder. “Gods, you’re beautiful.”
No longer distracted by my lust-filled haze, I blushed, but I didn’t look away. “Thank you.”
His smile reached his ears.
“What do we need to talk about?” I asked, wanting nothing more than to get back to kissing him. He looked so handsome when he smiled. It was a feat to keep my hands to myself.
Brion pushed himself up. He sat beside me and laced his fingers through mine, providing me the contact I craved. I stared at our joined hands.
Brion sighed. “I don’t know where to begin.”
With my free hand, I traced over the scars peppering the back of his hand. He’d seen many battles in his long life. I was surprised that the thought of his advanced years did not dampen the desire flowing through my veins. I felt content sitting beside Brion, holding hands. Again, it was like I’d been made precisely for this moment—to be connected to someone.
No, I corrected myself. Not just someone. I couldn’t deny the truth any longer. The evidence was plain to see. I had feelings for the stoic, often broody, but incredibly protective prince.
I suspected I had since the first moment I beheld his impressive figure in his sister’s bedroom. I’d been scared to death, but at the same time intrigued, by the devastatingly handsome draekon.
But what about Brion?
“Why did you kiss me?” I asked him, thinking it was as good of a place to start as any.
Brion watched my pale fingers move against his tan skin. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for nearly three years.”
My fingers stopped. “Years?” We’d only known each other for a couple of months.
He closed his eyes. “Yes. Years.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, pulling my hand back. “That’s not possible.”
Brion kept his eyes closed. “I didn’t think you remembered.”
“Remembered what?”
“The first time we met.”
I wracked my brain, realizing he wasn’t thinking of the moment in Cienna’s room. “Do you mean in the Royal Forest?”
I hadn’t known it at the time, but Prince Brion had traveled with our caravan of Caldirian recruits. He’d been responsible for saving us from the surprise goblin attack.
Though, he’d only been in his beast form during that encounter. I wouldn’t have recognized him.
“No.”
I shook my head. “Brion, what are you talking about?” There was little chance I would forget meeting the prince of the draekon.
“I didn’t think so,” he spoke more to himself than to me. “You were so young.”
I was beginning to feel agitated, the volatile emotions unusual. Something was different, but I didn’t know what. “Whatever you want to say, Brion, just say it.”
Finally, he turned his dark eyes back to me. Affection and longing lingered there but also a hint of uncertainty flickering in the background. “It was shortly after your guardian’s death… I believe you were twelve.”
I froze, the memory of my deceased guardian dampening my mood. I listened as Brion shared his story.
“You were a child when I first saw you. I was surveying Caldiri for rumors of a rebel gathering. You were a scrawny thing, running through those dead wheat fields.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, and my heart thumps in my chest.
“You were so lively,” he told me, shaking his head with mirth. “You climbed trees with your brother and his friends. Nothing seemed to scare you. You didn’t even balk when a tall, strange draekon approached you to ask your name. You were so brave… and somewhat foolish.”
My body felt cold and warm at the same time. I didn’t understand what was happening—what he was telling me. I wracked my brain, but I could not recall the encounter he mentioned.
Brion continued, “I surveyed the region again when your guardian died. I sent word to the town healer and requested she hire you as an apprentice.”
“You were responsible for Mistress Molly taking me under her wing?” I asked, not completely believing what he said.
“Yes, though, she never knew that. Molly thought it was a missive from one of Lord Stanley’s draekon soldiers. She was a good woman. Once she’d heard your family was in need, she didn’t need encouragement to offer you the position.”
Thank the gods I was sitting down, or else I would have fallen over from my surprise. “You’re serious?”
“Yes, Lissa.” He leveled me with a sincere gaze. “I’m serious.”
“But… how? Why?” My lust had disappeared to make way for confusion. “I don’t understand. Why would you care about me? You didn’t even know me.”
Brion tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. “At first, I didn’t know. I just felt… drawn to you. It wasn’t until I researched the subject that I had an idea what was happening. And my theory was confirmed once I saw your eyes after the rebels attacked us near the forest.”
The anticipation built. I felt lost, but I wanted answers. I cleared my throat. “What was happening? What are you talking about?”
Slowly, Brion lowered his chin. He lifted the hand he held between us, gently shaking it as he said, “This, Amelissa Allaway. Our connection.”
His explanation didn’t clear anything up for me. “What connection?” But I was pretty sure I felt what he was talking about.
Instead of answering, Brion asked me a different question. “Have you been noticing anything different about you, Lissa? Anything at all?”
I hesitated. “I’m hungry all the time,” I revealed. “And I wanted to punch you when you came in tonight, which is not like me.”
Brion nodded as if he’d expected as much. “And your increased strength. Have you noticed that?”
I shrugged. I’d noticed some changes, but I hadn’t thought anything of them. I was eating better than I ever had in my life, and the prince was nothing short of annoying. I could logically explain every single difference I’d been noting.
I lowered my head, making him look into my eyes. “What does this have to do with anything?”
Brion slid off the bed, but he didn’t release my hand. I adjusted and sat up on my knees, so he wouldn’t tower over me.
He inhaled deeply, peering into my blue eyes with a fearful, yet hopeful, expression. “Will you promise to not panic and stay until I can explain everything?”
The request spiked my anxiety, but I agreed. “Yes, I promise.”
Relief caused his shoulders to relax. The words he uttered I never would have expected in my life. “Lissa, you are not human.”
28
I pulled my hand away, thinking Brion had lost his mind. “Are you insane? Of course, I’m human.”
He didn’t waver. “No, Lissa. You’re not.”
I scrambled to get off the bed; the black gown tangled around my legs, almost making me fall. Brion reached out and steadied me before immediately letting go. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing me.
I whirled on him. “You need to explain. Otherwise, I am going to walk out of this room and go sleep with Jasper.”
Brion’s face darkened.
“Not like that!” I threw my hands in the air, knowing where his mind had traveled. “Just tell me what’s going on, Brion.”
I watched the prince regain control. He stared at the ground, breathing in and out slowly. “You’re part draekon, Lissa.”
I scoffed, immediately dismissing him. “That’s impossible. I mean, look at me.” I lifted a strand of blonde hair. “Do I look like a draekon?”
“No, you do not.” Brion’s gaze lingered on my features, and his face softened again. “Which is why it took me so long to figure it out.”
I shook my head, refusing to acknowledge the sincerity in his voice. “It cannot be true.”
“But it is.”
I crossed my arms and stared at the curtains covering the windows, trying to figure out how to proceed with the unbelievable discussion. “Why are you so sure you are right?” I needed to know his thoughts, so I could disprove them.
“There are many reasons, but the most obvious to you would be the changes you are experiencing. Your increased appetite, enhanced strength, and even your temper… those are all draekon traits emerging within you.”
“You’re crazy.” I walked toward the bathing chamber, determined to splash water on my face to clear my head. But I didn’t make it far.
Brion gripped my shoulder and stepped in front of me. “I’m not lying to you, Lissa. I swear.”
My eyes flickered between his, and I saw only honesty looking back at me. He wasn’t trying to deceive me.
I swallowed. “Do you have proof?” If I was going to believe Brion, I needed him to have evidence of what he claimed.
Brion gave a slow nod. He stepped toward his personal trunk, watching me to make sure I didn’t make a run for it, and opened the latch. The hinges squeaked as he pushed the top open. He retrieved a leather folder and shut the trunk.
“Here.” Brion held the folder out to me.
I chewed on my lip. Stepping forward, I reached out and quickly moved back once I had the folder. I opened it, shooting Brion a wary glance before looking at what was inside.
A document outlining the royal army’s efforts to combat the rebellion stared back at me. I skimmed the information, not finding anything of use to me.
Flipping the page, I was about to ask Brion what I was looking for when a name caught my attention.
Arthur Allaway.
Blood pounded in my ear as I read and reread, the familiar name.
“What is this?” My eyes burned.
Brion approached and leaned over my shoulder, as if he didn’t already know what I’d seen. “Your father’s name.”
I knew that. “Why is his name in your file?”
“Keep reading,” Brion spoke softly.
It took all of my strength to tear my eyes away from a name I hadn’t seen, much less spoken, in so many years. I read the information below his name.
Each line triggered confusion, as well as disbelief. I couldn’t make sense of what I was reading. It had to be a mistake.
I lowered the folder and met Brion’s expectant gaze. “This cannot be true.”
“But it is,” he replied. “Your father deserted my father’s army many centuries ago. Now, our intelligence has confirmed he leads the rebellion.”
My hands began to shake, and I dropped the folder. Brion didn’t seem to care about the documents as he closed the distance between us and clutched my shoulders.
“Your father is draekon, Lissa. You and your siblings all share his draekon blood. It is nothing short of a miracle that my father didn’t make the connection when he heard your last name.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” I whispered. Though, when I thought about it, everything seemed to make sense.
What would motivate a father to abandon his children in Caldiri?
Running from the king’s justice might be a good reason.
“My mother?” I asked.
“Very little is known about her. Other than the fact her family is from Avelin, she is a mystery. Reports aren’t even clear about her name.”
“Sandra,” I murmured, remembering the beautiful woman who liked to dance while she cooked. It was one of the few memories I had of her. “Her name is Sandra.”
Brion didn’t say anything. He continued to watch me, waiting to see what I would do.
I stared at the base of his throat, watching the steady beat of his pulse. “But I don’t look half-draekon.”
“I don’t believe any draekon has ever mated with someone from Avelin,” Brion said. “Immigration between the continents ended many years before the first curse was bestowed. And even before then, draekon didn’t mate outside of our kind in order to keep our bloodlines pure. No one has seen what children of Draekon and Avelin descent look like. It seems your mother’s side is dominant.”
I closed my eyes, hating the explanation—hating anything that made me doubt who I thought I was my entire life. “This can’t be happening.”
“Lissa, you need to listen to me.” Brion abandoned his placating tone. “You are beginning to display draekon abilities. If you want to keep your heritage a secret, we need to work on controlling them.”
I shrugged his hands off my shoulders, hugging myself.
“Why are you telling me this now?” I asked, remembering the desire that had swirled between us not five minutes ago. Now, only anxiety and sadness lingered in the room.
How did the evening go from kissing to… this?
Brion ran a hand through his hair. “Because I wanted to explain what happened between us. Why we are so… attracted to one another.”
My cheeks heated, but I wouldn’t let my shyness prevent me from getting an explanation. “What do you mean?”
Brion reached out and pulled one of my hands into his. He laced our fingers, and familiar warmth emanated from his touch. “Do you feel that?” He stared at our joined hands.
There was no point in denying it—not if I wanted answers. “Yes,” I said. “I feel it.”
Another breathtaking smile illuminated his face. I’d do anything to see that smile.
“I know you think I am an ass and you are right. I knew Lord Meck was interested in pursuing you as a companion, but I didn’t warn you. In my defense, that was only because I was too frightened to face your potential reaction.” His thumb brushed against my knuckles.
“My reaction?” I asked, distracted by the sensation his touch created.
“What if you welcomed his interest?” His expression dimmed. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I knew you planned to accept his proposal.”
His words sounded dangerously close to admitting
he would’ve been jealous.
The thought brought a smile to my lips. I was pleased Brion would feel jealous over me.
“What would you have done?” I asked, coaxing more affirmation for the butterflies taking flight in my stomach.
“Stolen you away in the middle of the night,” he answered without hesitation.
Suddenly, I knew why he had encouraged me to be possessive. There was something primal about the emotion, and I couldn’t deny it called to the deepest part of me.
Dare I say, I would have wanted him to steal me away.
“What is happening between us,” I said, lifting our hands. “Why do I feel so strongly about you?” I wouldn’t admit I’d felt this way since the moment I saw him. Not yet, anyway.
Unease crept into Brion’s eyes. He studied me as he considered how to proceed.
I waited patiently, content to revel in the comfort of his touch while eager to learn what caused such strong and undeniable emotions within me. I’d been attracted to men before, but I’d never felt anything like this.
Brion licked his lips, clearing his throat. “How far have you gotten with your historical studies?”
I blinked. “You want to ask me about my assignments now?”
Brion chuckled. “The reason I ask is because there is a section about ancient draekon companion ceremonies. Did you get that far in the text?”
“No.” I’d been too preoccupied with learning draekonian and then avoiding another assault from jealous female draekon.
My thoughts shifted to my kiss with Prince Finn. I chewed on my cheek, debating whether or not I should mention the encounter to his brother. It felt wrong not to say something, but I decided to wait until the right moment.
If there was such a thing…
I wasn’t a male, but I imagined hearing my brother kissed a woman I had feelings for would not strengthen our brotherly bond.
Brion sighed and gently released my hand. He began to pace the length of the room. “I was hoping you would have figured it out for yourself,” he said. “It would make this conversation much simpler.”
Brion ran his hands through his hair, mirroring my actions from moments before he’d arrived.
Possession Page 20
