by Riley Storm
“Relax,” he rumbled. “Go with the flow, feel my body as I guide you through it, and then just step.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Magic doesn’t work like that, mister. I won’t just be able to cast a spell and be able to dance.”
“No magic,” he chuckled. “Look, you’re already doing it when you talk to me instead of looking down.”
To her surprise, she found she was. Galen was a master at leading, and the more she relaxed, the more she was swept up by the rhythm and by the lead of her man.
Her man.
It was the first time Kyla had allowed herself to even think of him as a possessive, and she found she couldn’t stop smiling.
“What’s so funny?” he asked as she spun in time with the other women, the dragons all knowing the dance and coordinating their moves.
Even Cheryl moved with the others, her belly large and swollen with child. She was grinning and having a wonderful time too. Kyla was happy for her. Happy for all of the women that they could have something like this as one of their last memories of their mates.
“Oh nothing,” she said with a knowing smile. “Women things.”
“Women things,” he rumbled suspiciously. “That sounds terrifying.”
Kyla laughed and leaned into him, resting her head on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart, imprinting it on her mind. Although she wouldn’t be leaving with the other women the next night, that didn’t mean she too wasn’t cherishing this memory.
Their first dance.
She tried not to think about it as also being their last. There was no point in getting somber and morose over anything. This was the journey she’d chosen, and there was no turning back now, even if she’d wanted to.
“I promise, nothing bad,” she said, turning a wicked eye on him. “Maybe just thoughts of later.”
“Later?” Galen asked, not understanding.
Kyla stood back a bit, looking up at him through her eyelashes, letting her bottom lip curl up under her teeth as she looked at him. “Later,” she said huskily, making it very clear.
“Oh. Later,” Galen rumbled, eyes twinkling with that royal blue she found so intriguing.
“I knew you would understand,” she said, pressing back into him more than a little sensually.
She felt him stiffen, heard the low growl in his throat meant just for her and let the shiver of anticipation run all the way down her spine. Yes, later would be fun.
“So you decided to come back,” Aaric said as the music died down and the couples took a break, heading over to the buffet tables of food that had been prepared.
“I did,” she admitted, but not offering anything more about her trip back to the Academy. Not everything worked out properly, despite her best efforts and intentions. They didn’t need to know that.
“It’s good to see you again,” the fire dragon said after she didn’t elaborate. “With him.”
Kyla smiled, while beside her Galen shuffled uncomfortably. “Thank you,” she said, leaning her head against Galen’s bicep. “It’s good to be with him.”
“I am hungry,” Galen announced somewhat gruffly, uncomfortable with the attention.
“Just smile you idiot,” Aaric retorted with a sigh. “We can tell you’re happy too. You’re actually a terrible actor.”
Galen started in surprise, and made to protest, but she squeezed his arm, looking up at him.
“You too?” he moaned.
She nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. You’re a good person Galen, but acting…not your strong suit.”
“How long were you going to wait to tell me this?” he asked, taking a deep breath.
“We just did,” Aaric pointed out, fighting back a smile.
Galen glared at his brother. “You’re not funny, Aaric.”
“Actually, he kinda is,” Olivia said, returning from the drinks table with two glasses, one of beer for Aaric, one of water for herself.
“Funny-looking, maybe,” Galen grumped, but there was a smile turning up the corners of his lips.
Aaric turned proudly to Olivia, waiting for her to say something, but found himself staring at his mate as she eyed him up and down, looking like she was agreeing with Galen somewhat.
“Hey,” he protested. “Since when were we picking on me here? I thought this was pick on Galen!”
The others laughed loudly and then continued on over to the food.
“Where is Francis by the way?” Kyla asked, looking around. “I thought he would be here too. He should be.”
“He will be,” Aaric assured her. “At least, he said he would.”
“Good. Everyone deserves to share in this. Not just the shifters.”
“Don’t worry, we made sure he was invited and we expected him to be here. He said he’d be here once his date was ready though.”
“Date?” she asked, wondering who he meant. “I thought everyone else had left? That’s what Galen told me?”
“Not quite,” a voice said from behind them.
She turned to see Francis with someone on his arm.
“Margery?” Liv gasped from in front of them where she’d been putting food on her plate.
“That’s Melina’s nanny,” Galen whispered, meaning the middle-aged woman next to Francis.
Suspiciously close to Francis.
“How long has this been going on, I wonder?” Valla said as he calmed his wife from the initial shock.
“Get over it, boys, she’s mine,” Francis said proudly, holding his head high.
Kyla giggled, happy for the sharp-witted steward of the Keep. He deserved happiness too, just like the rest of them. She was glad he’d decided to let everyone know now, so that they could be happy for him.
“Is this why you’ve become tamer of late?” Victor asked, joining the circle with Cheryl in tow. “I’ve noticed your bark isn’t what it was.”
“We’re working on that,” Margery said, giving Francis’ arm a squeeze. “Aren’t we?”
“Yes dear,” Francis said, smiling and nodding wide.
The entire group burst out into laughter at the look on his face. Kyla could sense the mood lightening even further, the laughter uplifting everyone’s spirits as they all but spit in the face of death, refusing to face it in a gloomy pit of depression. She muttered a word to herself, then waggled her fingers, pointing them up to the ceiling high above.
Red, green and green-gold sparks shot from her fingertips, exploding in a cascading display of light at the top, a magical display of fireworks that had the entire little crowd ooh-ing and ahh-ing over them.
“Now let’s party!” she cried as the lightshow faded away half a minute later.
The group broke up, some heading for drinks, others for food, and everyone intermingling with each other.
Kyla couldn’t see a non-smiling face in the room, including her own.
If this was to be her end, then this was a memory she planned on holding until the very end. This, and what she was going to share with Galen later…
31
“I can admit, I never saw that coming,” he said with a chuckle as Francis and Margery finished saying their goodnights and retired from the ballroom, arm in arm, heads together, talking quietly to one another.
“Me neither,” Jax said, his chest bouncing with quiet laughter as he watched them go, Sarah pressed to his side, his arm draped over her shoulder, holding her tight.
Galen squeezed Kyla’s hand twice in rapid succession, reminding himself that she was still there. In return she snuggled in a little tighter.
The four of them were sitting on some over-large lounge chairs, talking quietly amongst themselves. Valla and Liz had already retired for the night, gone to be with one another and Melina, a family.
Galen envied his youngest brother that moment, wishing that he’d had the chance to have children, to experience parenthood. Still, he was happy, happier than he’d been in a long time. Nobody was judging him for his choice to be with Kyla, and in fact everyone seemed happy for him, as if they knew th
at this was the way it was meant to be.
“I think we’re going to call it a night as well,” Victor said as he and Cheryl came by, arm in arm.
“I just can’t keep up,” Cheryl said, rubbing her stomach. “My feet are killing me.”
The assembled group all smiled and laughed, nodding their heads in understanding. A round of goodnights was said, and then the pair drifted away.
From the far side of the room, Aaric caught their attention and waved. He and Olivia were in deep conversation, all smiles, and judging from their body language, Galen had an idea of what they were talking about. A moment later, the fire dragon scooped his mate up into his arms and dashed from the room with a bellowed ‘Goodnight’.
“So subtle,” Kyla joked, bringing the quartet to laughter once more.
Galen joined in easily, not bothering to hide his emotions any longer. He was happy, this was the perfect sort of night. There would be many tears and long faces come the morrow, but for now—for now, everyone was happy, and together.
As a King, even if for only a short period of time, that was what he wanted to see from his family, from his fellows. Happiness, and comradery.
“Well my darling,” Jax said, getting to his feet and extending a hand down to his mate. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” Sarah giggled, letting herself get hauled to her feet, then jumping into Jax’s arms. “I’m tired. Right to bed for me I think,” she teased.
Jax snorted loudly. “Riiighht,” he drawled, rolling his eyes even as Sarah’s fingers began to idly trace patterns on his chest. “Sleep.”
“Quit your whining and get moving, mister,” she said, leaning up to whisper something in his eyes.
Jax’s eyes went wide as she continued to talk. “Yup. G’night all. Bed time. Sleep tight.”
He all but dashed from the room.
“Well that was entertaining,” Kyla said, reaching up to lay a hand on his chest. “Then there were two.”
“And then there were two,” he echoed, his right hand coming up to play with her hair, trying to tuck it behind her ear, only for it to fall forward again, too short to stay.
“What do you think about that?” she asked.
“I think that, while I wish you would never have come back, I’m also beyond grateful that I got to spend a night like this with you before tomorrow,” he said, opening himself to her slightly more than he had. It was hard, and parts of him railed against admitting even that much, but she deserved to know that much at least.
In truth she deserved to know more, but Galen wasn’t sure he had the strength to admit it, to himself, or to her. Not yet. That would take time.
And time is the one thing we’re lacking.
“Me too,” she said softly. “It was like a dream.”
“I wish you would consider leaving now,” he said quietly. “But I won’t ask you to, I know better than that,” he added with a smile.
“You wish it because you care,” Kyla said.
He tried hard not to stiffen at the blunt words. It was true, he did care, and he needed to stop being so scared of that. He needed to accept it, to let Kyla see that he accepted it. That he liked it. That he liked her.
“But I’m not leaving, Galen. This is my place, here, with you, fighting against evil. I’ve trained all my life for something like this, to be in a place to do some good. Getting to do that at your side, well, that’s just an unexpected bonus.”
He leaned over and kissed the top of her head without thinking.
“Meeting you,” she continued. “Your brothers. Learning about your world, it has changed me, Galen. More than I think I can ever express to you. There is so much that I was taught about you that is just plain wrong, and it was visible from the moment I stepped through the portal. So many misconceptions, mistruths and outright lies have been told about shifters to my people.”
“It’s not just your side doing that,” he said softly. “We’ve done the same. We’ve had to, so that we could feel comfortable killing your kind over the centuries. Dehumanizing your opponents is an age-old tactic to make it easier to take a life.”
She nodded, taking his hand and kissing the back of it. “Maybe,” she said. “Maybe if somehow a miracle occurs tomorrow, then you and I, perhaps we can work to heal that rift, to close the gap between our kinds.”
“I would like that a lot,” he said. “I’m tired of killing. Of fighting. I would really like to be about more than just a force of destruction. But peace, harmony. Love,” he added after a moment. “Those are things I would like to enjoy. To be a part of.”
Kyla nodded, getting up from her chair, tugging him up with her, keeping him close. “Then let’s go make some memories of that,” she suggested.
“Oh, is this the ‘later’ you were talking about?” he teased, getting up and pulling her in close, looming over her, his hands slowly beginning to wander her body, feeling it beneath the fabric of her clothes.
“Maybe it is,” she murmured as he bent over her, kissing her, tasting her. “Maybe it’s not.”
Galen made sure he was thorough, not breaking apart until Kyla began to arch into him, her body responding to his touch in the most obvious of ways.
“Well, which one is it?” he asked, nipping at her neck, teeth digging into her skin just enough to cause her to gasp in surprise and enjoyment, not pain.
“I think it is,” she moaned, her arms clasped tightly around his neck, pulling him in tight.
“I’m going to need more than just an “I think”,” he rumbled, running one hand slowly up the inside of her leg, carefully avoiding anywhere overly sensitive.
“I think you should take me back to your room now,” Kyla said tightly as his hands continued to wander, dancing slowly across her breasts and cupping her ass. “Then I think you should…”
Galen stiffened, his eyes going wide as Jax’s as she continued to whisper into his ear.
“Yup. Yup I can do that,” he all but yelped.
Then he bent down and, instead of taking Kyla into his arms, he hauled her over his shoulder and took off.
“Hey! Hey what is this! What the heck!” she protested, alternating between laughing and beating her fists on his back. “Put me down!”
“No time,” he laughed. “Must get to bedroom!”
“Great. I’m going home with a caveman,” she said resignedly from over his shoulder, stopping her protests. “Just my luck.”
“Oh trust me,” he teased. “You’re going to get very lucky.”
32
Galen bent over at the edge of the bed and lay her back onto it, standing up to admire her like she was his prize.
The humor of the run faded abruptly at the lust in his eyes, a reminder of what was to come, and how he would make her feel. Kyla’s throat was suddenly dry, her body warm as she watched Galen remove first his shirt, and then the rest of his clothing, until he stood over her, naked and semi-hard, a sight to behold.
“Not bad for a caveman,” she all but purred as he bent over her, covering her mouth with his, making it hard to talk for the next few minutes.
He didn’t climb on the bed, instead staying at the edge, but that didn’t mean he was out of reach. Dragging her fingernails down his sides, she switched to her fingertips as they curved over his firm stomach, until she found what she was looking for, wrapping one hand around it.
Galen hissed with delight, the sound loud in her ear, and providing even more stimulus for her body as he started to strip her of her clothing, exposing her body to his eyes. She watched them devour her, every square inch. It was a thoroughly arousing experience, feeling him grow harder in her hand with each piece of clothing that came free of her body.
He well and truly found her attractive, despite her thickness and all the other flaws she saw in herself, and the effect that knowledge had was to release her of most inhibitions, including her normal desire to be completely clothed. With Galen, she felt free and desired, and this swept away much of her vulnerability.
>
Anything that was left was forgotten about as his hands, and several moments later, his mouth began to explore its way around her body.
They didn’t speak for a time, too wrapped up in exploring one another. But just because they didn’t verbalize, didn’t mean that there was no communication. A glance here, a gasp there, the arching of her back when he touched her just so, it all brought them together, making them closer as they explored, and enjoyed, the company of one another.
“Kyla,” Galen groaned as she teased him with both hands, stroking him gently with one, while cupping and stroking just behind his sac with the other, noting the way he stiffened each time she found that sensitive area just right. “I want you so badly.”
“You can have me,” she whispered, hearing the urgency, the desire, in her own voice. “I’m yours.”
Galen’s pleased growl filled the entire room, and at long last he climbed on top of the bed, casually lifting her with one arm and sliding her back among the pillows. They hadn’t bothered to remove the covers or anything, and she didn’t care. Her attention was firmly on Galen, nothing else. Most of the room was a blur even, the only focus being his face, and what was between his legs.
“No,” she said as he started to kiss his way down her body. “I need you inside me.”
The evening had built her anticipation to this point, and now she could wait no longer. She was ready, her body eager to feel him enter her. Galen nodded in understanding, though he did run one hand between her legs, gathering some of her evident wetness and coating himself with it, all the while teasing her just that little bit more.
“Please,” she said as seductively as she could. “I want you.”
Pushing her legs gently to the side, Galen positioned himself between them, one hand stroking the side of her face while the other grasped his cock and placed the tip of it against her opening. A tremor of anticipation shuddered through her body from just that, and Kyla whimpered when he didn’t immediately continue.
“Galen,” she moaned.
Then he was suddenly inside her. Just barely, little more than the tip, but she could feel him all but bursting with a desire for more. Whether it was her imagination or not, Kyla swore she could feel his cock throbbing already.
