by Zoe Parker
His hand was no longer covered in the smooth tan skin as before. It was covered in iridescent scales that ran the gamut of the of greens and yellows, even a greenish brown and burnished gold. His fingers curved into wicked claws, nearly 3 inches long. My eyes cut to his only for me to fall further into a tailspin. His pupils were no longer round, but elongated, vertically slit and a golden yellow hue.
“Dragon,” I whispered in disbelief. Dragons were extinct. Wiped out centuries ago. Weren’t they?
Taking full advantage of my distracted state, he snatched the shoto from my grasp and tossed it aside. I could have easily manifested another, but I only stared. His claws receded back into blunt fingertips and the scales melted away. Reaching forward, he snaked one arm around my waist. The other wrapped around the back of my neck and he yanked me to him. My body collided with his, taut muscles giving no quarter to the full softness of me. His touch elicited a searing warmth that I had never known and after a lifetime of nothing, but the freezing cold, my body melted into his. Dazed, I realized what was happening. He had touched me. And survived.
“Your dragon, little fox,” he rumbled as he stared down at me.
“My name is Cyan.” Epic response.
“As you wish, my princess,” he murmured, a smirk ticking his lips upward seconds before they crashed down on mine.
Damn, traitorous body! I had no clue it could dissolve into absolute mush at the touch of another. I had no idea I could ever feel so much heat. So much ecstasy. Every inch of my body that was plastered to his buzzed with an indescribable electricity. Distantly, I heard The Queen screaming ‘no’ and the sound of a struggle, but I couldn’t focus on that. I could only focus on the giant holding me in his arms, solid and secure, as he devoured my mouth. I pushed my body further into his, needing to be closer. Needing to be as much of him as I was of myself. One of his legs slipped between mine, the fabric of my dress bunching together. When his thigh came into contact with my core a ragged moan escaped me. Dear God! What sorcery was this? Gripping his shoulders, I raised one leg, and began to pull myself up, literally climbing his tall frame. Never breaking our kiss, one huge hand gripped the back my knee, before sliding along the curves of my thigh to palm my ass and lift me. My legs wrapped around his hips, lining my heated core up with the massive bulge straining against his jeans. Tossing my head back I drew in a gasp. Nothing had ever felt this good. Both of his hands went to my hips and I tightened my legs around him.
“Eyes on me, little fox. I want you to know who controls your pleasure,” he growled.
Obeying his command, my eyes shot to his. Still golden and vertically slit, they demanded my submission. Expected it. And for once, I gave it freely. Willingly. With a growl deep in his throat, he thrust his hips, his erection hit me just right and I tumbled into oblivion on a silent shout. My body convulsed. My eyes rolled back into my head and Vetur went wild. His fire responded in kind, suffusing us in a divine mixture of hot and cold. With a grunt his fingers tightened almost painfully on my hips and I let out a whine. Not from pain though. This was pure pleasure. I wanted to exist in this state for the rest of my life. He ground his hips against mine. Against my neck, his breathing was labored and choppy—from the fighting or the orgasm, I didn’t know. Overwhelmed and utterly exhausted, my head fell to his shoulder, my arms and legs went limp around him. He held me up. Carving a trail of sweet kisses up my neck, he stopped when he reached the shell of my ear. His lips were soft and tickled as he spoke, voice even deeper and more compelling than before.
“Perfection, little fox. Absolutely impeccable. From this moment forth, I pledge to you my heart, my soul, all that I am. I promise to cherish you, respect you, place you above all else. I am yours and no others'.”
His words settled something inside of me. Something I knew had been missing all my life, but couldn’t figure out how to secure it. They bound us. Somehow I found the strength to lift my head and find his eyes. Those reptilian beauties that had nearly instantly become familiar and treasured to me. Cupping his cheek in my hands, his stubble tickling my palms, I gave him my pledge.
“From this moment forth, I pledge to you my heart, my soul, all that I am. I promise to cherish you, respect you, place you above all else. I am yours and no other’s.”
“We are one, little fox. Rest now, I’ll keep you safe from any who think to harm you.”
My eyes closed and Vetur blinked out with his reassurance. My last thoughts before I succumbed to darkness—how could I have heard him so clearly when he hadn’t spoken out loud.
Chapter Three
Muted light graced my closed eyelids and a soft surface pillowed my body. My aching body. I tried to recall if anything I had done warranted such an ache. I wanted to slip back into sleep, but I could smell him. Feel him. The sweet, smoky scent of burning wood and the warmth of a roaring fire. I felt relaxed and as though I had slept long enough to be well-rested, but I was still exhausted.
“You will feel that way until we complete our bond. Or join, as your people call it.”
Again, I could hear him. Could practically feel his voice caress my mind, but I knew what I was hearing was only in my head.
“It is the way of dragons. We can communicate with our mates without actually speaking. I can feel your emotions, hear most of your thoughts, see some of your memories. If you wanted, you could do the same.”
Before I could dwell on thoughts of him being in my head, I heard Celeste’s outraged shrieks.
“I am The Queen! You will remove yourself from this door and allow me to see my daughter or I will bring down my entire army on you! You are guests in my home, here only because I allow it. Do not make me rescind my hospitality!”
“You’re no queen of mine and your empty threats mean nothing,” a rich voice responded.
“Rescind your hospitality, we will gladly leave and take our future queen with us,” another chimed in.
A shiver skirted its way down my spine and I paused when I realized it was the effect of the two voices. Valen’s voice should be the only one with any effect on me.
“I won’t repeat myself again! Open this door!” The Queen shouted.
More reserved, I could hear my father’s voice telling her to calm down. I also thought I could hear Kormen. I really hoped they didn’t come in here, especially not when I remembered how I’d climbed Valen’s body in front of everyone in the throne room.
“She will not enter unless you wish it. Konah and Brenan won’t let anyone in unless we tell them to.”
From his thoughts, I knew that Konah was the blonde, Brenan the redhead. But the images of them were blurry, barely discernible. The Queen continued to threaten them, but they spoke no more.
“Open your eyes, little fox. Let me see you.”
It was uttered gently into my head. Soft. Almost pleading. There was no denying the fact that it was a command though. I hadn’t even realized my eyes hadn’t opened and I’d been seeing everything through him. Without thought I obeyed. He sat next to the bed, his chair pulled up as close as he could get it. He sat forward, his elbows propped on his knees, hands clasped before him. Eyes, intense and brooding, bore into me. Russet brown with specks of bright gold glittering throughout them and framed by unruly lashes, they were gorgeous. His pupils and irises were back to their circular form. Normal. At some point while I’d slept, he’d changed his clothing. His muscular frame was now sheathed in a clean t-shirt, still black though. I guessed he would have needed to get rid of the clothes he’d worn before since they would’ve been soaked in blood. Soaked in blood. I sucked in a deep breath at the realization that I’d intentionally tried to kill my mate. The one person meant for me. The one person I needed above all others. Had I not been so shocked by him being a dragon, I would have hurt him. Dragon. My mate is a dragon! Dragons don’t exist anymore. A hysterical laugh bubbled up and out of me. My hands shook.
“Relax, Cyan,” Valen spoke out loud as he leaned forward and scooped me up, placing me on his lap. My
shaking subsided and the mounting panic dissipated. “Your power recognized me long before you did. It enjoyed the challenge in the fight, but it would not have allowed you to truly hurt me.”
That would explain the urging I felt to seek him out. To challenge him. To be near him. It would also explain my body’s reaction to him. Why he calmed me, warmed me. God, he was so freaking warm! I felt so familiar with him, intimate. Something was missing though. I didn’t feel balanced? Pushing those thoughts aside and drowning out Celeste’s voice, I looked at him.
“Did I hurt any of them?”
He gave a single shake of his head before he spoke. “Only their pride.”
Relief poured through me, but it was short lived. “And Kormen?”
His eyes narrowed.
“What is he to you?”
“My best friend.”
“Nothing more?”
I drew a blank. Of course there was nothing more. Did he think I would lie to him about something so serious?
“My suspicions do not lie with you, little fox, just him. Apparently, there was always more expected on his end.”
I considered that for a moment. Kormen had always been there for me. He had never treated me like more than just a friend. He’d also never dated anyone seriously or mentioned wanting to be with any of the many women who made their intentions with him clear. Unheard of amongst warriors of his standing. With our lack of females, most were indulged and prone to given whatever they wanted, especially sex with warriors who considered it an honor if a child was created. I remembered the look on his face when he’d told me everything would be okay. How long had he know he was intended as my mate? How long had he pretended to be my friend for that reason alone? How long had I really been such an idiot?
“Why do you call me little fox?”
If he was bothered by my change in subject he didn’t let it show. Instead a small smile curved sensuous lips.
“Have you never heard of the arctic fox?”
I had. A small, all white creature. Cunning and fierce. Was that how he saw me?
“Where are you from? All my life I’ve been told dragons don’t exist.”
“I will show you,” he answered. Vague.
I glanced around the room. I wasn’t familiar with it, so it had to be his. One of the many guest rooms we had in the palace.
“I have to face them, don’t I?” I asked, glancing at the door.
“When you’re ready.”
The Queen had gone quiet. Not a good sign. She could be amassing the warriors as we sat here, but a thought occurred to me.
“The queen doesn’t know where you came from, right?”
He smiled as though he could read my—. Right. He actually could read my mind. That would take some getting used to.
“Your mother can’t send her army after my people. Her threats truly are empty.”
That was comforting. One less thing I needed to worry about. Now if only I could figure out why everything on me hurt so bad and why I felt so weak.
“You’ll feel that way until we finish the bond. I didn’t know we had to wait until your birthday. Had I known, I wouldn’t have initiated it. You’ll suffer because of me and for that I apologize. In my culture we mate as soon as we meet to keep our women from suffering and being vulnerable.”
“Vulnerable?”
“If you tried to use your power right now you wouldn’t have the energy needed to sustain it.”
I could hear the truth behind his words. I suspected he would never lie to me, but I needed my own confirmation. This vulnerability was not something our women faced. Turning my head toward the bed I blew a stream of air toward it. It frosted over, a thin layer of ice coating it, before my body slumped against his. Panic and horror grew as my breathing became labored. I felt weak as a lamb. How could I face anyone like this?
“You wouldn’t,” Valen answered aloud, placing his hand flat on the bed. The ice disappeared and his hand glowed slightly. “When our women are weakened and cannot complete the mating bond for whatever reason, it is an honor for their mate to stand as their protectors. I told you before, I’d keep you safe. I meant that. I could never promise you wouldn’t be harmed, but I would do everything in my power to eviscerate your enemies.”
Eviscerate, huh? And suddenly I didn’t feel so vulnerable anymore.
“Your birthday is on Christmas.”
It wasn’t a question, but I suspected he wanted an answer. I nodded my head.
“Where are the decorations?”
I could no longer meet his eyes. He could read my thoughts, so I didn’t understand why he didn’t know this.
“You do exceptionally well at blocking the thoughts you don’t want me to hear and broadcasting the ones you don’t care about me hearing.”
His voice inside my head after speaking aloud for so long caused me to jump.
“How do I block you?”
Broad shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. Something so childish on a man his size seemed almost comical.
“At this point you should not be able to. The bond is still developing. This is the time we should be getting to know one another. Think of it as a failsafe. It’s natural to want to hide things from each other, but that could cause misunderstandings and lead to discord between us. The developing bond would keep us from hiding things and show us exactly who we are deep inside, so there would be no issues.”
Thick, calloused fingers stroked my cheeks before using my chin to lift my face.
“You’d have to be extremely strong to fight the bond. Not many could do it.”
“Like you?” I wondered aloud. I hadn’t heard any of his thoughts outside of the ones he ‘spoke’ or felt any of his emotions and anything I saw through him came through blurred or hazy. He shook his head.
“I’m not blocking you, little fox.”
Well, shit. It was me. I was blocking our bond and I didn’t even know how I was doing it.
“How do I stop?”
His eyes searched mine. What he looked for I didn’t know, but finally a hint of cockiness enter those beautiful orbs. Cupping my cheek he leaned forward, slowly, as if giving me time to stop him. His lips brushed mine, soft and teasing, before his tongue swept forward to caress the seam of my lips. I opened for him, my eyes closing. His hand slipped to the back of my head, pulling me in closer, melding his mouth to mine. Our tongues danced a sultry tango, pushing and pulling, twisting and twining. Pulling back slightly he nibbled my bottom lip before sucking it between his. I moaned deep in my throat as his kisses moved down to my neck.
“What do you feel, little fox?”
His lips and breath tickled my skin, distracting me from his question. I didn’t want to talk, to focus on stringing words together to form logical responses. I only wanted more of his mouth on me, all over me. A chuckle vibrated through him before he nipped my throat. And then I felt it. Joy, longing, need, pleasure. All multiplied tenfold. With a start I realized these weren’t just my feelings. They were his as well.
“What do you hear? What do you see?”
His forehead rested against mine as images and thoughts flashed through my mind. His images and thoughts. Images of me, white-haired, white-eyed, contrasting starkly against my dark chocolate skin tone and stunningly fierce. Beyond beautiful, as I battled him and his men. Holding them off, not because they were afraid to hurt me, but because I truly challenged them. It was their pride that I hurt more than my own warriors’. His pride had soared. As his mate, I had proved to be his equal and as his queen I would rule by his side. My eyes flew open and I stared at him in shock.
“You’re the crown prince of your people?”
“I am,” he confirmed. I didn’t know what caught me off guard the most, his title or me actually speaking to him by thought alone.
We didn’t get a chance to say anything more. His head snapped to the door and in a flash he’d placed me on the bed and moved across the room. Throwing the doors open he jumped into the fray, fighting
with his men. In my mind I could hear him telling me to run, to find somewhere safe to hide. My mind was sluggish, slow to comprehend what was truly happening and I sat there, dumbfounded. Lily burst through a hidden door and beckoned for me, just as I heard The Queen’s voice.
“Bring me my daughter, unharmed!”
“My princess, we must go. We cannot stay. The things they mean to do to you,” she cut her words abruptly, unable to finish her sentence. “We must go!”
She tried to help me from the bed, but I found myself reluctant to leave without Valen. I needed to stay and help him.
“She knows the plan, little fox. You’re too weakened to fight this time. Let her get you to safety and I will come for you.” He must have sensed my hesitancy because he spoke again. “I promise. I will come for you. Go now!”
With one final glance, I allowed Lily to lead me away. I struggled to remain upright, my legs felt too heavy to manage and I wanted nothing more than to stop and lie down. I ran until I could barely stand and just when I thought I would collapse, Lily announced that we’d made it. She pushed the door open and we stepped into a dimly lit hallway. Somewhere unseen, water dripped and the dank smell of mold I knew the sound and the smell well. When I didn’t perform the way she wanted, Celeste had me locked away in these dungeon cells beneath the palace. I spent plenty of time down here and my stomach roiled with the memories of starvation and wallowing in my own filth. I rallied my strength, determined to not spend an extra second in this place and hoping this wasn’t Lily’s final destination. Further ahead, I could make out forms, one tall and familiar. Even pissed off with him and still raw from his betrayal, I’d never been happier to see Kormen. Lily, however, froze where she stood.
