“Thanks, Taylor.”
“Sorry we couldn’t retrieve any of the info stored there,” Kira said, sticking close to Ryder.
Which he loved.
Taylor shrugged. “We’ve got more than enough to work with. Honestly, I’m just glad the light fae’s foothold here on Earth has been severely shaken.” He turned and smiled at the two of them. “I’m even more glad you two seem to be doing okay.”
Ryder grinned, not caring how smitten he looked. “I mean, I still have a lot to explain. And we…”
Taylor just gave them a stern glance. “Wait. You still haven’t told her everything?” He folded his arms. “You two get out of here and settle things, then.” There was a hint of a smile as he said it. “We’ll take care of the rest.”
“You mean stare at a hole in the ground?” Landon asked.
Ryder took Kira’s hand. “How about back to your place?”
“You mean our place?”
He just smiled wider than perhaps he ever had in his entire life, picked up his mate, and took off, headed for home.
Because wherever Kira was, that was home.
20
When they were back at her place, Kira still felt shaken by the rapid turn of events.
But they were back together, a partnership again, and that was what mattered.
She still wasn’t sure exactly what to say about their past, about everything that had happened between them.
They went inside and she locked the door, and there was an odd, awkward silence between them as Kira shrugged out of her coat and sat down on the couch, motioning for him to join her.
He did, sitting close enough so their legs could barely touch.
“I’m sorry, Kira,” he said. “You’ve been through so much with me.”
“Me?” Surprise moved through her. “But you—”
“Yes,” he said. “You’ve carried the weight of our past alone. What was it like being with me this whole time, me never knowing?”
“So you remember the rest? All of it this time?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry for the confusion. For saying I remembered everything before. I didn’t. Taylor had to help me.”
“How?”
“I went to him, distraught, and he told me I was wrong about you. Apparently, there was something wrong with my head.”
She let out a sigh, mostly of relief. “I thought you’d had your memory erased upon being rescued.” She looked up at him. “Like we do at the SRP. That’s why I didn’t force the issue.” She pressed her lips together. “But honestly… when I saw you, all I could think was that you were alive. I’d had you transferred to save you, and when I heard the lab had blown up…”
Ryder smiled, looking proud of himself. “I exploded it. I think deep inside, my dragon was looking for you.”
“How did you feel, being transferred? Were you mad at me?”
“No.” Ryder shook his head. “I didn’t blame you. I just missed you. And every day, it was harder to stay away. But I guess it got to be too much for my dragon, and we destabilized. Luckily, that was the day Dallin had come for me.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
His gaze was warm as he studied her, and she could tell he truly had remembered. He was looking at her like he had back then. When everything had been so bleak and they were the only light in each other’s worlds.
But there was more depth, more history between them now.
Because they’d been out here in the light. Fighting for justice outside a cage.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “For how confusing things have been. For making you feel like you were in a no-win situation.”
“No,” she said. “I’m the one who’s sorry for not telling you, for… getting involved even when I thought you had tried to forget me.”
He grinned. “I’m so glad you did. I’m so glad you gave me time to remember.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I guess you find me irresistible?”
She nodded, unable to joke about such a subject. “I couldn’t hold back no matter how I tried. You were different the moment I saw you. The only experiment to make me feel like that. When I saw you again, I couldn’t let you go.”
He reached out and pulled her in against him for a hug. “I’m so glad you didn’t, sweetheart. I need you with everything I have.” He sighed, letting her go just enough that he could talk to her. “My dragon was in so much pain without you. I think I knew somewhere inside me that I loved you from the moment you came back into my life.”
She grinned. “We did get involved quickly. But maybe you’re just a charmer like that.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Absolutely not. You can ask anyone.”
She frowned. “So… are we really okay?”
He nodded. “I mean, from here on out, we just have the future and whatever we want to make of it. And when either of us has a memory of our past, I’m happy to talk about it. But what matters to me is this feeling when I’m right here with you. My heart is happy. At peace. I would die for you. I want to be with you forever. Would you do that for me, Kira? Agree to be my mate? My soul bond? Whatever it is as long as we’re together?”
She nodded eagerly, throwing her arms around him again. This time when they pulled apart, she kissed him, grabbing his face in both hands.
She released him from the kiss and rested her head against his forehead. “I just love you so much, my dragon.”
“I love you too, my heart.”
She gave him a mischievous grin. “So… if we’re going to be mated… doesn’t that require some special things as a dragon?”
Heat rushed into his face, but he looked pleased that she knew. Dragons sealed their bond with sex. Fully coming together having agreed to be mated.
He nodded. “If you’re ready, I am. I don’t need another minute to know you’re it for me. My everything.”
“My thoughts exactly,” she said, reaching her arms up for him with a smile.
He stood and picked her up, and Kira was happier than ever before, knowing she was about to finally fully be one with her dragon.
Ryder growled as he pushed open the door to Kira’s bedroom, carrying her in easily. In the past days, he’d already become familiar with her arrangements and enjoyed many sleepless nights tangled with her on her bed.
From now on, though, things would be different. They were making a life together, one that wouldn’t be broken or torn apart ever again. So even the same places, the same things could feel different when how he felt about their future had changed.
And with Kira in his future, it was the first time it had been bright and hopeful in his entire life. Something to look forward to, someone to grow with, experiences to have and share.
Kira leaned up to kiss his neck, a hand tugging on his shirt, tearing it down the center, and she went wide-eyed.
“Oops, a little excited I guess,” she said.
“You and me both.” He leaned down to kiss her again, then looked himself over, realizing he was still in pretty bad shape.
Granted, he felt great inside. His green fae powers made it so he healed absurdly fast. But after flying all night, fighting a hybrid, and flying back, it would be nice to wash all of it off and start fresh.
A new beginning. With his mate.
“The bed’s over there,” she squeaked as he headed for the bathroom. “We normally don’t shower together. I’m not sure it’s big enough for—”
“We’ll make it work.” He opened the door to her bathroom, which had a single mirror, a shower with glass sides, and a little soaking tub. Just perfect for the two of them. “Besides, I can’t be close enough to you right now, though I know I’ll feel the same a hundred years from now.”
She flushed, the pink center of her irises glowing slightly as he turned on the tub, letting steam fill the room as he stripped his mate’s clothing off, loving the way she shivered as each piece fell to the floor. When she was done, he started to take off his own while Kira took ahold of his belt and undid it.
Then, to his surprise, she tore his shirt the rest of the way off, then his pants and underwear.
“Fae can get overeager too. Besides, I know you have spares.” She rubbed her body against his, and he reached down to squeeze her hips, watching her gaze turn into pure arousal as he lifted her in his arms and pressed himself against her already wet sex. And when she moaned, he wanted to stop and take her right there.
Instead, he carried her into the shower, letting the single head stream hot liquid over their skin. There was thankfully just enough space for them to move in, as he’d expected when he’d used it before.
He set Kira down, her legs slightly shaky, and took the body wash and pumped several handfuls that spilled over his hands and onto the floor. And when he lathered and spread it over her skin, Kira sighed, head tilted back as she allowed him to touch her, reminding him this was real, so real it was almost painful to believe.
The one he’d always wanted, his love and his friend and his whole world, right here in his arms.
He’d never take anything for granted again.
“So beautiful, Kira.” He leaned forward, placing kisses along her soapy skin along her shoulder, up her neck. In response, she tilted her body to meet him as though they were magnetized to each other in every way. “So mine. Always mine,” he murmured.
“Always.” The word uttered like a prayer from Kira’s mouth, and Ryder continued to run his hands down the small of her back, over her ass, down her hips and belly. And when he went lower, he came to one knee, feeling up her thighs and not being able to resist placing a single kiss on her center as water poured over his head, warm and refreshing and renewing.
When he was certain there wasn’t a spot he hadn’t touched, Kira gave him a wicked once-over that made him even harder than he already was. But when she took the soap in her hands, feeling his pecs and abs and shoulders, Ryder let her take as long as she wanted.
“I can’t believe we’ve come this far,” she said, biting her lower lip as she just enjoyed the sight of his pecs. “I mean, it’s not like this is our first time, but in a way, it kind of is.”
“Our first time with everything out in the open. Knowing what we know now. Reunited.” He reached up a hand to cup the back of her head, her soft waves dripping with water and tickling his fingers as he gazed into the depths of his lover’s eyes. “It’s only the start of everything. A future we both deserved and now we finally get to enjoy.”
In the air, he could feel their bond swirling between each other, brighter and stronger than ever before, the present and past combining into a unified whole.
He’d always loved her.
Now he got to love her forever.
“I love you, Kira. I’ll never be able to say it enough. But I love you so, so much,” he said.
“I love you too, Ryder.”
His lips crashed over hers, not caring that the glass was fogging up or the water was pouring over them or even what the world was doing outside these walls. He didn’t even need to press his tongue to the seam of her mouth. Her lips were already parted, begging for him as he thrust inside and licked all her sensitive spots.
He’d just enjoy getting to know her better every day.
In seconds, the kiss became more heated, more rushed as her moans against his mouth made Ryder even more urgent in his pleasuring. By the time they separated, they were both left gasping, hungrier than they’d ever been before, and Ryder immediately pressed her against the glass, her softness against his hardness everywhere.
There wasn’t time for words as he bit down lightly on the sensitive skin along her ear, hands cupping both her breasts and thumbs stroking over the hardened tips there. She mewled, falling into the sensations he gave as his palms slid over the wet skin effortlessly, intensifying her reaction and the erotic feel of their bodies together.
He loved to torture her like this, give her everything until she couldn’t hold any more. And when he slipped a hand between them, still using his body and her arms around his shoulders to keep her propped up, he could feel her wetness, how soaked she was just for him.
So fucking hot.
“Ryder.” She gasped as he worked over her clit with his finger, watching her eyes get wider as he teased her to the edge, then softened his touch just enough to make her wait. When she started to slip against the wall, he gathered both her hands in his and pinned them above her against the glass, holding her up as he slowly made little circles around her tiny nub.
“Watching you fall apart in my arms, by my touch…” He kissed her, taking her sounds of pleasure against his mouth as he kept stroking, then pulled away. “Magic.”
The air was getting hotter, though maybe it was just because the room was so filled it was like they were making love in the middle of a cloud now. A wet, steamy place where only he and she existed for each other.
He felt her legs clench just as he pushed her over the edge, felt her body tense, signaling its release. Ryder let go of her hands, letting them fall over his shoulders as he kept upright, letting her just fall into her orgasm with him right there.
Kira’s deep breath, the way he could feel the ripples through her body as her fingers dug into his back was so precious. Like sensual promises coming to fruition in his very arms.
“So intense standing like that,” she said, starting to relax.
“Then let me do the standing for you,” Ryder replied, grabbing her ass and picking her up effortlessly. He turned so they were facing the porcelain wall, the water streaming next to them rather than over them now.
Damn, he was so turned on by this woman, by his woman, it was hard to wait another second.
Then again, watching her come was amazing. Never too much of a good thing, as humans said.
She wrapped her legs around his midsection, watching him with such love in her eyes it was like staring at the sun. But he kept himself grounded in the moment, memorizing the shape of her face and the way her wet curls dripped over her shoulders. Memorizing the curve of her lips and the feel of her body melded to his.
And when he pressed his cock against her sex, letting his length stroke over her clit, she moaned so loud the sound echoed off the walls of the little bathroom in their home.
But one thing was never enough. And as he moved his body against hers, watching as her eyes rolled back more with each motion, he continued to kiss her neck, her cheek, her ear, her forehead. He wanted to shower her with all of his love, all of his devotion. So much they’d drown together and never resurface.
It wasn’t long before she was wrapped around him, clutching tightly as each thrust of his hips brought her closer and brought them nearer to each other in body and soul. And when she was gasping and unable to speak, he let the tip of his cock tease her soaked entrance, giving her a taste of what she’d have once he made her come again.
“How do you do this to me?” Ryder muttered against her skin as he went back to teasing her clit with his hardness. “I didn’t know life could be this good until I knew you. Now I’ll be craving you until the end of my days.”
“I guess I’ll just have to put up with being around my favorite, wonderful, sexy guy every day, then.” She looked directly at him, eyes glossy in a haze of lust, the center around her irises almost completely pink now, the radiant fae in her responding to their bond. “Nothing could possibly make me happier.”
At that, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled herself up to kiss him even as he continued to move her body over his, doing the work for both. It was sweet and romantic, then ended with a scream of pleasure as she arched back and came with one more stroke.
Ryder pulled her close, hugging Kira and keeping her balanced as she came and came until she was literally biting down on his shoulder from the released tension.
What she said. What she’d done for him. What they were now and would continue to be… Nothing could possibly make him happier.
When he was confident she’d regained her strength, Ryder turned off the
shower, turning on the fan so her whole place wouldn’t fog over and grabbing a towel to haphazardly dry Kira and himself. And as he carried her to the comfy-size bed in her room, their bodies were still glowing with exertion and leftover droplets, but neither of them cared.
He set her on the bed and came between her legs, loving how she was still wrapped around him like she didn’t want to let go. And when he slid inside her wet sheath, the room practically hummed with magic as their souls entwined and the dragon in him roared to finally claim its mate.
But Ryder just focused on Kira, letting everything else around him fall away while intense arousal built as he thrust into her with rhythmic motions, not pulling out all the way and using the right amount of speed to make her go wild.
As the moments progressed, him kissing her and her kissing him back, they started to go faster, their bodies familiar to each other and each knowing exactly how to ratchet each intense sensation up another notch.
Between harsh breaths and uttered oaths of love, Ryder continued to move forward, his entire body on fire with emotion and arousal so intense it could be painful. And in Kira’s eyes, in her furtive glances and emphatic sighs, he saw the same thing. He could hear her thoughts, know exactly how much she wanted him, as he continued—and would forever continue—to show Kira just how much he wanted her as well.
“So close. Not much longer,” Kira said.
The sounds of their still-wet bodies and their even wetter lovemaking filled the air like punctuated notes. And even through the haze of overwhelming want that was building inside Ryder to a fever pitch, he brought a hand up to cup her cheek, the feel of her nestling into it irresistible.
A second later, Ryder thrust into his mate one last time, feeling her slip over the edge as she clenched around him. The pressure, the waiting, the sensations—all of it gathered and exploded inside Ryder at the same time Kira’s release claimed her as well.
Together, they tumbled over the limit as Kira screamed his name again and again, and Ryder buried his head into her shoulder while powerful convulsions rocked through him from end to end.
Dragon Redeemed (Reclaimed Dragons Book 2) Page 15
