Heart of the High King (D'Vaire, Book 19)

by Jessamyn Kingley

  His mate kneaded Rafe’s gluteus muscles and while the human side of him wanted to be fucked, his dragon refused to wait that long. Instead, he pushed Aleksander away and tore his shirt open to bare his broad chest.

  Aleksander lifted a brow. “Is that the way you want it?” Without waiting for a response, Aleksander ripped the collar of Rafe’s soft T-shirt and shredded it in the middle. Latching on to Rafe’s neck, he sucked, making him moan loudly. Rafe wiggled, twisted, and bounced on the bed until he finally got his dick in contact with Aleksander’s.

  “We aren’t doing this with our jeans on,” Aleksander snarled, getting to his knees. With quick, economical motions, he undid his own belt and pants. Rafe bit his lip and undulated when Aleksander bared his cock. Once the other dragon’s clothes were on the floor, their gazes locked as Rafe fondled himself.

  “I need to bite you.”

  “Then stop playing with your dick.”

  Not able to think clearly with his dragon ruling his mind and his blood pumping through him with such heat, Rafe squeezed his hardness with a pout.

  With a roll of his eyes, Aleksander pushed Rafe’s hands aside and shoved down his zipper after popping open the button. “Not going to help, are you?” Aleksander asked, pulling and tugging on Rafe’s pants. Lifting his arms above his head, Rafe just enjoyed the friction of the cloth moving over him.

  “No.”

  When Aleksander finally had him naked, Rafe bolted up and hauled his other half to him. Aleksander lowered them to the mattress as he got his mouth on Rafe’s neck again as he rocked his hips, making their cocks rub against one another. It was glorious and while Rafe would have liked to enjoy making love, he was too full of lust to allow it to linger. His legs wrapped around Aleksander, and his hips snapped up ever faster as he raced to completion. His closed lids were squeezed so tight, colors danced across them, and Rafe was cursing a blue streak in between chants of Aleksander’s name. When Rafe fisted a chunk of Aleksander’s hair, without any hesitation, his mate bared his throat.

  With a quick lick, Rafe’s teeth punched through his skin. An image filled his head of two silver cords twisting around one another as they formed an endless loop, and he didn’t need to be told that it was their souls binding at long last. The lost halves of a whole were now found, and Rafe pulled Aleksander tight into his arms after pulling his fangs free. Sealing his bite with a sweet kiss, he was surprised when Aleksander tensed in his hold.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Look at my arm,” Aleksander whispered.

  When Rafe opened his eyes, they met Aleksander’s, and there was nothing but love in them. His attention went to his biceps, and Aleksander’s mating mark had changed to showcase his dragon instead of a washed-out outline.

  “Why isn’t my dragon black?” Rafe asked in wonder.

  Aleksander’s brows drew together as he contorted himself to see the dragon that was mostly black but had thin streaks of blue dancing across his scales. His mate laughed. “I guess I’m no longer the only bicolor dragon.”

  “I’m not bicolor; I’ve just got some streaks, and they’re your dragon’s fault. Sorry about the whole ‘attacking you’ thing. Guess my dragon waited long enough.”

  “My only complaint was the searing pain in my arm right after a blistering orgasm.”

  Rafe kissed him softly. “We did good.”

  “We always do, and no more excuses, Your Highness. We’re going to add your dragon to the D’Vaire crest.”

  “What if we didn’t?”

  “Excuse me?” Aleksander asked, his voice growing testy. It was rather amusing that Aleksander was so set on making sure he had his spot in the crest, but Rafe had thought long and hard about how he wished to be honored, and it made sense to him that it be something that had always brought him joy.

  “What if we put my sword on it? We could put it right behind the entire thing. It would keep the image clear and be easy to add to the pieces of jewelry, the wall in the throne room, and shit like that.”

  Aleksander’s grin flashed. “You’re a genius. I love it. It’s a good damn reminder how amazing you are at swordplay.”

  “I love you, Sander. Forever.”

  Lowering so they were pressed close again, Aleksander brushed his mouth over Rafe’s. “I’ll always love you too, Rafe. Thank you for wanting to spend eternity with me.”

  Rafe rubbed Aleksander’s back as their skin cooled and they simply enjoyed being together. “Hey.”

  “Yeah?”

  “What do you say we try this dragon bite thing again? Except this time, I get fucked and we both chomp.”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Aleksander responded just before their lips met.

  Chapter 75

  Aleksander winked at Rafe when his mate curled up next to him on the sofa. In Rafe’s hands was his tablet, because the High King simply could not imagine going to one of their weekly meetings without an agenda. The last hour he’d spent refining the things he wished to discuss while Aleksander had brushed the two wolves. There was plenty of muttering from Rafe, and Aleksander had simply watched him with a smile on his face.

  They’d nearly missed dinner again, but it wasn’t because they were rolling around on the sheets. Both men had been soaring above the land of D’Vaire with their wings spread and the wind whipping their scales. Rafe was determined to keep a strong connection with his dragon and had shifted nearly every day in the past two weeks since he’d miraculously regained his beast. No one could answer the question of how it’d happened, least of all Rafe, but no one was complaining.

  Although there was healing yet to do as Rafe continued to work through everything that had befallen him, he wore an unmistakable and hard-fought aura of confidence, proving that Aleksander had chosen his hero well. The truth was, he loved Rafe with a strength he couldn’t have guessed before they met. With such joy overflowing his heart, he kissed his temple.

  Aleksander grinned at the D’Vaires. “We’d like to thank you guys for coming to our meeting tonight. Dra’Kaedan, what’s up with the sanctuary?”

  “Nothing new this week.”

  “Okay, hopefully we’ll get some great applications soon. Rafe, what’s on your agenda?”

  “This week our guidebook team—”

  “It’s Team Rafe,” Renny interrupted, pointing to his shirt with those very words printed on it in navy.

  “Give in gracefully,” Dra’Kaedan advised. “Accept that you’re mated to Lankenstein and that any project you tackle will be hereby known as Team Rafe.”

  “Is there a Team Aleksander, then?” Rafe demanded.

  “I’m thinking Bigfoot Bunch…or Lankenstein Crew. Maybe Tallosaur Troop,” Dra’Kaedan’s voice trailed off as he continued muttering different ideas.

  “I suppose it could be worse, Squirt. You could’ve gone with Aleksander’s Asshats.”

  “You’re so perfect, Bigfoot,” Dra’Kaedan crowed.

  “Anyway, Rafe. You were saying?” Renny prompted.

  “There’s a box in our office with sample copies of the guidebook for here and Elven D’Vaire. Jeremiah has spearheaded artwork for the welcome packets, which we’re going to put on T-shirts and stuff. You can select your favorites. Go through everything carefully, and give me your corrections so we can refine, add, or remove based on what makes the most sense. Don’t take forever, though—we want to get the final products ready to go whenever we add a new person to either sanctuary,” Rafe instructed.

  “Is ten days enough?” Aleksander asked.

  “Yeah, I think so. If you can’t do it all or whatever in that timeframe, that’s okay. There are enough of us that I think we’ll still get plenty of feedback. In the future, we can continue to edit this thing to keep it accurate and to improve its functionality. Any questions?”

  “Okay, my turn,” Aleksander said when no one had anything to add. “And I’m going to beg forgiveness for this one because it occurred to me as he was preparing his agenda and we didn’t get
to discuss it. But I think it’s time to redesign our office.”

  “You do?” Rafe asked.

  “Yep. It’s not just the two of us in there, and Worth’s goes unused a lot. Kitchi, you go between there and sharing Ashby’s space in his outdoor office. I’d like to suggest that we combine the spaces into a large one. We can have desks for the four of us perhaps on the perimeter of the room, then put a round table in the center so if Mac, Brogan, or whoever else is around wants a space to work, they’ve got one.”

  Rafe nodded. “I like it. What if we did outdoor access? That way we can take the wolves out and make it easier to go between our space and the office building behind the house.”

  “We could put in a pretty gravel path and landscaping, so it looks like it was always intended to be that way,” Dravyn suggested.

  “Jeremiah, would you be willing to do a giant mural in there for us?” Aleksander asked.

  “Are you kidding? I’m honored.”

  “Put some big fancy script above the double doors for the High Kings,” Brogan suggested.

  “Definitely,” Worth added. “This is perfect. I hate the quiet.”

  Aleksander’s middle brother had spent a century in near solitude, and if he could be around another person, Worth would do it in a heartbeat. Even when alone, Worth would not sit in silence and kept the television or music playing.

  “Awesome, I’ll call Harley in the morning.”

  “If we’re changing the house, how about adding a mailroom? Kendrick and I have to hunt for everyone each time it’s delivered,” Noirin suggested.

  “Oh, that would be cool,” Renny enthused. “There’s that stupid closet near the front door that no one uses. How about that? We could each decorate a mailbox and you guys could just sort it in there, or get someone else to do it if you don’t want to.”

  “Any objections?” Aleksander asked. When none were voiced, he smiled. “What else?”

  “Back to me, I guess,” Rafe commented when no one spoke up. “Okay, so here’s what I was thinking. We have these extended family gatherings regularly and even when it’s just us, there are impromptu events like pajamas and popcorn but nothing planned. What if we put together themed stuff that people could attend? It’d be great to build a sense of community, especially for new people, and I think it would be a lot of fun.”

  “You mean like having a set night for pajamas and popcorn?” Renny asked.

  “Maybe we do a themed night once a week and for our more extravagant ideas we set aside a whole weekend. Attendance would be voluntary, but we do some kind of RSVP so we can plan accordingly. I just jotted down a few ideas, but I was thinking of simple things like having a spirit day. So, maybe we’re just doing something basic like wearing D’Vaire logo stuff if nobody wants to get too involved. Or we can have scavenger hunts, casino nights, magical and dragon jousts complete with medieval outfits, expand the popcorn nights to themed food bars, karaoke nights, or maybe an entire elven weekend. Stuff like that.”

  While Aleksander loved the idea, he wasn’t sure if the family agreed when no one said a word. Around the room was excitement and perhaps a bit of mindful thinking.

  Noirin lifted a hand. “Sorry, can’t talk right now. Too busy designing my mashed potato bar for the next movie night.”

  “S’mores bar,” Kendrick shouted.

  “What if we did a talent show?” Larissa asked. “We have so many artistic and clever people, and it would be something for Pyxlevir to get excited about.”

  Aleksander dearly hoped she would not sign up to sing; the woman was tone-deaf and made up her own words. Every holiday season he suffered through it but would never tell her she was awful because he loved her.

  “No judging, though,” Rafe stated.

  “Murder mystery weekend,” Blodwen yelled; then she slapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes darted left and right. “I didn’t mean to scream that.”

  Rafe shrugged. “My brother was already bellowing about his s’mores.”

  “What about different gaming competitions? We could do some video ones, board ones, or cards,” Scheredin suggested.

  “I so want a sentinel weekend so I can wear the uniform Alaric got me for three days straight,” his familiar, Brexton, added.

  “Not necessarily an event in the same way as you guys are thinking but what if we organized a book club?” Trystan asked.

  “I would love to do that,” Dravyn assured him.

  “Me too,” Rafe responded. “Okay, I think we’ve got enough to get started. I’ll send out an email to everyone with everything we’ve come up with and include our entire extended family. I’m going to have you guys pick three you think would be fun, and we’ll see if we can get a consensus to figure out where to begin. I’ll start a schedule. I’m going to set up a specific email box for this so you can send in suggestions, reviews of what went right and wrong after something, and shit like that. Sound good?”

  “Nicely done,” Aleksander told his mate and kissed him. It didn’t surprise him in the least that somehow Rafe would find a way to bring their family closer together by building an atmosphere that radiated fun and inclusiveness.

  ∞∞∞

  One thing Aleksander would never grow accustomed to was being out in public, but Their Majesties had insisted on a grand ball to celebrate the matebond of the only two High Kings in the Council of Sorcery and Shifters. So, Aleksander stood next to Rafe, who was looking especially gorgeous in his tuxedo. Larissa had replaced every sash in the household with ones that showcased both Aleksander’s and Rafe’s dragonskins twisted together. The members of Elven D’Vaire that lived at their home had painstakingly created formal versions that had their family name elegantly scripted in an intricate mix of metallic silver and gold beads.

  Not only did the sashes required by dragons get updated but so had the crowns Aleksander and Rafe wore since his mate’s beast was no longer plain black. It was still a bit of a shock to Aleksander’s system not to see a set of bright blue orbs, but he’d wanted those dark scales for Rafe, so he smiled as their gazes met. It was interesting that Mortis’s eyes were still the same stunning azure, but perhaps his resurrection spell hadn’t taken into account the possibility of Rafe’s reconnection with his dragon.

  “Do you want me to do this?” Aleksander asked.

  Rafe smiled, and Aleksander was so incredibly proud of the self-assurance that radiated from him. His mental strength had been hard-fought, and he’d worked vigorously to set aside the pain of what he’d been through. The shadows in his gaze were fading a little with each day, and he held his head high. “I’ve got it. You hate crowds and people staring at you. I’m happy to handle my duty as ruler of D’Vaire for our dragon trainer.”

  “Plus, Jeremiah is the first applicant approved for Dra’Kaedan’s Coven in the Rafe era.”

  “Seriously, Rafe era?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why didn’t I get to select the venue?”

  “Because nothing is more extraordinary than being knighted in Their Majesties’ throne room.”

  “We have a new one and you prefer home. It would’ve been just as impressive there,” Rafe argued, as always, ready to fiercely defend everyone but especially Aleksander. It was an honor to stand next to such a proud warrior.

  “I appreciate that you want to protect me, but it’s fine,” Aleksander assured him.

  “Okay, but you don’t have to come up and stand with me. I know you hate crowds and people staring at you.”

  Aleksander grabbed his hand and led him toward the dais, where Chrysander and Ellery were getting the attention of their guests. “I’m just going to focus on you and not worry about them. It’s only going to take a few minutes; then I’d like to try to dance with you.”

  “We’ll probably make asses of ourselves. I don’t know how to dance.”

  “We can wait for a slow song and just stare at each other dreamily while we sway to the beat.”

  “I might kiss you, so be prepared.”


  “Duly noted,” Aleksander responded with a grin while their two giant wolves sat sentry on either side of them. The dukes of D’Vaire flanked their High Kings as they stood behind Their Majesties.

  “My fellow Council leaders. Your Highnesses and Your Graces. Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for taking the time to be with His Majesty and me tonight as we celebrate the incomparable matebond of High King Aleksander and High King Rafe. As an extension of the royal court, His Majesty and I consider the D’Vaires family, and we have had the honor of getting to know High King Aleksander over several years now. He was once shunned, which was a failure of the Court of Draconis but no longer does anyone believe he is anything less than a dragon of integrity, honor, and trustworthiness. His Majesty and I have a deep abiding love that we wished High King Aleksander could find, and let me assure you, he most certainly has,” Ellery stated.

  “High King Rafe is a survivor of extraordinary tragedy, and those around him are still baffled as to where he manages to find such courage and determination. That alone would be enough to earn him the title he now shares with his other half, but it’s just the surface of a complicated man with a heart whose only equal rests in High King Aleksander’s chest. As a dragon, I am most proud that Fate bestowed them both with beasts distinctly dual-colored,” Chrysander said. “When I approached the two to extend an invitation to celebrate the love which has grown between them, the two humble men who prefer to shun the spotlight had only a single request. High King Rafe?”

  “Thank you, Your Majesties,” Rafe replied. The two powerful dragons stepped aside. “Not only for your kind words about His Highness and me, but for this opportunity to stand before everyone here this evening. Standing on either side of His Highness and me are four dukes and the only duchess who made history by not simply becoming the first woman to have a title bestowed on her but by earning the hell out of it centuries ago. Each of them has a role in our household, and His Highness and I cannot imagine a better team. Tonight, we add another to their ranks. Jeremiah D’Vairedraconis, will you join us?”