13
Slade
An hour after we’d retreated to our guest rooms, a knock sounded on my door. I’d been preparing for bed and wore only my trousers, but I assumed it was Kira knocking and went to let her in. Instead I found Faya at my door.
She wore a thin gray dress that hugged her curves, her sword was gone, and her face was as lovely as I remembered, though her thick hair had been cut short and she looked like a mature woman now, instead of the fresh-faced girl I’d known. We’d both gained several years since we’d last seen each other.
My jaw clenched and I checked the hallway behind her to make sure we were alone. “You have some nerve coming here at this hour. And alone, too.”
“I simply came to talk, nothing more,” Faya said.
“We have nothing to talk about.”
“Maybe you don’t, but I do.” She stepped forward, her voice low but genuine. “Slade, I’m sorry for what I did all those years ago. I know I hurt you terribly, and that was never my intention. I made so many mistakes back then.”
I’d waited years to hear this apology, but now it was a little too late. I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorway. “Yes, you did.”
“I understand if you can never forgive me, but I wanted to apologize anyway since we’ll be working together. Parin said it was foolish, but I had to try to make this situation less awkward. There are bigger things at stake here than our feelings.”
“That’s the only reason I’m here,” I said, my voice gruff. Everything about this encounter made me uncomfortable, but for Kira’s sake I should try to get along with Faya and Parin. I forced myself to uncross my arms and loosen my shoulders. “When did you and Parin wed?”
“Six years ago.”
“Are you happy?”
“I am. This is my place—at Parin’s side.” She gave me a slight smile. “And you? I can’t imagine you were pleased about being chosen as one of Kira’s mates.”
“I wasn’t at first, but I’ve come to accept my destiny.”
Her smile widened as amusement danced in her eyes. “I always knew you were destined for greatness.”
I snorted. “I never wanted greatness. I wanted a home, a family, and a warm meal on the table. Nothing more.”
“So you say, but it was obvious to me that neither of us was meant for a quiet life in Clayridge. We weren’t meant for each other either.“ She paused as she studied my face. “Are you fond of her, at least?
“I am.”
“Good. I hope one day you get your home and family with her, even if you’ll never have a simple life.” She reached up and touched my cheek, her fingers soft. “I want you to be happy too, Slade. Even if it’s not with me.”
A sense of peace settled over me. I touched her hand gently as it pressed against my cheek. “Thank you. And I’m sorry for everything I did too. I wasn’t the perfect fiancé either.”
A soft noise in the hallway caught my attention. I pulled away from Faya and peered around her to see if someone was there, but didn’t spot anyone lurking about. I shook my head and stepped back, meeting Faya’s eyes. “I appreciate your apology. Working together won’t be a problem.”
She inclined her head. “I’m glad to hear it. Have a good night, Slade.”
“And you, Faya.”
I shut the door and retreated back inside my room. It was small, little more than a bed with a table beside it, and the walls were rough, unfinished wood. The entire building housed traveling Resistance members when they stopped into Slateden, so it made sense there was nothing fancy about it, although the state of the wood did irritate me. Based on the construction of the building and most of the rest of the town, I guessed it had all been erected quickly and with the least amount of work or supplies.
Back when I’d helped the Resistance they’d had small camps that moved constantly to avoid detection, with other members hiding in different towns. I’d housed a few of them myself many times due to Faya’s involvement with them.
Looking back, I should have seen that Faya would leave me for this life, and knew I should have cut her loose long ago. She’d never wanted to stay in Clayridge and be the wife of a blacksmith—she’d always had a need to fight. She’d broken my heart, betrayed my trust, and made me question whether I could love again—but seeing her today only made me realize it had all been for the best. She’d been my first love and an important part of my past, but she wasn’t my future. Kira was—and I knew what I felt for her surpassed anything I’d once felt for Faya.
14
Kira
She’s touching his face.
Pain lanced through me at the sight, especially when he didn’t pull away. They spoke in low voices in his doorway and then he laid his hand over hers on his cheek. He wore no shirt, she wore a dress that left little to the imagination, and it was far too late for a social call. He should have sent her away, but instead he looked at her tenderly—and my heart broke.
I quickly rushed away, unable to stand the sight of them together for another second. Faya must have gone to Slade’s room to rekindle their old romance and he hadn’t sent her away. If I stayed longer would I watch him invite her inside? I couldn’t bear the thought.
I’d visited the washroom and had decided to check on Slade to see how he was doing after seeing Faya again, but then I’d caught the two of them together. The anguish was so strong it was hard to see straight, and I reached for anger to steady me, like I’d done after Tash’s death. How could Slade do this to me? Did he feel nothing for me at all? I was his mate. He was mine. Mine.
I found myself stumbling through the hallway away from the scene, but I didn’t stop at my room. Instead I sharply banged on the one next to it.
Jasin opened the door with a grin. Like Slade, he wore only his trousers, and the sight of his naked chest ignited a fire inside me. His grin faded when he saw my face. “Kira, are you all right?”
“I want…I need…” I shook my head, unable to find the words to describe the turmoil inside me. I wanted to tear something apart with my bare hands. I wanted to lose myself for the rest of the night. I wanted someone to desire me as much as I desired them.
Somehow Jasin knew exactly what I needed, because he dragged me against him and slanted his mouth across mine. He kicked the door shut and I heard it bang behind us as I met his kiss with equal force, sliding my tongue against his. His hands were rough and demanding as they moved down my body, following my curves. I clutched his bare shoulders and pressed against him, craving his passion, his strength, his fire.
Warmth poured through me at his touch and I forgot everything but the heat of his lips and the feel of him against me. I ran my hands down his sculpted chest as my entire body sang with need for him. Through our bond I felt his lust rising too, along with his desire to claim me, please me, love me.
He pushed me back against the hard wall and his dark eyes met mine. I stared back at him, licking my lips, and he let out a low groan before taking my mouth again in a searing kiss. His hands moved down to yank my dress up to my thighs, baring me to him. I reached for the fall of his trousers at the same time and yanked them open. I was desperate to feel every hard inch of him inside me. There was no holding back, not tonight.
His fingers slipped between my legs, where he found my pulsing hot core already wet for him. My nipples tightened as he dipped between my folds, and I took hold of his cock in response. It strained toward me, hard, hot, and throbbing. His fingers plunged deep inside me, but I needed more. I needed all of him.
“Jasin,” I gasped, as I lifted a leg to wrap around his hips, trying to bring him closer.
In response, he lifted me up and pinned me against the wall, aligning our bodies together. My back arched as he filled me completely, all the way to the hilt. We both groaned and clung to one another as we were joined, and I realized it was just the two of us for the first time since the Fire Temple. No Auric tonight, just me and my Crimson Dragon becoming one.
He planted a hand on the
wall by my head while the other curved around my bottom, holding me in place as he began to thrust into me. My legs tightened around him and I moaned as his mouth moved to my neck. He took me with pure, unleashed need, and I couldn’t get enough.
“Mine,” I whispered, as I dug my nails into his behind, pulling him deeper into me. Jasin had been my first mate and he’d never wavered in his devotion to me. He’d loved me from the beginning…and he knew exactly how to drive me wild.
“Always.” He slammed into me, claiming me as his mate too.
We fell into a passionate rhythm of push and pull, give and take, in and out. Soon there was no more talking, only heavy breathing as the friction between us built. My body seemed to wind tighter and tighter with each slide of his cock, and when he lifted me up higher to get a deeper angle, I fell apart. I clenched around him as pleasure pulsed through me, and I felt his own release only moments later, not just in my body but through our bond. He called out my name and buried himself in me one last time as his hot seed filled me.
Jasin brought his lips to mine again for a slow, loving kiss while we clung to each other and the last flames of passion faded. My heart pounded and I couldn’t quite catch my breath, but the earlier tension was gone thanks to Jasin. He carried me to his bed and set me down in it, then wrapped his body around mine. He was so warm it was almost too much, but I couldn’t bear the thought of moving away.
“I love you,” he said, brushing his lips against my shoulder.
I relaxed against him even more. “I love you too.”
“When you arrived you seemed upset. Do you want to talk?”
“No.” I’d have to deal with Slade eventually, but not tonight. All I wanted now was to sleep next to my mate.
Jasin nodded and let it go, and that was why I’d come to him and no other. I’d wanted his fiery passion and the release he could bring, not Auric with his probing questions and kind eyes, or Reven with his cold voice and icy distance. Jasin had given me exactly what I’d needed, and now his love wrapped around me like a comforting blanket. The bond between us flared brighter than ever before, causing my emotions and his to become one big jumble of satisfaction and love.
It gave me an idea.
I turned in his arms to face him. “I think I know how to increase the bond between you and Auric. We need to invite him to bed again.”
Jasin flashed a naughty grin as he brushed a piece of hair off my cheek. “Whatever my lady desires.”
15
Kira
Over the next day, my mates and I met with Parin, Faya, and other members of the Resistance to discuss strategy and make plans. Though I was ostensibly in charge among our group of Dragons, I felt comfortable leaving most of the decisions in this matter to my mates. Jasin had served in the Onyx Army for many years, Reven was an expert at stealth and infiltration, Auric was a fountain of knowledge, and Slade knew both the layout of the Earth Realm and the Resistance’s inner workings. It’d be stupid now to ignore their expertise, and I was quite content to sit back and let them work, although I chimed in whenever I had an idea.
By the end of the day, we’d worked out a plan. In a week’s time many members of the Resistance, along with Jasin and Auric, would ambush a large Onyx Army fort known as Salt Creek Tower. We believed a direct attack against such an important location would force any Dragons at the Earth Temple to come out to defend it, especially once they realized two of my mates were there too. The fort was close enough to the Earth Temple that the Dragons could fly there quickly, but not too close that it would be an obvious distraction. Once they were gone, Slade, Reven, and I would sneak through a back tunnel into the Earth Temple so we could complete the bonding. If Slade still wanted that.
I’d avoided him all day, and every time Faya spoke my stomach clenched tight. My mind kept drifting back to that image of the two of them standing together, before wondering what had occurred afterward. I tortured myself with thoughts of the two of them in bed together, and they only made my anger and misery grow.
But I couldn’t avoid Slade forever.
It was late by the time we went back to our rooms, but I never made it to mine. Slade stopped me with a large hand on my shoulder. He turned me back to face him and my chest hardened.
“Is something wrong?” he asked. “You’ve been unable to meet my eyes all day.”
My fists clenched at my side. “I saw you last night…with her.”
Understanding dawned across his face. “She came to apologize. Nothing more.”
“It looked like a lot more than that,” I said, remembering the way he’d covered her hand with his own.
He shook his head. “We talked, that was all. We both needed some closure so we could work together without any problems. But I swear, nothing happened.”
My jaw clenched and I looked away. “How am I supposed to believe you?”
He took my chin and dragged my eyes back to his. Sometimes I forgot how unusually green they were, as if he’d been chosen by the Earth God from the moment he’d been conceived. “I haven’t kissed a woman other than you in eight years. And that’s the way I plan to keep it.”
His lush mouth found mine and he gave me a kiss that left me with few doubts of his sincerity. Even when we’d first met I’d found myself staring at his full lips and wondered what it’d feel like with them against my own, and the reality was even better than I could have imagined. He coaxed my mouth open and worked magic with every stroke of his tongue, making me melt against him.
“I don’t want Faya,” he said against my lips. “Only you.”
“Slade…” I pressed my forehead against his. I’d waited so long to hear those words from him and I wasn’t prepared for the rush of emotions that swept through me when it finally happened.
He took my arm in his and moved us into my guest room, then softly shut the door. Once we were alone, he lovingly caressed my cheek as he gazed into my eyes. “Speaking with Faya only made me realize the depth of my feelings for you. I tried to deny them for so long, but I won’t do it any longer. I can’t.”
“Finally,” I said, as I pressed another kiss to his lips.
“Yes. I’m sorry it took me so long.” He drew me into his arms and against his broad, muscular chest. I let my arms slide around his neck, clinging to him as the sensual kiss swept us both away. His long, hard length pressed against my stomach, and I groaned when I realized his desire mirrored my own.
His kisses made my knees weak, and I pulled us both down to sit on the bed. I needed to touch him, to taste him, to confirm he was mine. I gripped his shirt and dragged it up his chest, and our lips broke apart for only a few seconds as he helped me lift it off him. My hands splayed across his hard stomach, feeling the smooth ridges of his muscles and all the coiled power underneath. His skin was so dark against mine, and I loved the contrast between us. Hard and soft, dark and light, male and female—a perfect balance for each other.
He left a slow, delicious trail of kisses down my neck that had me aching for more. And when he pushed my dress off one shoulder and pressed his lips to my uncovered skin, I couldn’t help but moan.
“I want you,” I said, sliding my hands down to the hard bulge I’d felt earlier.
He caught my hand in his much larger one, stopping me from opening his trousers. “Not yet. Not until the Earth Temple.”
An overwhelming need to be joined with Slade made it hard for me to think, to breathe, to live. “Please, I can’t wait. Let me touch you at least.”
He dragged my dress lower, until it freed one of my pale breasts. “When I finally take you, I want it to be in the Earth Temple before the Gods. I want everyone to know that I’m your mate for all eternity.” His mouth continued lower, along the curve of my bosom. “But somehow I can’t seem to stop myself.”
“There are other things we can do,” I said, as my hand moved to the back of his head, holding him against my chest.
He let out a low chuckle that vibrated against my skin. “Yes, there are.�
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He took the hard bud of my nipple between his lips then, making me gasp. His tongue slid along my sensitive skin, awakening every nerve in my body and sending a rush of heat between my thighs.
Just when it became almost too much, he tugged the other side of my dress down and began to lavish attention on that breast too. I threw my head back and succumbed to the pleasure of his mouth all over me, and the relief that came with knowing he wanted me as much as I wanted him. For so long I’d thought he wasn’t interested in me romantically or sexually, that he was only with me out of duty and loyalty, but with every stroke of his tongue and sensual touch of his hands he showed me how wrong I’d been.
I dragged him back up to my lips, needing to kiss him again, and we fell back into the bed together. While our mouths collided, our hands slowly explored each other’s bodies over our clothes. We touched each other like we had all the time in the world, so different from my encounter with Jasin last night, but just as satisfying.
While we kissed, my legs tangled with Slade’s and my skirts inched their way up around my thighs. I felt one of his large hands settle on my bare skin just above my knees almost possessively, and I held my breath as he began to inch his way upward.
When his fingers drew close to my core, I draped my thigh over his hip, spreading wide for him. I stroked his bearded jaw and stared into his rich, emerald eyes. “Touch me,” I whispered.
His thumb brushed that spot between my thighs, and I gasped. Yes, that was where I needed him. Ever so slowly he ran another finger along my wet folds, tracing my skin and learning me with exquisite patience. My hips strained toward him, craving more, and I was rewarded by the slow slide of one of his large fingers inside me.
I reached for his trousers again and this time he didn’t stop me as I slipped inside and took hold of him. His cock was so thick it barely fit in my hand, and was the perfect mix of velvety soft and rock hard. I couldn’t wait to feel it inside me, but for now I was content to wrap my fingers around its length. Slade groaned as I took him in hand and seemed to get even harder somehow. The sound, deep in his throat and all male, only made me desire him even more.
Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series Page 39
