by Cara Wylde
Viggo had to suppress a moan. Her touch was soft, barely noticeable, but it was the first time they were sharing such an intimate moment, and he couldn’t end it. He simply couldn’t. His hands moved from the collar of her fur coat to her cheeks, and before either of them realized what was happening, their lips met. It was a small, gentle kiss at first, then Delyse pressed herself against him, and Viggo’s mind went blank. He parted her lips with his tongue, and she responded eagerly, twirling her tongue around his, opening her mouth wider so he could taste her, explore every crevice, drink her tiny moans. His cock was hard in his jeans, and her pussy was soaked under the many layers of clothes. She gripped the fabric of his shirt between her fingers, and Viggo responded by running his hands through her long hair.
“Mmm…” she moaned.
Viggo broke the kiss and opened his eyes. “Oh my God…”
She bit her lower lip, resisting the urge to throw herself at him again.
“This is wrong,” he said. He released her hair and took a step back.
Delyse let go of his shirt and squeezed her hands into fists at her sides.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Tears pooled at the corner of her eyes, but she had no idea why she was crying. Because she had just betrayed Eric’s trust? Because she wanted Viggo so badly but knew she couldn’t have him?
“No, no… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…” He ran his hands through his messy hair and looked at the sky. “Oh God…” His cock throbbed with need, his balls so heavy that if she touched him again, he was sure he was going to explode.
Delyse touched her lips. “It’s okay… It won’t happen again, I swear. I won’t… I won’t tell anyone…”
He looked at her and shook his head.
Her hand was covering her mouth now, in shock or in an attempt to keep the taste of his breath and tongue with her for a little longer, she couldn’t tell. Tears were running down her cheeks.
“I have to… I’m sorry.” Viggo turned around and headed towards the palace at a brisk pace.
Delyse blinked in confusion, then wiped the tears off her face as best as she could. He had just left her there, in the middle of the garden. He had walked away. But what else could he have done?
***
“You did what?!” Astrid yelled so loud that the whole island probably heard her. She realized it wasn’t a good idea to alert everyone about what was happening, so she lowered her voice the second time: “Viggo, you did what? Tell me I heard you wrong.”
Viggo pinched the bridge of his nose. He was sitting in an armchair in his sister’s room, staring at his feet. He couldn’t look her in the eyes, not yet.
“You heard me just right, Astrid.”
The female dragon raised her eyes to the ceiling, paced the room for a bit, then moaned in exasperation and stopped in front of her brother.
“You kissed her. You kissed Eric’s bride. Our Fyrstur’s bride. You’re insane.”
“I know, I know… I screwed up…”
Astrid looked at him for a long moment, then sighed and knelt, her hands on his knees.
“Yes, you screwed up, but not now. Not with this. You screwed up when you bought her for him. When you gave her to him on a silver platter.”
Viggo crossed his arms over his chest and finally met her gaze.
“You’re not helping,” he said.
“I can’t help you, brother. And when I tried to, months ago, you didn’t listen. There’s nothing I can do for you now.”
“You weren’t helping then, either. You just came up with a stupid idea.”
“Making Delyse your bride was a stupid idea? No. It was the only good thing you could have done for her and for yourself.”
“An Annarr can’t take a bride before his Fyrstur, you know that.”
Astrid rolled her eyes. “Fuck the rules! In the past 700 years, you were more of an Alpha than Eric has ever been.” She squeezed his knees. “You deserve to be happy, Viggo. You, more than anyone, and most certainly more than Eric.”
He pushed her hands away and jumped to his feet.
“Don’t talk like that.”
It was Astrid’s turn to cross her arms over her chest and fix him with a death glare.
“Or what? The big bad Alpha dragon will put me in my place? Give me a break! These days, Eric doesn’t know where his head is, which doesn’t affect him, anyway, because he thinks with his dick when he’s around her.”
“Astrid…” It was half a moan and half a warning. He felt uncomfortable every time someone badmouthed Eric. As his Beta, he couldn’t let that happen. Not on his watch. But Astrid was his sister, and he knew she wouldn’t shut up just because he said so.
“He doesn’t deserve her. You do. You should have bought her for yourself, claimed her, and made cute baby dragons. But noooo! You had to spend your days and nights concocting a complicated plan to convince poor, heartbroken Eric to get off his lazy ass and lead the clan, when you are perfectly aware you’ve been leading it for centuries without his help.”
“And how well did that work for us?” Viggo stared at her just as intensely, his brows furrowed. “It doesn’t matter how well I manage Clan Drekinn’s businesses. Our dragons need their leader, they need their Fyrstur awake, amongst them, breathing life into everything they do, giving them hope that they’re actually going somewhere, not running in circles for years and years on end.”
“You’re underestimating yourself…”
“I’m good at what I do. I know I am, Astrid, but I also know I’m not the man our dragons need. If I were, they wouldn’t have all gone into hibernation.”
Astrid didn’t say anything. He was right, unfortunately. To her, Viggo had always been the right Alpha. If he had wanted to take over Eric’s clan, her brother would have succeeded.
“You’re too loyal,” she said softly. “He doesn’t deserve this kind of loyalty.”
Viggo took a deep breath and tried to put his thoughts in order. The problem with having this sort of discussion with Astrid was that, sometimes, she was so damn close to convincing him of her perspective. He had to fight her with all his might, otherwise he risked believing he could actually be a Fyrstur, and it would all go to hell.
“Eric is difficult, but he can be a great Alpha. He just needs some time.”
Astrid smirked. “Sure, I get that. But that’s not what we’re talking about, is it? We’re talking about how he doesn’t deserve your loyalty and your sacrifice. And, you know what? No one does. No one should be so special and important that you’d sacrifice your happiness, and the happiness of the woman you love, for them.”
Viggo sighed and turned to leave.
“You got it all wrong. Why do I even bother talking to you?”
“Because I’m the only one to whom you can tell these things. And because I’m the only one who will always be completely honest with you. You’ve loved her since the day of the interview, and it’s quite obvious that she feels the same. You two should be together. In my opinion, that’s the only rule or tradition humans and shifters should abide by: love.”
Viggo stopped with his hand on the door knob. He squeezed it a little too hard and the metal bent slightly. He would have to order it changed later.
“That’s not how the world works,” he said. “What happened today won’t happen again. It was a mistake.”
With that, he turned the knob, opened the door, and left the room. Astrid stared at the closed door for a long while, her eyes and soul filled with sadness.
CHAPTER SIX
Tension and Guilt
It was a good thing the palace was big and the gardens were more of a labyrinth than anything. It made it easier for Delyse to avoid Viggo, although she was pretty sure he was avoiding her. With his heightened senses, it was easier for him, too. And she had guessed right. Viggo did avoid her for the next two days. The second he felt her scent close, he found an excuse to put as much distance between them as possible. Astrid thought they were hilarious, Finn was confuse
d for a while, then just shrugged it off, but the maids and servants turned their odd behavior into the juiciest gossip. They would never dare tell Eric about their suspicions, but as long as the Fyrstur was not around, they could get away with giggling and whispering in their corners. If Viggo, Astrid, or Finn ever heard them, they would never know. The dragon-shifters were too proud to acknowledge gossip, much less address it.
Eric returned the third day, and the first thing he did was to run to his and Delyse’s room and make love to her. It was as hard and intense as ever, but she had had enough time to rest, so when he squeezed her in his arms and lifted her up, she was just as eager as he was. She moaned, screamed, and scratched his back, all in a wild attempt to convince him, or maybe herself, that she wanted him and only him, that she was his and she’d never desire another man. As they lay in the aftermath, Eric’s arm around her shoulders, Delyse’s chest rising and falling rapidly as she was struggling to regain her breath, Eric cleared his throat to get her attention.
“Everything went fine in London, if you were wondering.”
She sat up on her side, supporting her weight on her right elbow. She cocked an eyebrow as she studied his face.
“I was wondering, yes.”
He nodded. Why was it so hard for him to talk to her, to involve her in his affairs, in his life?
“So… you met my father.” He nodded again, and she sighed. Pulling words out of his mouth was like pulling teeth. “What do you think about him?”
“He’s a man who knows what he wants,” he smiled. “But not in a selfish way. He’s very passionate about his research, but he’s not looking for fame or money. He genuinely cares about the peace between humans and shifters and wants to use his antidotes to bring the species together, level the differences as much as possible so it would be easier for everyone to communicate and function as a society.”
“You like him.”
“Yes, I do. A lot.” He turned to her, and something in his stomach did a flip when he saw she was smiling at him. “I like you, too.”
“Aww…” She pecked his lips. But she couldn’t bring herself to return the sentiment. The words hung on the tip of her tongue, but refused to make the jump and fill the space between them. “You have to meet my brother, then,” she changed the subject. “You’ll like him even more than you like me or my dad. James has always been the pride and joy of the Haringtons.”
“I don’t know about that…” In his mind, no one could ever be better than his Lily.
“Anyway, tell me everything. You met Max Blackmane and Blake Sylfur, right? What’s Blake like?” She had to take advantage of Eric’s new, completely unprecedented disposition and squeeze as much information from him as possible.
“She’s an interesting young woman. Smart, confident, assertive.”
“Can you imagine my friend, Amelia, was actually married to her? Blake played her insane game so well that she actually tricked her entire clan into believing she was a man.”
“Yeah, Viggo filled me in on that story. She didn’t have a choice, apparently. If she and her late father hadn’t done that, the Sylfur brothers would have taken over the clan and things would have been very different right now. Such a large and resourceful fox clan in the wrong hands… I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I miss Amelia…” Delyse sighed. “And Avelyn, and Claudia.”
Eric wrapped both his arms around her naked body. “Then you will like the news I was actually trying to give you.”
“What news?”
“You’re coming with me to London. In three days. Your father, Blake, and I managed to have a meeting with the dragon councilor, Calder Grimmr, and he’s on our side. He thinks that if we don’t try to convince the Council now, we might never get another decent chance. Councilor Harington has prepared a pretty good speech, Blake is bringing Amelia to the council meeting so she can tell everyone how it is to be a hybrid, and Max is bringing his wife, Avelyn. If you come with me and tell them how much you want to become a hybrid and how you think it’s the best option, especially for a bride who is married to an almost immortal shifter, then we can make a strong case. A really strong case. The Blackmanes are sure it won’t take much to get the Wolf Councilor’s vote, and then the only ones left are Christian Kwahu and Zachary Willamar. We can do this. Together.”
Delyse shot up, the sheets pooling around her waist, leaving her breasts bare.
“Oh my God, you’re not kidding! I’m going to see my friends!”
Eric was mesmerized by the excitement dancing in her eyes. Right then and there, he made a decision: he had to do everything in his power to make her happy, make her jump with joy just as she had done a second before. He had to get over his fears and insecurities and think about her, about what she wanted and what made her smile, laugh, dance.
“I… I wanted to tell you before I told Viggo, Astrid, and Finn. We’re all meeting in my office in an hour. Would you like to join us?”
Delyse blinked in confusion. This was new, indeed. Eric coming to her first? Asking her if she wanted to join the members of his clan to an important meeting? He was finally treating her like she had wanted to be treated since the moment she became his official bride.
“Yes,” she whispered. She was too surprised to say more.
“Perfect!” He sat up, pressed a rough kiss to her lips, then got out of bed. “Come on, we both need a shower.” He smiled and offered her his hand.
Delyse took it and let him pull her up. When her feet hit the soft carpet, he lifted her easily, using only one arm, and threw her over his shoulder.
“Oh!” She yelped. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t answer. He laughed and used his shifter speed to get them both in the bathroom. He only put her down when the water turned hot, but Delyse didn’t complain. She was grinning to herself. She had no idea what had made him change his attitude, and quite frankly, she didn’t feel like dwelling on it. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was for Eric to stay the way he was now. There was a chance they could have a happy marriage, still.
***
They ended up alone again. They hadn’t intended to. Or… had they?
The clan meeting in Eric’s office had lasted a little over two hours, and Delyse and Viggo could hardly look away from each other. It hadn’t helped that the room was well lit, the bright sun sending almost blinding rays through the open windows, and that Delyse looked like a fairy in her white dress, and Viggo looked like an older version of the sweet, mischievous Cupid. Stealing glances at him, Delyse had thought for the thousandth time how different the two men she loved were. Because, yes, she had come to the conclusion that she loved them both. She had tried to keep her eyes on Eric. The Fyrstur was just as handsome and fascinating, after all. His long black hair was tied in a low ponytail, and his tanned skin shined like gold in the beautiful spring sun.
That was three hours ago. Now, Delyse and Viggo were on the hallway, waiting for the others to join them. It had so happened that Eric’s phone rung just as they were all leaving the office, then Finn wanted to check something on his laptop before going to lunch, and Astrid had conveniently disappeared. It would’ve been weird for Delyse and Viggo to excuse themselves and pretend they needed to be somewhere else for the next ten minutes it would probably take the others to get ready. Or… so they had told themselves.
“Do you really think this could work?” Delyse asked.
They had talked about the council meeting and what she and Eric intended to tell the three councilors they needed to convince. Although the plan seemed simple enough, Delyse was worried that they would fail, and she didn’t even want to think about the possible consequences.
“It has to,” he answered.
The truth was Viggo wasn’t that convinced himself, but there was no point in showing his insecurities and worrying her further.
“Yes, you’re right. It has to. Max, Avelyn, and my father will tell them about the cure and how they used it, you will
admit to being an accomplice… If it doesn’t work, it’s all over. My family’s reputation will be buried, and God knows what will happen to Clan Blackmane and Clan Drekinn.”
“Shh… Don’t think about it.”
His voice was so kind and gentle that it sent a shiver up Delyse’s spine. What would it be like for Viggo to step closer to her and whisper something, anything, in her ear? She would probably turn into a puddle at his feet. She tried to snap out of her lustful thoughts and nodded in response.
Five minutes passed in silence. They both stole glances at each other, then averted their gaze at the last moment. It was as if they were playing a silly game. Who would be the first to catch the other staring… Viggo bit the inside of his cheek and cursed Eric for taking so long. Then, he cursed Astrid for having left them alone intentionally.
Delyse had so many questions for him that she felt like she would burst. “What happened in the garden?”, she wanted to ask. Not because she didn’t know, but because she wanted to hear his perspective. She knew what had happened and why. She was in love with him. Her body craved his touch just as much as it craved Eric’s touch. Still, it was different. When she thought about Eric, her clit throbbed and her pussy clenched. It was raw passion, raw desire. When she thought about Viggo, her heart swelled, and she could almost feel his strong hands wrapping around her, holding her close and safe. She needed Viggo’s tenderness just as much as she needed Eric’s attention. “Do you… do you feel the same?” was another question she wanted to ask him, but couldn’t.
Viggo shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and tried to relax. He studied the walls, looked at the ceiling, then stared at his feet for what felt like forever. There was nothing he wanted more than to pull Delyse against his chest and breathe in the wonderful scent of her skin. His cock was slightly hard, and he tried to think of something else, lest his erection became uncomfortable and visible.
