I couldn’t believe he was talking about a next time. Excitement filled me at the thought. Maybe I hadn’t completely ruined this thing between us after all. I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out that we didn’t need bathing suits—or any clothes at all—to go swimming. It was probably good he didn’t just strip in front of me because I’d probably burst into flames if I saw him naked right now. No doubt I’d completely embarrass myself in front of him. Even thinking about seeing what he looked like underneath his clothes was making my pants uncomfortably tight.
I shook myself out before he noticed what was happening below my waist and finally said, “That’d be fun. Want to go sit up there? It’s my favorite place.” I pointed to the large rock hanging over the water.
“Sure.”
I led him around the pond, then we climbed up the angled rock until we reached the flattened top. Instead of lying down like I normally did, I sat on the edge with my feet dangling, and Slash sat beside me and Bo on my other side with her head in my lap. My hand automatically pet her while we looked out at the water and surrounding trees.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Slash said, “It’s so quiet here.”
“I think that’s why I love it.” When he looked at me, I shrugged and explained, “I love my brothers, obviously, but sometimes it gets really loud at home and there isn’t anywhere to escape them… and…” I sighed and felt Slash’s eyes on me, but I continued on anyway, “And when I’m here, I don’t have to worry about anything; no schoolwork, no training, no figuring out my bond with Bo. Everything’s simple here, no expectations, just me and Bo… and now you, too.”
He stared at me, and for a moment, I was afraid to look at him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the look on his face from my little confession. But then I turned and he searched my eyes as I searched his, and I realized they held no judgement. In fact, they looked understanding, and I sorta sagged in relief because the last thing I wanted was to sound like an unappreciative jerk for wanting to get away from my brothers.
Slash’s hair fell into his eyes, and without a thought, I brushed it off his forehead and pushed it behind his ear so I could see his eyes again. But then I realized what I was doing and snatched my hand back, staring at him with wide eyes. “Sorry,” I whispered.
His lips quirked up, just a little. “I don’t mind.” His cheeks tinted a sweet pink color and he looked down for a second, and when he gazed back up at me, his hair was in his eyes again.
I hesitated for a moment, then reached up and brushed it behind his ear again. This time, instead of moving my hand away, I rested it on his jaw and rubbed my thumb over his cheek. His hazel eyes stared at me, and I couldn’t have looked away even if I wanted to, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to move closer and get lost in them forever.
Biting my lip, I angled my body slightly toward him and watched Slash’s eyes dart to my mouth. I couldn’t help but glance down at his when he licked his lips. An ache like I’d never felt before filled my stomach and chest, and suddenly, the only thing I wanted to do was press my lips to his.
I leaned in and glanced up at his eyes, but he was still staring at my mouth, so I gently pressed my lips to his. It was like fireworks were shooting off inside of me, and I could only pray that he felt the same. Slash closed his eyes and didn’t pull away, so I let my eyes flutter shut as I pressed a little harder against him. Sliding my hand to the back of his head, I gently glided my tongue along the seam of his lips, and he opened his mouth. Slowly, I slid my tongue against his, and a tiny moan escaped my chest. I was afraid he’d pull away, but the sound seemed to encourage him even more because he suddenly took control of the kiss.
His hand was like a soothing fire when he touched my thigh to better angle himself toward me. Turning my whole body, I put my free hand on the back of his neck as he wrapped his other arm behind me, holding me firmly in place.
The temptation to climb on his lap was strong, but I didn’t want to push too hard and make him pull away, so I stayed where I was and drank up every little brush of his tongue against mine. His flavor filled my mouth, heat radiated from his body, and I wanted to soak it up, curl against him, and never move away. He tasted amazing, like the spearmint gum he liked to chew; his touch was firm, but gentle, leaving me wanting more; and the feel of his mouth against mine was a million times better than any kiss I’d ever shared, any kiss I could ever imagine.
When we both needed air, he broke our kiss, leaving me a panting, needy mess, but then he rested his forehead against mine with his eyes still closed, breathing the same air, and I decided that even being able to touch him was a gift.
After a long moment, he opened his eyes, let out a little awkward laugh, and said, “Um, hi.”
A weird laugh came out of me, too, and I replied, “Hi.”
His fingers rubbed the back of my neck, and I closed my eyes again, soaking up his touch.
After another minute, we finally parted and gazed out at the pond, only this time, our shoulders were touching as we leaned against one another. Bodhi came back over—I hadn’t even noticed when she’d moved away to give us privacy—and she draped herself over both our laps. Slash smiled at her and pet her, leaning farther into me. We stayed that way for a long time, and part of me wished we never had to leave.
Glancing at the sun’s position in the sky, I figured we’d better head back, so I whispered, “It’s getting late.” It was only early evening, but I needed time to train.
Slash nodded. “How long does it take to get back from here?”
“Probably about fifteen minutes.”
He looked at the sky and sighed. “I guess we need to go.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “We can always come back.”
He smiled at me. “I’d like that.”
I smiled back, pushed Bo off us, and stood, then we walked back toward the ocean where Bo could shift to her warrior size. We climbed on her back, and this time, Slash held on tight without me having to tell him. He seemed a little more relaxed when Bodhi jumped into the air and headed toward home.
“I have to train when we get home, but you’re welcome to come with me if you want?” Before he could say anything, I added, “Kyla’s welcome to come, too.”
“Okay.”
With a smile, I said to Bo, Thanks for flying us there.
Sure. I like having him with us.
Me too, Bo, me too.
Once we landed in the cave, I helped Slash off Bo’s back, and after he scratched behind her ear, he said, “I’m going to find my sister, but… thank you.”
“I’m glad you went with us.” I smiled at him and patted the side of Bo’s neck. “I’ll come with you so I can lead you down to the arena. It’s kind of weird getting there on foot.”
“How else would you get there? Isn’t it in your house?”
“Uh, yeah… it’s at the bottom of the mountain, and usually Bo flies us down. It’s huge and half of it’s inside, the other half is outside.” I shrugged and walked through to the living room.
Kyla was playing Slap Jack with Malachite, and it looked like she was winning again. It made me wonder if the guys were letting her win or if she was really that good.
“Want to come down to watch Eeli train?” Slash asked her.
She grinned at him, then at me and yelled, “Yes! Can I train, too?”
I wrinkled my nose because there was no way I was teaching her stuff when I needed to be training hard. Teaching wasn’t something I was good at, and this whole week had messed up my training schedule, and I needed to catch back up. Luckily, Malachite stood up and said, “I’ll find something for you to do down there.” He glanced at me with a small grin. “Eeli is a fierce fighter, but he’s the absolute worst teacher ever. You don’t want him helping you.”
“Hey!” I yelled even though I’d just thought the same thing.
Kite laughed and pushed my shoulder as he walked by. “You know I’m right, little pipsqueak.”
My che
eks felt like they were on fire because my brother just loved to embarrass me. “You want to take this out on the mat?”
“Aw, did I make you angry, munchkin?”
With narrowed eyes, I punched him in the bicep.
He jumped back and rubbed his arm with a laugh. “Ow.” He tried to push me, but I easily dodged him.
“Take it downstairs,” Azaran said before Kite and I could get out of hand.
“We’re going, we’re going,” Kite said to him with an eye roll aimed in my direction. He looked like a big brute, but he always made me smile and laugh.
Once we made our way downstairs, I headed to the outdoor area because it was nice outside and because Bo was out there already. She’d stayed in her warrior form, so her giant scales were glistening in the setting sun.
“Wanna spar before you go off to play?” I asked Malachite.
He shrugged like he didn’t care, but then he ran at me, and I ducked below a blow to my shoulder.
“What, no weapons tonight, Kite?” I grinned when he scowled at me. He was still mad I’d beat him in bow staffs the other day. Such a sore loser.
“You aren’t gonna know what hit you, pipsqueak.”
“Keep calling me that, and you won’t know what hit you,” I taunted back a moment before I ran at him.
14
Slash
“Wow!” Kyla said as we watched Malachite and Eeli circle each other. I didn’t say anything back, but leaned in against the little railing that Eeli had left us standing by. I didn’t want my sister to see that my lower half was definitely reacting to the way Eeli’s body moved and glided as he fought with his brother. I knew he was stronger than I’d thought when he’d lifted me off of Bodhi earlier, but it was nothing compared to actually seeing the flex in his biceps as he struck out to nail Malachite in the arm.
“What do you guys think?” Azaran asked as he came up and stood on the other side of Kyla.
“They’re incredible,” she said, right as Malachite came in under Eeli and flipped him over. She squealed when Eeli landed on his feet and dove right back after his brother, his head hitting him in the side, and tackling him to the ground.
“What do you think, Slash?” Azaran asked me.
I think Eeli’s hot as fuck, I thought to myself. “I didn’t realize how serious Eeli was when he said you guys train to fight,” I said instead. There was no way I was telling him what I really thought of his youngest brother.
Azaran and Kyla both smirked at me, as if they knew I was downplaying it, but I turned my head so I could go back to watching Eeli. I was mesmerized by how his body moved and anticipated Malachite’s actions; how fluid he was as he went from offense to defense and back again. “This is nothing,” Azaran said. “They’re goofing off right now. Wait until you see Eeli when he’s in full training mode. He’s dedicated and focused.”
The pride Azaran had in Eeli was obvious, and for some reason, I felt the same pride well up inside of me. This strong, handsome guy thought I was the one who was supposed to spend the rest of my life with him. Eeli was small but he was mighty, and it suddenly occurred to me that instead of being pissed he was trying to claim me—keep me—I should be honored. It was a novel idea. Then the situation in my pants went from bad to worse as Zale and Davis joined Malachite and Eeli, and they all tore their shirts off over their heads. There was no question his brothers’ bodies were amazing. They were all ripped, muscle packed upon muscle. It was like a fantasy to view this much vitality in person. But I only had eyes for Eeli. When he turned to walk over and grab some kind of sword type thing, and I saw his back flex, I was ready to excuse myself to the bathroom to jerk off. How was I supposed to get through hours of watching this? I was going to blow in my pants before he was done.
“Christian,” Kyla whispered. “Are you okay?”
“Hmhmm. Why?” I choked out, just as quietly.
“Your face is bright red and you’re standing funny.”
I hadn’t even realized Azaran was still standing with us until I heard his low chuckle. “Your brother’s fine. I think he might be starting to see Eeli a little differently after getting to spend some time with him.”
“Really? Good. It’s about time. I think Eeli’s great.”
Her words were enough to temporarily distract me from the vision of Eeli swinging the sword over his head from a low crouch, a stance that happened to display the power in his thighs. Oh my god, he’s killing me! “You do?” I asked, forcing my eyes onto her.
“Yeah, everyone’s great. But Eeli and I went for a little walk yesterday, and I really like him. It was hard to tell at first since he gets all dorky around you.” Azaran burst out laughing, and even I snickered a little. It was true. Eeli still had a tendency to turn into a stammering klutz around me.
“What did you talk about?” I asked curiously.
“He asked me if I missed Shimmerside. Then he said I could talk about our parents to him anytime I wanted, that he knew how hard it was to lose your parents and how much I must miss them.”
“He did?” Azaran and I asked at the same time, both of us turning to completely face her.
She nodded her head. “He did. He was great. So I did. I told him things I missed about Mom and Dad and he told me things he missed about his parents. Then he gave me a big hug and told me he was here for me anytime I needed him. It was cool. I was glad we got some time alone together.”
Azaran’s face screwed up as if he was battling tears, and I blinked back my own. I had forgotten Mrs. Eldrid had said they’d lost their parents a long time ago, or that the reason we were with Eeli and his brothers and Azaran was in charge was because they didn’t have parents, either. We were all orphans. Turning back to the practice area, I watched Eeli’s steady determination, the way he tackled each obstacle put in front of him, I thought of how hard he worked in school and how good his grades were, and hope bloomed in me for the first time since the kidnapping. Eeli wasn’t a lunatic. This wasn’t the type of person who did wacky things for no reason. He believed every single thing he’d told me because this was his life.
“You’re really dragon riders, huh?” I asked Azaran without turning from the scene of dedicated men displaying their skills in front of me.
“We really are.”
“And you help people?” I questioned.
“Whenever we can. It’s our sacred duty, a vow our ancestors made that we take very seriously.”
Eeli’s eyes shifted to me as he went to retake his place across from Zale to practice some kind of knife technique. When our eyes met, a smile bloomed across my face before I could stop it. He stumbled in his tracks, eyes widening, and my smile became so big I thought for sure my face would crack open. The answering smile that appeared on Eeli’s face felt like winning a prize. The moment was broken when Zale yelled out, “Awe, look how sweet they are. The two little men are crushing on each other.”
Malachite immediately responded, “Shut it, Zale. Leave them alone. You don’t hear any of us giving you crap about all your mooning over Davis.”
Zale spun on Malachite, balled fists going to his waist as he said, “You guys teased me nonstop once you got to know Davis. Eeli kept going kissy, kissy. He’s got a little payback coming to him.”
Before the brothers could continue their argument, Azaran yelled, “Are we practicing or are you guys goofing around? Get back to work.”
Eeli snuck one more glance at me, so I winked at him, hoping to make him smile again. His cheeks fired red, but he grinned, then resumed his fighting stance across from Davis. So hot!
Toby, who’d been in the house on a phone call when we came out, appeared on my other side and leaned in to whisper in my ear, “If you think he’s cute now, wait until you see him pounding on the punching bag. All of the years of training ripple through their bodies in a very impressive way. It’s a sight to behold.”
I barely bit back a moan as Toby smacked a hand on my back and walked behind me to Azaran.
“How
come you guys aren’t training with them?” I asked after a few minutes.
“Azaran’s training me now, too. We came out just the two of us earlier.” Toby leaned into Azaran’s side, a soft smile on his face. I reflected on the last few days, how Azaran and Toby were together, and how kind and considerate I’d seen Davis and Zale be with each other. All these men were built like beasts and trained fighters, yet they treated their mates like they were the most precious thing in the world to them. Is that how Eeli sees me?
Before I could consider it any further, all of them walked toward us. Malachite went straight to Kyla. “Sorry, Super K. I didn’t actually mean to do all that with them. You ready to come out here and learn some things?”
“Yes!” She pumped her fist in the air and skipped to Malachite. Before they went off, she turned to Azaran. “I know that we’re not supposed to go anywhere because of the dragons and all. But it’s spring break and I’m supposed to hang out with my friend, Jessa. Toby let me call her the other day to tell her I was sick”—he did, that was news to me—“but she doesn’t have a lot of friends, either, so I was wondering…”
Azaran turned cool, assessing eyes on me. “What do you think, Slash?” Eeli gaped at his brother.
“Actually, we made plans for all of us to hang out together tomorrow—Jessa, her brother, and me. They’re having the spring break fireworks at the pier. Maybe we could all go, I mean, if you want.” I cut my eyes over to Eeli.
“That could be cool,” Davis said.
Malachite chuckled. “I’m not sure he meant us when he said all. I think he meant Eeli.”
Kyla jabbed Malachite in the side with her elbow. “I think it would be fun if we all went. I want you to meet Jessa, Kite. You’ll love her.”
Eeli whirled around with wide eyes to Kyla. “What did you call him?”
“Kite. He said I could. I know it’s your nickname for him, so I don’t have to if it bothers you.” Uncertainty crept across her face.
Eeli cackled. “Are you kidding? I think it’s awesome. But how come she gets to be Super K and I’m pipsqueak?” he asked his brother.
Eeli: The Brotherhood of Ormarr Book Three Page 12
