Royal Pride

by Zelda Knight

  Sonya released a breath. “What if…” “No.”

  He started pacing again, returning to the dark shadows. Now that her eyes had adjusted, Sonya realized she hadn’t been in a bed, but on a sofa in a living room. Behind her, wooden stairs led up to a loft-style room, probably the bedroom and a bathroom. Through the gloom, she could make out the empty fireplace, a kitchen off to her left, and possibly other rooms. Cabins or safe houses like these existed, dotted across the Alaskan wilderness. Beneath the keeps, tunnels had been developed as escape routes to these types of safe houses. Doomsday preppers had nothing on dragons.

  “What if they’re all dead, Z?” There. She finished the thought he’d silenced earlier.

  She swung her legs over the sofa’s edge. Tears gathered but she fought not to let them fall. She hated feeling weak, and she despised being scared. Not since Zihao’s father died, murdered by an assassin, had she felt this disjointed, this terrified. Now, more than a single dragon had died. Maybe her entire clan. A sob escaped her throat. It had happened before in their past. Humans had annihilated a keep, killed off the Opal dragons some four hundred years ago.

  Zihao stopped. He turned slowly to her. “We are not the Opals, but Azures. Your uncle wouldn’t let the keep be wiped out. Give it time. We wait. We are dragons. Patience is our birthright.”

  Sonya blew out a long sigh. She pushed away the hurt throbbing in her heart. Zihao was right. They didn’t know. So it would be foolish to focus on the negative. Logically it made perfect sense, but the numbness made her cold and the fear remained.

  Still… “Z?”

  “Yeah?” He stopped again, his hand on his chin in thought.

  When she didn’t reply, he looked over to her. Words failed her. Now more than ever she wished they’d been mated. Then he could feel her emotions instead of her trying to find words to describe them. It didn’t matter what language they spoke—all the words failed to be adequate enough to communicate what she felt. The complex whirl of emotions inside her caused her to shudder.

  He came to her, using the sofa’s arm to separate them. “I am here with you.”

  She heard the commitment in his voice. With his hair tousled, his eyes wide, and his lips pressed into that determined line, he reduced her to pure hunger. Breathing deeply, Sonya inched closer to him, using the sofa’s arm to position herself higher. His lips curled into a small smile.

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “What are you doing?” His breath stirred her hair.

  “You know exactly what I’m doing.” Her eyes lowered, and her lips puckered for the kiss she’d been waiting an eternity to get. “Please, Z…”

  She reached up and cupped his face in her hand, feeling his unshaven bristles against her palm. Zihao’s body jerked at the contact and he fell back a step.

  “Son…”

  “Don’t think. Just feel. For once, just do what feels good, what feels right. Kiss me, Z.”

  Through half-closed lids, she watched him wrestle with his emotions. She held her breath. Damn him and his training. His walls. His oath.

  At the point where she felt foolish, she relaxed her lips, but then bliss arrived.

  His kiss felt warmer than any Sonya had ever experienced. His lips coaxed hers apart and his tongue cautiously entered her mouth. He tasted like peppermint gum and a hint of honey sauce. Her body rose, drawn into him, moth to flame. Finally, Zihao, the man she’d been in love with for years, had succumbed enough to show her his feelings.

  His hands wound themselves into her hair and massaged her scalp. She groaned as his tongue danced lightly with hers. Her nerves tingled and her clit throbbed as he deepened the kiss, taking her into his arms and holding her so close she thought she’d melt into him. Her hands landed on hardened muscle. Goodness! Every time she touched him, it surprised her how solid he really was. Instantly inflamed by his body being pressed to hers, she could feel the cold numbing of fear receding.

  Until he broke the spell and pushed her gently back. “Sorry!” Startled, she reached for him again, but he held her shoulders, preventing her from coming closer. “I—I got carried away…”

  “Don’t be sorry. I want you. I want this. I know you do too,” Sonya replied softly, her hand lingering on his forearm, her nails tracing invisible lines up and down his flesh.

  His skin felt hot, and she dropped a quick kiss on it. Zihao hissed and released her before stalking to the front windows. He seemed flustered, and his hands trembled.

  “Your kiss caught me off guard.”

  She followed him to the window, stepping around the sofa that had separated them. Now. It had to be now. She’d come too far and waited too long to have him. Most importantly, she wanted him to understand she loved him. Her body yearned for him. Alone. Death all around them. Sonya wanted to feel love.

  “You want it too.” She didn’t make it a question. “We loved, Z. I know you remember.”

  He stepped out of her reach. “I am blood sworn, Son. I can’t protect you if I’m dead.”

  She lunged at him and brushed the cotton of his shirt softly as he escaped.

  “Who is alive to execute you? Who remains to hold you accountable to your

  blood oath? We don’t even know if any of our kin are left.” “I know.”

  She swallowed her growing dread. She had to get him to see that this moment, this time belonged to them. Feeling she’d made headway in her argument, she continued. “You didn’t deny wanting me.”

  He let out a noisy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve wanted you since the first day I saw you. You know that.”

  Sonya smiled. They’d been ten. The memory flashed into her mind. His long, black hair surfed the wind as he gave her a flower he’d picked. It might’ve been purple. She couldn’t recall the flower, but then she’d only really seen him. The field, the lake, the entire world paled to ghostly apparitions next to him. Dressed in the brown uniform of dilongs, he wasn’t supposed to be talking to her. But his father had been her guardian, and both were children. The rest had become part of her history. Their lives intertwined forever.

  “You were the most beautiful boy I’d ever seen,” she confessed.

  “And now?” Zihao’s voice held an emotion she could not place, and he’d gone very still.

  “The sexiest man I’ve ever seen.” She wasn’t even sure she’d uttered the words aloud or had simply thought them.

  Or if Zihao had heard them.

  “Gods, you invite obsession, Son.” A thin ribbon of heat snaked into his words.

  She couldn’t see his face.

  He hung his head and shook it. “You are one stubborn dragon.” “And yet you have not left me.”

  “I am sworn...”

  “Damn your sense of duty! You love me.” Her voice broke and she spun on her heel. Infuriated and hurt, she struggled not to cry in frustration. He found her stubborn?

  She walked three steps toward the kitchen.

  “I do.” His breath brushed her ear. With her back to his front, he held her close. Normally, Zihao’s effortless grace and calm determination had kept her safe. Even now, he’d saved her.

  “You do what?”

  “Love you. So much it’s painful.”

  He placed his hands on hers and gently removed them from his waist. As he turned around to face her, she saw the anguish in his face. Tormented, his emotions waged war in his eyes. He untangled himself from her arm and headed toward the door.

  “Your mating heat is so close. I—I can smell it.” Zihao’s breathing became a pant.

  Through the fabric of his shirt, a circular illumination lit up at the base of his neck. “Z, the burn…”

  He touched his collarbone and winced. His eyes widened. Fear looked strange on his face. “I’m not mated. There shouldn’t be a tattoo…”

  Sonya swallowed—well, tried to swallow, but her throat was so dry she couldn’t do it. The serum the dilongs took to stave off the mating heat kept Zihao focused on his duty was
a safeguard, and one of the major reasons her parents allowed him to continue to be her guardian.

  Come to think of it, he’d never let her kiss him like that before “The serum?”

  If Zihao hadn’t taken the serum, the mating heat could bind them. Her dragon rose fierce and full of fire.

  “At the keep.” Panic threaded through his words, and it sounded odd on his tongue. He backed away from her, pressing himself against the door. Perspiration dripped from his face. He wiped it with the back of his hand. Flushed, Zihao took off his shirt as he became hot.

  “I need to go. I…I can’t be here.” He yanked it back on.

  “No, don’t leave me. Z. Don’t.” Sonya closed the distance between them. She touched his hand and wrapped her hand around his. The hard calluses rubbed against her palm.

  Her beast, already aroused, came fully awake. His scent filled her senses, dousing her in his pheromones and wrapping her in a cocoon of him. Her heightened senses poured him all over her. The feel of his hands zipped across her nerves, and the sound of his labored breathing fell into sync with hers. She ran her fingers lightly across his chest and down his abdomen, lifting the shirt and placing her hands onto his hot flesh. Her touch forced his muscles to clench and tighten along his neck. Veins stood out as if seeking her touch.

  “Augh!” Zihao shrieked, but it didn’t look like he felt pain.

  Something else arose in his eyes. His lips parted, and he swept her up into his arms.

  Too late.

  The mating heat rushed her, and all became washed in red.

  Chapter Six

  It could not be true. Yet, his eyes did not deceive him. The mating heat burned all over Sonya, and he was at his weakest. High above the living room and the scatter of blankets on the sofa, he placed her on the bed. This moment meant more than a claiming on a safe house’s couch. No, it required a mating bed—as was tradition. Dragon custom.

  You can’t mate with her. Who are you kidding? They will kill you for it and mate her to another anyway.

  His inner voice of reason sounded so much like his great uncle. It whispered into

  his mind and made him pause.

  It wasn’t wrong. He had sworn with blood to protect her. To keep her safe. He had done so, but the threat wasn’t over. He didn’t know who had attacked her or if they still sought her out. As her guardian, he could not mate. Emotions compromised his sharpness. His clear mindset. Protecting her meant not loving her. But his motivation for protecting her had become entangled with his love for her.

  Damn it all to the depths of hell.

  “Stop thinking so much. I’m not a logic puzzle,” Sonya broke through his musings. With that she gave him a gentle but playful kiss on the lips.

  Funny, that stirred his shaft more than the deep, soul-searching kiss of before. It was this small, free act that crushed the last of his resistance. He grunted a soft smile, but allowed it to wane as he took in her beauty. Already the scratches and bruising from the attack had dissolved, healed by her dragon metabolism. Some humans believed them to be immortal. They weren’t. But their physical makeup healed them so their lifespans stretched for hundreds of years.

  Using the back of his hand, he stroked her cheek. Still as soft as when they were kids. It invited a kiss and he obliged. Sonya brushed against a part of him that was swollen and hard. The flimsy gym pants’ fabric didn’t leave much to the imagination.

  Her hips rested against his need. She gasped sharply before placing her hand against his cock.

  His skin prickled with heat and, not unlike the moments before a shift, goose bumps appeared across him. Sonya rubbed him through his pants, stoking the flames of his desire. He buried his face against her throat and nipped at the sweet, silky skin there. At the base of her collarbone, the circular, glowing tattoo warmed. Its hypnotic call entranced him a few moments, before he forced himself to look away. In that moment, Zihao had felt incredible warmth and acceptance unlike he ever had before.

  Sonya stood on her knees, and with the bed’s height, was almost eye-to-eye with him. She molded her body ever closer to his, and he relented. His tongue found her earlobe, and he tugged at it with his teeth. Sonya shuddered in his embrace. His hands glided over the silky fabric as he pulled it over her head.

  How could he not take advantage of this moment? Her valid points had blown holes in his logic.

  You’re a dilong. She’s a Gou. Stop. It’s an abomination.

  Sonya sucked his lower lip and pulled a groan from deep in his being. The serum. Even that had never really stayed his hunger for her—only his oath had managed to keep him from doing what his heart had desired. She had a way of making him feel wanted—and worthy. With a fierce tug, she yanked his head down to meet her mouth. He took complete ownership of her. No one would ever kiss her again—only him, always him.

  He pulled himself greedily to her.

  She broke his kiss and lay back on the bed. Nude, she rubbed her breasts; their hardened tips stood tall against the air. Her fingers pinched them, forcing her to quiver. The triangle between her legs, brushed by soft dark hair, glistened with wetness from her need. It called to him.

  “I want you.” Those words had become tangible and stroked Zihao’s arousal even more.

  “Don’t get to close to me, Son.” He glanced away, teetering on the brink of having his life’s greatest dream and its worst nightmare. She couldn’t really know what she was asking. Sure, they’d always been in love, but would she stand beside him when the council condemned him for his treachery?

  “I love you, and I know the demons that reside inside you.” Sonya pushed herself up on her elbows. “I have loved you since forever, Z, and I know you’re destined to be mine.”

  His throat closed with unshed tears.

  She grabbed his hand and placed it against her heart. “Feel my heat and my

  love.”

  So soft. His hand drifted down to the puckered nipple of her breast. Unable to

  stop himself, he ran his thumb across the tight point, soliciting a moan from her. She closed her eyes and threw her head back.

  “You’ve got the dreamer’s disease,” he uttered moments before his lips clasped over her nipple. He pinched it with his lips and tugged. His other hand eagerly sought out her breast. He transferred his mouth to the other taut tip and nibbled its sweetness. His thumb and forefinger rubbed and teased. Beneath him, Sonya moaned and thrashed. With a fist full of his shirt, she bucked.

  “Take. This. Off!” Sonya yanked on his shirt.

  Zihao stood up and with one single motion pushed his sweatpants down. He stepped out of them while simultaneously removing the shirt. While he disrobed, Sonya licked her lips greedily and watched, hunger making her eyes large. She looked so beautiful with the flush of the mating heat warming on her skin, making her nipples darker, and sexier.

  Before him, she lay spread wide. . The hard currents roused by the mating heat rushed through him. He lowered himself between her thighs and placed his tongue across her clit. It rocked through her and she shot off the bed. Engulfed in her scent, Zihao’s hesitation dissolved. He loved Sonya. Nothing would change it. Ever. With his blood on fire, he sucked her swollen nubbin and then ran his tongue down her swollen

  pussy lips before nibbling on them. She tasted like honey. He could never get enough of her. His entire world had revolved around Sonya. She was his sun and he, her moon. Nothing would change it.

  His life as of this moment had become forfeit. He looked at her, and the absolute joy on her face made up his mind.

  It was worth it.

  Sonya’s heart raced. With each swipe of his tongue, Zihao sent electric pulses to her hooded cleft. Each bolt of pleasure lit up her nerves and shocked her to the point of no return. Wet with want, her pussy quivered, shuddering with need. Gone. She knew it, but moreover she understood deep in her gut that her mate’s joining would bring her calm and completeness. There was no changing her mind now. Great and copious, the heat burned. She did
n’t want anyone else. Ever. Roused from dormancy, her dragon agreed. Awakened with an ache, her beast roared. Her hands shifted into claws and they bit into Zihao’s shoulders as he increased his speed.

  He smirked playfully as he lifted his head. “Enjoy that, eh?” “You’re awfully full of yourself.”

  She tried to sit up fully, but he held her to the spot.

  His tongue found her pussy’s opening and entered, teasing her, for it wasn’t nearly enough. He lowered himself back between her legs. He licked her swollen love bud and tugged with his teeth. She hoisted her hips as another wave rolled through her. Each nerve pulsated in time to his flick of her clit. He inserted a thick finger into her aching core, one and then another. Pumping against his hand, she held on to the sheets with one hand and Zihao’s head with the other.

  “So wet. All ready for me.”

  His breath to brush across her hot pussy. She peered down the length of her body to him. “More…”

  Did he chuckle?

  Before she could register an answer, his speed accelerated. A duet commenced between his mouth and his fingers. They, became one and the coordination created so much pleasure and burning intensity, she shrieked, blinded by the orgasm searing through her. Unbridled ecstasy coursed fast and furious, until she collapsed, draped in sweat, onto the bed.

  Spent.

  “No. Oh, no. My beautiful mate. We are not done.” The bed dipped under his weight.

  She opened her eyes and still panting. He slid himself further between her parted legs.

  “Please, Z. I need this hole gone.”

  “Me too. Me. Too.”

  With a gentle push, he guided just his bulbous head into her heat, stretching her

  opening with a sharp biting pain that made her shout.

  Zihao stopped moving. “You’re a virgin, so I’m trying to be gentle.”

  The intermingling of pain and pleasure as he thrust slowly forward, and before long, his gentle, thoughtful movements blurred the pain into bliss. She did not know how long they joined, but now it had happened, the world broke apart. Her internal walls hugged his shaft, tugging in impatience. She met his thrusts with her own eagerness, and when she opened her eyes to look up at his determined face, an expression of rapture shone from him. But her vision wavered in scarlet. Now, the rise of mating harkened to the dragons within them.