“It's okay, Astrid,” I said. “It's been a tough evening. We'll talk about everything later. I'll explain it all to you. I swear it.”
Her grip on me tightened and she rested her head against my shoulder, her body still trembling.
“You saved me,” she said softly. “Again. After I treated you so horribly.”
“Always,” I said. “I want to take you someplace safe. Will you come with me?”
She looked into my eyes, relief and gratitude etched upon her face.
“Yes,” she said. “I will.”
Chapter Sixteen
Astrid
Someplace safe meant Quint's apartment. Of course. After being attacked again though, I had no issue with going there. Not if he really thought he could keep me safe. We rode the elevator up in silence, I was still too stunned to speak. Then the doors opened and I looked at the night beyond his wall of windows – looked at the darkness pressing close and felt myself shiver. I knew what was out there and it scared the hell out of me.
“You've been watching me,” I said.
He nodded. “I wanted to give you the space you asked for,” he said. “But I also wanted to ensure that you were safe.”
“Thank you, Quint,” I said, gratitude flooding my body. “You save my life again.”
“We are beginning to make a habit out of that, aren't we?”
I laughed in spite of myself. “Yes, we are,” I said. “Listen, about the last time we were together –”
He raised a hand. “You don't need to say anything, Astrid. You've been thrown into this strange world you never knew existed. Of course, you're going to freak out a little bit. Who wouldn't? The important thing is that we keep you safe. That we keep the Shongtal away from you.”
I nodded. “But won't they keep coming for me?”
He sighed and avoided my eyes. “We're going to take this one day at a time,” he said. “You must be exhausted. Let me show you to one of the guest rooms.”
I was feeling pretty wrung out, but surprisingly, not exhausted. In fact, there was a warm energy coursing through my body and I was feeling a familiar heat burning between my thighs. Maybe, it was the adrenaline rush from the attack and seeing death knocking on my door. Perhaps, it was being close to Quint again after having been separated for the last couple of weeks. I didn't know and didn't care. It was irrelevant. There was a burning desire in me, a fiery need, and I was going to sate it.
When Quint showed me into the guest room, I turned and planted a long, deep kiss onto him.
He pulled back, looking at me in surprise and I saw the question in his eyes.
“Yes, I really want this,” I whispered.
Quint pushed me up against the wall with such force, I feared we might bust through to the other side. He kissed me, long and hard. I felt his erection through his pants, felt him pressing against me. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my legs around his waist and have him take me right there, against the wall.
I burned with need and desire and just wanted – needed – him inside of me.
I fumbled with his pants, failing to unbutton them as Quint kissed down the length of my neck, sending chills down my spine. His hands slid down my back, squeezing my ass as he continued to plant soft kisses along my neck.
When I failed, yet again, to get his pants down, he grabbed both of my hands in just one of his, pinning them against the wall above my head. He smiled at me – the smile of a man who was enjoying being in control.
He easily slipped my skirt down with one hand, smirking as it fell to the floor at my feet.
“You have it easier than I do,” I teased.
Quint didn't argue with me about that. In fact, he didn't say another word. Instead, he dropped down to his knees in front of me and pressed that delicious mouth of his against my most intimate parts. His tongue roamed and explored every bit of flesh between my thighs, sending shockwaves of pleasure crashing through me. My body tightened as he slid his tongue inside of me, cupping my ass and pulling me closer to him.
“Oh God,” I muttered breathlessly, as he pressed his tongue between my lips, circling it around and licking to his heart's content. “You almost seem to be enjoying this as much as I am.”
“I am,” he said, looking up at me for a split second before lowering his head and getting back to work.
With my head against the wall, I watched as Quint seemed to savor every second of going down on me –his tongue was magical. The way he used his fingers and his tongue, had me moaning his name in no time flat. My hands were in his hair, pressing him into me as I reached the precipice. As if sensing I was there, he plunged his tongue deep inside of me, pushing me over the edge. I cried out as I came hard. Quint held me up as he continued licking, making the powerful waves of my orgasm last even longer than normal. My eyes rolled back in my head as I called his name – I was in heaven.
Quint smiled and seemed to be content to keep doing what he was doing for as long as I wanted. But I wanted more of him. Pulling him up to standing, I kissed him and tasted myself on his lips. This time, he helped me remove his pants as we backed up toward the edge of the bed.
He dropped the pants and fell backward, taking me with him. I straddled him, pressing myself against him as he moved toward me, sealing our bodies in one, delightful thrust.
“Oh Quint...” I groaned, rocking back and forth on top of him.
He strained a bit as he sat up and he kissed me as we made love, savoring every movement as our bodies moved and flowed to their own rhythm. I put my hands on his chest, relishing the feel of the hard angles and planes of his sculpted body. I marveled at how warm his skin was – as if it burned with an inner fire.
Quint slipped my shirt off over my head and took my breasts into his hands, seeming to marvel at them as he gently massaged my nipples through my bra, a look of absolute hunger in his eyes.
“Yes, yes, yes,” I said, biting my lip as I ground against him harder, taking him even deeper inside of me than ever before – which drew a gasp from me. “You just feel so good.”
“You feel amazing, Astrid,” he said, his jaw clenched tight as he slid his hands down my body, gripping my hips, helping me move on top of him.
I felt a warmth take over my body, as my head fell forward, my hair cascading down over his chest, and every muscle in my body tightened up. He thrust upward, plunging himself even deeper into me. The rush of sensation was overwhelming and I bit down hard on his chest, to stop myself from screaming as the pleasure took hold of me, making me thrash wildly on top of him.
Quint held onto me, keeping me in place, as I came, hard – again. As my body shuddered and I writhed on top of him, his cock sheathed deep inside of me. As my body was buffeted by wave after wave of pleasure, I could tell my own orgasm was bringing on Quint's as well. He gritted his teeth, but his breathing was getting heavier, his thrusts more determined and desperate.
“Yes, Quint, yes,” I said, grinding into him.
Clenching myself down around the length and girth of him, I looked into his eyes as he let out an animalistic groan, and I knew in that moment, that I'd pushed him over that edge of bliss.
There was nothing so beautiful as the look in your lover's eyes as they climax with you, and my eyes fixed on his face as he buried himself deep inside of me one last time. I felt him throbbing and pulsing, filling me up with his hot, wet seed.
Eventually, our waves of orgasm subsided and our breathing – as well as our heart rates – returned to normal. My body still tingled though, with the memory of having had him so deep inside of me. Of the magical things he'd done with his tongue and fingers.
“That was amazing,” he said as I collapsed on top of him.
“Yes, yes it was.”
I couldn't deny it – it was easily the best sex I'd ever had.
Quint pushed the hair back from my face and kissed me, holding my face in his hands, stroking my cheeks in the gentlest way possible.
“You are special, Astrid,” he sai
d. “You know that, right?”
I grinned at him ruefully. “Those creatures – the Shongtal – certainly seem to think so.”
He chuckled grimly. “It's more than that. There's just something about you,” he said. “I wish I could make you see and believe that.”
Quint ran his hands through my hair and leaned forward, kissing the top of my head.
“I'm not going to let anything hurt you,” he said. “Ever. You're mine and I'm yours.”
“That sounds nice,” I said. “Really, really nice.”
Chapter Seventeen
“I know it's a lot to take in, but I know what I'm saying is right,” he asked, propping himself up on his elbow as he looked at me. “I've done a lot of research over the last couple of weeks and it explains everything.”
We were in his bed, lying together naked, enjoying the afterglow of some really good, really intense sex, and he brought up the topic of my past. It was uncomfortable and awkward timing, to say the least.
“I don't know what to believe,” I said, drawing circles on his chest with my finger, mainly to avoid looking him in the eye. “It's all a bit overwhelming.”
He took my hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed it gently. “I understand, Astrid. I'm only trying to protect you. And I think one of the best ways to do that is to tell you everything.”
“I know you're protecting me,” I said. “And I appreciate it. But everything else you just told me – I don't know what to do with it.”
Quint told me the reason the Shongtal were after me was because I was a child of prophecy. A child born of two worlds – humankind, of course, and something else called the Dragonborn. He'd said that my father was born of a clan that could harness the power of lightning – and that the bright white light that had apparently knocked me out the last time the Shongtal tried to grab me, had come from inside of me. From the powers my father had passed on to me.
He knew I'd been adopted though I never told him and he'd said that I was originally born in Chicago. According to his story, the night I was born, the Shongtal showed up to claim me. My father fought them, but both he and my mother died in the attack. They'd ensured my survival by sending me away with a friend who'd birthed me.
It was true that my adoptive mother was named Chelsea. I never knew my real parents – she never spoke of them. But that didn't exactly prove anything. It certainly didn't prove that I was some child of prophecy who had magic powers or could call down lightning.
How was I supposed to believe that? How was I supposed to believe any of it? Yeah, there was a lot I couldn't explain. A lot I wasn't sure really had an explanation. But that didn't mean I was what Quint thought I was.
I wasn't special. I never had been. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about me. Which was why at twenty-three years old, I'd had exactly one serious boyfriend. I'd just never fit in with people. I was always the outsider. The black sheep.
“The reason you felt like you never fit in your whole life,” Quint said as if reading my mind, “was because you didn't. Not really. You're human, yeah. But you're also something else. Something more.”
I looked at him, my head spinning. “What then?” I asked. “What am I?”
“You're – different,” he replied. “It's why the Shongtal want you. And it also explains that instant connection you and I felt – because we've got a lot more in common than just a love of reading.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, because that's not vague or anything.”
He looked at me, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Here, I want to show you something.”
He sat up and moved to the edge of the bed before standing up. He walked over to his closet – or rather, into his massive closet – and pulled out a box from a shelf inside. But the entire time he was doing that, all I could do was stare at his toned, tight ass. Because there was no two ways about it, he had an amazing body and I found it hard not to stare at him – especially when he was in the nude.
I giggled to myself. Just a few weeks ago, I was a shy, quiet wallflower type. And now, I was some sex maniac or something. Piper had told me I'd changed, but I didn't understand it. I didn't know when the shift in me had happened, or what the shift was, but I felt different. I felt bolder, more confident. I had to say, I liked the change for the most part.
He came back over to the bed and sat down, giving me an inscrutable look. Quint placed a book down between us and I could tell just by looking at that it was old. Very old. The cover appeared to be made of a soft wood and was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. The writing was done in a beautiful, ornate calligraphy that I wasn't able to read.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Being that you're a history buff and someone who loves books,” he said, “I figured you'd appreciate this.”
He opened the book and flipped through a few pages that still looked to be in good shape – considering the obvious age of the book.
“Here,” he said. “Read this.”
I scanned the page, reading what sounded like a really good fantasy novel. It was a story about how there would be a child born of two worlds -- both Dragonborn and human. And that child, had the potential to alter the two worlds forever. A smaller passage spoke about this child's potential to close the Dragon Doors, as well as a few other things that made no sense to me.
It was crazy to even consider, given that dragons didn't really exist – that much I knew.
“Just because it's written down in a book doesn't make it true,” I said.
“Keep reading,” he said.
I read more, and they described the child's powers – and much of it described what I'd been experiencing as of late. The rest of it, well, the rest of it sounded way too ridiculous to be true.
“Come on, Quint,” I said and giggled. “Do you really expect me to believe that dragons really exist? And that I'm part dragon? Why couldn't I have been part unicorn? I mean, at least then I would have been pretty and sparkly.”
Quint took my hand, didn't say a word as he got me to my feet and led me out of the bedroom.
“You have to promise me something, Astrid,” he said, his voice serious. “If I show you what I'm about to show you, you won't freak out. You won't say anything to anybody. Ever. I'm serious, not a word. Not even to Piper.”
“I won't freak out, silly,” I said, shaking my head. But Quint looked serious. Too serious. “Fine. I promise. And I swear I won't breathe a word of this even to Piper.”
He looked at me and nodded to himself as he opened his patio door and stepped outside. The cool, night breeze filtered inside, as I joined him on the patio. It was a private patio, so no one could see us, or else I might have thought twice about stepping outside completely in the buff. But honestly, it felt nice and freeing to be outside like that – especially with Quint.
“You might want to step back inside for this,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because there's not much room out here,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Not much room for what –”
He shot me a look that said I was asking too many questions, so I did as I was told and stepped back inside the apartment to wait for – whatever he was going to show me.
Then, right before my eyes, I watched as Quint transformed into – something large. Something large and red, with scales, claws, a long tail and wings. I didn't know what I was seeing at first. I couldn't put a name to it. My mind couldn't rationalize what I was looking at, so I just stared, mouth wide open, as I found myself backing away slowly.
“You're a –”
For someone who loved reading as much as I did, who lost herself in worlds of fantasy and science fiction, I couldn't bring myself to say the word. I couldn't find the right word to describe what I was looking at. Beings like that didn't exist, they were fictional. They were fantasy. Nothing more.
But there we were, in reality. And the large, red dragon craned its long neck down to stare me in the eyes
. In its eyes, I could still see Quint – but he was a dragon.
Quint changed back into his human form, rushing over to me as I sat down on the couch in his living room, nearly fainting of shock.
“What in the –” I stammered. “How in the –”
“I am Dragonborn,” he said as if that explained everything. “That book I showed you – that's part of my legacy. And part of yours too.”
“Mine? How?” I asked. “I can't turn into – what you just turned into. How is it part of my legacy?”
“Because your father was Dragonborn. Like me,” he said. “Except, he was of the Lightning Clan. That's why your gift is the ability to harness the power of lightning.”
I looked at him, my stomach twisting in knots and my eyes growing wide. “You spit fire at those Shongtal,” I said. “So, that means –”
“That I am of the Fire Clan, yes,” he said. “Each clan has their own special powers and attributes.”
I sat back, stunned. Trying to wrap my head around what I'd just seen. The world as I knew it was – well – not the world as I knew it. Creatures from fantasy novels walked the Earth – and were hunting me.
“I just – I –”
“It's overwhelming, I know,” he said. “But time is running short and I need to know if you're ready to learn how to use your powers? Because I can show you. I can help you, Astrid, if you let me. If you don't learn to channel your power properly, you could kill yourself. But if you do learn to channel it properly, you might just be able to get the Shongtal to leave you alone forever.”
“How?” I asked, hope blossoming within my chest.
“Let me show you,” he said, giving me a lopsided grin.
Chapter Eighteen
Quint
I'd been training Astrid for a month and she'd taken to it easily. There was still a lot of nuance and finer points we needed to work out, but overall, she was doing really well. The biggest lesson – and the one that eased the burden on my mind – was that she'd finally learned to call up her power without running the risk of turning herself into a human time bomb.
Rocor (Dragons of Kratak Book 5) Page 119
