Downs, Jana - Ravyn's Destiny [Ravyn Warriors 3] (Siren Publishing Allure ManLove)

by Jana Downs

  “What are you doing, doll?” Destin called as Salvatore rummaged. There was a pause. “This wasn’t exactly the reaction I had hoped for.” He sounded a little annoyed. Salvatore smiled. His lover was so impatient. Almost as impatient as he was.

  “Hold on, Saoi.” He tested the name out on his tongue. It felt good to say it. Finally. “Can’t wait to say that buried inside you.”

  “Salvatore!”

  Found it. Salvatore drew his hand back triumphantly, a small pocketknife clutched in his fist. He tossed off his shirt and dove back into the bed beside his love.

  “What is going on, Salvatore?” Destin demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked adorable laying there with that scowl on his face. Salvatore didn’t answer. Instead, he flipped open the knife and made a quick slice on his bare chest. Destin eyes widened comically.

  “What the hell are you doing? Lord and Lady, Salvatore!” He pressed his hand against the wound to stop the trickle of blood. “What did you do that for?”

  “Wherever you go. So go I. Two stars met in the sun. Forward and backward time does fly. Together ’til kingdom come.” Salvatore spoke the words in his native tongue. “It’s part of a binding ritual. Something my father did with my mother. Something I want to share with you. Take a sip of my blood.” Destin’s expression was uncertain, but he leaned forward and lapped at the cut. His nose wrinkled as the copper taste hit his tongue. Salvatore handed the knife to his lover. Destin didn’t question it. Instead, he tossed away his own shirt and mimicked Salvatore’s cut, wincing at the slight pain involved.

  “Now repeat after me,” Salvatore encouraged. “Wherever you go. So go I.”

  “Wherever you go. So go I,” Destin murmured obediently.

  “Two stars met in the sun.”

  The rest of the spell was spoken and repeated in quick succession. It wasn’t long before Salvatore felt the unbreakable cords of their souls weave together. Now they were forever linked. Just as he was linked to his Ravyns.

  “What in the world is that?” Destin gasped.

  “That is my loyalty to you for the rest of time. I can never betray you. That spell ties me to you as much as these rings do.” He motioned to the matching silver rings that they wore around their ring fingers. “Probably more so. At least magickally speaking.” Destin’s eyes darkened with pleasure.

  “Fuck me, Salvatore,” the Fae King demanded. Salvatore raised an eyebrow.

  “I don’t believe I ever fuck you, Saoi.” He ran his pointer finger down Destin’s cheek. “What is the magick phrase?”

  Destin sighed and rolled his eyes, but they were practically dancing with love. “Make love to me, Salvatore.”

  “Your wish is my command, my King.” Salvatore smirked.

  They spent endless minutes kissing, savoring the soft touch before the storm truly began. Salvatore took his time exploring the recesses of his lover’s mouth. His tongue stroked and caressed his partner’s, mimicking the act of sex in a way that was as old as time itself. He never got tired of touching his Destiny. Every time it was something new. Every time, no matter how many times they’d performed a certain act, felt like the first.

  Salvatore’s back itched with the urge to let his wings free. More and more often lately his other self was taking a more active role in his life, demanding participation. The power welled up within him in heady, intoxicating splendor. Destin gasped as it hit him.

  “Dragon boy, quit teasing,” the Fae King griped. His hands on Salvatore’s shoulders were digging into the flesh just above his wings. “Let it out. Let it all out with me, Salvatore.” As if by his command alone, Salvatore’s wings sprang to full form at his back. They stretched out, partially blocking the light from the numerous lamps that had been lit for their pleasure. The fae part of the Demon Prince gave a sigh of contentment. It liked being free.

  One day he wanted to make love to his King in flight. He wasn’t strong enough yet, but soon he would take his lover into the sky and fuck him until he couldn’t walk when they landed. For now he contented himself with making sure Destiny felt him when he left the room and for several hours after.

  “You’re fantasizing again,” Destin teased, setting the edge of his teeth to the place where Salvatore’s neck met his shoulder. The demon hissed in pleasure. He loved when Destin gave him little love bites.

  “How do you know?” Salvatore wondered, dragging his mind away from the delicious things Destin was doing with his mouth.

  “You get this little”—he bit the tendon on his neck again—“smirk on your face.”

  “I do not smirk.”

  “You do, too.”

  “Do not.”

  Destin giggled. “Do, too.”

  “I’ll show you a smirk,” Salvatore threatened with a mock growl. He put his big hands to Destin’s ribs and used his slender fingers to tickle him mercilessly. The demon tickled him until his lover was breathless and begging for mercy.

  “Do you yield, Saoi?” Man, that name was lovely. It was lyrical and rolled around on his tongue in just the right fashion. He loved his husband’s name. Saoi.

  “To you. Always.” The words were spoken seriously.

  “Why does this feel like the first time?” Salvatore whispered as he spread his lover’s taut thighs. Destin bestowed a smile that melted right through all of Salvatore’s resolve to make this last all night. The impatience flared back to life in the next breath.

  “Because we’re new to each other,” Destin said cryptically. Salvatore pressed a kiss to Destin’s calf as he draped it over his shoulder.

  “What do you mean, love?”

  “You’re a husband now. And so am I. It’s different because we’re in this bed as different people.” It was a poetic sentiment. Destin was right. This time was special.

  Salvatore pressed his arousal to the tight ring of Destin’s entrance, entering him excruciatingly slow. It was difficult for him to concentrate on anything but the incredible sensation of his Destiny’s body swallowing him down. He panted, pressing forward until his thighs were pressed against Destin’s backside.

  “Love being inside you, baby,” Salvatore admitted, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to stave off the powerful emotions and lust that were threatening to carry him away. He reached his hand between his lover’s thighs and found the piercing that looped through his lover’s cock. He tugged on it gently in time with his thrusts, making sure to massage the aching length every time he did. He wanted Destin mindless.

  “Love when you fill me up, Salvatore. Love when you fuck me so good.” The sentence ended in a whimper of need. Salvatore knew that the piercing was especially sensitive to his touch and used that to his advantage whenever he possibly could. “S–stop that.” Destin moaned. “Gonna come if you keep that up.”

  “Good.”

  “Salvatore!” Destin yelped. Salvatore’s hand slipped lower so that he could fondle his lover’s sac as he angled his hips to drive into the pleasure spot inside Destin’s tight ass. His lover cried out with every thrust. Sweat trailed down Salvatore’s spine as his own breathing increased.

  “Saoi. My Saoi. My love. My King.” The words were a guttural claiming. An admission of love. Destin convulsed in his arms, his cock jerking and bathing Salvatore’s hand in the sticky proof of his pleasure. The Demon Prince groaned at the sight, increasing his pace until the bed was rocking with the force of his hips. Destin’s tight sheath was milking him, tightening around his prick until he was as mindless as an animal in rut.

  “Oh yes. That’s it, baby. Fuck my tight ass, dragon boy.” Destin gasped, arching his back to give Salvatore a lovely display of his muscled physique. The way Destin’s body tightened as he arched was enough to send Salvatore soaring. His orgasm hit him like a freight train. A flash of white light erupted behind his eyelids as his body gave forth his fluids in mighty gushes, flooding the cavern of his companion with every surge.

  His limbs were trembling when he pulled back from his Destiny. He manage
d to roll to the side before he quickly tugged the Fae King into his arms. He kissed Destin’s sweaty temple.

  “You’re amazing. You know this?” Salvatore purred. His lover made a happy noise of contentment and closed his eyes. Salvatore laughed. “What? No pillow talk?”

  “Shut up, Salvatore. I’m trying to remember how to breathe. I’ll talk in a minute,” Destin grumped. Salvatore just smiled. He was where he belonged, in the arms of his Faery King.

  * * * *

  He didn’t know how long they slept, but when he woke it was in the familiar space of his bedroom back on Earth. He inhaled the scent of the sheets and rolled over, seeking his lover in the wide expanse of his bed. He was alone. The Demon Prince spat curses to the ceiling, his heart constricting impossibly. Destiny had left him. Again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The bond flickered to life at the same time Salvatore woke. He felt his Ravyns come awake as their connection flared to glorious golden life. They sat up in their beds, gasping. Salvatore didn’t care. Tears ran down his face and a hole formed in his heart. The loss of his partner in his soul felt like someone had shot the most tender parts of him full of nails.

  He couldn’t believe it. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Destin had left him again. Worse. He had banished him from Underhill and any connection that linked them. Hadn’t he said he loved him? Hadn’t Destin given him his full name, finally? Didn’t it mean anything? He twisted the wedding band on his finger, the last and only reminder of what had taken place hours before.

  The door banged open with enough force to unhinge it on one side as it hit the wall. Salvatore didn’t even glance up.

  “My Prince!” Tony cried, flinging himself into bed beside the sobbing monarch. He was the first one there, but soon his beloved Ravyns were all piled on top of him like a bundle full of anxious puppies. Sometimes he forgot how old they really were.

  “Salvatore.” Ally was crying, too, running his hands over Salvatore’s face over and over again.

  “We thought you were dead,” Dageus added, burying his face in Salvatore’s side and inhaling his scent deeply.

  “We hoped you weren’t, but even the letters weren’t enough. We thought that maybe that guy was playing some sort of trick on us.” Druas choked out the words.

  “Don’t ever, ever, ever, ever do that to us again, my Prince,” Germany admonished, weeping softly.

  Salvatore took comfort from their combined embrace, unwilling to relinquish it for even a minute. He was hollow inside like he’d never felt before.

  “My Prince, what’s wrong?” Tony wondered, kissing Salvatore’s tear-stained cheek. “Did he hurt you?”

  “He’s a dead fucking Tinkerbell if he did!” Ally growled. The others quickly agreed.

  “Stop,” Salvatore said tiredly. “He didn’t hurt me. Not physically. I just—” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He swallowed hard. “Tonight was our—” He started crying again before cursing and shaking his head. He was not going to sit here in bed with his men, bawling his eyes out over Destin leaving him. Again. He was going to be productive. Find a way to talk to him. Talk some sense into him. Something. He couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.

  “What’s with the flowers in your hair, Salvatore?” Druas wondered.

  Which just made him start crying all over again. He touched the blossoms in his hair as well as the crown he hadn’t bothered to take off. All those symbols meant nothing. All the love and energy he’d poured into their courtship and marriage meant nothing. He’d been left. Probably for another stupid-ass reason. What was it this time? Did he make Destin love him too much? Was the commitment too great? What the hell was his partner’s problem now?

  “Whoa,” Ally added his voice to the mix. “Check out the bling underneath the blossoms. Nice. Is that platinum?” Dageus reached over and popped him in the arm with his fist, shooting a meaningful glance at Salvatore.

  “It’s fine, Dageus. Truly. I’m fine. Or I will be. After I get some sleep and come up with a plan,” Salvatore reassured automatically. His Ravyns always worried about him. They had never left him. Never abandoned him. Not once. Even if this thing between himself and his Destiny was over he had them. That gave him a small comfort. The oddly out-of-rhythm beat of his heart disagreed.

  * * * *

  The vampires gave them their space that night and during the day, but when the sun set the following evening, they came knocking on the door. Druas had tried without success to repair it earlier that day. Salvatore was still exhausted and snuggled between the warm, reassuring bodies of his bodyguards.

  “Evening, Prince Salvatore,” Alex, the Master vampire of the city, greeted. He stood just off to the left of the bed as if he didn’t want to interrupt their moment of rest. Salvatore’s eyes rested on his face.

  “Hi.”

  “You look like death warmed over, friend.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Leave him alone, Alex,” Dageus grumbled, hugging Salvatore close. “He had a rough night.”

  “Yeah back off, bitey,” Tony added.

  “I’m not attacking him.” Alex raised his hands in surrender. “I just wanted to check on Salvatore. He’s been gone two months.”

  “Two months?” Salvatore wondered, frowning. He pushed his Ravyns off of his naked body. “I’ve been gone over a year.”

  “Time must be different in the faery world,” Alex said sagely. “Demontia and Earth run on different timetables. It makes sense that the fae world would run on yet another.”

  “You were gone a whole year over there?” Dageus echoed. “Were you a prisoner?”

  They hadn’t spoken of his time away in the hours they’d been together. Salvatore had been too raw about the whole thing. He twisted the ring on his finger. An imperfection in the metal caught the light. There, etched in the metal, was the beginning of his pledge. Wherever you go. So go I. Call my name. Saoi. Huh. That was strange. He didn’t remember his wedding ring saying that before.

  “Earth to Salvatore. You okay, my Prince?” Ally’s voice broke his examination of his ring.

  “Fine. I’m fine.”

  “Gods, is that a wedding band?” Dageus was the one to notice and grabbed his hand, dragging it toward the lamp that Alex had turned on. Salvatore blushed.

  “Holy shit. You got married?” Tony sounded like he was about to give birth to kittens. “Who?”

  “I married my Destiny.” Salvatore stroked the shining band. “The Fae King of Underhill.” They all sucked in a collective breath at his admission. No one had seen that coming.

  “So you’re, uh…”

  “That is irrelevant.” Dageus interrupted Tony’s inquiry. “Married. Salvatore, where is your husband?”

  Salvatore sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “He dropped me off here sometime during our wedding night and left.” He really didn’t want to cry. He really didn’t. “I don’t know why he left.” Immediately his Ravyns reached for him, murmuring soothing words and running their hands over him in comfort.

  “Fae are strange creatures. Ever since we learned you were taken by them, we’ve been doing research in my library,” Alex offered. “You’re welcome to look over the research we’ve accumulated. If you want your lover back—” He paused. “You do want him back?” Salvatore nodded. “Maybe your answers can be found there.”

  “Maybe it’s some sort of test,” Druas offered. They all turned to look at him. “What? Haven’t you ever read any fairy tales? They always involve some sort of quest.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. I went on a quest. I left my own realm. I took up his challenges. I won his bed. I grew in my powers. I married his ass. Isn’t that where we’re supposed to get happily ever after?”

  Alex nodded. “I have to agree with Salvatore in this instance, Dru. Happily ever after comes after the wedding. Of course, if we’re going by Grimms’ fairy tales, then they might not ever get a happy ending.”

  “Thanks for that vote of c
onfidence, vampire,” Salvatore grumbled. “I need to get up.” He picked up a flower petal off his chest. “Look, I’m wilting.”

  “I like the haircut by the way,” Ally complimented. “It makes you look a lot different.” His hand came up to tug on Salvatore’s nipple piercing. “These do, too.” The Demon Prince hissed and smacked his hand.

  “Knock that off. They’re sensitive. Up. All of you. I want a shower.” He looked at Alex. “Then I’ll meet you in your library. This has to be some sort of puzzle.” The Ravyns gave him matching grins. They liked seeing their Prince with that much determination on his face. Salvatore took a deep breath and extricated himself from the pile of Ravyns. He would get closure from his lover in one way or another.

  * * * *

  “The damn ring won’t come off,” Salvatore griped as he wrestled with the metallic ring on his finger. He tugged. He pulled. He twisted. Nothing. Damn.

  “What do you mean it won’t come off?” Ally wondered from his place on the floor of Alex’s study. He’d long since stopped flipping through the piles of papers that were stacked in not-so-neat manila folders that Ally’s fiancé, Damian, had arranged for them to use to stick their research in.

  “It’s stuck or something. Just won’t come off my finger. It moves fine when I turn it, but when I try to pull it off, it sticks to my skin like it’s glued.”

  “Magick, my Prince,” Tony provided. “A binding.”

  Of course it was. Why hadn’t Salvatore thought of that? He was tired. He knew that. They’d been holed up here for almost a week now, pouring over the mountains of fairy tales, eyewitness accounts, and all other manner of hoopla, trying to find a grain of truth that would be helpful in tracking down or summoning a Fairy King. So far they’d turned up nada.

  “How’s Theron?” he asked suddenly. He realized that he hadn’t even seen his cousin since he’d been back. He worried about Theron. When he’d sent his Ravyns back to Demontia to fetch him, Theron had arrived with a soft voice and a nervous disposition.