by Ophelia Bell
Marcus only stared across the room to where Evie sat chatting with some new friends—two of the other dragons in residence and their human mate, a blonde woman who glowed as much from her own pregnancy as from the adoration of her mates. Melody was another Blessed, like him, but her mates had been less than hospitable to Marcus, just like almost everyone else at the enclave. He was less concerned about the others’ opinions than he was about how Evie would respond if he actually managed to find the balls to propose to her for real.
“Turul love a good excuse for a celebration. Besides, the weight of that ring in your pocket is only going to get heavier the longer you wait. It’s starting to weigh me down, too.”
“Fuck, I feel like I’m back in high school, trying to get up the nerve to ask out my crush. Like it doesn’t even matter that I woke up this morning with my dick halfway down her throat because she’s decided I am breakfast for the foreseeable future.”
Ked chuckled. “You aren’t alone. In fact, I’m going to give you a little push.”
Before Marcus could object, the world abruptly went pitch black, causing the entire dining hall to erupt in alarm. He cursed under his breath, but was acutely aware that the darkness covering them now was the cozy, cuddly version of Ked’s power, though he doubted the rest of the enclave, aside from Evie, and perhaps Belah, realized it.
“Don’t be alarmed,” Ked said through the thick, velvety blackness. “This is only a friendly nudge to my mate to take care of some long overdue business.”
Around him the darkness lifted, light seeping in from a source Marcus couldn’t discern. It was enough to illuminate him entirely, as though he sat in a spotlight. Around him, the others all stared from the darker shadows.
Across the room, Evie’s startled face came into view in a similar circle of light. She turned and gave Marcus a bewildered smile.
“Marcus? What is this?”
Taking a deep breath, Marcus stood. He spent a moment trying to gather his thoughts, mostly sending a barrage of rude words to Ked, whose grin was almost bright enough to glow.
“Evie,” he said, moving to walk toward her. “I think I have loved you since the first day I laid eyes on you, singing with your brothers in Central Park. It was spring in 1965, and it took me about a week to work up the nerve to even talk to you. The day you sang to me, I knew my life had changed. I had no idea what I was then, or what I would become. All I knew was that my life would only have meaning with you in it.”
Evie’s eyes widened and she turned in her seat to face him as he walked closer. God, could it have been any longer a journey to get to her? She was so beautiful, illuminated the way she was on that dark backdrop. A few faces were visible in the shadows around her, but Marcus only had eyes for her. In his mind, Ked was similarly enthralled, and Marcus sensed that the light that surrounded both him and Evie could only have been given to the two of them in that moment. He felt bathed in love so complete, it spurred him on to finish what he needed to do – what he had needed to do for five decades.
“I would have died without you, Evie. Now that we’ve made it through the darkest part of our lives together, I know we were always meant to travel that path, because it was the only path that led us here, to this place, to this day, to this moment.
“Fifty years ago, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you,” he said, finally reaching her and falling to his knees before her. Their shared bubbles of light brightened around them enough to illuminate most of the room. Tears glistened on her cheeks and she bit her lower lip, watching him. “At the time I thought we’d spend fifty years happily married, have children, grow old together. Now I know we were given a much greater gift. We have forever now. I was going to ask you then, but I’m glad I had to wait. Angel, will you spend forever with me? Will you marry me?”
He held up the tiny circle of silver with the simple setting of three diamonds. It seemed such a trivial thing now, after everything they’d been through.
Evie’s eyes brightened through her tears. “Yes, Marcus. Always.”
She let him place the ring on her finger and then launched herself at him. Marcus laughed as he stood. He kissed her madly, barely aware of the return of the light and the rising sound of singing and music around them.
As the gathering erupted into an all-out celebration, Marcus found himself suddenly the center of attention. Praise and congratulations came at him from all sides, but none of it filled him with as much joy as Evie’s kiss and the sparkling jewels on her finger.
“I’ve waited two hundred years for this,” she said to him, curled on his lap where he sat, chatting now with a few turul who had barely even acknowledged his existence until moments ago.
Ked moved toward them finally, his smile fading and a look of longing in his eyes. In the back of his mind, Marcus received an impression of his mate, of eons of self-subjected loneliness. Now the loneliness was gone, but the memory of it had yet to fade.
“A drop in the bucket,” Marcus said, his eyes meeting Ked’s.
The Shadow’s approach caused conversation to halt around them.
“Five thousand, give or take,” he said. “Not that there’s a competition, but you both are mine now, so I’d say I won, either way.”
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Books by Ophelia Bell
Sleeping Dragons Series
Animus
Tabula Rasa
Gemini
Shadows
Nexus
Ascend
Rising Dragons Series
Night Fire
Breath of Destiny
Breath of Memory
Breath of Innocence
Breath of Desire
Breath of Love
Breath of Flame and Shadow
Breath of Fate
Sisters of Flame
Dragon’s Melody
Immortal Dragons Series
Dragon Blues
Dragon Void
Dragon Glow (coming soon)
Dragon Heat (coming soon)
Dragon Blessing (coming soon)
Dragon Secrets (coming soon)
Black Mountain Bears
Clawed
Bitten
Nailed
Standalone Erotic Tales
After You
Out of the Cold
Ophelia Bell Taboo
Burying His Desires
•
Blackmailing Benjamin
Betraying Benjamin
Belonging to Benjamin
•
Casey’s Secrets
Casey’s Discovery
Casey’s Surrender
About Ophelia Bell
From fantasy erotica to sci-fi and contemporary, exploring the baser urges of the human psyche is what gets Ophelia Bell going. There’s nothing more beautiful than two people (or three, or four… or more!) lost in the throes of ecstasy. Skin on skin, urgent whispered pleas, the scent of sex and the salty taste of sweat. Nothing is more yummy than a good, juicy erotic story. If you have the same mindset you’ll love reading these books as much as she loves writing them
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Ophelia Bell spends her time in sunny Southern California with her very supportive husband and sixty-nine attention-whoring cats.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.
Dragon Void
Copyright © 2016 Ophelia Bell
Cover Art Designed by Ophelia Bell
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Published by Ophelia Bell
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