Her brows furrowed in confusion at his declaration. But instead of offering anything further, Jaxen dove back in for another kiss.
Olivia decided that just for once, she’d do something crazy and unplanned. She’d followed orders and married a perfect stranger, but for some odd reason, this stranger ignited a fire within her she’d never felt before. Her mind screamed for her to get to the bottom of this; to question everything until something made sense.
But just this once she decided to throw caution to the wind and listen to her heart. The traitorous organ thrummed in contentment and urged Olivia to let go of all the rules and structure. It begged her to let Jaxen do what he wanted with her; as long as he continued to make her feel good.
Jaxen knew the moment reason lost its war with pleasure. Olivia’s body relaxed from the taunt line into a puddle of neediness.
“That’s it,” he coaxed her gently. “Just let go and be. I’ll make sure you never regret following orders.”
His hand snaked down the curvy contour of her body, stopping only when he’d reached his destination. His hand cupped her bottom, the motion forcing her body closer to his. Her eyes snapped up to his when she felt his hardness pressing into her.
“What the hell,” Olivia murmured in surrender and poured herself into kissing him, her lips hungrily devouring his. “We only live once,” she finished and shoved him backward until he lay sprawling on the plush surface of the king-sized bed.
She moved up the expanse of his body and then sat, straddling him, the heat of her core burning into his lower stomach. He reached up and palmed both healthy breasts, his thumbs brushing across her nipples and she moaned in response.
“Do you always have to be in charge?” Jaxen inquired huskily. To which she merely smiled and ground herself against him playfully. This time it was Jaxen who moaned.
In a flash, he bucked her off him and had her pinned underneath him, the warm weight of his body pressing hers into the soft mattress.
He thrust his hips, his long, thick shaft entering her in one fluid motion and she gasped in delight. She let him set the motion and then rushed to meet him thrust for thrust. With each reunion of his body into hers, the tension within her built higher and higher until she felt like she’d climbed Mt. Everest. Her lungs burned from the panting breaths whooshing in and out of her lungs.
he felt him swell within her, knowing that meant he was only seconds away from his release. She reached down and grabbed two handfuls of his tight, delectable butt and pulled him harder and faster into her; her fingernails no doubt leaving scores along his tight globes. The moment she reached her own blissful peak, her body clamped down on his and Jaxen moaned low in his throat. He then bent to piece the soft skin of her neck with his fangs.
The sweet-painful heat flooded her system, maximizing her orgasm to a level she’d never experienced before. She pressed her eyes closed tightly and sighed when fireworks burst behind her eyelids. Her body convulsed over and over as she rode wave upon wave; shocked when it seemed to go on forever.
“Is this what it’s like being with a dragon?” Olivia gasped as a searing heat bloomed in her stomach.
“It’s our mating,” Jaxen whispered in her ear from where he still lay sprawled atop her. “It may get uncomfortable, but don’t fight it, just let my essence sweep through your veins. It means we’re becoming one. Our DNA is mingling and mine is supercharging your dormant genes.”
Suddenly, along with the fire sweeping through her veins an unfamiliar sensation also blossomed inside her heart. Could it be love? She wanted to scoff at her insane notion. They hadn’t known each other long enough for that and yet when she thought about spending the rest of her life with him, she wanted to smile. Simple elation filled her. Was it possible?
A sudden piercing pain ripped through her body and her back bowed violently off the bed, successfully tossing Jaxen to the floor like a weightless rag doll.
“What’s happening,” Olivia demanded and then screamed as another flash of torture tore through her flesh.
Chapter 8
Curling into a fetal position, Olivia held her knees to her chest and held the wail from escaping through her parched lips.
Skin slicked with perspiration, her entire body shook from the magnitude of the pain. She shivered as violent shiver after shiver rolled through her and no matter how strong she was, or how much dragon DNA she had, she barely managed to stay conscious.
Jaxen paced the floor beside the large, canopied bed like a caged lion. His face was drawn in a worried, pensive mask and every once in a while he’d curse under his breath.
“Something isn’t right,” he murmured. “This isn’t right. It isn’t supposed to be this painful.
She tried to ask him what he was talking about, but her teeth chattered so severely she was afraid she’d bite her tongue if she tried to speak. The only thing she could do was hold on for dear life and hope the pain went away. She’d been told that by ‘mating’ with Jaxen, her DNA would rearrange itself so that she’d evolve completely. So, essentially her human DNA was undergoing so strange morphing thing.
But nothing could've prepared her for this.
A cool hand came down on her forehead, deft fingers wiping sweat-soaked strands of hair from her face.
“You’re burning up,” Jaxen inhaled sharply. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her eyebrow. “I’ll be right back, I need to get someone to help you.” And just like that he was gone.
Olivia closed her eyes and let her mind float away from her present problems. She let it take her somewhere beautiful, safe and cool. The beach. She let the cool water lap at her skin, cooling the fever, siphoning it from her system like a leech. Waves crashed against the shore, the soft whoosh and hiss of the spray as the water collided with sand echoed softly, creating a cocoon of bliss.
She sighed in relief as some of the pain finally lessened and let herself drift off on the next wave.
***
“She’s not submitting,” Samuel murmured as he ran the cool cloth gently across Olivia’s scalding hot skin. “In order for the mating to succeed, she has to allow herself to love you, to accept you and this new life. She’s fighting her foreign nature with the only one she’s ever known.” Samuel looked up at Jax. “She’s so very strong, My Lord, she’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met, dragon or human.”
“It won’t matter how strong she is, if she doesn’t allow the change to happen, she will die,” Jaxen muttered and fell to his knees beside the bed. Reaching across the sweat-soaked sheets, he took her limp hand in his and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.
“I know you can hear me,” he whispered to her. “I need you to let go. I need you to accept us both for who we really are.” His voice broke and his eyes teared, the plump droplets running down his cheeks. Crying wasn’t a manly thing to do, but at the mere thought of losing his new-found mate, he felt like screaming to the heavens. Since he’d physically shared his life-force with her, if she died, he would as well.
But that minor detail aside, he couldn’t exist without no matter. He’d come to love her and for him - she was his life - his forever. She’d filled a hole inside of him and should she not survive, that hollow spot would grow, rot and erode until nothing of him remained.
“Should I summon someone, My Lord?” Samuel asked softly.
Suddenly inspiration smacked Jaxen like a bolt of lightning. His head snapped up and he knew his eyes had illuminated even without Samuel visibly cringing. His need to protect his mate, primal as it was, had risen to the surface and nothing could stop him from doing just that.
“Summon Elandra,” Jaxen ordered. Samuel nodded curtly and hurried to the chamber doors. Jaxen brought both of Olivia’s hands to his forehead and bent his head for one last request. Should Elandra fail, they were both doomed.
Chapter 9
Dream-walking was both an exact science and a delicate approach. Jaxen had his faction’s priestess summoned with the intent of sending him
self into Olivia’s dreams where he could plead with her face-to-face. At least by doing that, he’d given them both a chance.
Jaxen deeply inhaled the incense and let his mind fill with visions of Olivia. Her wild auburn curls fanning his pillow, her face alight with happiness and wonder. He even recalled the sound of his name on her lips as they’d made love. He felt his body lighten and then float.
After a few moments, he opened his eyes and studied his surroundings. He wasn’t surprised to find himself on an obstacle course designed for soldiers-in-training. However, instead of young men and women running the gauntlets, one lone figure struggled to beat each deterrent. She wore a heather gray sweat suit, her wild hair tamed in a ponytail and her face was red as blood. Her chest heaved heavily as she jumped one mud hole and then crashed to the ground to crawl under a low barb-wire fence.
“Olivia,” he called gently and stilled when she rose to face him. Her face was covered in smatterings of blood, sweat and - he imagined - tears. She pulled her sleeves upward and advanced on him with an angry glint in her eye.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Isn’t it enough you’ve taken over my life, now you want my dreams as well?”
Jaxen reached out and took her hands in his, holding firm when she tried to pull away.
“If you don’t submit to what’s happening to you, you will die,” he stated matter-of-factly. “And if you die, I die.”
Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.
“Why would you die?” she asked, suddenly more emotional than he’d ever seen her. The woman from within broke through the tough, soldier exterior and he realized just how amazing she was. She was everything he’d ever wanted in his mate.
Perhaps he’d gone about this all wrong. Having the President merely order her to marry him might have been the fallacious approach after all.
“I bound my life essence to yours during our ceremony,” he explained softly and took another step closer to her. He offered her his open palm and smiled when she tentatively placed her own hand in his. “So, if you die, I will too.”
“Why?” she asked, her voice sounding small and broken. “Why would you do such a thing knowing I might not survive the mating? Is it a tradition, did you have to?”
“No,” Jax answered simply. “No, it’s not tradition, and no one forced me to. I wanted to.” He tugged her hand and brought her body against his, wrapping his arms around her waist. She placed her palms on his chest and pushed him back just far enough so that they could look into eat other’s eyes.
Why would such a magnificent being risk his life for a nobody like her? She’d fought all her life to be taken seriously, to be stronger, faster, smarter than all the boys. She’d never been dainty and feminine like most girls. She’d never fit in anywhere. But from the moment she met Jaxen, she felt like she’d finally found home. Of course the whole mating business had seemed like utter nonsense, but the more she’d listened to Samuel as he’d told of the dragons’ history, the more she allowed herself to embrace the strange, new world. Somewhere up her ancestral line a dragon had taken a human mate, creating a line of hybrids. So, she’d thought that maybe her life had a higher purpose after all. Maybe all her time in the military had served as training for her real destiny. It had certainly honed her into a lethal killing machine. But as she completed the mating ceremony and began her metamorphosis, she’d quickly realized she was nowhere near strong enough.
But now, in learning that if she succumbed to that black abyss of nothing, she’d also condemn Jaxen to the same fate, she knew she had to fight. She to fight harder and not just for her. She had to fight and save the man she’d fallen in love with.
Her mind made up, she tilted her head back and looked up at him.
“Tell me what I need to do,” she asked. “I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Jax’s body faded into empty air and Olivia found herself tumbling headfirst down a virtual rabbit hole. The world around her spun wildly, air kicking up in turbulent gusts. It was so strong it pulled her hair free of the ponytail, leaving the thick tresses to whip around face. Her insides ignited and pulled taunt. Her first instinct was to fight, but she forced herself to relax, both in body and mind.
The gale-force wind lifted her body off the ground, tossing it about like a limp rag doll and all the while Olivia let the wind do what it willed. The warmth within her spread from her core to encompass every particle of her being. When the scalding hotness reached her throat, she opened her mouth to scream and stared in shock as fire spewed forth instead.
She had breathed fire.
She only had a moment to revel in the surprise before the winding funnel sucked her inside and she surrendered to the darkness.
Chapter 10
Jax stared in open-mouthed wonder as Olivia’s body levitated off the bed. He’d hurried to cover her with a sheet and watched in amazement as a swift wind swept into the bedroom and caressed her in its fold. He reached out and took one of her limp hands, relieved when her skin was cool to the touch. He lightly traced his lips across her forehead and smiled. Her fever was gone. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to convince her, but he was glad he’d done it.
She’d live - forever - at his side, as his Queen and mate. All they had to do now was allow her body to ascend into its rightful state.
He saw the orangish-red light spring to life within her womb and watched in rapture as it quickly spread throughout her body, filling her veins with the fire of her ancestors. No elements could successfully interbreed, but considering she was a human/dragon hybrid, this was new territory for all of them.
Her head whipped back and golden light spewed from her open mouth, filling the room in a searing red-hot heat.
Once the blast of heat subsided, Olivia’s body slowly lowered back to the bed, her hair now a flaming red, curls spread across the sheets under her. The wind had caused the sheet to wrap itself around her long, voluptuous body in a toga-style dress. When she opened her eyes, Jaxen inhaled sharply as he stared into those now emerald green orbs. She was absolutely breathtaking.
“How do you feel?” he asked softly.
Olivia raised herself to sit cross-legged and arranged the sheet to cover her a little better. Jaxen’s question echoed wildly in her ears and she realized all her senses had changed dramatically. She saw clearer, heard better, even her skin was more sensitized. If her future were half as exciting as these new sensations rolling around inside of her, Jax was in for a very long and unexpected marriage.
“I’m starving,” she announced and smiled.
***
THE END
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Elite Deceit
Chapter 1
I am one of the lucky ones. Most gifted people, most commonly known as monsters, are killed as soon as they come of age. It is a human’s legal right to kill a marked individual on sight. When I was young, as with the majority of my classmates, I was brought to a magically protected boarding school—Edmund’s Academy for the Gifted. Humans are pinged across the world if they attempt to infiltrate, and the gifted with malevolent intentions are sent back from where they had come. As long as they enter the academy with pure intentions, they can stay, even if those intents change. As a student, I am safe.
At the age of nineteen, we gain a marking on our backs. It’s when the gifted become fully grown and legally able to be killed. To us, the marks are simply overdue birthmarks. They are different for everyone. They map out the destiny of their inhabitants, yet can be seen by anyone other than the wearer. After all, it is forbidden to know your calling unless deemed necessary by a prophet. Others are able to see pieces of the marking, but no one person can decipher the entire thing.
I turn nineteen years old i
n six minutes.
“What do you think your marking will say?” Coral asks from the bunk above mine. Her long red waves run down the side of our bed, and her excited voice energizes me. I am jittering from the anticipation of receiving my mark. What will the marking feel like? Will I feel an entirely new sense of importance once I am officially marked? I keep my eyes glued to the clock on the other side of the room.
“I don’t know. Do you think it will hurt?” I ask nervously. I was born at 4:36 PM on July 2, 2197, and I have been waiting for this moment my entire life.
“It shouldn’t. I call being the first to see,” she squeaks. I don’t allow my eyes to veer in Coral’s direction, but her hair disappears from my peripheral vision and I hear her walking around the room. Most people don’t have their best friend to comfort them while they receive their marks.
“What if I don’t have a great destiny?” I ask, biting my bottom lip. I pull my bleach blond hair over my shoulder and allow it to fall down my right side.
“Snow,” Coral starts, “your destiny is bound to be important. You are the only Elite mermaid in the academy.” I sigh and look away from the clock. Coral’s hair is the first thing that catches my attention, which is not unusual in any way. The mermaid warfare professor calls her Ariel, which is the name of an old movie character from the early 2000s. None of the students in the academy have lived nearly long enough to watch the film. All of the movies that gave monsters a positive connotation were destroyed. The average lifespan of a mermaid is about 300 years, so some of the professors were around to see the movies before their downfall.
Seal'd to Her: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance Page 51
