by LJ Swallow
“Mate?” I ask in shock. “I’m not your mate.”
Ethan’s eyes gleam like embers. “No. But you consume me, and my dragon wants to consume you.”
My mouth parches at the intensity whipping around us. This could end badly—on many levels. “You’re a mid,” I remind him. “You have control of the dragon.”
“Yeah, when I’m calm and logical.” He slides a hand around the back of my neck and holds my head still. “I told you to leave the other day because I lose that logic when I’m with you. My dragon’s deep-rooted need to protect you is as intense as the need to fuck you.”
“Oh,” I breathe out, shocked by his bluntness.
“That’s why I told you not to come into this room. I don’t have full control; you saw that.”
I frown. “Ethan. You wouldn’t assault me. That goes against the need to protect.”
I hope.
His fingers push harder into my neck. “I’m lost to the red mist. If I walk out of this room and see Ivan, I’ll tear him apart. If I stay in this room with you, I’ll struggle to keep control of myself.”
“You wouldn’t hurt me,” I repeat as much to myself as to him, but Ethan isn’t fully here. In his eyes, I see somebody else with him. Something else. “Look how you reacted to hearing about Ivan’s assault.”
He drags my lip down with a rough thumb. “You see me as an ordinary guy, and I’m not.”
“Nobody at Ravenhold is,” I say hoarsely.
“Eloise. I came close to unleashing myself on you the other night. Right now, I can sense and smell how your body reacts to me, and that drives deep into the need I have.”
“I’m not frightened of you, Ethan.” I touch his face. The primal that’s always close to Ethan’s surface surrounds him. Should I be frightened? Maybe. Am I? I don’t know.
“Why don’t you run when I tell you these things?” he asks and drops his hands.
“Because you’ve created this persona to punish yourself. You’re scared to lose control again, but you’ve spent years inside Ravenhold proving that you can keep that control.”
“You don’t understand!”
I stroke his stubbled cheek with the back of my hand. “I understand. If you leave this room, you might kill someone. If you stay here with me, you won’t. I’ll wait with you.”
Ethan’s mouth parts. “What the hell are you saying? Fuck, Eloise...” Pushing my hand away, he steps back and grabs his T-shirt by the neck. His knotted muscles move in his shoulders as he pulls the shirt over his head.
There’s little light in the room, but enough to catch the black patch covering one of his pecs like a thick tattoo. I stare but don’t reach out. Silently, Ethan turns around and more scales create a v-shape from beneath his shoulders to his lower back, the point ending where his jeans hug his ass.
I blank out the growing fear at what he’s showing me. “Would you become a black dragon if you were a shifter?” I ask. “Do dragons come in many colours?”
He whirls around and looks at me as if I’m insane. “That’s your response?”
Curiosity overrides me and I reach out to touch the patch on his chest. The scales are softer than I’d imagined and warm. My heart thumps in my ears when Ethan hisses and moves back, but I can’t let him walk out of that door.
And I don’t want him to.
I bite my lip. “Is that why you’re big? Because you’ve other dragon parts you never lost when you became a mid?”
“You can see how big I am. That’s why people know to avoid me; they think I’ll shift into something terrifying.”
I laugh and drop my eyes to the always unmistakable bulge in his jeans. “Ethan, I mean your cock.”
Ethan’s jaw slackens. “I show you what I am and that’s what interests you the most?” He moves forward and backs me against the wall. “Do you know anything about dragon shifter traits?”
“Only the ones you repeatedly tell me,” I say. “You say you’re dangerous? So am I.” With an exasperated noise, Ethan backs off again, so I catch his hand. “Kiss me.”
His breath shallows further and the low growl grows. “I’m not some testosterone-fuelled guy who needs to work out his frustration, Eloise.”
“I know. I said, kiss me.”
I gasp out as Ethan winds his fingers around my hair and tugs my head backwards. His mouth hits mine and Ethan’s tongue pushes into my mouth, the grip on my hair tightening and the held-back frustration pouring into me. His other arm wraps around my waist and draws me to him, his huge muscles wrapping me in an iron grip.
My lips smart when Ethan pulls away, face scraped by his scruff, and I suck in a breath. The dragon I saw in his eyes earlier looks back at me, silent, calculating, and for a heartbeat I doubt I’m doing the right thing.
Then I understand his pause.
I nod.
Ethan lifts me and I almost become dizzy as he spins me around and lays me on the desk. His mouth goes to my stomach as he pushes up my shirt, scraping and nipping across my skin, not pausing before he moves to my breasts. He drags my bra down to get his mouth on my breasts, and he flicks his tongue against my nipple. Ethan’s weight pins me down and I couldn’t move if I wanted to. Roughly, he pushes my shirt towards my head, and I help drag it off.
With one hand, he unfastens my jeans button and struggles to shove his large hand down the front. He steps back and pulls at them and I wriggle until they’re on the floor. Immediately, his mouth hits mine again, and I murmur something but can’t focus on anything but the aching need Ethan triggered. He pushes my panties to one side, his fingers seeking my clit, his breath harder against my face, as he glides the tips along my wetness.
“Wet,” he says in a guttural voice. “So fucking wet for me.”
I move myself against his hand, and Ethan’s thick finger pushes inside me. The sensation jolts through my body, and I catch my breath as he thrusts his fingers again and again. My hands run across his huge shoulders, and I dig deep into his skin as he gives himself over to pleasuring me. Blood pulses in my ears, the sudden and intense lust shaking through my body. I’m aware the moans in the room are coming from my mouth; but I no longer care as my vision blurs, close to the edge.
I grab Ethan’s hair and breathe out at him to stop, and he looks up at me, eyes shining, before running his tongue along his lips. "You have no idea the amount of self-control this is taking.” His fingers still work me as he looks back down at me with curls stuck to his forehead. "I want to fuck you, but I want to prove I have control around you."
I groan with frustration. Not again. "You don’t need to prove anything."
Ignoring me, Ethan kneels and kisses along my neck, breasts and down to my belly, inch by tormenting inch, and my body buzzes in anticipation. "Fuck," he mutters and pulls at my panties until they drop to the floor.
He switches to kissing along my thigh, and his hot breath caresses my heated flesh before he swipes his tongue along my pussy. His mouth covers me as he drags his tongue the length of me and as he reaches my clit, lightning arcs through my limbs.
I grip his hair again as his tongue skilfully strokes and teases, sucking on my clit until I’m heading upwards again. He holds my legs so I can’t move and his scruff scratches, the harsh contrast sending more shivering pleasure through me. The rhythm of his tongue and fingers against the soft spot inside, drag me into an intensity I’ve never experienced. This guy can do things with his tongue I never imagined possible, each stroke pushing me further out of my mind, and into craving one thing.
Him.
Blood roars through my ears, my vision blackening as Ethan pulls me to the blinding edge. Swearing, he moves back, face glistening as he looks down at me with a slow smile. Our gazes lock for a few moments and as soon as I persuade my shaking body to move, I push myself to stand. I flip open his jean’s button to pull his hard cock from his jeans, expecting him to stop me. He doesn’t.
As I move my hand along him, I’m almost shocked by the reminder how big this gu
y is, and Ethan hisses a breath as I run my thumb across the pre-cum at the tip. He yanks my head back by the hair again and his lips brush my swollen ones. “I warned you. I don’t do gentle. Not like this.”
“I don’t care.”
“But he’s here,” Ethan says in a thick voice and drops my hair.
“You won’t hurt me,” I repeat.
“You’d let me fuck you when I’m like this?” As he moves to hold my throat in his other hand, I panic for a moment but keep working him with my hand.
Yes, because his lust is fucking hot. I nod.
The strange guttural noise he makes comes again and he flips me around before pushing me until my stomach meets the desk. He reaches around in front of me to stroke my clit and I feel his cock against my entrance.
“Was that yes? Because I’m going to fuck you hard.”
“Yes,” I whisper as he moves his thick tip slightly inside me. “But I won’t let you hurt me.”
Ethan blows my hair to one side and his teeth catch my skin. “The dragon doesn’t want to hurt you right now. He just wants you wrapped around his cock.” His voice is strained. “Tell me what you want. Let me hear you ask me.”
I place my palms and forehead on the wood, unable to believe how much this guy’s rough sex turns me on. “The same as last time, Ethan,” I breathe out. “I want you to fuck me.”
The words barely leave my lips before Ethan shoves into me, hard and sudden. I gasp out, at how his size stretches me, my fists balling as the delicious burn sends pleasure shooting through my core.
Ethan curls a hand around my neck and pulls my head back so I’m looking at him. My mouth parts, eager for more, and he holds me beneath the chin before kissing me deeply as he continues his long, hard thrusts.
I tear my mouth away, breathing heavily and gripping the edge of the table either side. “This...omigod. I can’t...” He slowly slides from me, teasing, and I moan. “Don’t stop.”
Ethan grunts as he slams back inside, flicking my clit as he does, “I’m not stopping until you beg me to.”
I’m about to protest I won’t but he thrusts into me harder and faster until I’m overwhelmed again, pleasure pulsing through as I tighten around him. “Omifuckinggod,” I shout into the wood under my face.
Ethan’s fingers dig harder into my skin, his breathing heavier as he grunts and fucks me so hard his balls slam against me. Swearing over and over, he’s relentless until suddenly pushing himself so deep that pain twinges as he shouts out his release.
I struggle for breath again, but this time because he lands heavily on my back. His rapid breath blows against my hair, our bodies sticking together with perspiration. “Ethan.”
“Shit, sorry.” Ethan says hoarsely and quickly moves away before pulling us both to the floor onto the rough rug. He tugs me onto his lap sideways, circling me in his arms as his breathing stills. “Did I hurt you?”
I rub my nose into his neck, still aching from his cock but buzzing with pleasure. “No. I enjoyed every moment.”
“Me fucking you in that position?” His grip tightens. “That’s not what I wanted the first time for us.”
I tip my head back to meet his intense eyes. “There’ll be a next time?”
“Hell, yes.” He places his lips softly on mine. “When I’m calmer. That will be better.”
I’d tell Ethan I liked him at the edge of control, that the sensations still flooding through me couldn’t be much better. Ethan proved he can control himself—almost.
“And you’re calmer?” I whisper. “You won’t attack anybody?”
Ethan tenses. “Did you let me fuck you to calm me down?”
“No.” I crane my head to place my lips on his. “I’ve wanted to do this since you left me frustrated last time.”
“But you deserve a gentle lover, Eloise.”
I snort. “A mid, a shifter and a—" I pause before I say Dorian’s name. “I can’t imagine any Ravenhold resident as a gentle lover.”
Ethan drops into silence and I snuggle into him.
“Is it true that you’re engaged to Ivan?” he whispers after a few moments.
“No! Our families want an arranged marriage I’ve done everything to escape.” I sigh. “Don’t spoil this by mentioning him.”
Ethan takes a sharp breath. “I need to know.”
He strokes my hair, occasionally growling as I explain the last horrible years of my life and how Ravenhold offered me an escape—until Ivan appeared again.
“Ivan doesn’t have a chance in hell if he lays another finger on you. If I don’t fuck him up, Zeke will.”
He’s as raw as when he held me on the desk, and I now know how much strength he holds back. “I believe you.”
As I sit cocooned in Ethan’s arms, my skin against his bare chest and his warm scales, I’m as safe as with Zeke. I wish I didn’t automatically fear Ivan when I see him, but he triggers every emotion I had around him each time we meet. I’m stronger than that girl, but he holds control over me that I need to break.
And if he tries to exert that control, he’ll be the one broken—by the two guys who are waiting for the excuse to act.
Chapter Seventeen
ELOISE
Nobody replaced Francesca yet, so the students now have more free time than a week ago. Angus continues to take over her lessons—not that we learn anything apart from how to cope with silent boredom. He offers us the option to take on more physical ed or study history books. Not exactly a great choice.
Francesca’s greenhouse still exists, although the only plants cultivated now are vegetables for the kitchens. Nobody knows for certain that plants she used had any effect on the students. Most believe the crystals and oils she burned for meditation—and the meditation itself—influenced behaviour and minds. Hence, those who spent most time with her had the greatest issues when the magic was too strong.
Every student is questioned and tested by a grumpy Angus and a Confederacy doctor, accompanied by Raul. Some kids are taken, allegedly to heal, but I still think Confederacy are recruiting students. Raul claims Marcus’s activities weren’t Confederacy policy, but Marcus wasn’t working alone.
And I don’t think he was working with Francesca; I agree with Zeke and Ethan that she’s Dominion.
Who from the Dominion wanted to take us away from the island?
The remaining academy staff are questioned and pneuma vamps are brought in to scour minds. A couple of mids are removed, but that’s all. Still, Ravenhold is on edge.
Ivan’s influence over the witches grows daily and unsettles everything further.
Due to our affinity with nature, a few witches spend time at the greenhouses, but many don’t bother. In recent days, more than usual gather here and always with Ivan. I’m torn between spying on what he’s doing and keeping well away from him. I haven’t seen much of Oriana recently—she’s enmeshed with the new ‘witch power’ movement against the shifter and vamps that’s orchestrated by Ivan. This caused a few clashes with Dorian, but he handles them in his usual ‘take no shit’ way and the witches back down. He and Ivan haven’t met head on yet, and I’m looking forward to the day they clash.
That’ll put Ivan in his place.
I walk across the quadrangle with Oriana, expecting her usual teasing and questions about Ethan and Zeke or attempts to dig information from me. The consensus is that Zeke attacked Ivan, who hasn’t reported his assailant. If he had, Ethan would be in solitary, or worse. Why not report him? I’ve seen Ethan once or twice since our intense sex, but he’s back to avoiding time alone.
Oriana remains quiet and she almost bumps into a shifter girl walking in the opposite direction. I click my fingers in front of her face and she blinks away from her distant look.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You don’t seem yourself at the moment.”
She purses her lips. “What does that mean?”
“Well, you’re quiet, for a start,” I say
with a laugh and nudge her with an elbow.
“Yeah?”
“Do you think Francesca’s magic affected you?”
Oriana splutters. “Nah. I wish. I could’ve had some fun.”
“The academy would be chaos if every student had their abilities. Good thing she left.”
“Anarchy? Yeah. And luckily we have Dorian to keep us all in check.” She shakes her head and pulls a face.
"Hmm."
Oriana pokes me. “Dorian keeps away from you now. Did you scare him?"
I laugh. "No. He's learned bullying me is a waste of time.”
But why am I disappointed? Sure, he's rude and arrogant, but challenging that was half the fun. I can’t figure out his motivations since the night we almost unified—does he worry I'll try to kill him again? Or is he worried about the effect we have on each other?
I can't get Dorian out of my mind, because kissing him took us to another level. I sense he'd have Ethan's rough passion, but there's something extra between us fuelled by blood. It’s best Dorian keeps away, since that intoxicating difference to other guys leaves me wanting more.
Is he still planning an escape, and how? Would Dorian be willing to help me escape too?
Sure. If I handed Dorian what he wanted—more power.
If I gave myself to him.
Every single part of me knows allowing him any closer is a bad idea, apart from this one place of darkness that wants Dorian to give himself to me.
“Where are we headed?” I ask Oriana. “The greenhouse?”
Oriana digs her hands in her pockets and smiles. “To see something interesting.”
Curiosity piqued, I follow her through the doors to the classrooms. As students avoid this area unless necessary, her decision to visit this part of the academy confuses me.
Oriana approaches Francesca’s old room and I frown as she opens the unlocked door. A dim light shines inside the room and I follow her in. I’m greeted by the sight of five witches who sit at a desk with paints and papers.
Including Ivan.
He jerks his head up as he hears us then relaxes and smiles. Yellow and purple bruises cover his face still from the beating Ethan gave him, especially around his eyes and nose. Although Ivan never reported Ethan, he claims ‘some shifter’ attacked him in the dark, if anybody asks. This led to greater tension between the shifters and witches, and I’m unsure if Zeke told anybody, once we told him.
