by Ginna Moran
Strolling to the dancing flames of his bonfire, he grabs what’s left of my tattered clothes and piles them on the ground. Theo sits on the fabric and cradles me in his arms, holding me in silence until I finally look at him. I should feel weird about letting him embrace me while we’re both naked, but I don’t. My deep-seated nature as a dragon, or maybe it’s the forced bonding of our souls, feels completely natural. Familiar. This isn’t about sex. It’s something far more important.
A dozen emotions run wild between us, and all I can do is search his eyes for the answers he struggles to share with me. His hesitation, his sudden vulnerability, screams how he fears this could be the possible undoing of everything he had hoped to claim with me.
And who knows? It just might.
“I’ve fucked up,” he finally says, his eyes lining in the corners with his grimace. “My clan has fucked up, and I’m afraid that nothing I do can fix this. I know I shouldn’t have stolen you away, but I needed you to hear me out in a place untouched by the clans, by covens, and protected from the rest of the universe. No one will ever find us here.”
“But why do this? What is so bad that you’re afraid to tell me in front of my mates? In front of Ambrose? I don’t know exactly what you two are to each other with the whole familiar bond, but I know you care about him. I can feel it.” I keep my hands linked together across my chest, the warmth of his body and the blazing fire only doing so much to melt the cold dread clinging to every fiber of my being.
“Because a part of our union agreement was that you were never to know the truth about what your parents went through. If I tell you and the Litendrake Clan discovers it, we will face a war. Alliances are fragile, and as the eldest of our line, we’re entrusted to secure our power. Our half-brothers and their future intended mate depend on us. As well as many other lesser clans. We rule and protect an entire territory. Our position gives us a voice with the High Council, but our alliance with the Litendrake Clan guarantees it.” The info-bomb Theo shares only leaves me with more questions.
I frown, trying to process his words. “But why can’t I know? Why hasn’t my father even reached out to me? Does he even know I’m here now? It just all seems so...strange. How can you expect me—how can the Litendrakes expect me—to be a Darkonian mate if I can’t know the truth? How am I supposed to trust you?”
“Nova, please. You can trust me. Just feel our bond. Everything I do is for you,” he says, shifting me to face him straight on.
I’m so annoyed by his comment that even the fact that our bodies are only an inch apart does nothing to distract me. “Everything you do is for me? For me? Are you fucking serious, Theo? You considered having Ambrose sever my bond to my mates. You wanted to steal me away and be done with them. Hell, you didn’t even introduce yourself before you tied our souls together!” My voice echoes through the chilly night. “None of this bullshit is for me. I should deny you as my mate and go to my father and tell him to fuck off. I mean, how could he have been alive all this time and not have tried to come for me? I should have the honor of punching him in his face for thinking he could just give me away without ever even seeing me.”
Raising his hands from my sides, Theo surprises me and cups my face. He leans in ultra-close, our lips a mere inch apart, but he doesn’t try to kiss me. Instead, he locks me in his stare. “I wish I could help you fulfill that desire.”
“Why can’t you?” I ask, huffing a breath.
“I told you—”
“Just stop. I don’t give a shit about whatever the fuck stipulation is involved in this fucked up union between us. Tell me why I’m not supposed to know anything. Tell me, Theo. Now.” I shake his shoulders. “I deserve to know. If you ever want me to give you a chance—a real chance—we can’t start things off with secrets. I need to know the truth.”
“Nova, I’m—I’m afraid,” Theo says, his voice coming out as a whisper. “I’m afraid I’ll lose you either way before I ever even have the chance to have you in the first place. Tiernan thinks our bond will save me and screw him over, but I think he’s wrong. I’m going to lose.”
I want so badly to shake him again, to slap him, to do something to get him to realize this isn’t even about him. It takes everything in me not to. “This isn’t a game. There isn’t winning or losing. There is just the truth.”
“And you deserve it.” He squeezes his eyes shut like he can’t bear to look at me another second longer.
“So tell me.” I slide my hands from his shoulders to cup his cheeks in my hands.
Closing the space, I rest my forehead to his. Our breath mingles as the silence drags out between us. I can’t hear his thoughts now, but every single one of his emotions floods through me. Fear, anger, defeat, heartache—these cruel feelings battle against my will to stay strong in my desire for answers. As each quiet second passes, I lose myself to everything Theo is in this moment, struggling to keep myself free.
I’ve never had such an overwhelming urge to kiss and murder someone at the same time. How can I want so badly to tell him things will be okay while also threatening to destroy any chance of giving this fucked up situation a chance? How much can I actually blame him? We grew up in two completely different worlds. And perhaps, and this is a big fucking maybe, I’d think differently if I wasn’t raised by a witch posing as my aunt in the Mortal World.
“Please, Theo,” I add, my voice caressing his lips.
He sighs. “Can I kiss you first?”
I crinkle my nose. “Kiss me?”
“I know it’s fucked up to ask you, but I need to know what it’s like. It might be the only time I ever get to.” He combs his fingers into my hair. “Please.”
Fuck it.
Crashing my lips to his, I kiss him with the anger and annoyance coursing through me, setting off my wild side. Tingles explode through me, my emotions stealing all my senses, and I deepen our kiss, slipping my tongue against his, kissing him as if my kiss is lethal and deadly, savoring that he’s willing to risk it anyway.
“You could very well be the death of me,” Theo murmurs against my mouth, responding to my thought. He kisses me again. “The end of the Darkonian reign.”
I don’t respond, clinging to him like we stand on the edge of a cliff, waiting to plummet over to find out if our dragons will save us in the end.
“But to kiss you, to feel you, to fight for even another moment with you—it’ll be worth it,” he adds. “I hope you know that. You’re my mate despite everything. Mine.”
Why do I love the sound of that?
“Theo, you can’t distract me. Tell me now,” I say.
Inhaling a deep breath, he meets my gaze. “You were not to know about the circumstances because your father doesn’t want to ever lay eyes on you. Your mother—she betrayed not only the Drakovich Clan but also the Litendrakes. My clan allied with the Litendrakes to help them with the threat your mother posed. You see, she killed the crown prince of the Litendrake Clan and betrayed your father.”
The edges of my vision shadow as my heart slides into my stomach. “I don’t understand. Are you telling me my father gave me to your clan because of my mom? He’s holding her shit against me?” What the actual fuck? My eyes burn at the thought. “Aunt McKayla told me I reminded her a lot of my mom.”
“I’m sorry,” Theo says. “This is why you weren’t supposed to know. Being able to choose your mates and use you to increase the Litendrake Clan’s power was part of your mother’s restitution for her crimes.”
I clench my fingers into fists. “And you just agreed? Fuck!”
“Nova, I—”
“Take me back to the palace, Theo.” I’ve never felt so angry and sick in my life. I need to talk to the Drekis. I need to find my aunt now, no matter what it takes.
“Please, just give me a few more minutes. We can talk this through,” he says, tightening his hold on me.
I breathe fire in his face. “I said take me back. Now!”
Chapter 17
Hate Passion
/> “I’M BEGGING YOU FOR THE sake of our futures, don’t tell the others. The fewer who know, the better.” Theo clutches my hand on the balcony, refusing to release me.
“If you want me to even consider basically anything with you ever, you will take that back.” I try to tug away, but he only tightens his fingers even more. “You will never ask me to keep anything like this from the Drekis.”
“I don’t want them to try to do something in your honor. I’m protecting them.” His nostrils flare with his annoyance. “Why can’t you see that?”
“Because you have no reason to. You only even tolerate them around because you don’t have a choice.” This time, I stomp his foot, trying to get him to let me go. Still, it doesn’t work.
Theo shifts on his feet and pulls me flush against him, not allowing any space between our naked bodies. His cock flexes against my stomach, my closeness setting him off with a raging boner, and I can’t stop thinking about the angry kiss on the cold mountain.
“You know what? You’re fucking right. If I had things my way, I’d keep you to myself. I wouldn’t even allow Tiernan to get an ounce of you either. I’ve tried being nice. I’ve tried letting your emotions influence me into giving you what you want, but what you feel you want and what you actually desire are far different, and it confuses and infuriates me.” His hand slides to the small of my back. Spreading his fingers, he teases my ass cheek, digging his nails in just enough to excite me.
“You know nothing, Theo,” I snap, glaring into his eyes.
“I know that it pisses you off how much you want me, despite everything. If you didn’t, you would’ve rejected me. You would’ve put up more of a fight,” he mutters, leaning down, getting into my face.
“Fuck off. You’re delusional. If anything, I haven’t because I thought you could use your power and status to help me, but I was clearly wrong. You’re a coward. You hide behind supposed weak alliances so you don’t have to do anything for me.” Our warm breaths mingle, the space between us hot and angry, our wills battling to make the other see what we believe to be the truth.
“I should just hand you over to the High Council,” he mutters, his eyes lighting with fire.
“Then do it. See what happens.” My breasts caress his hard pecs with my deep breathing. “Like I said, I’m not afraid of going back to Max.”
He moves his other hand to clutch me harder. “You’re lying, Delphia. You’re counting on my brother to intervene. You expect Ambrose and the Drekis to help him. I can feel it.”
I swallow my nerves, my whole body hot with my rising fury. “I thought Tiernan was the bigger asshole of you two, but I was wrong. You’re the monster. You nearly had me fooled with your fake nicety.”
“And you nearly got away with making me think I had a chance with you without just taking what’s mine.” His eyes brighten with his dragon fire, his lust raging hard and hot, his cock throbbing between us.
“You’re crazy if you think you can even try.” Tingles burst between my legs, the intense need of my dragon to show him that if anything, he belongs to me, running wild. “I’m not a possession. I’m not your damn mate.”
He growls, clenching his jaw. “You’re fucking mine. Mine!”
Closing the space between our mouths, he kisses me with all his hot intensity, his raw, commanding emotions shattering my resistance to him. Grabbing his head, I kiss him back, yanking his hair to stop him from even trying to pull away from me. Because he’s wrong. I’m not his, but damn it, he is mine. He’s mine and I’ll use him as he wants. I’ll take what I need.
I don’t have to like him. I don’t have to agree to be his complacent little female dragon. He will learn that once he gets even a piece of me that he will be the one on his knees, bowing down. I’ll ensure it. He’s going to hate how much he wants me, and I’ll savor the power I have over him.
Biting his bottom lip between my teeth, I nip him hard enough to make him grunt. My back crashes to the stone wall as he cages me to it, lifting me off my feet, so I have to curl my body around his. He flicks his tongue over mine, kissing me deeper, exploring my mouth, setting my body off. I gasp a moan, my back scratching on the cold rocks.
I can’t believe how much I want him in this moment. I’m so angry and annoyed with him and this entire situation, but damn it. I want to fuck the asshole attitude out of him.
“You’re mine,” he mutters against my mouth. “Do you understand?”
“Fuck you,” I respond, reaching between us to lace my fingers around his hard cock. “This doesn’t mean shit.”
“Is that so?” he says, breaking from my mouth. “You’re going to feel stupid when I’m through with you. You’ll see.”
Lifting me up higher, Theo balances me on his shoulders, using the wall to keep my body in place. He drags his tongue across my sensitive skin, moving his head from side to side as he shifts my body to expose my clit to him.
And oh fuck.
An intense vibration bursts from the barbell in his tongue, the magically enhanced piercing making me scream in pleasure. I clutch onto his head, pulling his hair, squirming at the intensity of his mouth sucking and licking me that I swear I see stars in my vision. If no one knew we were back, they do now.
“You’re fucking mine, Delphia.” Theo’s words swirl through my mind, his thoughts open to me in this crazy-ass, hate-filled moment of passion. “Tell me.”
“Fuck you,” I say, tipping my head back through the wave of ecstasy already bringing me to my peak.
He growls and sucks my clit with more fury while sliding one of his fingers into me from behind. I arch and wiggle, my body desperate for release. I want nothing but to explode and take him with me, to teach him that I’ll decide his place in my life, even if it’s just to be here for my damn enjoyment.
“I will enjoy you more,” he thinks, sending me over the edge.
I gasp and scream out, my whole body tensing and convulsing with my orgasm. Clinging onto Theo’s head, I squeeze him between my thighs, rocking my hips. I plan to ride his face for the rest of the night if this is how it’s going to be.
“Not happening, you little firecracker. It’s my fucking turn if this is how you want to play.” Theo pushes me off him, dropping me two feet, only to catch me by my ass. “You’re not going to be the only one ever getting off.”
“You say that like this will happen again,” I say, my chest heaving, my back aching in the best way from being man-handled.
He glowers and aligns our bodies. “That’s a promise.”
Swinging his hips hard, he thrusts into me with a sexy moan. Pleasure steals my breath, my body reacting to the motions of him, his passionate rhythm pounding every thought from my mind. How can I relish in the ecstasy created by someone who enrages me? Fuck. I guess I have to work out my frustration somehow. Might as well be with the man desperate to have me. One who will seemingly do anything to ensure it.
Theo’s mouth meets mine, and he plunges his tongue practically down my throat to silence the noise escaping my mouth. I fight back and sink my nails into his shoulders, kissing him deeper, gliding my tongue across his like I can unscrew his tongue ring so he doesn’t have the advantage of magical sex jewelry over me. Because I don’t want this to stop. I want him to pin me down and rough me up so that I think about the pleasure he awakens in me for days.
“Forever,” he thinks, breaking from my mouth to suck my neck hard enough to leave his mark. “I want you wet just thinking about me. I want you to have to beg me to carry you because you can’t find the strength to walk when I’m through.”
Oh, fuck. Who knew I’d want that too.
He moves to the other side of my neck and sucks the supple skin of my throat. “You’re mine. I will not let anyone take you from me. Fuck the damn alliance with the Litendrakes. Fuck the High Council—”
I press my hand to his mouth, squeezing his scruffy cheeks. “Just shut up and fuck me harder. Make me scream.”
Growling, he bares his teeth, and t
he world spins again. I heave as my belly hits the railing of the balcony, and Theo locks one hand into my hair while reaching around to play with my clit. He thrusts into me from behind, and I tighten my torso and stretch my legs into the splits to feel every inch of him. He moans and arches my head back, kissing me upside down. My muscles ache in the best way, the new position exciting and hot, the cool air caressing me with a thrilling sensation where his body sets mine ablaze.
“Tell me who you belong to, Nova,” Theo says, his deep voice reverberating through my soul.
I bite my tongue and don’t respond.
Rubbing my clit with more pressure, he huffs and picks up pace, bringing me to the verge of another wave of ecstasy. “Tell me.”
“Make me,” I gasp, losing myself to Theo.
Tightening his hand around my hair, he restrains me in place. His hand works faster over my body, his thrusts penetrating me so deeply I swear I can feel him in my stomach on a mission to fuck my brains out.
And then something shocks my insides, the strange pulse hitting me right in my g-spot, freezing every muscle on my body. The pleasure consumes me in a wave so intense that I scream out Theo’s name. It’s like I can feel my orgasm in even the follicles of my hair, blowing my damn mind.
“Who do you belong to, Nova?” he demands, his hot motions banging starbursts in my vision as if the night sky falls to the mountainside.
“You,” I gasp, the word sounding like a whimpering plea. “I belong to you.”
With my admission, Theo flips me over and kisses me, fucking me fast and furious, so full of pride, satisfaction, raw need, and something else. Something hot and dangerous and completely intoxicating until he moans with his release.
He eases his mouth from mine but doesn’t let go of my chin. “Remember that next time you even consider rejecting me. You’re my mate, and I’ll do what I have to. You will see that even with rewriting the fates, this was always meant to be.”
I heave a breath, his words swirling through my mind.
Theo doesn’t give me a chance to respond and transforms into his beautiful metallic black beast. Leaning his head down, he meets my gaze with his jade eyes. I brush my fingers along his snout without a word.
