Granny stops and raises a hand to cup Ariana’s cheek—the first act of tenderness she has shown. Ariana’s skin tingles under her touch and warmth spreads to her chest.
“Your mother was from the strongest house in Fiore—Spring Blossom.”
“Spring Blossom? Are they those cherry blossom looking plants on the front of my spell book?”
Granny nods, lowers her hand, and begins to walk again. “Spring Blossoms are a symbol of fertility, growth, beauty, and love. Incredibly powerful and lustful, and to humans, intoxicating.”
Ariana nods. “And my father?”
Granny smiles longingly. “House of Letharn. A dragon, which symbolizes strength and honor.”
“How does one know what House they’re from?”
“A daughter will inherit their mother’s House. A son, their father’s.”
“So I’m from Spring Blossom?”
“Yes, and that’s where you’ll return.”
* * * *
Over the next month, Granny grants Ariana days off from her magic lessons to learn basic combat. So far, she has only crudely mastered basic blocking techniques, the ability to evade holds and keep her guard up. She has practiced how to harness her body’s energy and explode it outward using a punch or kick. Ariana finds it exhilarating bounding through the fields with the Warriors, especially as her body grows stronger from eating the Fioren food and performing strenuous exercise.
She and Hadeon are working alone today. The other Warriors and Granny have gone into the nearest village for supplies. Hadeon has his arm wrapped around her neck, pressing hard against her windpipe. Her face is hot and red, her lungs burning for air. She pulls on his thumb, lifts it, breaking his force, and spins out of his grip.
“Good,” he says. “You learn fast.”
She sucks in much needed air and plants her hands on her hips.
“And Granny says you’re mastering your magic faster than she thought you would too.”
Ariana’s eyebrows arch high and a grin shapes her lips. “She said that?”
He nods.
“Do you want me to show you some?”
He shakes his head and holds his palms in the air. “No way. Don’t you dare think about turning me into a mouse.”
She laughs hard. “Oh, I could do worse things than that.”
Ariana raises her hand in the air and swirls it in front of her, conjuring all the energy and life from within and without. A small flame flickers orange on the tip of her finger. It spins, swirls, and swells until it’s a raging fireball on her palm. Hadeon watches her, admiration in his soft expression. The fireball implodes at her command with a small puff of smoke and dissipates.
“Would’ve been handy with those Soul Seekers,” she says.
He smiles wide, then laughs. “Yes.”
She loves it when he smiles—his face lights up, becomes young and carefree.
He strides to her and lifts her arm. “So how about those muscles, eh?” He runs his fingers over her small bicep. Nothing compared to what he has, though much more than what she had when she arrived here. Her tummy tightens from the sensation of his rough hands on her skin.
She grins wide. “I know they’re impressive, but I’m not sure I could beat you to death quite yet. Not that I don’t want to.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “Maybe with a little more training?”
She shrugs and attempts to suppress a coy smile. “Maybe.” Ariana reaches for his hand and entwines her fingers with his; simple tenderness, yet her heart races in her chest. “Granny told me which House I belong to.”
Hadeon nods. “Spring Blossom.”
She peers at their hands. “She said we can be intoxicating to humans. It answers the endless questions I had growing up about why men acted the way they did around me. Treated me the way they did.”
Hadeon remains silent and still.
“Does a Spring Blossom have that effect on a Fioren male?” She bites on her bottom lip and meets his gaze, waiting…
Hadeon smiles as he reaches for her other hand. “Not quite as severely.”
She blinks, nods, and turns away from him. His answer stings; she doesn’t want men, human or other, to like her because of some aura she exudes. She doesn’t want her better qualities to fade behind a veil of lust. But mostly, she doesn’t want to think that this sometimes-attention, these brief sexually charged interactions with Hadeon, which reach her like a caress between her thighs, are not honest and real.
Hadeon touches his finger and thumb to her chin and gently turns her head so she is looking at him. His expression is full of dark desire, lust, and longing. It strokes her flesh and squeezes her tight. Her tongue finds her lower lip.
“I—” he begins, but a car drives over the hill, the engine roaring against this peaceful backdrop. Hadeon lets go and takes a few steps back.
She gasps as his energy fades, stops stroking her skin and pulsing in her sex. “Why do you do that?” she asks, breathless, hands on hips.
“Leave it alone,” he snaps, his face already hardening.
“No.” She strides closer. “You get close to me and a brother will look at you the wrong way, or show up, and you back away. You reel me in and then throw me back out. I’m not a fish, Hadeon. Make up your mind!”
“I’ve already told you…” He points from his chest to hers. “You and I can’t be anything more.”
“I know what you say, Hadeon, but your actions contradict that.”
He lowers his head, breathing deeply. When he looks back at her, his eyes are dark and brooding. “I don’t want to send mixed messages. My intention is not to lead you on. I was trying to reassure you.”
His words gouge deep. “I don’t need your reassurance, Prince Charming. I’ll get the brothers to train me from now on, so you don’t have to come near me.”
His neck pulses and his strong jaw stiffens. “Absolutely fine by me.” And he storms away, back to the house.
Ariana turns in the opposite direction and marches up the green pastures, tears forming as rage surges through her veins. Hadeon frustrates her so much. Why?
She runs now, up the sloping hill, loving the breathlessness. It hurts her lungs with a deep, cold burning. She runs and runs, further and further away from the stifling house and from Hadeon’s rejection. Though gasping for air, she pushes herself toward a cluster of trees that will enclose her and keep her hidden from the world, if only for a little while.
When she reaches the center of the woods, Ariana collapses onto the grass and rolls onto her back, panting. The wind is icy against her sweat-misted skin and splinters in her hot throat. Leaves rustle and the branches above her head sway.
Confliction stirs deep in her belly, an aggressive prodding and poking. She’s tired of being displaced, in temporary homes with temporary people, taking temporary lovers. She rips at the grass beneath her with her fists and groans to the treetops. Her soul and body ache for permanency. She squeezes her eyes shut and covers them with her arms, trying to block everything out.
But, at that moment, a thought floats to her on the breeze and stings her tongue.
I want Hadeon. Permanently.
She has never wanted any man. Not this way. But from the very beginning, he’s been different. He’s been more. And try as she might, she has resisted these needs and pushed them deep down, out of fear he doesn’t feel the same, but by God, if she doesn’t wish with all the marrow in her bones for him to feel this way.
Dare she say it? Dare she admit that what she wants is for him to love her?
And that hurts so deep and scores so ferociously because he doesn’t want her back, even with all her lust toxins. This is what is frustrating and painful—the rejection, the inability to contain her emotions for a man who doesn’t reciprocate her feelings.
“Screw him,” she says.
“So you keep saying,” comes his deep, throaty voice.
Ariana sits up and wipes the tears from her cheeks with her palms. S
he looks up at his enormous frame. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m not here to be snapped at like that,” he says, exasperation slicing at his words.
She stands now, face-to-face with his dominating form. “Well, don’t expect an exchange of pleasantries because you won’t be getting it from me.”
“Just be quiet for a second and let me speak!”
Her lips twist into a scowl, and her breaths grow heavy. She lifts her hand to conjure a fireball, planning to throw it at his ass as he runs away, but he snatches her wrists, catching them between his rough hands.
“Don’t you dare,” he snarls, lips and breath sliding up her cheeks.
She tries to wriggle free, but he spins her around and pulls her to him, his arms still gripping her wrists, trapping her against his hard body.
Hadeon’s lips find her ear, and he rumbles low and deep, warm breath tingling over her lobe and down her neck. “I want you so much I could shred your clothes and fuck you where you stand ’til you’re too weak to moan my name anymore.”
Ariana stills in his arms, her legs weakening. She can feel his stone-hard arousal jutting into her lower back. He releases his grip and she turns to face him. She shudders as she looks into those dark brown eyes and sees raw, untamed desire.
He fists her hair, tilting her head back. His hungry gaze lingers on her mouth as he leans in closer. Releasing her hair, he trails his fingers along her jaw, then slides his thumb over her lower lip. Her body trembles beneath his touch. The emotions this man stirs cannot be subdued.
His face moves closer still, his lips lightly brushing over hers. “But I can’t,” he growls deep from his chest, “because you’re meant for someone else.” He releases her and steps back.
Ariana shakes her head and shoves at Hadeon’s chest, but his enormous frame doesn’t move even an inch. “Don’t you dare! Don’t come here taunting me and then walk away.”
He glares at her. “If I have you, Ariana, that means every part of you belongs to me.”
His gruff sincerity makes her flesh flame. Her breasts swell, sensitive peaks pushing against the fabric of her bra. Warm desire pools between her thighs. Ariana wants him to have her—hard, fast, and deep. She has wanted him from the moment she first stared at his grimacing face, those cruel, luscious lips. She will give him her everything and take all of him in return—all of his muscle, all of his brutality, all of him.
“Have me,” she breathes, aching for him. “Have all of me.”
“Be very careful with what you’re saying. I’m not playing games. I’m not one of those boys you screw in your spare time. You won’t turn away from me, you won’t forget me, and you’ll know when I’ve made you mine.”
Ariana’s head dizzies, her chest heaving with each breath. She is throbbing, and oh so wet. Never has she felt such arousal, such need. If he doesn’t touch her, take her, she will…
She can’t even think about it.
He steps closer, his gaze burning into hers, drawing her into the blackened haze writhing with eroticism around him. With trembling fingers, she reaches for his pants, slides them down his powerful thighs, and releases his manhood.
Her lips part on a rushed inhale. He’s so long and thick. She takes his straining shaft in her hand and strokes from root to tip. His head rolls back and he groans. “Ariana. You’ll be the death of me.”
Something shifts in him, from man to beast—a tangible change in his expression, his stance, and the rough growl in his chest. He reaches for her pants and tears them between his hands, then her underwear. Ariana’s heart slams against her ribcage, with excitement, with uncertainty, as she looks into his fierce face. Can she handle a man like this?
He doesn’t wait for her to reconcile the moment. He hoists her into his arms, and her legs open wide around his taut waist. Achingly slow, hands gripping her ass, he lowers her down onto his erection, spreading her wide, filling her inch by rock-hard inch until she is full of him.
Ariana gasps a breath. “You’re so big.”
His mouth finds hers, his kiss rough as he lifts her up and slides her back down, filling her again.
“Oh, Hadeon,” she sighs, all her nerve endings alight and burning brightly.
He looks deep into her eyes, such fierce possessiveness, dark lust, and he thrusts harder this time. Her head rolls back in rapture. She sighs, mere clay in his hands, malleable and wet.
He plunges again, a deep, forceful stroke. Again. Again. The rhythm builds, long and powerful motions, his shoulders and arms tense with strain as he rocks her. She has never felt so full, never knew she could take such size. Each long breath in is punctuated with moans.
He never allows her to look anywhere else but into those greedy brown eyes. Even as pleasure builds and coils inside, scatters across her skin, and she wants to raise her face to the heavens and scream his glorious name, he hisses. “I want to see your face as you come. I want to see all of you.”
He drives deeper, faster, harder, his breaths short, almost grunts as the precipice zooms into focus.
“Take me there,” she moans.
His jaw is slack with pleasure, his gaze hungry with carnality.
She welcomes the friction of Hadeon’s body. Waves form low and deep. They build and swell until they roll and crash over every inch of her flesh. Her muscles clench tight. Her head is so, so light, tingling, as sensuality and ecstasy coax and tugs at her insides.
She’s sighing and whimpering as she explodes with fiery delight. All the while her gaze is locked with Hadeon’s, showing him, screaming to him, the pleasure he has made her feel.
As every muscle in her body loosens and fatigues, Hadeon tenses, jerks, and spills his seed…a hard, deep rush inside her walls. She pushes down on him, wanting that part of him deep inside, her body craving his essence. And she collapses against him, spent, breathless, and consumed.
When Hadeon draws his next long breath inwards, his features have softened. His irises have lightened to a pale brown. It fascinates her how his emotions are so visible in the color of his eyes. He kisses her, gently licking her tongue. She doesn’t want him to pull out yet, needs him inside. He finds her throat, his lips sucking in her flesh, kissing along her jaw. Her hands frame his face, feeling the stubble beneath her palms, and she kisses him, deep and urgent.
Slowly, he slides out and he places her feet on the ground. Her heart thuds. She craves his heat and his hard body. Understanding her needs, he never leaves her untouched. He tugs their shirts off and the remaining clothing until they are both completely naked. Her body is trembling, but not from the cold. She can’t even feel that, doesn’t have any awareness of her surroundings, only Hadeon.
“You’re breathtaking,” he says. His hands slide from her shoulders down to her wrists. He entwines his fingers with hers. “Let me love you,” he says, almost a growl.
She nods. The air is thin in her throat. “Please.”
They fall to the grass below, and again he shows her the stars.
Chapter 15
Ariana enters the house through the back door behind Hadeon. She rushes to her room before anyone sees her to change into a fresh pair of jeans to replace the ones Hadeon tore from her body.
They make their way down the hall and into the kitchen. Ariana can feel the cheer in the small room, which has become the communal gathering point in the morning and evenings.
“Hadeon,” Reid says, smiling wide. “Glad you’re home. We’ve made spring wine.”
Hadeon grins. “So it’s going to be one of those nights?”
Domascus stands and slaps Hadeon on the back. “Oh yeah,” he says, laughing, but the smile soon fades and falls from his face. His breaths deepen. Silence descends. The Warriors and Granny each look up at Hadeon and Ariana.
Ariana’s stomach wrenches; heat spreads along her collarbones and cheeks. She turns and hastens away to her room, her breaths shallow. What a reception to come back to. Is it really so terrible for her to have feelings for Hadeon? And
to want to physically express those feelings? Ariana grabs her pajamas and toiletries and heads to the bathroom for a shower. She needs time and space to reflect.
She soaks her body under the hot water, regretfully washing away Hadeon’s scent clinging to her skin. The soreness between her thighs, the slippery remnants of his seed, makes her think of his hard, hot body above her, driving into her. Warm trails of desire fan across her flesh and she swells. Surely she can’t be ready to handle him, such size, again so soon?
Ariana breathes in deeply, shakes her head, and turns off the taps. After she has dressed and dried her hair, she walks back down the hall. As she passes Domascus’s room, she hears whispered conversation. Curiosity loops in her belly. She creeps toward the slightly ajar door and listens.
“I understand. Don’t worry,” says Hadeon’s hushed voice.
“I don’t think you do, Hadeon. You don’t go fucking Fioren princesses, especially those promised to another.”
Tingles prickle Ariana’s scalp and run down her arms to the tips of her fingers. Princess?
“It’s more than that,” Hadeon says.
Domascus draws a noisy breath in. “You didn’t claim her, did you?” There’s thunderous warning in his tone.
Silence.
“Fuck, Hadeon. Fuck,” says Domascus.
“I know, but I can’t allow her to be anything less than my everything.”
Domascus sighs. “Your everything? You won’t be able to keep this so-called everything.”
“I know,” he says with sorrow trickling from every syllable. “But I’ll deal with the heartbreak later. I can’t deny this. Her. She’s impossible to resist. I lo—”
Ariana’s toiletries drop from her hands onto the floor, clanging loudly against the slate tiles. “Damn it,” she hisses.
Hadeon’s at the door, two deep lines creasing the skin between his eyebrows. “Ariana?”
“I…I was just heading back from the shower.”
Domascus slides out from behind Hadeon and strolls silently down the hall, not looking at either of them.
The Book of Spells and Such Page 12
