Games of Fate (Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon #1)

by Kris Austen Radcliffe

  Rysa touched her lips. A child for a child. Ladon had taken the life of a girl who would have been her cousin as revenge for the murder of the only living descendant of the Dracae.

  “Her triad mates were twins. Your aunt’s children. They killed themselves. The Emperor frothed and your uncle got his way—we were driven from Rome, Sister and I. Vanquished to the frontier. In the following centuries, we rarely returned. We commanded the Legio and kept our distance.”

  He’d consumed most of the vodka and he stared at the remaining liquid swirling inside. “I stopped hunting Fates after that. No more children have died at my hand.”

  His eyelids drooped. Every gesture moved in slow motion. His fingers gripped the neck of the bottle but twitched in a slow cadence. His breath moved shallow and deliberate. Ladon stood a frozen statue, a body reflecting the past. “I’d spent four centuries as Roman military. It was me and I was it. I was justice. I enacted what was expected of me. But Faustus’s daughter did not cause my niece’s murder.” The bottle rested against his leg. “I can’t undo what’s done.”

  Dragon inched forward and waited between them, his big head a shadow swinging back and forth.

  Rocks sat at the back of Rysa’s mouth. Her body wanted to force them from her throat, but they weren’t hers. They were purely Dracae.

  “Sister stopped hunting Fates when the Draki Prime joined the Legio.” Ladon kicked at a pebble. “They saved your kind, Rysa. Daniel, Timothy, and Marcus. They gave us a reason to leave the Fates alone. They were the tribute paid to the dragons to stop a war.”

  He looked up at the stars. “Now you know,” he whispered. “You know what kind of man I am. What happens when the fury escapes. We are no better than Burners.

  “So if you want to leave, we’ll understand. We’ll stay back. Keep you safe from a distance until we know both you and your mother are okay. Then we’ll leave you alone to live your life.”

  He rested his forehead against Dragon’s darkened hide. Flattened versions of waves and shapes flowed by his face.

  “Your ability to see images from Dragon, the visions about us that you’ve had, the connection we feel—these things can’t cloud your judgment. You need to make your own decisions and follow what your heart tells you.”

  She’d seen the joy in his eyes when she asked about surveying. The concern not only for her, but for her mom, and for Marcus and for Harold, too. The care he showed Dragon. The respect he offered her.

  She’d felt his joy when he kissed her.

  He’d left war behind, civilizations ago. Now, he wanted to work with the land. To help. He wanted forgiveness, even if he’d never ask for it.

  She extended her hand.

  The bottle dropped to the sand. He moved so fast he was inches from her before she inhaled, his fingers weaving around hers. She kissed his knuckles. When his grip unfolded, when he stroked a fingertip across her cheek, she turned her lips to his palm.

  He scooped her up, his thigh between her legs and his face buried in the curve of her neck.

  “Rysa,” he whispered. “Don’t leave.”

  27

  “Ladon.” She kissed his brow, the bridge of his nose, her arm around his head, her fingers in his hair. Her other arm reached for Dragon, her palm caressing his snout.

  The beast hummed and the shadows infecting his patterns dissipated. Dragon became a mirage of brilliant radiance. He nuzzled Ladon’s shoulder, then Rysa’s, then Ladon’s again.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”

  Her body slid slowly down his front. His lips pressed gently up her neck to her jaw and chin.

  “Every morning I wake determined to be the best man possible.” The relief of the weight lifting from his shoulders brightened his eyes and skin. “I can, now. With you, I can.”

  Electricity crackled under his hand and danced on the tips of her nerves. He kissed her palm. His tenderness flowed up her arm and all her fears dropped from her body like ice breaking under the sun.

  “Ladon.”

  He breathed life into her world.

  He smiled as the focus of his kisses traveled across her thumb, her knuckles, her nails. His lips settled onto the inside of her wrist and drew at her skin as if he drank. She shuddered, the sensation sparking up her arm and down to her fingertips. Her awareness of her own body swelled and she felt every inch of her flesh in high resolution.

  Ladon released her wrist. His jaw nuzzled her arm as he moved his lips to the tender spot where her neck met her shoulder. He brushed aside her shirt’s collar and kissed up the curve of her neck to just below her jaw.

  Her body concentrated on him—his fingers as they traced her shoulder. The muscles of his core and chest as he held her against him. His scent. The brilliance of his eyes. His kisses. When his lips glided across her cheek, every inch of her body shivered.

  He kissed the corner of her mouth, a soft touch much gentler than the kiss to her wrist. His fingers traced the lobe of her ear and down the delicate skin of her hairline.

  Rysa wanted this moment, this tenderness, this, only this, in the present without the future or the past interfering. Her nasty flexed, drinking in their river, but it didn’t siphon. The crack dimmed.

  Ladon’s embrace tightened. Dragon’s colors filled her eyes. She wanted to soothe their minds, to take away their hurt, to give them all they needed. Now. Right now.

  A kiss, a real kiss full of need and desire and focus, found her lips. She pulled him closer, kissing him harder. “Now, Ladon. Please.”

  His muscles rippled under her palms. Nothing else mattered, only his hand on her breasts and his lips traveling across the crook of her neck. Just him. Only him.

  He pulled back enough for her to see his face. “Are you sure?” Another bone-melting kiss met her lips before she could answer.

  She could argue with him. Babble words about character and fate and how he was done with war. But she called her seers instead, quickly, and looked for exactly what he needed to hear.

  And exactly what she needed to say: “You can touch.”

  He kissed her with an intensity she hadn’t expected and pulled her so tight against his chest she sucked in her breath. He lifted her high and buried his face against her collarbone. The tension in his shoulders released. His breathing deepened. Ladon enveloped her as his body accepted what she offered.

  Three steps and he pressed her back against the van’s rear door. She fumbled open the latch, grinning when his hand threaded under her shirt. As she scooted in, she rubbed the inside of her leg against his side, her ankle massaging the erection straining his jeans.

  A low, deep sound rolled from his chest and his mouth descended to her nipple, his teeth nipping through the fabric of her shirt and bra. Heat washed through her body. Her back arched and her focus tightened to the tickle of his breath as he trailed nips over the delicate skin between her breasts.

  But he stopped, holding most of his weight off her. “Rys.” He glided a finger over her abdomen. “There’s still a chance you might get—”

  Not tonight. “We’re fine.” Pulling him down on top of her, she wiggled her hips against his.

  He nibbled on the top of her ear, relief loosening his chest, and massaged her breast. Pinching her nipple hard, he rolled it as he breathed in her ear.

  She ached like she’d been in the sun too long, a baking that needed release. It coursed out to her limbs, strengthened by Dragon’s joy as he spun into the van. The beast settled, wild rainbow colors playing along his hide.

  Dragon scooped her against his chest and Ladon’s kisses trailed up to the soft spot above her breastbone. She stuttered in response, overwhelmed by the perfect rhythms of his body and the brilliance of the beast’s lights.

  Ladon yanked her shirt upward with his teeth at the same time his fingers tugged at her bra.

  “It’s been a while.” She tangled her fingers in his hair. “I—oh!”

  He pulled a nipple between his tongue and the roof of his
mouth, pinching and sucking the right amount to fold a spark of pain into the penetrating pleasure. Another moan ripped from her throat and both her thighs rubbed against his sides. He chuckled as he bit, flicking his tongue as he unhooked her bra.

  The fabric of his t-shirt teased, denying her access, and she yanked it over his head. She tugged on his diamond of chest hair, delighted when a deep ah pushed from his throat. Every one of his abdominal muscles contracted separately, each muscle skirting his chest and under his arms vibrated under her touch.

  Next to her shoulder, he splayed a hand over Dragon’s hide. His eyes flicked to the beast. Licking between her breasts, he unzipped her jeans. “We’re going to make you feel better than you’ve ever felt.”

  His kisses, his touch—she already felt more alive than she ever had in her entire life.

  A low half-rumble, half-growl rolled from Ladon as he caressed her belly. She lifted her hips and he tugged at her jeans. Kisses stroked her thigh as he stripped off the fabric.

  He caressed the side of her knee, in the hollow, at the perfect pressure and angle to send dazzling flashes of pleasure up her leg. At her calf, he nuzzled down her sock, playfully kissing her shin.

  Her jeans hit the back door of the van with a loud snap.

  She scooted up and he pressed her against Dragon with all his body weight. The thunder of his heart and the pulse of his blood washed over her. When he kissed her, his tongue darted into her mouth, touching hers with the briefest flick.

  She wrapped her limbs around his torso. She wasn’t going to let go, let him get away, to move his body off hers. But he shimmied down, his kisses moving lower as he followed the line of her rib cage. Delight fired into her chest and between her legs when his tongue flicked into her bellybutton.

  He curled his thumbs around her panties and, as he kissed along her waist line, pulled them down. The lace fluttered to the floor after it hit the door.

  Ladon kissed one inner thigh as he strummed the other. She moaned, not wanting him to stop, not wanting to be apart from either of them ever again.

  His fingers moved upward and tugged on her auburn curls.

  He licked his lips, a gesture that sent shivers all the way to the roof of her mouth. So very sure of his skills, bravado winked across his face.

  Her head fell back, her body rising toward him, wanting the blinding pleasure he offered. “No one’s ever—” Dragon’s colors filled the van, flooding her senses. “Oh!”

  Ladon’s tongue found her most sensitive spot and he lapped at it, playing with it, like a predator played with a kill. Intense waves of pleasure flooded through her with each stroke and she pushed her hips upward, unable to stop herself. He chuckled, a low growl, and wrapped one arm around her middle.

  Heat filled every cell, every corner and every curve. Her limbs trembled. Ladon’s tongue encircled and flicked at the same time. An orgasm broke free, stronger than any other she’d felt in her life. Thoughts stopped and her vision blanked. Her body lost all sense of itself.

  Ladon’s rhythm changed. He matched the ecstasy bursting from her core and fueled another surge as intense as the first.

  A low, deep moan rolled out of her, floating away on the final tremors as Ladon kissed her thighs again, grinning.

  She pulled on his shoulders. She wanted to feel his weight and his body on hers. “Come here.”

  He slid off his jeans and leaned into her, pressing the full length of his hard erection against her belly. Every ounce of the need echoing through their bodies flowed through his kisses, his mouth slick with her.

  She wanted him to feel the same power as the orgasm still pulsating inside her. To feel his body respond to her the same way she responded to him.

  “Not yet.” His gaze said that he wanted to plunge into her, but he didn’t. He stroked her cheek instead, kissing her gently.

  His shoulders tensed and his eyes lost focus. Dragon’s hide glinted as Ladon pushed his palms into the beast’s patterns. Their energy collapsed around her, the river contracting to a torrent. Its power concentrated into the short space between them—the space she occupied.

  Visible electricity flashed across Dragon’s skin, over hers, and onto Ladon. Every hair on her body stood up. A moan ripped from deep inside, the pleasure as penetrating as the orgasm.

  “For you,” Ladon whispered.

  Her body surged in slow waves. Their power clarified everything and the world became a blend of spectacular sensation. Dragon’s colors and the textures of Ladon’s body merged with the force of the desire in his eyes. The rhythm of his heart and the barely visible matching beats within Dragon’s patterns colored the scent of rain in the air.

  Everything inside her opened. Every need, every fear, every moment of happiness and pain and longing, opened to Ladon and Dragon. Her cheeks rounded. She gave to Ladon the same brilliance he gave her.

  Behind her, Dragon shifted into rich purples and burgundies.

  “Beautiful.” A rumble washed from Ladon’s body all the way to her bones. “I’ll earn what you give us.” He kissed her top lip. “I swear to you.” Then her bottom lip. “I swear.”

  She stroked his cheek. Past, present, and future, he had. He did. He will.

  Another rumble flooded over her body. It rolled not only from his chest as he leaned his forehead against her temple, but also from Dragon’s chest to her spine.

  She couldn’t speak. The torrent rippled her body but the rumbles warmed her soul. And when Ladon gripped her hips, if she could have rumbled too, she would have.

  She jumped when he moved into her, the pleasure and the pain twining together. He was bigger than Tom and it almost felt like her first time. But her body called to his, wanting him deeper.

  “Are you okay?” He stopped, only a little inside her. Before she could answer, his mouth covered hers and all his need flowed from his lips to hers.

  “Don’t…” she breathed, returning his kisses, her arms tight around his neck. “Don’t stop.”

  Nodding yes, he slid an arm under her bottom. He moved her onto him slowly, in soft, swaying movements.

  Ladon filled her perfectly, fit perfectly, in her, against her, his arms tightening, touching, his mouth not releasing hers. His pelvis swayed in rhythmic pulses. Each sent a wave of joy through hers, and she answered, her voice staccato, her limbs jittering.

  Another orgasm, amplified by his mouth on hers, tore through her body and broke into her vision. She yelped, pulling on his shoulders.

  “Rys.” He pressed her into Dragon as he traced her temple. “Beautiful woman.” His pulses turned to strokes and he pulled her down with each thrust upward. Beautiful… Rysa… With you.

  This man, this beast, their energy tight around her, his body against hers, in hers, he moved with purpose. She was their purpose and they wanted this—he wanted this—as much as she did. To let go of alone.

  He kissed her again as his pace quickened. He didn’t move like Tom or demand or grunt when he shifted her hips but breathed in when she breathed out, his chin grazing hers, soft reflections of language flooding from his throat. Perfect woman…

  She kissed his neck, holding tight, her own pleasure keeping her from speaking. Fresh, real, it increased with each thrust. She stroked his back, gripped his shoulders, touched his arms. “More… Ladon…” Her body knew only him, understood only him, and his passion flowed through her, filling her soul as he filled her body.

  The muscles along his spine tightened and his fingers dug into her shoulder blades. His back arching, he sank into her. His orgasm jolted through his muscles, and his body rocked against hers. She responded in waves of elation that met his, stronger than the ones before.

  Dragon rolled backward. Rysa yelped, her hands twisting into the beast’s coat. His starbursts expanded, brightening, and her eyes filled with brilliance as he carried his humans upward.

  “Ladon!” She held tight, her forehead inches from the van’s roof.

  Ladon grasped an open vent to hold them steady. St
ill inside her, he continued to move, their legs entwined, his face intense. Secondary waves of frenzy rocketed through her oversensitive body and he responded the same, a quiet gasp moving from his lips to her ear. Another orgasm, one mirroring the beast’s pulsing patterns, flooded his body.

  The starbursts calmed. Dragon rolled again and Ladon dropped onto the blankets. With his face against her chest, he held her steady as she slid down between him and the beast. She pressed close, one hand on Dragon’s snout and the other on Ladon’s arm.

  They wanted her touch. They wanted her in their lives. Ladon, his body calming, kissed the curve of her ear. There was no other place she wanted to be.

  They tangled together, Ladon leaning them against Dragon. The beast shimmered in the gentle tones which calmed her chaos, his big head on the blankets next to her thigh. She rested in Ladon’s embrace, soothed by the rise and fall of his chest and the gentle touch of his hand as he stroked her back.

  How many minutes passed, she didn’t know. Nor did she care. This, now, with them, let her breathe like a normal woman. Let her accept the comfort Ladon offered and the wonders Dragon presented without her fears and her issues and monster stomping on her life.

  Ladon’s kisses traced her hairline and his fingers caressed the little dragons on her wrist. “You’re all we need.” It lifted from his throat, clear and warm and with the full force of the energy curling around her.

  She sat up. His eyes and skin gleamed. Confidence pulsed between the man and the beast and Dragon touched her hip. He harnessed it all—their lights, what they felt—and pushed it into her mind. Rysa saw strength and steadfastness in shapes of structure and weight.

  Dragon showed her what she gave to them.

  “Oh, Dragon.” She hugged his head and he puffed out a small flame.

  Everything would be fine. She had them and her world would be fine.

  She kissed Ladon with all the passion they’d just shared. “We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”