by Ophelia Bell
“The child died. Miscarried like the others,” he’d said, but Neela gave him a sad look and shook her head.
“You and I both know that isn’t true. She was our blood. Yours and mine. The sooner you admit that bitch used you for stud duty as much as my brother and the other Elites, the better. We were all her slaves. I am happy you are with Belah finally, but we made a baby too. Don’t forget her once Naaz comes back with the daughter you truly wanted.”
Nikhil closed his eyes, still stinging from the disappointed look Neela had given him before turning to go. Operation Wildcard was their secret—Naaz and Neela had ached to be reunited with their dragon mates for centuries, ever since Nikhil hid the pair of treasures away from them. He’d only recently discovered the two ancient sarcophagi were none other than the pair of immortal dragon children that had been stolen from Belah so long ago.
His head swam every time he thought of them both, but he should have long been over the implications by now, especially considering he’d fathered another child with a woman he’d long thought of as a daughter herself. It didn’t matter that Meri had been in his head when it happened, making her vile promises even as he made love to Neela inside her prison cell. They were all old enough to be well past the perceived perversion of how the children were made. They weren’t even children anymore, after all.
At least Zorion and Asha weren’t. He snorted softly. Zorion … whatever he was. The ancient offspring of a pair of immortal dragon siblings, stolen away because of how potentially destructive his power could be. Well, Zorion was about to be introduced to the female Fate intended for him, and if he knew Neela, she’d take advantage of whatever powers Zorion had to offer in order to find the baby that had been taken from her.
He didn’t like the idea of a wildcard in his army, didn’t quite trust that Zorion would accept his commands, but he had instructed the twins to convince their mates to stay put until called upon, and he at least trusted them to do what he asked.
Nikhil directed his attention to the map once more, forcing himself to avoid looking at the glowing dot in the center of Australia and wondering how close Naaz was to waking Asha. He’d protected his daughter and her brother for eons, not even knowing their identities for most of that time. Some deep understanding of their significance … their value … had driven him to hide them away, however. The discovery that the pair had been his own lover’s lost children made it all make sense.
Now it was time to awaken them, though the truth was that he could have done so at any point in history. He could have allowed Naaz and Neela to follow through with their instinctive need the very day they’d discovered the pair of hibernating dragons in one of the most remote, magically secured chambers Nikhil had ever come across. The fact that Naaz and Neela had the power to enter should not have been a mystery. He knew now that they had always been meant to awaken the pair.
If it was meant to be, why did it still make him itch?
Belah’s scent reached him a moment before her gentle touch soothed its way down his arm. He turned to see her blue-eyed gaze, and her slight, inquisitive smile.
“What troubles you, Nikhil? It isn’t like you to appear …” She paused and leaned forward, then whispered into his ear, “Helpless.”
Pressing his lips together, he shook his head. This was supposed to be a surprise.
“Nothing’s troubling me,” he said, and was unsurprised by her raised eyebrow.
She regarded him silently, her power a barely perceptible tingle inside his mind, reminding him that she could easily read his thoughts if she chose to. He was her pet, though she let him be the master. But if he couldn’t tell her, who would he tell?
“I met with the twins before we embarked. When you and Iszak and Lukas were gathering the turul to bring them here, I found Sterlyn and Marcus and called the twins back to the Monastery.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “The twins … you mean my twins? My godchildren? Why …?” Confusion and a hint of hurt crossed her face, her brows drawing together.
“I’d hoped to surprise you twofold. But secrets are dangerous, and maybe this will still be a surprise. Naaz and Neela are the reason I found your son and our daughter. They are Zorion and Asha’s mates. And so I sent them to do what a hibernating dragon’s mates are meant to do.”
Tears immediately sprang to her eyes, making his heart lurch uncomfortably in his chest. He wasn’t used to these extremes of emotion and wasn’t sure quite how to react, but he pulled her against him, giving into the impulse to hold her tight.
“Why are you crying? This is good. At least, I thought it would be good …”
“It is!” she said, pulling back and staring up at him. “It’s more than good. It’s the most wonderful thing I could imagine. And you knew this all along? That the twins were fated to be with my children?”
“Not at first. It wasn’t until the second generation of dragons woke from hibernation that the Ultiori put together how things worked. Then I understood why the twins reacted the way they did when I took your children away from them. At the time, I only cared about controlling them … keeping them loyal, even if it was under duress. I owe them this.”
“And yet you’re troubled by it,” she said.
Nikhil chuckled. “ ‘Troubled’ is an understatement. There are other things I’d prefer not to speak of yet, but the idea of giving up this control I’ve maintained for so long … I have barely begun to know my own daughter. In my mind she is a child, even though I know in reality that is far from the truth. What if Naaz is too much like me? I know he isn’t my blood, but he is like a son. I trained him. And Zorion … I know his father too well. I’m not sure I trust him. Am I going to regret this?”
He trailed off, perplexed by the amusement on Belah’s pretty face. When she lifted a hand to touch his cheek, he leaned back, frowning at her.
“You’re her father. Asha is the only child of your blood. Of course you’re going to feel overprotective. And Neela is like a daughter to you. You do realize that both these women are more than capable of taking care of themselves? You have nothing to worry about, but it is no surprise you do regardless. This is merely what it means to be a parent. So get used to it.”
He twisted his mouth and stared back down at the map, unable to suppress a growling expletive. How the hell did he get used to this feeling of helplessness?
“Noshi, the Haven is mapped, as is the Sanctuary,” Nicholas said, drawing him out of his brooding.
Grateful for the distraction, Nikhil moved around the huge table to stand between the big ursa and the dragon guardian.
“Show me, son,” he said. As he leaned in and listened to Nicholas’s explanation of how the new maps worked, he caught Belah looking at him, her gaze shifting between him and Nicholas. Realizing what he’d just called the boy, he gave her a half-smile and shrugged.
This was what it meant to be a parent. Half worry, half pride in the accomplishments of his children, even if they weren’t of his blood. The child growing in his lover’s womb would hold no less prominent a place in his heart than the man who stood beside him, or his true daughter who still lay asleep somewhere on the other side of the world.
And if Neela was right and another daughter existed, he would move mountains to protect her too.
Chapter Nine
Vrishti
With her eyes closed, all of Vrishti’s other senses came alive. She thought she heard Neph speak a soft curse—or was it a prayer? Then she heard him move, the air in the room growing cool and damp like a thick fog had blown through before the heat of the fire warmed her again.
She tensed, digging her fingertips into the tops of her thighs as she tried to track his position by sound. He moved closer, then her skin cooled, telling her his body stood between her and the fire, blocking some of the heat. She turned her head, faithfully keeping her eyes closed, but aiming her sen
ses in the direction of his breathing. Then that sound lowered and she guessed he must have crouched next to the sofa at her side.
Fingertips gently touched her cheek, a thumb slid over her jaw, and then his hand cupped the back of her head. Her heart pounded, and she couldn’t decide whether she was terrified or incredibly turned on, even though the touch was completely innocent.
“Open your eyes, love,” he said, only the voice was not his smooth-as-silk seductive one. It was rougher, more guttural, and as familiar to her as her own breath.
Her eyes flew open and she let out a sharp cry. “Aodh? Wait … how …?”
She sat up and reached for him. The shining white hair was his, the pale eyes were his. The strong lines of his face, the square jaw and thick neck. Everything was right, but it couldn’t be this easy.
“This is what you wished to see, is it not?” he asked, and she finally understood.
“Neph … you … you’re him.”
He closed his eyes, and a soft smile played at his lips that seemed a little sad, but when he opened them again, all she could see was the same raw desire she’d seen in her dragon’s gaze the last time they’d seen each other. That day when the ursa clan leaders had trapped the three dragons in magical cells, she’d gone to him, but a barrier had separated them and they hadn’t been allowed to so much as embrace.
But this wasn’t really him. “You don’t have to do this,” she said.
“It’s your fantasy. If seeing him is what you need to trigger your estrous, we need to try. Enjoy it. Enjoy me, and take advantage of your ursa nature while we’re at it. I am at your command every bit as much as Aodh would be, were he here for real.”
“But you’re still not him,” she said. “You can’t fake it.”
His face grew serious in a way that was so much like the expression the last time she’d seen Aodh.
“I am yours, Vrishti,” he said, his intonation and accent the perfect replica of Aodh’s. “If you choose me as your mate, I am at your command as much as any ursa male would be. It doesn’t matter that I’m not an ursa.”
She slid her hand down the side of his face, marveling at the likeness. She could get lost in those pale eyes that reminded her of the snowstorm she’d seen through her window the night before. She grazed her nails lightly over his stubbled cheek, remembering how she’d wished to touch him that last day and feel the roughness of that unshaved cheek against her skin.
This was about indulging herself now, wasn’t it? That was what Neph had said. Just feel … enjoy the moment. And he had given her the perfect gift to awaken her pleasure. But she didn’t want a one-sided experience. Could he fake all of it that well?
“I want you to take pleasure from me, too,” she said. “Make me believe it. If you want a command from me, that’s it. Make me believe I am pleasing you.”
“My love, everything about you pleases me.”
He raised his hands again and cupped her cheeks, one thumb grazing over her lower lip. His gaze fixed on her mouth and Vrishti was sure her heart couldn’t beat any harder. Would he kiss the same? How faithful could Neph really be to Aodh’s true nature?
She was about to burst with desire to know when his warm lips finally brushed over hers. She thought he might tease at first, but then he let out a low growl and surged forward, claiming her with a kiss so hungry she was immediately thrown back to that first moment. The first time Aodh held her in his arms, he’d kissed her exactly like this.
Only that time, they’d both been fully clothed.
Vrishti responded with a soft moan of her own, clinging to his shoulders. His muscles rippled beneath her palms as he moved, large hands sliding up her back and pulling her closer. Her knees pressed at his belly and she reflexively spread her legs to allow him to draw her into him. He was so big, he made her feel small by comparison. Not even Neph was quite big enough to do that, except in that intimidating primal form of his.
This is Neph, she reminded herself, but when she pulled away from the kiss and the lust-filled silvery irises of her dragon peered back at her, she gave in fully to the fantasy.
His lips descended to her throat and she sighed, arching into his kisses. He wrapped both hands around her waist, easily holding her while he worked his way over her collarbone and down her chest, trailing a wet tongue along her sternum. The sensation tickled in a strange way, and she glanced down to see that his tongue was far from the human shape she’d felt when he kissed her. It was forked, the dual tips grazing up over one nipple and toying with it until she twitched from the pleasure.
“D-do dragon tongues really look like that?” she asked.
He latched onto her nipple with his lips, but they spread into a smile as he nodded. “I know this body as well as I know my own,” he said. “Every inch is true to him. The way I use it is true to him, especially the way I intend to worship you with it.”
She lost focus when his talented tongue and lips shifted to her other breast, his big hand cupping and kneading as he sucked. Acute, throbbing heat ignited between her legs, the wetness coating the tops of her thighs.
This was so much better than her fantasy. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, though his touch made it hard for her to stay focused on reality. She stared in wonder as he moved lower, his mesmerizing eyes glancing up her torso as he went. He slid his hands down to her hips, fingers spanning her belly and thumbs lightly brushing the dark curls that covered her mound. He pulled back slightly and gazed down at her.
“Did you get this wet when you fantasized about me last night, love?” he asked, his gaze fixed on the dew of her arousal.
She didn’t know the answer, but couldn’t form words, so she only shook her head. His touch was so close to her core, his mouth only inches away, close enough she could feel his breath and wanted more.
Slowly, he brushed his thumbs lower until the pads rested at the top of her cleft. She bit her lip, waiting … anticipating his touch. God, she wanted him so much.
He lifted his gaze to her and said, “Tell me what you want, Vrishti. In your estrous, you will need to communicate clearly what your needs are. Say it out loud.”
She closed her eyes and moaned, arching her back and pushing her hips into his touch. He pressed back down, pinning her to the sofa.
“Words, love. Use them.”
“S-spread me and touch me, please,” she whispered.
His eyes burned brighter and he licked his lips. But instead of touching her core as she’d hoped, he gripped both her thighs and squeezed. “Show me the way you showed the mirror last night. Let me see how you touched yourself.”
She was lost with need and could only nod and comply, latching onto his command like a lifeline. She bent her knees and spread her legs, propping her heels up on the cushions. His gaze returned to her core, his forked tongue darting out to lick his lips. Then he leaned back on his heels and gave her a nod.
Her juices ran down between her cleft, and when she dipped one finger gently between her folds, she gasped at how soaked she was. Far wetter than she’d been the first time. But her dragon was watching this time, and she didn’t want to disappoint him.
Keeping her eyes fixed on his face, she slowly stroked herself, sliding a finger lightly over her clit, careful not to give herself too much stimulation. She knew she had a limit and was swiftly reaching it, but she wanted this experience to last as long as possible. Moving her hand lower, she gently probed for her opening and pressed a finger in, repeating what she’d done the night before with the mirror as her only audience.
His brows drew together and his gaze grew hooded. His shoulder bunched and she glanced down his long muscular torso, discovering that he’d just fisted his huge cock and begun to stroke himself while he watched her.
A soft gasp escaped her at the sight and her gaze flew back to his face. He smiled. “Two can play at this game,” he said. “Keep going.”
She nodded and couldn’t help but smile back, for the first time beginning to have fun with this strange and unexpected turn. She turned him on enough that he was touching himself. Could she provoke him into bringing himself off? Someone should get an orgasm out of this whole thing.
Licking her lips, she continued to tease her opening. She pushed a second finger in, wincing slightly at the stretch of her untried entrance, and fucking into herself just enough until she found the sweet spot she’d discovered the night before.
“Sweet Mother, you are perfect,” he said, and her attention fixed on him again, marveling at how perfect he was. She remembered the dragons’ speech patterns after traveling with them, and this creature who was so mesmerized by her arousal might well have been Aodh himself, materialized straight from his prison.
She pulled her slick fingers from her channel just before she lost it and recalled what she’d done next the night before. The first test had merely been an experiment, but she knew now that it would feel good. She rested her fingertips just beneath her opening, her gaze fixed on his face worried how he’d react if he saw her touch herself there.
“By Gaia’s grace … I mean … oh fuck, yes, touch yourself there, Vrishti. Keep going. Keep making yourself feel good, baby.”
Her brows twitched at the slip in his mask. Dragons didn’t praise Gaia. That was strictly an ursa or nymphaea thing. But she didn’t care. The illusion of Aodh’s arousal was a potent incentive to begin, but the reminder that Neph was the one actually losing himself at the sight of her somehow made it all the sweeter.
She slid her fingers lower, a little shocked at how slick and wet her rear entrance was. The inclination to close her eyes and lose herself to the sensation nearly claimed her, but she forced her eyes to stay open so she could watch his reaction. He licked his lips, the tip of his tongue a normal shape this time, and then let out a growling curse when she finally pushed one fingertip into her tight, puckered opening.
