“They aren’t,” Boanna said, reading his mind again. She tapped her temple before continuing. “This battle will entail calling in some reinforcements.”
“What reinforcements?”
“I’m so glad you asked…” The smile that spread across Boanna’s face was also mirrored on Tinia and Vesla’s, too. “…because things are about to get a million times more exciting around here.”
“By the way,” Tania asked, “Is there enough room in the house for a couple of dragons?”
“A couple of what?” Wallace asked, stunned.
Oh, shit. He groaned, rubbing his temples. I’m way too old for this shit.
Tinia squealed with delight. “This is going to be so much fun! Chin up, crew! You’re about to save to world.”
Fuck me…
Chapter Eleven
Brailynn
They walked into the bedroom and as Brailynn looked out the windows, she heard the soft click on the door closing.
“Would you like something to drink?” Andrej asked softly. “Or perhaps something to eat?”
Food was the last thing on her mind. Turning to face him, Brailynn crossed her arms over her chest. “No.” She shook her head. “Were you really going to end your life?” she blurted. It had been the most prominent question that had been circling in the back of her mind all the way back to the ranch.
Was being mated to her really that bad? she wondered.
She watched as his eyes dropped to his feet, and she knew the answer.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. Her voice barely above a whisper.
“For what?” His gaze snapped to hers. His brows furrowed. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I understand if I’m not your first choice in a mate,” Brailynn told him, her throat burning with unshed tears. “We don’t have to do the stupid ceremony.”
“Wh--.” He shook his head. “No. It’s not you…”
Of course, it wasn’t. Brailynn rolled her eyes. It’s not you, It’s me. She huffed. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
“No, seriously,” he took a step toward her.
Involuntarily, Brailynn stepped back.
Andrej froze.
She saw the look of hurt flash in his eyes, seconds before it disappeared. He quickly cleared his throat, straightened his spine, and placed his hands behind his back. And she instantly felt like an ass.
“I’m sorry.”
Andrej shook his head. “Don’t be.”
But she was. He was her mate and she’d basically shunned him.
“Look,” he began to explain. “It really has nothing to do with you. Please understand.” He inhaled deeply and released it in a loud whoosh. “I have been on this planet for nearly six hundred years. In that time…” His eyes dropped back to the floor and he shook his head. “In that time, I have seen a lot of things. Some good, some bad. Some amazing, others not so much. But the stuff that’s stuck with me the most, is all that I’ve lost. Since my change, I’ve watched both of my parents die, my sister, my brother, and even a few of my own children.”
His loss hit close to home for her.
“Gaia was all I had left…”
Brailynn watched his shoulders droop.
“She was there the night I was turned,” he went on. “She soothed my pain. Healed my wounds, more times than I can count. Just the thought of a world without her in it hurts.” He finally looked at her. Laying his hand over his heart, he said, “And then I think of you. I remember what it was like for Gaia to hold the powers of the Mother. I remember the toll they took on her. And I remember the day they finally broke her, and she decided it was time to leave this world. I can’t watch that happen to you, too.”
Her heart pounded. Tears clogged her throat.
“The thought of losing you the same way I lost her… it hurts so much.” He tapped his chest. “Right here. I’ve lost everything, Brailynn.” He shook his head again. “I am so damn tired of always losing. I am so tired of saying goodbye to the people I care about and love.”
His eyes jumped to her again. She could see his pain as if it were written on his skin and she fully understood it.
“You loved her?” While it sounded like a question, it was actually a statement. She didn’t know how she felt about that knowledge. A part of her was jealous and wanted to end Gaia herself, but a more reasonable part of her realized that he had a life, long before her.
“Yes, but not romantically, as you’re thinking,” he replied. “Gaia was more like that annoying little sister.” She watched him smile as he got a faraway look upon his face. “There are so many memories of her, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“It’s okay.” she smiled. She kind of understood. She felt the same way about Aversa. While they hadn’t had centuries of memories, she was still Brailynn’s best friend and the two had been through a lot together.
“Please, moje láska,” he took another step toward her hesitantly, but this time she didn’t move. “Don’t take it personally. It’s not you, I promise. I want you, more than anything. I want you by my side for all eternity. I want all your laughs and all your smiles. I want a dozen babies, maybe more. You call to me on a level that nobody has ever touched. I’m constantly fighting the urge to not sink my teeth into you and taste your sweetness. The need is unlike anything I’ve ever felt better.”
His words caused her to blush. They sent heat straight to her core, while at the same time, they scared her. Brailynn had never been with anyone before. One time, with Henry Carrel, she let him cop a feel of her boob, but that was it. Well, there was always that one time that he’d kissed her. But she hadn’t been a fan of it. When he was finished, Brailynn had to dry her face off with the sleeve of her shirt. It had been a horrible experience. But, with Andrej, things just felt – different. Her need for him was overwhelming; so much so, that she was nearly frozen with fear.
“Tell me about the bonding ceremony,” she blurted.
“There will be time for that later,” Andrej replied.
“But if what Boanna and the others said is true, there won’t be time.”
“I will not bind us just because they deem it so.”
“But…”
“No, buts, Brailynn.” He stepped back and turned away from her. “The bonding ceremony isn’t something to take lightly.”
“I’m not!” she snapped.
The last time she checked, she was a grown woman and capable of making her own decisions. Not only that, but she was rather smart, to boot. So, she never understood why people, men especially, treated her like she was stupid.
“Brailynn…”
“Bond with me.”
“What?” He froze and she could tell her demand took him by surprise.
“Bond with me,” she repeated.
Andrej shook his head. “No. Not yet. Not until it’s something that you genuinely want, instead of just an obligation.”
Now it was her turn to be surprised. “What?”
“Brailynn, the binding ceremony is for life,” he told her. “There is no divorce. There is no leaving when things get hard. There is no walking away. It’s one hundred percent – live together, die together. One heart. One soul. For all eternity.”
“Okay.” She really didn’t need to think about it. The fates had decided her life long before she was even born. The Great Mother chose her. Who was she to deny that?
Andrej sighed. “Do you love me?”
“Of…” She paused. She couldn’t say yes because she didn’t. But was love needed for a bond? Had her parents loved each other before they committed to one another? She wished she could talk to them, to get their advice. But she couldn’t. She didn’t trust them any more than she trusted Derrick.
Fuck! She had to bond with Andrej. It was the only way to save her people, and his. The only way for them to defeat Derrick and the Hunters were if she came into all her powers and fought along with her mate. That meant, in order to protect her kind, she would have to…
She didn’t ev
en know what she had to do.
“Exactly,” Andrej answered his own question. “Why would you want your life tied to mine if you don’t love me?”
“Do any mates love each other when they first meet?” Brailynn asked. “Did Evan love Paulie at first sight?”
“Yes!” Andrej shouted. “Just like I loved you at first sight!”
His outburst caused her brows to lift into her hairline. Her mouth gaped open. “Wh… What?”
Frustratedly, Andrej ran a hair through his hair. “Nevermind. You want to bond. Then we bond. First, get naked.”
“What?” Why was she getting naked?
Andrej’s eyes locked onto hers. His head tilted one way, then the other. She felt her breath hitch. His gaze held her in place. Her body no longer felt like it was hers to control. Even if she wanted to move, she couldn’t.
“To bond,” he said, his voice silky smooth. “We have to have sex. We have to make love like our lives depend on it.” He walked over to her. His hand raised to caress over the swells of her breasts, instantly breaking the promise he made to her.
But she didn’t call him out on it.
She was too afraid that if she did, he would stop touching her.
The inner muscles of her vagina tightened at his touch. “I pound into your tight little pussy while you ride my dick, covering it repeatedly with your cum.”
She knew he was being vulgar on purpose to get a response from her, but it wouldn’t work.
“And then, when you can’t take any more pleasure…” His hand drifted slowly down her stomach. “…and you explode around my cock, one last time…”
She inhaled sharply.
“I will sink my teeth into the artery of your neck…”
He suddenly had her pressed against him. His mouth nestled against the very spot he’d just spoken about.
“…just as you sink yours into my heart.”
His words were the most erotic thing she’d ever heard. Heat surged to her center.
“And then, as we both cum,” he continued, whispering into her ear as he pressed his hardness against her sensitive spot, “we will drink from each other causing a euphoria, unlike anything you have ever experienced. Completing the bond and ensuring our forever – ‘til death do us part, moje láska.”
“Yes,” she whispered, barely above a breath, but she knew he heard it.
“I can smell your desire, Brailynn.” He sniffed the air.
She should have probably felt embarrassed, but she didn’t. All Brailynn felt was an overwhelming need to rip her clothes off and beg him to take her, right there, against the wall.
“Mmm, it’s getting stronger,” he nearly purred in her ear. “You like what I’ve told you?”
She nodded.
“You dirty, dirty, girl.”
He ground his dick against her, and Brailynn moaned.
Goddesses help me, she thought. But if he continued, she would combust right where she stood, the world be damned.
Chapter Twelve
Andrej
He wanted her. Badly.
His dick strained against the zipper of his fine linen slacks. He wanted nothing more than to strip her naked and bury himself balls deep in her tightness. Plow into her until she screamed out his name like a prayer to the heavens.
But he couldn’t.
Yes, we can, his bloodlust came alive inside his head. It wanted Brailynn just as badly as he did. Take her. Claim her. Pound into her as we leave our mark on her body, and her soul. Make her ours for all eternity.
Andrej wanted that, more than anything, but he didn’t believe Brailynn was truly ready or understood exactly what it meant to mate. The mating bond would take so many things away from her.
But she will gain so many things, too, the voice in his head reminded him.
The back of his hand caressed her soft cheek and trailed down the slope of her neck. He felt and heard her sharp intake of breath.
His balls tightened painfully.
He stared into her eyes, unable to look anywhere else. “Have you cast a spell over me?” he breathed. She held him captive.
“Wh… No.” She shook her head. “I would… never.” Her face flushed a beautiful shade of pink. Brailynn seemed to have almost the same difficulty as him.
Her caramel-colored gaze stared back at him.
Claim. Mate. Ours.
Her eyes were filled with wonder, confusion, and heat. It was the heat that threw him off the most.
She wants us, his demon groaned.
“What are you doing to me?” he asked, feeling as if something was taking over his body.
“Nothing,” she whispered back, sounding as breathless as he felt. “There’s something…”
“Pulling at us,” he finished for her.
“Yes.”
“It’s the bond,” Andrej explained. His voice coming out sultrier than he expected. “It’s increasing in strength.”
“What does that mean?” Brailynn asked.
“It means...” He cleared his throat. “It means that it will continue to expand until it finally consumes us both, and we…” his voice trailed off.
“And we?” she prompted.
“And we finally fuck.”
He felt, more than hear, her sharp inhale. “You want that?” he asked. “You want me to fuck you, Brailynn? To claim you and make you mine for all eternity?”
“Yes,” she replied breathlessly.
Take her!
But…
No. Take her now!
Andrej knew he would never win a battle of strength against the lust raging inside of him. So, with a long exhale, he dropped what little was left of his restraint and after grabbing both sides of her face, he kissed her.
His lips crashed against hers. They moved against hers as if they were made for her. And actually, they were. Everything about him was designed for her. He fit her like a puzzle, and she him. Two pieces that when put together fit perfectly, creating a whole.
Brailynn moaned.
Her hands lightly skimmed over his stomach and gently came to a rest on his hip, but Andrej wasn’t a fan. He needed to feel her skin against his; however, his shirt prevented it. So, without much thought, he grabbed both sides of the offending fabric and pulled. Buttons fell to the floor as he heard Brailynn’s giggle of surprise. He yanked his arms free and tossed the garment to the ground.
“It was in the way,” he explained.
He reached out for her again. His hand capturing her face softly he lowered his lips back to hers. And this time, when her hand touched him, there was nothing to separate them. Her touch was almost a branding of sorts. His body sizzled. The heat was so intense that Andrej sucked in a breath.
“Shit,” he hissed.
“What?” Brailynn’s eyes widened as he stepped away from her. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No.” He shook his head. Andrej looked down at where she had touched him, expecting to see whelps, but there was nothing there. “Your touch…” He was confused. How could there be nothing there if it felt so intense? He didn’t understand it.
“What about it?” she asked, suddenly looking as self-conscious as he felt.
In all his years, Andrej had never felt anything like it. He didn’t know how to explain the feeling to her. He couldn’t say, ‘Well your touch burns me.’ She would never understand. It wasn’t necessarily painful… it was just – different.
“I hurt you.” It was a statement, not a question.
His eyes met hers and the sadness and hurt were evident. “No.” He shook his head again. “It’s not painful.” He needed to think of something fast before he lost her and the moment. “It burns, but it’s almost like an imprint.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” she replied, taking a step back.
He countered it with a step of his own. “It’s not bad, Brailynn. It almost feels as if you’re…” He couldn’t find the word.
“I’m what?” she whispered, then cleared her throat.<
br />
“It kind of feels like you’re branding me…” He wasn’t even sure if that were correct, but it was all he could think to describe it.
The corner of her mouth tipped up. “Maybe I am,” she replied. “After all, you’re mine.”
The moment those two words passed her lips, he was on her. “Say it again,” he ordered.
“You’re mine,” she repeated, knowing exactly which words he meant.
Take her now! his demon roared in the back of his mind.
Mark her. She is ours. We are hers. She claimed us.
His mouth covered hers again in a quick, but passionate filled kiss. When they finally broke contact, they were both breathing heavily, gasping for air. His hands skimmed down her sides and over her hips. He slowly bunched up the fabric of her nightshirt and they both sucked in a breath when his fingertips finally reached her flesh. She felt so warm.
Their eyes locked on each other.
The heat in hers called to the beast that lived within him. The look she gave him empowered his bloodlust even more.
Claim. Mate. Ours. It repeated the words, almost like a chant. Claim. Mate. Ours.
His body felt tight. Every muscle tense with desire, lust, and need. And when his eyes dropped down to her bare skin, he thought he would embarrass himself right there.
Andrej slowly raised his hands as he pushed the fabric even higher. Cupping each breast, his thumbs grazed over her nipples and the sound that fell from her lips hit him square in the chest.
They both sucked in a breath.
Her perky tits were flawless, and they fit in his hands as if they were made for him.
“Beautiful,” he whispered as her head fell back and her eyes fluttered closed.
“Mmm.”
He lowered his head to capture one small bud between his lips. His tongue flicked over it as he sucked a bit harder.
“Andrej,” she moaned.
Her hands caressed his back and when he gently bit down on her nipple, Brailynn’s nails bit into his skin.
It seemed the action intensive their need for each other.
Brailynn’s hands became frantic as they tried to pull him closer. His, on the other hand, became more possessive as his need to touch and claim every part of her body consumed him.
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