I threaded my fingers through my mate’s. A vibration of raw energy thrummed around Paxon. I knew it now for what it was, his dragon rising to the surface. If I was reading his expression right, he wanted to pound Clayton into the dirt. This was one fight he actually wanted. And while I believed violence rarely solved anything, this was one occasion where Paxon could find satisfaction from a bout in the ring. I didn’t want to see Paxon get even a scratch on him, but I felt his driving need as if it were my own.
“Take the bet, Paxon.” When Clayton smirked, I ignored him and squeezed Paxon’s hand. “Take it.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
Clayton clapped his hands once, very loud. “Then let’s go!”
I hadn’t heard the other onlookers who’d gathered around, now following Clayton and his buddies toward the stairwell leading into the cellars. I faced Paxon, sliding my hands to his shoulders.
“Why would you let him cheapen you like that, Ella? You’re not a possession to be lost or won?”
“Paxon Nightwing. I’ve already won. You have my heart and my soul.” I pressed a hand over the left side of his chest. “Right here. So take good care of it in the ring.” I lifted onto my toes, pressing a passionate kiss to his lips, sliding my tongue into his mouth, cherishing the flicker of soulfire still resonating between us, humming through my veins. When I finally spoke, my voice sounded raspy. “And we have unfinished business. You’d never allow him to win.”
A glint of gold over brown.
“Not even if hell freezes over.” He pressed a kiss into my palm. “Why don’t you come watch me kick that fucker’s ass?”
I laughed. “It would be my pleasure.”
Chapter 12
The Vaengar game still roared far over our heads, but a crowd gathered nonetheless to see a Morgon fight a human. Honestly, it didn’t seem like much of a fight until I saw them side-by-side in the ring.
Yes, Paxon was easily a head taller, but shirtless, anyone could see that Clayton was fit. Very fit. I knew he trained regularly. They weren’t such an unequal match. My anxiety heightened.
I stood between Conn and Corbin near the opening gate. Kraven stepped through and flew down into the Pit, raising his hands. A hush fell over the chamber.
“The pledge of the Obsidian Games applies! No Morgon blades. Fight until one yields!”
With a snap of wings, Kraven lifted out of the Pit and clanged the gate shut.
A dull clamor of noise rose from the arena, but all was silent here as Clayton began to pace. Again, a calm settled over Paxon’s features. Now that I knew his history of fighting, or lack of fighting, I found it odd he was so at-ease in the ring. His body revealed that he certainly did something to keep in shape, and his movements were lithe and graceful.
“Relax.” Conn nudged my shoulder.
“Is it that obvious?”
“I can feel your stress.”
I quirked an eyebrow at him. “How?”
“I’m a Morgon, Ella.”
“Yes. I’m quite aware of that. How does that give you the ability to feel my stress?”
He shook his head as if to say “silly girl,” then grinned. “We have a predator’s senses. We can sense fear, anxiety, desire—all of it.”
Clayton lunged and swept a leg, knocking Paxon to the ground. They grappled on the dirt floor.
“No, no, no.” I whispered to myself, biting my lip.
“Seriously, Ella. Just relax. There’s no way he’ll beat Paxon.”
“You sure are confident.”
“Well, we are the superior race.”
I knocked him in the shoulder. “Shut up. You sound like a Drakonian.”
His grin faded. A heavy sigh. “Yeah. Don’t mean to sound like one of those assholes. They don’t even understand why we live alongside humans.”
Paxon moved swiftly, gaining a choke hold on Clayton from behind. Clayton broke the hold and spun away. His two Morgon buddies were right on the other side of Corbin. One banged on the cage.
“That’s right, Kerrington! You got it, man!”
I rolled my eyes. One of them engaged Corbin in conversation about fighting tactics.
“Conn, why do you live alongside us? Morgons don’t need humans. Is it all about business and money?”
“No.” His expression thoughtful, he paused. “It’s more than business profits. There are some Morgons who see the morality of the races living in harmony.”
“Like the Nightwings.”
“Yeah. My family, too.”
I winced as Clayton glanced a punch off Paxon’s cheek. Not to worry. Paxon landed a hard blow to Clayton’s jaw. His head snapped back. He stumbled.
“Watch the uppercut, Kerrington!”
“Besides,” continued Conn. “Though you’re hardly worth the trouble, human girls are pretty hot.”
“Are you teasing me?”
“Yes. But it’s true, too.” He bellowed into the cage. “Come on, Paxon! Finish this thing!”
I felt a hand on my back, sliding down and squeezing my bottom. I jumped, glaring up at one of Clayton’s Morgon buddies.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He pushed into my space, grabbing a hold of my hip. “When you get tired of Nightwing, why don’t you come see me?”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” yelled Conn, giving him a hard push over my shoulder. “Get the fuck away from her!”
Confused, I wondered what the hell this guy thought he was doing. Why would he flirt with me, or actually fondle me, during the fight?
Distraction.
Oh, no!
In the Pit, Paxon scowled up at the noise and scuffling. When Conn pushed the idiot farther away, Clayton leaned down and pulled something from his boot. A knife!
“Paxon!” I pointed. “Look out!”
He spun away just as Clayton would’ve lodged the knife in his back between his wings. The blade grazed his arm, leaving a streak of crimson. I could easily make out their voices just below us.
“No blades, huh, Kerrington?”
He smirked, flourishing his serrated knife. “No Morgon blades.”
“Enough.” Paxon went straight for him.
Clayton tried to attack, swinging out, but no use. Within seconds, Clayton was eating dirt, his arm bent at an unnatural angle. I heard a slight crack. He dropped the knife.
“Yield, Kerrington.”
Clayton puffed, dirt blowing away from his open mouth.
“I’ll break your whole fucking back if you don’t.” Another crack.
I’d never seen fear in Clayton’s eyes. As much as I despised him, it still didn’t give me any pleasure.
He nodded. “I yield.”
Paxon leaned forward as if to whisper, but he didn’t lower his voice. Knowing the Morgon sense of hearing, I knew he wanted others to hear his final words.
“If you break your end of the bargain, just know that there’ll be no warning. I will kill you. And they’ll never find the body.”
A chill ran up my spine. I knew he wasn’t kidding. Paxon’s fierce protectiveness hit me like a brick. With him, I’d never fear anything. Not even my own inadequacies.
Paxon was out of the Pit—sweat shining on his skin—and guiding me away within seconds.
“Your arm.”
“It’s nothing. Let’s go home.”
Home? I smiled, letting him take me to our home.
* * * *
I stared at my reflection in Paxon’s bathroom mirror. My blue eyes burned bright in the dim light. Whether from soulfire or desire or the danger of the evening, I didn’t know.
“Be bold, Ella,” I said to myself.
I nodded, and then lifted my chin. I removed my clothes. All of them. Unpinning my hair, the mass fell from on top of my head. Using his comb, I untangled the blond waves, leaving them shining down my back and over my breasts.
Knowing he wouldn’t expect me to w
alk out of the bathroom naked, I trembled at my daring. Timid Ella would never do this. But I wasn’t her anymore. I wanted to step out from under the veil, my intentions loud and clear.
“Be bold,” I whispered to myself again before opening the door and stepping into the shadowed room.
Though I couldn’t see him, he was here. There were two skylights in his vaulted bedroom. One over the bed. I passed under the other, where pale moonlight spilled onto the floor.
“Stop.” A guttural command. I froze in the pool of light, bathing my body in a luminescent glow. “Don’t move.” My man’s dragon was in the room with me. No doubt about it. A shadow circled the perimeter of light. I caught the fiery glint of gold in his eyes before he disappeared behind me. I heard the slide of his pants down his legs. A quiver trembled up my frame.
“Ella.” A throaty whisper in the dark. He was at my back. My heart raced away. I kept still. He swept my hair over one shoulder, biting and sucking the arch between neck and shoulder till I made a soft cry. His hands hadn’t touched me, only his lips.
I called to him, begging. “Paxon. Please.”
“Be still.” A rough demand. I sensed the presence of his beast, but rather than frighten, the dragon calmed me. He was here to give pleasure, to protect, to mark me as his own.
One hand circled my waist, then spread over my abdomen. The other skimmed up the curve of my hip and waist, fingers gliding softly up to my breast. He circled the nipple with two fingers. My body tightened at once, always obeying his touch, doing whatever he wanted. There was no velvet-and-honey in his voice—only the beast when he spoke. “I will protect and care for you till my dying breath. Tonight, I’m going to make you mine in every way.”
My breath came short and fast. “I want to be yours in every way.”
“I will be gentle.” He pinched my tight nub. I gasped and gave a stiff nod, unable to speak anymore, riding on the sensation of his hands on my skin. Some part of me came alive, opening for him. His hand on my abdomen rose to gently tweak and tease my other breast. The other disappeared, sliding over my bottom. He trailed his lips up my neck. My head fell back against his chest, giving him complete access to my throat. His hot mouth skated over sensitive skin. I turned my head just as he slanted his mouth over my parted lips. His tongue slipped in. A burning lick of soulfire poured down my throat, lighting my whole body on fire, intoxicating me with desire. I moaned deep in my throat and whimpered when he pulled his mouth from mine.
“Open your legs for me,” he whispered against my lips.
I did. From behind, two fingers stroked along my slick cleft. My hands sought him in the dark, finding his hips, pulling him against me. His hard shaft pressed against the small of my back. The beast’s growl rumbled in the room, raising gooseflesh on my skin. He pushed a finger inside me. Though tight, I was so wet, he slid the second inside with ease, stroking and stretching me. I started to rock my hips, brushing against his shaft. He pulled his fingers out abruptly and swept me up in his arms right before my knees buckled.
He carried me to the bed and lay me down. Again, I was in a pool of moonlight, my body highlighted among shadows.
He eased down alongside me, drinking me in from top to bottom. He glided a gentle hand over my stomach, smoothing down my waist, my hip then my thigh.
“So beautiful, Ella.”
With a soft kiss, he coaxed my lips apart and stroked his tongue over mine, sending a flicker of soulfire burning through my blood, a wash of euphoria that awakened every sense.
“The soulfire will help with the pain,” he murmured against my lips. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It’s okay,” I said, breathless. “I’m ready.”
He kissed a line down my neck to my breasts and opened his mouth on my taut nipple. I moaned and threaded a hand in his hair, opening my thighs and cradling him between.
“Please, Paxon. I want you inside me.”
He moved over me and braced his weight on one forearm, holding my thigh open. He nudged my entrance with the head of his length, easing inside, thick and rigid, till he hit a barrier. His fingers dug into my flesh. I tensed, sensing the pain to come. He thrust in hard, breaking through my hymen with violent force, pushing in all the way to the hilt.
I screamed at the sharp pain, clenching my fists in the sheets, bowing my spine. He slid in much deeper, filling me till I thought I would burst. He didn’t move, allowing my body to stretch, to recover from the breach. He kissed me deeply, licking in with soulfire, sending another wave of ecstasy through my body. The pain didn’t subside altogether, but still I wanted more of him. I rocked up, clamping my muscles, pushing him deeper. He broke the kiss and hissed out a breath.
“Ella.” He ground out my name like a dying man. Sweat beaded on his brow. He seemed to be straining to leash the dragon. For my protection, of course. But I was stronger than he thought. I could handle all of him.
“No,” I said, wrapping a hand around his nape. His gaze met mine. “Don’t hold back. I want all of you, Paxon.”
With one hand around my hip, he anchored me in place, then drove inside fast and hard, growling with satisfaction, our thighs slapping together with each thrust. I made desperate feminine noises, the kind I thought I’d never make. He pounded harder, driving his thickness deeper and deeper.
Without warning, he pulled out. In a swift move, he lifted me out of the bed and onto the floor onto shaky legs, though he still held me up. The man was seriously strong. He sat on the edge of the bed and gripped my waist tighter, lifting me onto his lap. “Straddle me.”
I did. Sinking down onto him, I moaned as my sensitive flesh rubbed against his hard shaft. He wrapped an arm around my waist, lifted, and then impaled me with a heavy groan.
“You feel so good, Ella, I never want to stop.” His mouth found my breast, tongue flicking over my nipple and sucking hard at the peak.
I moaned his name, hands fisting in his hair, and rode him with a confidence I never thought to experience during such an intimate act. But Paxon made me feel strong, desired, beautiful…even powerful.
His tongue slid over the slope to my other breast where he tortured with the same delight. I thought I would break apart when his teeth nipped and pulled. Squeezing my eyes tight, I saw stars, the pleasure-pain sending me toward climax. I never thought anything could feel so good.
I dipped my mouth close to his ear. “Deeper, love. Harder.”
A growl ripped from his throat. I was on my back again, spread wide. On his knees, he held my thighs open, my knees high, pounding inside of me with fierce thrusts. His wings flared open, a dominant posture of protection and possession. Flaming dragon eyes burned in the dark, capturing me in their heated gaze. With one look, I knew who I belonged to. He owned me, body and soul. I gave it freely, knowing I owned him, too.
I opened my arms, needing to feel the weight of his body on mine, needing to feel skin on skin. He released my thighs, falling forward, bearing his weight on his forearms. My breasts brushed his chest as he rolled his spine, still driving hard. His lips firmed over my mouth and pried my lips apart, his tongue thrusting in the same rhythm as his body. Soulfire elixir poured anew, igniting my body into an inferno. His heart beat in tune with my own. I moaned as my body climbed higher. He pumped into me over and over, branding and making me his. I combed one hand into his hair, the other scratching across his shoulder blade, bearing down to match the intensity of his thrusts.
“I’m coming!” I screamed, as if every hidden emotion I once held had come hurtling out since Paxon had ripped off my veil for good.
My body clenched, my muscles wringing him tight. Paxon pumped one more time, spilling into me, groaning with such deep pleasure, I knew I’d never get enough of that sound—my mate releasing inside of me, loving me with a brutal hunger.
He continued to kiss me for some time, gentling his touch, sweeping my lips softly, still sheathed deep between my legs. The flame burned down in his eyes, but no
t in his heart.
“I love you, Ella.”
A light trail of kisses under my jaw.
“Well, that’s a relief or this might’ve become really awkward.”
He reached down and pinched my bottom, making me squeal and giggle. He slid out of me. The pleasure now ebbed, soulfire dimmed, the pain was more prominent. I winced.
Paxon gazed at me a few seconds, a crease lining his brow. “I’m going to go run a bath to take care of that.”
“It’s okay, Paxon. I’ll be okay.”
“I know. Because I’m going to make sure of it.”
He kissed me on the forehead and lifted onto his knees. He froze, staring at my body, my hair spilling on the pillow, my flushed face.
“What?” I pulled the sheet to cover myself, feeling self-conscious. He whipped it out of my grip, covering my body with his own instead.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.”
I laughed as he kissed me again. Deep and long. A thin thread of soulfire wound in my chest, burning like fanning embers.
Clearing my throat, I whispered, “I feel beautiful.”
He smiled that smoldering, heart-melting smile. “I can’t wait to see what our babies look like.”
“Babies!”
“Yeah. Not right now, of course.” He frowned, mouth quirking in a nervous expression. “I mean later…when you’re ready.”
“Oh.”
His frown deepened. “You do want children, don’t you?”
“Yes. Of course, I do.” Laughing, I shifted under him, feeling a familiar ridge poke me in the hip. “Apparently, you want them soon.”
A devilish grin. “I have a really, big bathtub.”
“I only saw a shower in there.”
“My bathtub has its own space.”
“Wow. And how many girls have you entertained in this really, big bathtub?”
I was teasing, but his face sharpened, the laughter leaking from his gaze, yet there was still warmth there. He wove both hands into my hair along my temples, his expression grave. “You are the only woman I have ever brought here. And you are the only woman who will ever share my bathtub”—a soft kiss on one eyelid—“my bed”—the other—“or my heart.” A long, lingering kiss, sealing my lips with his full intent.
Nightbloom Page 12
