“I can help,” she said in a low voice, making him jump and curse.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re the fucking cause. No thank you.”
“I am sorry about that. I didn’t know you worked for him. I see Hunters and I think ‘enemy.’”
She took a cautious step closer and reached out a hand. “That poor excuse for a mirror isn’t doing you any good. You need another set of eyes. Let me see.”
He gave her another dark look and reluctantly turned, tilting his head to bare the side of his neck. Neela winced at the gash that ran across the underside of his jaw. She’d been aiming for his jugular and was right on the mark. Had she cut any deeper, he’d have bled out.
She gave him another apologetic look and he pressed his lips together.
“I thought he healed you,” she said.
“Only fatal wounds or anything that keeps us from doing our jobs. This is a scratch. I can deal.”
“Here, let me …” She reached for the fresh bandage and ointment he held in his hand. He reluctantly handed it to her and she stepped forward to take it.
He was a head taller than her, which put her at eye level with the wound. It really wasn’t that terrible, but no doubt it hurt like hell. She opened the tube of ointment and squeezed a bit onto her finger, then gingerly dabbed it along the cut.
“What’s your name?”
“Paolo,” he said, still eyeing her warily, but holding still.
“I’m Neela.”
“Yeah, we figured that out. Nobody but an Elite could’ve done what you did. You’re a legend, you know? One of only two female Elites in the Ultiori. We thought you were both dead.”
“One of us is dead,” she said, her stomach clenching at the memory of a woman she’d once loved like a sister. Her skin prickled at the realization of how interconnected all their lives had been. Benedetta had nearly defected for the love of a dragon, but had been driven mad before she’d had a chance by the darkness that corrupted her mind.
Naaz and Neela had been there that day, had tried to control their friend’s bloodlust. Neela herself had seen how far gone her friend was, and even tried putting her down herself, something she’d known she would regret for her entire life—but nothing could kill an Elite at full power, save the fire of the dragon whose blood gave her that power. In Benedetta’s case, it was the very same dragon she’d loved before she’d gone insane.
Benedetta had been on an unsanctioned rampage, killing every dragon she encountered in her search for her lover. Neela and her brother had followed, and were there when she finally reached her target. Neela still didn’t know exactly what had happened in those last few moments, only that Ked had taken Benedetta in his arms and breathed a cloud of thick black smoke around them. When it cleared, his eyes were filled with such anguish, Neela’s heart broke. That was when he’d transformed into a huge black dragon and set his lover on fire.
“Where the hell have you been all this time?” Paolo asked. “I always heard there could only be three Elites. Did Marcus die?”
His voice cracked, and it reminded her that these men, mercenaries though they were, were still humans and still had feelings when Meri wasn’t in control of their minds. The Hunters had always revered the Elites as their commanders.
“There are only three because your fucking boss … your old boss, I mean … only had blood from three immortal dragons to power them. Of course, my kind are rare, which is another limiting factor, but immortal dragons are even rarer. I was made from a fourth immortal dragon’s blood.”
Blood which she hadn’t been given in more than two months. Both she and her brother were dangerously low on power as a result, but they hadn’t expected this trip to take so long. She could feel mortality creeping into her bones bit by bit, and just hoped they would last long enough to reach their dragons.
She pressed the bandage over his wound and gently sealed the tape at the edges.
“But Marcus …”
“He’s alive and well. Mated to a dragon now.” Abstractly, she realized Marcus was technically Zorion’s stepfather, which made her mind twist into a knot. So was Nikhil, for that matter. And also the North brothers, who were Belah’s other mates now. She wondered if the poor man realized he had so many father figures.
She tapped gently on the bandage. “All done now.” She glanced up at him and took a step back from the heated look in his eyes. He moved to close the distance, his gaze flitting between her eyes and her mouth.
“Whoa, Paolo, don’t you think you’re taking forgiveness a step too far?” Neela asked, retreating farther.
The furtive sounds of skin on skin caught her attention, and she hazarded a glance toward the bunks. All the occupied beds now held naked men and they were all apparently enthralled enough by her presence to decide they needed to take care of business while she was in the room.
A chorus of rough pants and moans followed her backward retreat, her skin prickling from their gazes, and though she had no interest whatsoever in being their masturbatory inspiration, her nipples tightened and her core heated at the idea. God, that was all wrong, but as Paolo closed the distance and leaned down in an attempt to brush a kiss against her mouth, she caught the familiar scent of her brother’s breath on his skin and understood.
“Fucking Naaz,” she muttered, unable to avoid laughing. “Buddy, I’ll take care of you,” she said, grabbing the horny Hunter by the ears to hold him still. She leaned up so their mouths were aligned. Without actually touching her lips to his, she exhaled a bit of what scant power she had left. Blue smoke crept from her mouth to be inhaled by the Hunter. Within seconds, the lust in his gaze faded and he leaned back, blinking in surprise.
“Oh, shit … Please tell me I didn’t touch you,” he said, his eyes wide. “He set a trap for us, we knew that much, but we thought we were immune.”
“Relax,” she said. “Probably the pain of your wound caused a bit of a delay compared to your friends, though. They’ll be at it for a few hours, but it’ll wear off before they beat themselves bloody, don’t worry.” She grinned at his horrified reaction to the collection of masturbating men that surrounded them.
“Jesus. What the fuck, guys? There’s a lady present!”
Contrary to his earlier behavior, he moved his body to block her view of the room and gripped her shoulders to turn her around. Clearly his intentions had changed, and all he wished was to protect her delicate sensibilities from the depraved behavior in the room.
She laughed as he followed her back into the corridor and yanked the curtain shut behind them, then visibly grimaced at the first drawn-out groan of one man orgasming, which was followed in quick succession by the others.
“Sorry,” he said.
Neela shrugged. “I suppose we’re even now. My poor, innocent soul will recover, I promise.”
“I didn’t think that. I know you’re important to him. If he thinks we’ve damaged you …”
She rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I can take care of myself. If he doesn’t get that, it isn’t your fault. But I wouldn’t mind some direction here. I need to find him, and he seems to have gone into hiding after our last conversation. Any idea where he is?”
Paolo shook his head. “He’s not the most predictable boss. He always seems to show up when you’re around, though, so my guess is he’ll come to you eventually.”
“Right. Eventually. I guess that’s better than never, huh?” She gave him a small smile and left, uncertain what to do next.
She made it back to the bedroom she’d awakened in, but was too agitated to sleep. Besides, she didn’t want to give him any excuses to visit her without the awareness of consciousness. Her bath had been cut short, so she decided to head back to the warm, fragrant pool he’d led her to earlier.
Once again, she stripped and stepped down into the luxurious heat. Candles still flickered arou
nd the entire room, flames he’d effortlessly extinguished and relit. She could control flames with her power, but not with quite as much ease. Still, she wanted to lure him back to her somehow, and if he was more comfortable in darkness, that’s what she should give him.
She expelled a breath, her lungs burning from the use of the power twice in such a short time. It only reminded her that she wasn’t a dragon, and that the magic that ran in her veins wasn’t magic she’d been born with, even if she was capable of using it. With an effort of will, she pushed the magic through the room, methodically extinguishing the candles until only a single flame was still lit at the very edge of the bath.
The lone flickering fire and its reflection were barely enough for her to see beyond the water, and she decided to leave it lit. There had to be some compromise here. If she could convince him to come to her now, it would be a step forward.
“Zorion, please come back,” she whispered, knowing he could hear her thoughts just fine if he wanted to. “I don’t know why you’re so afraid of showing yourself to me. What I saw was beautiful. I’ve waited almost my entire life for this. I was still young when Naaz and I found the first temple where you and your sister slept. I’d never had a lover before, and knew in that moment that you were meant to be my first.”
She waded to the side of the pool where there was a submerged ledge and sat, waving her hands through the water as she kept speaking. Her throat constricted as she thought back to those early years when her faith in her commander had been destroyed, and she and her brother had begun to see Nikhil as a monster. It would be years before they understood that he’d been corrupted against his will, and what small amount of honor and love remained in him still struggled against the bonds of his captor.
How a man as strong as Nikhil could have been brought so low perplexed her, but she knew better than to disobey him after having once been so close to Zorion and having him taken away from her. She and Naaz had obediently followed after that. They had nothing else to live for, besides each other. Nikhil had nothing to live for then, period.
“You are still my first and only love, Z. You’ve been my soul’s protector since the start. I am whole because you were there all along. And now I am offering myself to you, unconditionally, because I can’t live without you anymore. So please, come to me. You can make it pitch black again, if you still fear me seeing too much, but I will love you no matter what. In the darkness or in broad daylight, I will never stop loving you.”
A subtle draft sent a ripple across the water toward her. Neela’s breath caught in anticipation of the dim light disappearing. The flame flickered and sputtered briefly, and she thought it would be fully extinguished, but the flame steadied and brightened.
She turned her head sharply as fabric rustled. The curtain that blocked the entrance to the room rippled and swayed as though a breeze had passed through it, but she could see no sign of a solid presence. Still, her skin prickled, and she knew she was being watched.
And then the candle light died.
Neela’s pulse raced when a fresh draft blew past, teasing at the sensitive skin of her neck. The water in front of her surged as something big suddenly displaced it, pushing waves of heat up over the swell of her breasts.
Then he was there again, his solid shape only defined by the strange lights that ran beneath his skin. He was a contradiction of darkness and light. During that split-second when she’d seen his reflection earlier, his skin had seemed to absorb the light.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Will you just tell me why?”
“Because I am different.” He lifted one hand before his face, fingers splayed, then turned it. The lines of his palm glowed bright, the secrets of his destiny written there, if she only knew how to read it. But when he closed his fist, it seemed to disappear entirely. “I cannot assume a truly human appearance, no matter how hard I try. What you can see isn’t what I wish to show you.”
“I thought all dragons could transform themselves at will. Is it power you lack? Because maybe my Nirvana is enough …”
“I have power, Neela,” he said. He took a step closer to her, pushing small waves up her chest again. She didn’t move from her seat, but reflexively leaned back to adjust to his looming height when he stood before her looking down. He exhaled a glowing breath and hot, ethereal fingers began to tug at the end of her braid, slowly unraveling the tendrils of hair and fanning them around her shoulders. Then they brushed over her mouth, teasing the outline of her lips.
“Breathe me,” he commanded.
Neela’s sharp inhalation was a reflex to his touch more than anything. Her tongue tingled as the warmth passed her lips and flowed down her windpipe. Searing fire filled her lungs, making her gasp again. Gradually the heat flowed out into her body, the power that sank into her as vast and boundless as the universe. It shot through her bloodstream, filling her until her body felt like it contained the energy of an entire galaxy. She waved her fingers through the air and stars emerged, then planets, and within moments, entire solar systems floated around the room.
“How can you care about your looks when you have this?” she marveled.
“Because I want you. And you wish for a normal life. A lover, a family. A human life.”
“I’m under no illusions about what my life is, Z. I want you no matter what. Being able to make love under the open sky, in a sundrenched field … where I can smell the sun … After an eternity living in a prison cell, is it any surprise that I want that? It doesn’t matter to me how you look. Only that you’re there. Unless … Can you not go out in daylight?”
“I can, but avoid it. I blend in better at night.”
She chuckled. “I don’t see how. You’re all lit up.” She slid off her seat and stood, placing a palm against his chest. He didn’t move this time, but the fiery veins beneath his skin brightened.
“You light me up,” he said. “I can control the fire inside me other times. Just not when you’re near.”
Neela licked her lips and darted a glance to his face. “You’re saying I turn you on?” She slid her hands up his chest to rest at the tops of his shoulders, brushing her thumbs along the sides of his neck. With every stroke, little pulses of fire shot outward from the point of contact. Heat sank into her from his skin as though she was absorbing his power just through touch. She pulled closer until their legs touched under the water and his hard length brushed against her belly.
Warm arousal pooled between her thighs, amped up by the gentle caress of his fingers up her sides and back down until he rested his hands on her hips.
“What do you think?” he said, pulling her tighter against him.
She exhaled abruptly at the press of his massive shaft against her belly. All their endless nights talking in the dark of her cell, and never once had she ached so much to have him inside her. Being in that place had killed her desire to the point she’d been uncertain she would ever want sex. Being with Zorion in the flesh was a very different experience, however.
She hungered for him, and when she tugged his head down, the way he eagerly latched onto her mouth told her he was just as starved for this moment as she was. As his tongue swept into her mouth, followed by a groan of desire, she heard a mental plea echo through her mind.
“Please don’t push me away again.”
“Never. But we’re revisiting the light thing later.”
He dropped his hands to her backside and squeezed, pulling away from their kiss just enough to murmur, “As you wish.” Then he hoisted her up his torso and she wrapped her legs around him, ready to let him take her however he wished.
The entire room brightened with surreal prismatic light, the fire in his skin reflecting off the water and bouncing off the walls in every direction. He cupped her breast like he had the first time, and she eagerly arched back, giving him access to bend his head and suck her nipple between his lips.
<
br /> Everywhere they touched, his power seared her skin to the point she wouldn’t have been surprised if she awakened the next day with welts all over her, but it wasn’t pain so much as the white-hot pleasure of being touched by him after an eternity of craving this very thing.
She found herself laid flat on the warm stone at the edge of the pool, Zorion hungrily sucking at her breasts. He tilted his hips down and she moaned at the slow, deliberate way he grazed the entire length of his huge cock along the slick channel between her thighs.
He gripped her thighs, pushing them wide. His molten gaze swept down her body, heating her further.
“Put your hands above your head,” he said, and she obeyed without a thought, her skin tingling in anticipation of more of those exquisite kisses and caresses that charged her entire body with immense magic.
“Why did you stop?” she whispered, confused by the way he’d paused, his cock on the verge of parting her and pushing inside. His chest heaved, and the brilliant fire that defined his cheekbones and his mouth made it evident that he was in the midst of some internal struggle.
“Forgive me for this, adara.”
“For what?”
“I want to violate you the way I’ve watched so many others do. With you helpless and bound.”
“But I’m neither,” she said, yet when she tried to move her hands, she found them immobilized by glowing shackles. Her feet, too, were tethered to the edge of the pool by fetters made of fire, unable to move.
“If you don’t want this, I will release you,” he said, sliding his hands down the insides of her thighs until his thumbs grazed the outer folds of her pussy. The same perfect heat as before made her tilt her hips into his touch, and his cockhead pushed a little deeper. She couldn’t move, which terrified her, but neither did she want him to stop.
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