by Amelia Jade
Rhynne frowned. “Y—”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence, because the instant she started to speak Dom thrust himself fully back inside of her.
She cried out, and he did it again.
And again.
His hips thrust in and out rapidly as he built up speed, and Rhynne did the only thing she could think of: she held on for dear life, her arms wrapped around his neck. She dared not try and kiss him; breathing was hard enough at that moment.
Rhynne tried not to cry out, but she just couldn’t help herself. It felt too damn good! Dominick bent over her, pressing his lips to her mouth as he muffled her cries, his body pressing against hers, their skin practically melting together from the heat in the room.
There was a feral glint to his blue eyes when they parted for a split second. A barely restrained animalistic instinct was in control of him as he slammed his hips into her repeatedly. The growl that came from deep in his throat was an echo of that primitive side of him, and it drove her wild.
She bucked and thrust her hips up at him, begging him to go harder, faster, to get deeper inside of her.
Dominick pushed himself up off of her, his strong hands wrapping around her waist as he manipulated her through sheer strength. He picked her up and flipped her over, pausing only long enough so she could get her knees on the ground. Her arms had no strength left in them and they collapsed under her, leaving only her ass thrust up in the air. Dominick moved up behind her and once more his cock penetrated deep into her. Strong hands clamped down on her waist and held her still as he began to thrust into her from behind.
Rhynne went wild as he hit all new parts of her with each stroke. She began to play with herself as he fucked her, the tenderness of her clit banished for the moment as she raced toward another explosive orgasm.
Dominick seemed to sense it, and she felt his cock straining, engorging itself even further as he continued his frantic pace.
“Holy shit, don’t fucking stop,” she gasped as it all reached a head. “No matter what, fuck me as hard as you can, as long as you can. I want you to cum in me.”
Dominick needed no more encouraging than that, and her cries grew in intensity as he fucked her without abandon. Neither of them wanted soft and sensual. There was too much pent-up desire and frustration from their inability to clear the hurdles between them over the previous few months. She wanted it hard, and he was more than willing to oblige. Her body bounced and eventually her hands came up against the wall, pushing against them as his thrusts moved her forward from their impact.
At the last moment he pulled her up off her hands, arms wrapping around her tight as he exploded deep inside of her. Rhynne came at the same time, the press of his skin to hers, and his arms holding her up with ease just too much to handle. Her core flexed and almost yanked him out of his grip, but he held on tight as they went through the throes of passion together. They collapsed onto their sides, his cock still deep inside of her as her walls eked every last bit from him. Then she melted into the bed, exhausted.
A smile passed over her face as a thought pushed its way through the fog around her brain.
She had him now. After all this time, through bouts of miscommunication and stubbornness, they were finally and truly going to become one. They would partner with each other and raise their unborn child together. It was more than she had ever hoped.
Her eyes closed and she fell fast asleep with that thought in her mind.
Chapter Eleven
Dominick
He flailed himself awake with a start, sitting upright in a rush. Rhynne’s arm draped over his chest went flying, rolling her over and out of the bed, so that she deposited herself on the floor with a cry.
Dom looked around wildly for the source of the noise, not having been fully awake at that point.
“Rhynne?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. “What are you doing down there?”
She snorted. “Enjoying all the space for activities, clearly,” came the dry reply.
He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that, but he reached over and hauled her back into bed with him anyway.
“Everything okay?” she asked, running her hand back and forth over his chest. “You awoke with quite a start there.” She paused in her caresses and he twisted his head to look over at her.
“What?”
“Well, I was just thinking something,” she said, deep in thought.
“Which is…” he prompted after she didn’t immediately reply.
“That I really, really hope you don’t wake up like that every day. Otherwise, I’m going to need a landing pad down there,” she teased.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he apologized, covering her swiftly in kisses, despite her giggled protests.
“Better,” she said. “Now, what woke you up with such a start?”
“It just struck me again in a dream that I’m going to be a father,” he said dreamily, a beatific smile plastered permanently on his face. “And I really like that idea.”
“Good,” Rhynne said with a light punch to his arm. “Because you had a hand in making it happen.”
He laughed. “I suppose I wasn’t strong-armed into it, was I?”
“Not in any sense,” she said, joining in on the laughter.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was twenty minutes before his alarm was even due to go off.
“But I feel like I have to tell you that just because you distracted me yesterday—wonderfully so I might admit—it doesn’t get you out of having to come with me and support me while I tell my parents about us and my pregnancy.”
Dom’s mouth suddenly experienced a fierce drought, his tongue grating against his cheeks like sandpaper as he tried to work his jaw to come up with words. None came, however, but Rhynne had a solution for that. She reached up and took his jaw into her hands, and tilted his head up and down.
“‘Yes Rhynne, you know I’ll be there for you,’” she said through a corner of her mouth, miming what she wanted him to say.
He nodded again, this time with more emphasis. “Yes,” he managed to say. “Just as soon as I’ve fortified myself.”
She looked at him. “No alcohol!”
Dom grinned. “I meant with a big ol’ steak. Gonna need it.”
She rolled her eyes, knowing he’d purposefully said that. “Tonight,” she said seriously. “We’re just going to get it out of the way, and that will be that. Okay?”
“Not much of a warning!” he protested.
Rhynne jabbed a fingernail into his sternum. “Okay?” she repeated more firmly.
“Okay, okay!” he relented. “I surrender!”
She gave him a mock look of disgust. “I’m going to head back to my room now. I’ve got a meeting with Daxxton and some Guardian things to take care of today. Meet me at my parents’ place at seven. I’ll be there by six to try and prepare them. Got it?”
“Got it,” he replied, not having to ask where her parents’ place was.
Everyone in town knew the Novas, and the palatial residence they made their home in at the eastern quadrant of Cadia. It was rather impossible to miss, especially for a flighty dragon like himself, who had spent many an hour simply gliding through the skies learning to appreciate all his dragon could offer him.
“Be good then,” she said, and rose from the bed with a grace that made him stare in unconcealed delight.
“I’m never good,” he purred, bouncing his eyebrows suggestively.
Rhynne giggled and swatted at his hand as it quested for her exposed rear.
“I’ll see you tonight. Best behavior, mister,” she said, her voice growing taut.
“Hey,” he said, rising to embrace her once more. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. We’ll make this work, one way or another.”
She smiled. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I’m not nervous as all high hell.”
Dominick leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll be here for you.” He pulled on some pants quickly.
“Now go on with you. I have shit to learn.”
“And learn it you shall, cadet,” she teased. “Or else you’ll come by for some remedial attention.”
He felt himself stir at the sultry wink she gave him.
“Go on,” he said, pulling open the door. “Get out of h—”
Dominick’s voice died as he saw Asher and Zeke standing in the hallway outside of Zeke’s room, having a conversation.
Or they had been, until they stopped to stare as Rhynne walked from his room.
“Not a word, cadets,” she said formally, and walked down the hallway in complete silence.
Asher and Zeke turned to look at Dominick.
He shrugged.
“You heard the Instructor,” he said.
And closed the door in their faces.
“Oh no you don’t!” came the cry as his friends pounded on the door until he relented and let them in.
Asher and Zeke waltzed inside and took up positions on either side of the door, arms crossed. “Care to tell us what’s going on?” Asher asked innocently.
Dom just laughed and shook his head.
“You know,” Zeke said. “I thought I heard some noises in here last night…”
“Oh come on now, guys,” Dom protested, and his friends burst into roaring laughter.
“I knew it!” Asher crowed. “I knew there was something going on with you and the Instructor. How long?” he pressed.
Dom smiled happily. “It’s complicated, but it all started about three months ago, though it’s taken a while to come to anything.” His expression hardened. “Not a word to anyone though, okay? I only tell you two because you’re my best friends.”
“And we caught you red-handed,” Zeke supplied.
“Yes, well, that too,” he said with a laugh. “But trust me, it’s complicated.”
Asher snorted, moving into the room and sitting on the edge of the desk. “What could be so complicated? You’re with the Instructor, she’s with you. Tada!”
Dom shook his head, and instead of dragging it out, decided to just tell them. “She’s pregnant.”
Asher lost his balance and had to scramble to recover. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me. It’s mine.”
“Oh,” Zeke said. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Dom confirmed. “Exactly.”
Their surprise overcome, the pair of them came forward and congratulated him, giving him hugs and shots to the shoulder. It was a nice moment of camaraderie that helped him relax, even for just those few minutes of casual conversation. He told them about becoming a father, and they told him that they would be there to help however they could.
But then the mood sobered as reality set back in.
“That is complicated.” Asher frowned. “Has she told her parents?”
Dominick looked at him and shook his head. Asher swore under his breath, and Dom knew he understood. Asher’s family, while not on the same level as the Novas, was still considered part of the theoretical “upper crust” of Cadia. He knew all about the issues Rhynne was going to face.
“She’s going to tell them tonight,” he explained. “And,” he added, “I’m going to be there.”
Asher barked a laugh. “Sorry buddy, that was rude of me, but wow, that’s going to be awkward as hell.”
“Thanks Ash,” Dom said, though he couldn’t help but smile. “Although you aren’t wrong. I am so not looking forward to this at all. I mean, it will be nice to have it done and out in the open. But it’s going to be painful.”
Zeke jumped in. “You know what, it’ll probably end up going smoother than either of you think.”
Dom and Asher looked at each other, then at their friend.
“Yeah, okay,” they chorused, before the trio dissolved into laughter.
Whatever happens, he thought happily, I know they’ve got my back.
***
I’d forgotten how huge this place is.
He soared high in the sky above the Nova family residence, banking around in a slow, curving loop that had the massive estate at the center. Dom had been doing the same loop for a solid twenty minutes now.
Not that he was avoiding descending or anything, where he’d actually have to interact with people. The trappings of her family didn’t bother him. The huge house and its well-manicured lawns, gardens, immaculately clean statues and exterior, all obvious signs of wealth and power. None of that affected him in the least. He could look past that, and was not intimidated by it either. No, it was the people who he was afraid of.
Klara Nova, Rhynne’s mother, was one of the two dragon representatives on the Cadian Council. As the dragons were also the longtime chairs of the Council, that made her one of the three most powerful figures in Cadia. The only one who could rival her was the High Guardian, who commanded all of the Guardians of Cadia.
No pressure. None at all.
A flapping of wings alerted him to the presence of another in the sky with him. Dominick’s head snapped around as a large inky-black dragon came close.
Shit. I was so focused on the house, I forgot to keep a watch on the sky! Rule number one of the Academy, and I still can’t follow it.
Cursing himself, he eyed up the newcomer, who coasted in close to him in a non-confrontational manner. Black dragons, or Blast Dragons, were exceedingly rare, and he swallowed hard as his mind realized that at this place in Cadia there was likely only one Blast dragon he might encounter.
“Zoltan,” he said respectfully to Rhynne’s father.
“Hello,” the former Cadian Council Lord said politely. “May I assist you in any way?”
The question was phrased politely enough, but Dominick understood just what he was saying underneath the veneer of cheerfulness. You have no business here. Get out. Well, in this case Zoltan was wrong. He did have business being here.
“Ah, I was just getting ready to descend, sir,” he replied. “Such a gorgeous place here. I was just taking some time to admire it. Sorry if I caused you any trouble.”
“None at all,” Zoltan said quietly in reply as he eyed Dominick. “Business at the house you say? Well, come on then, let’s be quick about it.”
“Of course,” he said and the pair of them began to descend from the sky.
Dominick picked one of the landing circles, gathering himself. He needed to make this shift a smooth, easy one. No excessive lightning or other tricks this time. Just a quick, seamless shift back to his human form, so that he might show them he wasn’t just some slob of an Academy Cadet.
His sapphire-blue scales glittered in the waning sunlight as he passed through a beam that had made its way through the clouds. He glanced over at Zoltan, noting the way the sun illuminated him, but there was no reflection of the sunlight on the black dragon. His scales were a dull, matte black. Dominick wondered how he did that, and resolved to ask if he ever got on good terms with Zoltan.
Unlikely chance of that happening.
“So,” Zoltan said, appearing around the corner from his chosen landing circle before Dominick had even begun his transition. “What kind of business brings you to Chez Nova?”
Dominick didn’t reply. Instead he summoned the lightning clouds and shifted into human form, the black shapes shot through with streaks of blue light that momentarily occluded his view of the head of house Nova. When they dissipated he exhaled in relief. It had been, by all accounts, a smooth shift. There was no look from Zoltan that would have signified his distaste at a rough change.
“Well, actually sir, I—”
“There you are, Z!” a female voice said loudly, and the pair of men turned to see a tall blonde figure coming down the stairs at a stately pace, accompanied by a person in all white livery.
Dominick would recognize Klara Nova anywhere he saw her. She was always perfect-looking. She was beautiful, in an abstract sort of way, and he could see where Rhynne got her good looks from. But she was missing something that Rhynne had. That zest, the fire for life that he found so attracti
ve about her. That was something, if he didn’t miss his guess, that she had gotten from her father. He wondered for a brief moment why the two of them had ever gotten married in the first place.
“Oh, hello,” Klara said as she finally noticed Dominick. “Can I help you?”
Shit. Where was Rhynne? There was no sign of her around, and now he was being confronted by both of her parents. Not good. Not good at all.
Klara frowned as she looked at Dominick. “Wait, aren’t you one of the cadets at the Academy? The one Rhynne is working with?”
Dominick nodded politely. “Yes ma’am, I am.” He tried to say more, but his voice died.
“Oh, very good then. Is there something that brought you here? Did Daxxton have a message for us?” She seemed ready to dismiss him as soon as he answered.
“Ah, no, not that I am aware of,” Dominick sputtered, thrown completely off balance. This was not how the evening was supposed to have gone.
Where the hell was Rhynne? He certainly wasn’t going to tell them himself. For all he knew, Zoltan, or even Klara herself, would attack him for something silly. Like violating their daughter or something, or insulting their family by even suggesting something had happened.
“Is Rhynne here?” he asked as the Novas looked at him strangely.
Zoltan looked over at Klara. “No,” she responded. “My daughter hasn’t been here in a few days. Why? Shouldn’t she be at the Academy?”
Dominick felt his throat swell up. What the hell was going on? Where was Rhynne? She’d said she’d be there. She wouldn’t ditch him like this, would she?
His dragon rumbled inside of him, pushing that thought aside. It knew Rhynne, and it said she was telling the truth when she’d planned to be here. But now she wasn’t, and Dominick was left to come up with an excuse.
“Ah, I’m not sure of the specifics behind it all,” he said, improvising quickly. “But Blaine asked me to come find her, and he was under the impression that she would be here.”
“Oh,” Klara said, clearly not entirely believing Dominick. “Well, you can tell him that we haven’t seen her.”
“I shall do just that,” he replied, nodding his head respectfully to the pair and returning to the circle under the watchful eye of the Novas.
