by Ines Johnson
Had she missed the pain? He’d said there wouldn’t be pain. She hadn’t believed that. He was biting her. As his teeth pierced her skin millimeter by millimeter, the need inside her increased until she whimpered.
Ilia licked at the flesh caged between his teeth. She felt the hot wetness spread across her shoulders. Rose was certain he was licking down her spine, drenching each vertebra with fire. That had to be his tongue behind her knee, leaving a trail of damp heat. It was him bathing her inner thighs with a curling steam that made her knees slide wider apart.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the curls of his hair. She saw the profile of his angular face cradled against her neck. She felt his chest heave out a long sigh. Then his cheeks hollowed out, and he pulled.
Rose cried out as his mouth worked on the spot where he’d bitten her. The points of his teeth and the velvety smoothness of his tongue wreaked havoc on her senses. She felt she no longer had control over her limbs.
Her knees were splayed wide, now cradling his torso. She had the urge to lift her legs and wrap them around Ilia, to bring him closer, closer to that need that still plagued her.
She didn’t want him inside her. She just wanted him against her to relieve some of that oppressive need that was threatening to consume her. If she didn’t get relief soon, she was going to start crying. And she couldn’t have that.
“No, please,” she sighed.
She wasn’t sure what she was asking for. Ilia didn’t ask for clarification. He shifted his large body and settled a knee between her thighs. Then he went back to licking and suckling at her collarbone.
Rose lay back in unbelievable bliss. Ilia’s knee was exactly what she needed. It was exactly where she needed it.
She couldn’t move her head with Ilia clamped down against her neck. She couldn’t move her upper body as it was bound tight with ropes. The only choice she had left was to move her hips.
She raised her ass and hit the jackpot. The smooth muscles of Ilia’s thigh were just what the doctor ordered. The feel of his flesh against hers, even through their two layers of clothing, soothed that need inside her.
The descent of her sex as it came back down to the couch was just as good. No, it was even better. It didn’t quite quiet the need inside her. But it certainly pacified it.
Rose lifted her hips again. There, against Ilia’s thigh, she found even more comfort, more calm. The sensation was like floating on a cloud. Rose wanted to go higher.
She moved against Ilia. Making her strokes longer, harder, faster.
Up and up, she rose. Flying higher with each stroke. The need never dissipated. It grew bigger, fuller.
Rose’s movements became jerky, disjointed, frantic as the need got away from her again. She chased it but feared she wouldn’t catch it. Until it turned around and caught her.
By now, the need had grown so big that one more stroke, one tiny movement, and it would burst.
“No, wait,” Rose pleaded.
She wasn’t sure if he heard her. She stopped moving. She held perfectly still, afraid of the monster she’d created.
If she kept moving wantonly against, he’d think she… well, wanted it. She couldn’t have him think that. Neither could she stop moving. Because she… well, wanted it.
Above her, Ilia gave another pull of his mouth. With that single pull, her need burst.
Rose felt as though her body was flung to the ground. Instead of pain, the impact brought intense pleasure. A pleasure so deep, so all-consuming, that Rose worried she might drown in it.
It would be a good death. Only she didn’t want to die. She wanted to do it again.
But that couldn’t be right. Could it?
“Yes, no?” She wasn’t sure.
The dueling emotions were tugging her apart as the pleasure abated. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she joyed to find that she was still alive. Which meant that she could do it again. But Ilia was pulling away from her.
“No,” she protested, reaching for him. Her nails dug into his chest, breaking the skin it came into contact with.
Ilia’s eyes were dark and bright at the same time. The contrast confused her.
“I won’t lose control.” His words were a rasp as he spoke. Nothing like the carefree man who’d played a kid’s video game.
It wasn’t his voice. He sounded like a wild creature. He looked like a wild creature. Looking at him closely, Rose saw something lurking beneath the surface of his fine features.
“You need to leave,” he said.
With a swipe of his claw, he cut the cables binding her. Rose shivered at the impact of her freedom. Her arms flailed as she tried to remember how to use them.
“Leave, Rose.”
She couldn’t get her legs to move. She couldn’t even brace herself with her hands to rise from the couch. She couldn’t remember how. She didn’t want to. She wanted the rope back. To tie her down. To alleviate the need to make a decision. To take away some of her choices so that she could focus on what she truly wanted.
What she wanted was stepping away from her.
Ilia’s eyes glowed brightly as he looked down at her. His skin shimmered from the deep tan flesh of a man to the dark scales of a beast.
He was no longer a man. He was all dragon. His wings spanned out to touch both sides of the room. His claws scraped against the floor as he stood to his full height. And that dark purple, near black, gaze tracked her movements.
Not that she had moved from the couch. She still couldn’t get her limbs to cooperate in their newfound freedom. What did move through her was fear.
The dragon’s nostrils flared. Its features crumpled into something that looked like shame. It backed up toward the windows, claws scraping against the floor with each step.
A thundering crash. The splinter of glass. And it was gone. Out the window and into the night.
Rose’s legs and arms finally agreed to coordinate. She stood on shaky limbs. Her fingers went to her neck. She searched until she found the raised skin Ilia had left there. The spot was warm and throbbing, just like the rest of her.
Chapter Fifteen
“For a strong, purple dragon, you look blue, Ilia. I’m sure Clove and I can brighten your night.”
“No, thank you, Honeysuckle.”
Ilia hunched over his drink at God’s Teet. His back muscles hurt from pushing his wings hard during flight. He’d flown the length of the Veil and back to keep his dragon from Rose.
“I’m sure you don’t mean that,” said Honeysuckle in her tinkling voice. She laced her viney fingers around Ilia’s bicep.
“No, means no.” Ilia plucked the fairy’s fingers from his arm and turned back to his drink.
“No, it doesn’t,” said Clove. “Not when you’re a beast.”
“Definitely not when you’re a beast of a dragon,” said Honey.
“Beasts need sex,” said Clove. “Which is why the Goddess made fairies. So dragons, and bears, and wolves, and lions and fairies could fuck without the consequence of sucklings.”
“It’s the perfect relationship,” agreed Honey. “Now, let’s go out in the field and pollinate some night flowers.”
“I said no.” Ilia enunciated each word. He was dangerously close to popping the head off these overgrown plants. Lucky for them, he would never hurt a female.
Unless she was his mate.
“It has to be a human,” Clove was saying as she backed away from Ilia.
“I’m sick of these warmbloods coming in and taking our fuck buddies,” Honey agreed.
Their voices faded into the background as thoughts of Rose bloomed inside Ilia’s mind. Ilia had failed. He hadn’t even passed the first level of seduction with his mate before he’d gone up in flames. She’d told him no. She’d said the word more than once. Yet, in his desire for her, he hadn’t heard her.
Or worse, he had heard her. He’d simply ignored her plea.
He picked up the goblet of flames and tossed it back. The burn down his throat
felt like a penance. The problem was, he wanted to commit the sin again. And then again.
Just the thought of Rose’s flesh in his mouth. The taste of her life’s blood on his tongue. The scent of her honeyed arousal in his nose.
That she’d been aroused even as she rejected him was still a point of confusion for Ilia. But he couldn’t mistake that single-syllabled word. Nor could he discount the evidence of her attempt to push him away from her.
Any other night, he’d have worn Rose’s scratches on his flesh like a badge of honor. Tonight, they were his shame. From inside his chest, he could feel his dragon licking at the wounds her nails had made as she’d tried to push him away.
Ilia wasn’t fooled by the beast’s placations. His dragon wanted to get out. It wanted to fly back to the castle. To throw its mate down and claim her in the ancient ways of its kind.
Hard. Rough. Rutting.
That was what the beast inside him wanted. The beast below in his pants, as well. If Ilia was honest with himself, it was what he wanted with every bone in his body, including his boner.
But Rose had said no. At least he had enough presence of mind to get out of the room before his dragon or his dick took over and claimed her against her will.
“Another one.” Ilia held up his empty mug.
Mari raised a dubious brow as she refilled his mug and lit the flame. “I see you came to your senses and didn’t go beyond the Veil.”
“Didn’t need to,” Ilia said after taking a sip. “Morrigan brought back two females.”
“Two?” Mari’s second brow lifted to join the first. “You’re going to mate two women? I always took you for a glutton, but this is beyond the pale.”
“They’re not both for me. Just Rose. Though she’ll never trust me again.” Ilia held out his empty mug for yet another refill. “She told me no, and I didn’t listen.”
Mari took the mug and poured. “So the other human is for Elek?”
“Who? Lily? No, I had originally chosen Lily. But after getting to know Rose, I knew she was the one for me. Rose has the fire of Sarah Connor in her, but she’s a little cray-cray like Allison Reynolds from The Breakfast Club. You know, the dark-haired one.”
“Right, right.” Mari struck the match for the brew, but it didn’t take the first time. “And Lily’s mating Elek?”
“Elek doesn’t want a mate,” Ilia said, taking the match from Mari and lighting his drink himself. “But now Rose thinks I’m a villain because she told me no, and I didn’t listen.”
“Because Rose wants Elek?”
“Rose is mine.”
The top of the brew burst into flames. The fire didn’t stop there. It spread across the counter, aiming for the store of alcohol.
Marigold stretched out her arm. With a flick of her wrist, the fire stopped in its tracks. With the curl of her fingers, ice covered the flames. The mix turned into a puddle of water on the bar.
“Sorry, Mari.”
“It’s fine,” Mari said as she used a rag to wipe up the spilled brew. “You’re understandably upset about your mate, Rose.”
Ilia liked that Mari clearly and concisely enunciated that Rose was his. He found that he wasn’t thirsty anymore. Not for the brew. The only thing he wanted in his mouth was Rose.
“You said Elek won’t mate?” Mari wrung the damp rag to within an inch of its life. The last drop of water was anemic as it splattered to the ground without a sound. “So she’s for the lions? Or the bears? Or the wolves?”
“Lily’s for Rhoyl.”
The dried rag slipped from Marigold’s hand. It clattered to the ground, also not making a sound. “Rhoyl? He’s back in male form?”
“No. Hopefully, having a mate will coax him to finally shift back. Mari? Are you okay? You look as though you smell something foul.”
“I’m—” Mari cleared her throat. When her gaze met Ilia’s again, she was back to her no-nonsense self. “I’m fine. Tell me what you did to upset your mate?”
“I marked her.”
“And?”
“I lost control.”
“And?”
“I wanted to throw her down and rut on her.”
“I realize I’m sounding like a broken record here, Ilia. But… and?”
“She was writhing against me, taking her pleasure. And then she said no.”
Mari cocked her head to the side. “How did she say no?”
“What do you mean how? When a woman says no, she means no.”
He glanced up at Mari. But the fairy’s face was an impassive mask once more. Though he sat, Ilia shuffled his feet against the sticky floor. His dragon wanted to go, but the man wasn’t certain of his direction.
“She thinks I’m the villain of our game,” Ilia said.
“Game?” said Mari. “Don’t you mean love story?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Technically, she’s right,” said Mari. “She was kidnapped.”
“By Morrigan.”
“Then you took her to a high castle full of guarded treasure.”
“That’s where I live,” said Ilia.
“It’s what villains do. Heroes are the ones that come to the rescue.”
Ilia’s cheeks burned. That fire came from within, not the drink that sat untouched in front of him. Mari was right. He hadn’t rescued Rose. He’d taken her from captivity and placed her in a gilded cage.
“Then you forced yourself on her?” Mari continued.
“No.” But his denial was wobbly. “I said I wouldn’t mark her unless she asked me to. She said yes… at first. And then she said no.”
Though now that he thought of it, she had said please and no. She had said wait and no. Yes and no.
She had said no, all while moaning her desire. She had moaned her desire while writhing her lower body against his thigh. She had cried out a denial as her orgasm had taken her.
Did her no actually mean no?
Inside of his chest, his dragon gave him a mighty kick. His dragon would’ve never hurt its mate. It would lay down its very life for her.
Could that be the reason both Ilia and his beast had ignored Rose’s pleas? Because she hadn’t meant what he thought she meant? Maybe she hadn’t even meant what she thought she meant?
Chapter Sixteen
Rose really wasn't in the mood for dinner. Didn’t they just have dinner? Everyone in this castle seemed to be eating all the time.
Be it a full course meal. Or snacks left out around television sets, gaming consoles, and near fireplaces. If not putting food directly into their mouths, then they were putting their tongues down each other’s throats.
Cardi used a finger to gloss her lips with wine. Then she smiled up at Kimber, who diligently sipped the beverage from her lips.
Poppy sat on Beryl’s lap as she fed him bits of what looked like flowers. He’d take a bite of the greens and then nip the side of her mouth.
And then there was Corun and Chryssie. The father to be cut up his mate’s food into tiny bites. He stabbed morsels onto his fork in the same pattern, delivering them to her waiting mouth. All while Chryssie gazed adoringly at him.
For the first time since she’d been here, Rose felt sick to her stomach. Despite the savory aroma of the dish in front of her, her appetite was nowhere to be found. She didn’t want to eat, but neither did she want to be alone.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t sneak off with her sister. Lily was entranced by every plate Elek brought to the table. She listened intently as he described the ingredients and how he’d prepared each item. Rose wasn’t even sure her sister knew she was in the room, as she was so engrossed with the food and the chef.
Looking around the room, she didn't see Ilia. Which was fine. It didn't bother her. Not one bit. She didn't care if she didn't see him again.
A whoosh sounded at the large window on the opposite side of the dining room. The window took up nearly the entire wall. A set of claws tugged open the pane, and the body of a large dragon fit itself inside
. The dragon was of the deepest blue, not of a jaded purple.
It wasn’t Ilia.
Rose huffed out a breath. She slumped back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. When her forearms brushed against her breasts, she noted her nipples were hard as rocks. Which was unusual as it wasn’t cold in the dining room, and she wasn’t in a bathing suit.
Because swimwear spreads were often shot in the winter, models had to contend with headlights blaring into the camera. Right now she wore too many layers to give anyone a show. No one was paying attention to her to notice.
Definitely not the man who had made her nipples that hard to begin with. He wasn’t even around to see what he was doing to her. He’d just up and flew away.
"Does your belly ache, Rose?” asked Elek, his gaze attentive. "Do you possess an aversion?”
“Aversion?” asked Rose.
"He means an allergy," said Cardi. “To the food. Is it upsetting your stomach?”
That would make a great excuse for Rose’s discomfort. But she felt no aches or pains. There was a hollowness in her chest and an ache between her thighs. Would food cure that?
Rose dug into the dish. It wasn't like she had to model anymore. At the first bite, her tastebuds screamed for more. It was delicious. But it wasn’t satisfying. She wanted something with a bit more spicy fire and salty sweat.
Elek smiled at her with a kind, non-predatory expression on his face. Lily smiled at Elek as though the dragon shifter were made of chocolate—something that was overflowing on Lily’s plate.
Food was overflowing on every woman’s plate. If the figures of the other women were anything to go by, the dragons seemed to like a lot of flesh on their women's bones. Chryssie, Cardi, and Poppy weren't thin waifs. They all had curves.
“More?” Elek asked, holding out a large serving spoon filled with more of the delicious fare.
Rose’s belly was full. That other ache lower down in her body remained persistent. “Maybe we should leave some for Ilia.”
“We won’t run out of food,” said Corun. “There’ll be plenty left for Ilia when he joins us. Where is he? In the mines?”
