by Bobbie Rayne
I waited until we’d all eaten before tuning out everyone else and directing my full attention onto my sister. “Remember how Mom used to tell us things like our future held more than we knew, and Dad used to say that being the children of our mother was a big deal?”
Kyla’s face softened with the memories. “Yeah, they were ridiculous.” She giggled and shook her head.
“I don’t think so, Ky. Mom was going to teach you to take care of the dragonfly flower on your own. Now we know it’s really the calma plant, and we know it has a special purpose and comes from a magickal land. You have the ability to help provide oil for the dragons you love so much.”
She beamed at me, her face glowing with pride and her eyes sparkling that unusual green, reminding me again how much she favored our mother. “That’s true. I never really thought of that.”
“Well”—I looked around the table, including everyone in what I had to say—“I’m pretty sure we can help even more than we thought. The man who killed Mom was ranting about other plant growers having hidden seeds, and then… well, it doesn’t matter what happened, but I have a hunch.” I removed my bracelet from my wrist. “Kyla, can I have the charm off of your necklace?”
She eyed me quizzically but turned and allowed Malachite to unclasp the necklace from around her throat, then she slid the heart charm off and passed it to me. “What’s going on, Christian?”
I held the two charms up next to each other side by side, both of them silver and both bubbled and hollow inside. Davis breathed out, “Holy crap. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” At my smirk, he pulled a knife out of the sheathe attached to his belt. “Pass them to me.” Once he held them both, he turned them over assessing them before he looked between me and Kyla. Her eyes shone with hope as soon as she realized what we were getting at, as did the rest of the family. The dragons were hovering, their bodies vibrating with excitement. “Are you sure about this?” Kyla and I nodded without hesitation. If what I suspected was true, this is why we’d been given the charms in the first place; it was part of our purpose as our mother’s children. A slow, beatific smile spread across Davis’s face as he pried the edge of one and then the other charm open, dropping the knife onto the table and holding out his large hand. Tears streaked down Kyla’s face and the dragons went crazy hopping around and hugging each other—in his large palm rested two seeds, two perfectly shaped calma seeds.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I asked Eeli as he snuggled up on my arm on the bed, holding his Kindle with one hand propped against my belly. It was a position we’d found ourselves in numerous times over the last couple of days while we healed emotionally and mentally from my being taken from Shimmerside by the Order. Bodhi was curled up on my other side, but she went to sleep as soon as I’d asked Eeli to read to me. Since everyone else was out on their dragons, including Malachite having taken Kyla out to ride Kesia with him, Bo had no one else to hang out with right now.
“No. But I don’t know why you like me to read to you so much. I don’t do anything special; it’s not like listening to you sing.” He sighed, that dreamy expression he always got when he talked about me singing crossing his face.
“Hush.” I rolled my eyes, but it made me feel good that Eeli loved my voice. After all we’d been through, I had to admit to myself that I’d always sang a little louder, not enough to not blend, but enough to hope he heard me clearly across the room in music class. “Just read.”
I tipped my head back against his headboard and listened to his voice rise and fall, taking on the different character voices as he read Taoree, a gay sci-fi adventure we’d found on Amazon. There were three books total and I was enjoying how he’d remained consistent reading each of their voices. As much as I’d always been enraptured by the sound of Eeli’s voice as he read, it was better now. Lying in his bed with my head on a feather pillow, his body snuggled up to mine under a soft quilt, and his lyrical voice so close to my neck that I could feel his breath as he spoke, this was more than I’d ever hoped for. My fantasies hadn’t even been this good before my parents died and my world spun out of control.
“Christian, how can you smile right now?”
“What?” I jerked out of my musings, realizing I’d missed whatever he’d just read. Tilting my head down at him, I saw tears swimming in his eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, cupping his cheek with my hand.
“You missed an important part. It’s so sad.”
“Read it again. I’m sorry, I’m paying attention now.”
“I can’t believe you’re making me endure this again,” he said sadly, before picking the Kindle back up and repeating the part I’d missed.
“Awe, that’s terrible. Poor Jeremy. I liked that other guy, too.” I hugged Eeli closer to me as he powered his Kindle down and set it on the other side of me next to Bo. “You’re done for today, huh? Too sad?”
“No, it’s sad, but I actually read some of the reviews, so I can’t wait to see where this story is going, but… it does have me thinking.”
“About what?”
Eeli pulled away from me and sat up, his knee nestled into my thigh. “How we don’t really know how much time we have left. Like, look at those two guys, they’re our age, and…” he trailed off. “They wasted so much time. I don’t want us to do that,” he said earnestly.
“Oh, Aye, why are you thinking about that? It’s not as if there’s an alien ship in your back yard.”
I stretched forward to hug him, but he arched his back, moving away from me. “How can you say that, Christian? After everything you’ve been through? After what we told you happened with Zale or with Davis’s clan? You know dragons exist now, for goodness sake.” His emotions ramping up disturbed Bo’s sleep, and the next thing I knew, the purple beauty was up and in Eeli’s arms, cooing and rubbing her face against his. “I’m okay, Bo. Thank you.” They both grew silent for a moment as they stared at each other, so I knew they were having a private conversation, then Bo wrapped her wings around Eeli tightly before kissing his face several times and bouncing off the bed.
As she scooted out of the room, I turned back to Eeli in confusion. “Where’s Bo going?”
“I… um…” He cleared his throat, his face turning that delightful beet red I’d grown so fond of, before determination straightened his spine and with narrowed eyes, he said, “I appreciate how sweet you’ve been, but… you’re my mate, and I know what I want, and… well, I’m ready.”
“You’re ready for…?” I was more confused now than ever.
“I asked Bo to give us some privacy because I want to, well, you know…” He nodded his head for emphasis.
“Uh… oh! You want to…” I rolled my hand for a moment, before huffing out a snicker. “If we can’t say it, we probably shouldn’t be doing it, Aye.” His eyes widened, but I cut him off before he could speak. “I’m not saying no. I just want to be clear about what you’re ready for. Are you saying you want to have sex?”
Relief flooded his face. “Yes, yes. That’s what I’m saying. I’m ready for us to have anal sex.” He gave me a satisfied grin, looking suspiciously like the cat who ate the canary, when I choked on how bold he was suddenly being.
“Okay, so… wow. Okay.”
“Don’t you want to?” His shoulders drooped a little so I rushed to reassure him.
“Aye, I can’t think of anything I want to do more. Forget the fact I’m eighteen and always horny.” We both giggled before I continued, “But it’s you. I wish I’d never done anything with anyone else—”
He cut me off. “I’m glad you have.” He reached over and grabbed my hand, pulling it into his lap. “I want this and I’m ready, but I’m nervous. It makes me feel better knowing that at least one of us isn’t completely clueless.”
I turned my hand so we could thread our fingers together. “But are you sure? We’re mates, right?” He nodded happily. “Then we don’t have to rush.”
“I know, but this doesn’t feel like rushing. It�
�s like with those guys in the book, you just never know, and our lives are different than most. There’s true evil in the world and it’s my honor, but also my obligation, to fight it. I never want to pass up an opportunity to be with you and get closer to you. I’ve been thinking about us taking this next step a lot, dreaming about it even,” he said shyly.
“Me too, Aye,” I whispered, getting on my knees and cupping his face with both hands. “If you say you’re ready, then I believe you and I want that, too. For us to never feel like we missed a minute. But you have to promise me you’ll always fight to get home to me. No matter what the circumstances or how bad the battle is, you can’t ever give up. I don’t want to lose anyone else. You’re my new dream and it’s full of a long, happy life, okay?”
Tears sprung in his eyes again at my words, and he nodded his face into my hands. “I promise.”
Leaning in, I bumped his nose with mine, spending time giving him eskimo kisses so that we could both relax from what had become an emotionally charged moment. Finally, our lips came together, gently at first, lightly pressing. After laughing huskily against my lips, Eeli murmured, “You remember I’m an eighteen-year-old male, too, right? I’m already hard as a rock, exactly how much do you plan on drawing this out?”
“Oh yeah, dragon rider?” So I flipped him on his back, delighted by his squeal of surprise, then smashed my mouth to his. Then it was on, making out had never been so fun. Our kisses got longer and wetter until we could hardly breathe. I sat up to whip my shirt off, and Eeli scrambled up off the bed, quickly stripping all his clothes off. “Oh, it’s like that, is it?” I asked as I took in his hard, firm body. It never ceased to amaze me that despite how slight he was in height, he had muscle upon muscle packed under his clothes. “I think I’m going to need to lick those.”
“What?” He looked down at himself, rubbing his hand down his abs over the ridges I wanted to trace with my tongue. “Oh these?” He traced the lines, amusement in his voice at my whimper.
Narrowing my eyes, I stood up on his bed and finished stripping my own clothes off. “What’s wrong, Aye?” I asked as his panting started to fill the air.
“You’re so hot. I’ve trained in all my spare time my whole life, and you’re still as jacked as me. How’s that even possible?” His voice was breathless, making me puff my chest with pride.
He sucked in his bottom lip as he stared straight at my cock bouncing on my stomach in front of him. Stepping to the edge of the bed, I grabbed my hard length and stroked myself. “What’re you looking at, Aye?” He moved in closer. I teasingly rubbed the tip across his lips before bouncing down on my butt and grabbing him, flipping him under me and landing between his spread legs.
“What’s with the flipping me around today?” He giggled.
“Just don’t want you to get too cocky, dragon rider.”
He rolled his eyes. “Stop calling me that; it’s no big deal.”
I pushed in closer between his thighs so our cocks would rub together. Eeli gasped as I nuzzled my head into his neck, nipping at the flesh as I said, “It is a big deal. You’re strong and brave and so, so sexy. It turns me on to know you trust me so much you’ll let me throw your powerful body around without fighting me.”
“Christian,” he breathed out.
Catching his earlobe between my teeth, I nipped before sucking it. “Hmm…”
He huffed. “I don’t know.” His hands were rubbing circles around my shoulder blades and down my back as he moved his hips restlessly under me.
Deciding it was time to stop teasing him, I said, “Okay. Hold on.” I jumped up and ran over to my duffle bag that I’d stashed in his closet. I pulled out a condom and hesitated before asking, “Do you have lube in here?” Eeli pointed vaguely toward his nightstand as his eyes skimmed my whole body, top to bottom, as if he was seeing me naked for the first time and didn’t know where to look first. I chuckled, walking over and opening the top drawer and pulling out a bottle of lube. Noticing the brand new bottle sitting next to it, I teased, “You’re really prepared. An extra bottle in reserve?”
A light pink surfaced, crawling up his neck toward his face while he rolled his eyes again. “Um.”
“Doc?” I guessed as I crawled back on him.
He jerked his eyes to mine. “How did you know?” I held the condom up in the air before dropping it on the bed next to him, and we both snickered. “Oh my god, could he be any less subtle?”
“I think it’s nice he’s looking out for us,” I said, making light of how much it meant to me—to have someone finally care—so I wouldn’t ruin the mood.
Eeli’s face softened and he yanked me down, kissing me over and over until the only thought in my mind was of making this the best experience for him. I kissed and licked down his body, stopping to suck on his nipples, enjoying the sounds of his harsh breaths cutting through the air. I continued my path down with my tongue tracing every ridge, just as I’d told him I would. Eeli giggled when I shuffled down and lightly trailed my fingertips down his sides, until my hands landed at the crease of his thighs and I grasped them tight. His giggle turned into a low moan that got deeper as I licked across the head of his dick, lapping at the precum drooling at his tip. Reaching over, I grabbed the lube and hunched on my elbows long enough to coat my fingers on my left hand. “Are you ready?” I asked as I met Eeli’s gaze from where he was watching me. He nodded, his face serious. “Stop me if I do something you don’t like or if you need a minute, okay?” His lips tilted up at the corners as he nodded again.
Without any more hesitation, I sucked his dick into my mouth, using my shoulders to push his thighs farther apart and resting one lube-soaked finger against his hole. Eeli tensed, so I rested it there while concentrating on sucking him until he was bucking in pleasure and relaxed. When I felt the him ease, I circled his hole slowly and gently until he rocked, just barely, against my fingers. Smiling around his cock, I applied pressure until my finger pushed through his barrier and was in. “Oh wow,” he said once he’d adapted to me wiggling and moving inside of him. “Can I… is there more?”
I popped off his dick with one last lick to his head, so that I could watch his face as I slowly added another finger. His eyes closed as he exhaled. Glancing down at his pucker, I couldn’t ignore myself any longer and scooted up to my knees. I stroked myself, transfixed by the way his ass swallowed two, then eventually, three fingers. “You like that?” Heavy eyes met mine as he moaned. “I’ll take that as a yes?” I curled my finger, hoping that—
“Holy shit.” Eeli’s back bowed as I found that magical spongy spot inside him.
“That’s what I was looking for.” I chuckled, but when his head jerked up and insecurity flashed in his eyes, I said, “Don’t worry, Aye. I’ve read about it. I wasn’t actually sure I could find it or how it would feel.”
He gave me a grateful smile. “I’m ready, Christian. You’re too far away; I want to feel you.” I pulled my fingers out, the flutter of his hole speeding up my movements as I opened the condom, quickly rolling it on and positioning myself back on top of Eeli between his legs. As he pulled his knees up to the side with his hands, he said, “You know I like to read, too.” He gave me a sexy wink, causing my dick to jump with anticipation.
“Are you nervous?” I asked as I lined my cock up with his hole.
“I’m a little worried it’ll hurt, but I’m not nervous about doing this with you.” As I pushed in slowly, stopping each time Eeli tensed and waiting until he relaxed, I teased his tongue and lips with mine. Doing my best to relax him, I reminded him to blow out. I ran one hand up and down his side while bracing myself on the other, and I concentrated on not hurting him. I groaned as I bottomed out. It felt so good. His channel was so tight it bordered on painful; I didn’t think anything could feel this amazing. Finally, he smiled. “This is better than I expected.”
“Can I move, Eeli?” I choked out, not sure how much longer I could wait, but not ever wanting him to regret this. He leaned
up and kissed me.
“Please.” Then I did. I was careful and slow until Eeli spurred me on. “I’m not sure how long I’ll last, Christian,” he said as he reached down and tugged frantically on his own dick. I knew I was about to blow, but between his flushed cheeks, moans continuing to slip unhindered from his mouth, and the intensity he was jacking his own dick, my balls drew up.
“Eeli,” I moaned out. He came instantly, cum spurting up his stomach and his ass squeezing me impossibly tighter. His yell filled my ears as a low groan burst from me, and I came harder than I knew was possible before this moment. “Holy shit.” I fell on him after my body emptied itself, no longer able to prop myself up.
Eeli massaged my biceps while we caught our breath. Once I could move, I reached down and held the condom as I pulled out of him and rolled to my back. He reached over and plucked a tissue from the box on his nightstand, wiping up his cum, then throwing it onto the floor. Grabbing another one, he laid it on my chest, so I sat up and pulled off the condom, wading it up in the tissue and throwing it in the trash can on my side. When I laid back down, I asked, “Are you okay?” as I pulled him into my arms.
“Amazing.” His blue eyes twinkled up at me from my shoulder. “Thank you, Christian.”
I snorted. “Thank you. You just rocked my world.” I meant it, too. Being with Eeli wasn’t like fooling around with other guys, or the first time when I’d done this when it was honestly just about getting our rocks off. That was a different time, before the responsibility of my sister and the loss of my parents was a thick metal chain choking around my neck. Now, after witnessing how brutal life could be, this was more. “It’s different having sex with someone who matters.”
“Good,” he said, sounding sleepy. He popped up for a quick peck, scooted in closer, and closed his eyes. Right before sleep claimed me, I heard, “Next time we’ll switch, I think I got it now.”