by G. Bailey
“We will,” Korbin answers when I don’t speak, opening the front door.
“Bye Dagan,” I say, and he nods tensely before I turn around and walk outside. It’s lit up by the solar lights attached to the house and the ones running down the sides of the driveway. Parked up is a black car, which Korbin unlocks with his keys.
“It’s a Vauxhall Antara, we got it today. What do you think?” he asks.
“That I’m clueless about cars, but it’s nice?” I say, making him laugh as he opens my door for me. I get in, and he shuts the door as I pull my seatbelt on, and wait for him to get in and do the same.
“Are you really not going to tell me what you have planned?” I ask him, and he winks at me as he starts the car.
“Don’t you trust me, doll?”
“Fine,” I pout, rolling my eyes at him, and making him laugh. Korbin turns the radio on, and to my surprise, starts singing along with the lyrics of the Taylor Swift song,
“Look what you’ve made me do,” he sings as I just sit watching him with wide eyes.
“What?” he asks, finally noticing me.
“I didn’t have you for a Tay-Tay fan,” I grin as he shrugs.
“I like to sing, it’s meant to be good for you. You should try it,” he suggests teasingly. I like this playful side of him, he is usually so serious and grumpy. Well not as grumpy as Eli and Dagan, but still.
“I don’t sing, and the world can thank me for that one at any time,” I say, making him laugh.
“Come on, I won’t tell,” he winks and I chuckle, still not singing with him. He just carries on singing like nothing happened, without a care in the world. I gently start humming along after a while, and he reaches over, taking my hand in his for the rest of the drive. I know it’s only holding my hand, but it sends little warm feeling straight through to my heart. Feelings that I need to ignore in order to get through tonight. I can’t really date him. It’s just hard to remember that when Korbin is like this with me, winning me over with every damn look from his deep, sexy green eyes.
“Here we are,” he pulls up to the beach port, a place I’ve never really been in all my years of living here. I give him a questioning look as we get out the car, and walk down the pier. When the deck with five large yachts tied up comes into view, and one that is lit up with a man waiting at the end, I have a good idea what the date is.
“A yacht date?” I ask and he nods, looking nervous.
“I love it, I haven’t actually been on one before,” I say, and he looks relieved as he lifts our joined hands, gently kissing my knuckles. I end up blushing at the sweet movement. Damn this night is going to be harder than I thought.
“I’ve rented it for the night,” he explains as we near the human waiting by the walkway to the yacht. The human has a suit on, dark hair and a serious expression.
“Mr Dragoali and Miss Dragice I presume?” he asks, and Korbin offers him a hand to shake.
“Lovely to meet you, Mr Gregory,” he says.
“Come on board, I will be steering my yacht for the night but you won’t see me, you have it all to yourselves. So, lovely to see such a happy young couple,” he comments and we walk up the ramp. Korbin slides an arm around my waist.
“One more thing, the music speakers are playing up. They might turn on and off, but let me know if it becomes a problem, and I will switch them off altogether,” he tells us.
“Thank you, Mr Gregory,” I reply.
“Let’s look around, I’ve only seen the photos online,” Korbin says as we continue on. I nod, resting my head on his shoulder as we walk around. The yacht has an entire glass level, with three sofas, a bar, and other normal things spread around. It’s all shiny, new, and stunning. There are doors that lead outside to the front of the yacht, where you can look over the ocean. Korbin walks down a set of stairs, and I follow, my mouth dropping open at the room below. The entire bottom of the room is glass, so you can see underneath with the bright lights in the four corners of the room. There’s a table, with bowls of covered up food on it, but I just about notice as the yacht moves.
“This is incredible,” I say, moving around the room as we begin to see fish swimming below the glass. Korbin lies down on the floor, looking down, and I chuckle before lying next to him. It’s a good idea, really.
“It’s kind of like you’re floating through the water,” I say, “it’s so beautiful,” I whisper, and look over to see Korbin staring at me.
“So are you,” he says, reaching for my hand, and linking our fingers together. We don’t say much more as we watch the fish and the sea for a long time, until the yacht slows down. Although every time I point something out, Korbin is never looking, his eyes are always on me instead. I don’t know why, but the idea what I’m more fascinating than the beautiful sight in front of me is scary. Not scary because of him, but because of what is happening between us isn’t just nothing. It’s something special, and something like this could break the curse.
“We should eat,” Korbin suggests, jumping up in one smooth, sexy movement, and holding a hand out for me. I grab his hand, getting up as I clear my throat.
“It’s hot in here,” I comment, taking off my leather jacket. It doesn't really help, as it's not the temperature, but rather Korbin that's making me hot. Korbin takes his coat off at the same time as I do, watching me for something. It’s almost like he knows what I’m thinking, but he doesn’t call me out on it like he could do.
“Here,” he takes mine from me, and goes to hang them on a hook near the staircase. I lift the lids on some of the plates, seeing a range of sea food, and a chocolate desert that makes my mouth water from just one glance. I sit down as Korbin gets back to the table.
“I hope you like seafood, I should have asked before we came,” he says as he takes his seat on the other side of the table.
“I love seafood. Jace couldn’t stand the smell of it, so I never had it often,” I say, mentally laughing at the scrunched-up face he used to make when it was anywhere near him. I miss him, but his memory seems to drift further away everyday.
“Who is Jace?” Korbin asks as he picks up his knife and fork to begin eating.
“My ex-boyfriend, he died a few years ago,” I say, even though it feels like it was just yesterday that I found him dead.
“I’m sorry, I truly am,” he says, reaching across to hold my hand.
“I can’t eat with one hand, you know?” I tease him, trying to lighten the mood a little, and needing the subject change. It’s not that I don’t want to talk about Jace with him, but just not this Korbin who can’t really understand my anger or need for revenge. And it would all be a lie, I can’t tell him how he died, and I don’t want to lie to him any more than I must. It doesn’t feel right.
“Yes, you can, watch,” he grins and throws a chip in the air, catching it perfectly with his mouth.
“Not all of us are that good. If I tried that, I’d end up poking my eye out with the chip and we would be in A&E,” I say, and he laughs, letting go of my hand. We eat our food, occasionally commenting on how amazing it all tastes, though I still try to keep my eyes away from him as much as possible. This date is feeling too real, too much. Some slow, romantic music starts playing just as we finish, making Korbin laugh.
“So, the music is working again, and perfect timing. Would you like to dance?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I mumble and he gets up, holding a hand out for me. I can’t really say no when he looks at me like that, despite how dangerous this is. I place my hand in his, and get out of the seat, walking away from the table a little. Korbin pulls me close to him, with hands on my waist, and I slide my arms around his neck as I look up.
“I had this dream, that I was watching you dance with someone else in a red dress. All I wanted was to dance with you, hold you, but I couldn’t for some reason. That dream keeps running through my mind, almost as much as your blue eyes do,” he admits, making my heart pound. He is dreaming about the night I danced with T
horne at the mating ceremony, meaning he is starting to remember something. I wonder if any of the others are having dreams.
“Some people say dreams are our deepest wishes, that they could even be true,” I reply, and he chuckles, taking my hand and spinning me around, before pulling me back to him.
“I don’t know about wishes, but desires, yes. Dreams are definitely our deepest desires,” he says, leaving me breathless as I can’t look away from him. Korbin leans down, taking my lips with his when I’m not expecting it. But I can’t stop the reaction I have the moment our lips meet. The kiss is deep, passionate, and perfect. Groaning when I pull him closer, Korbin lifts me up by my ass, and I lock my legs around him.
“Kor,” I moan, when he kisses down my jaw, getting to my neck and sucking, making me want him so much.
“Isola,” he whispers, pulling back, his thumbs rubbing circles on my ass where he holds me to him. I slide my hands into his hair, and any hesitation he had is gone as he slams his lips into mine, lowering us to the floor. I should tell him to stop as he pushes my dress up around my waist, but I can't, I don't want to stop. Pulling the top of my dress and bra down, Korbin exposes my breast and flicks his tongue over my nipple. I moan, and in response his hand drags my underwear down my legs slowly, until I can kick them off. He slides his hand up my leg ever so slowly, teasing me as he leaves my breast to kiss me again.
“Doll, stop me,” he almost begs.
“I can’t, and I’m on protection. I don’t want to stop,” I breath out, not lying about the protection, but female dragons can’t get pregnant unless they are in heat, and that only happens once a year.
“Doll,” his deep gravelly voice whispers next to my ear as he slips a finger inside me. I moan, just as he moves his hand, each movement getting me so close to the edge.
“Damn…you’re tight,” he groans, moving his finger out of me and making me miss it already. I hear him undo his trousers, the sound of his zipper coming down making me desperate for him. I don’t have to wait long as Korbin moves his body over mine, sliding inside me with one long stroke. I feel a slight coldness of a piercing I can feel on him, shocking me a little, but it's so pleasurable that I don’t care after a second. He looks down at me, buried inside me, and pushes a hand into my hair.
“Mine,” he growls, and his eyes turn completely black, his dragon taking over. I moan as he starts slamming into me harder and faster.
“Mine,” I moan back, my dragon agreeing with me as Korbin picks up speed with my words. I push him over onto his back, seeing his surprised look, and knowing he let me take control. I grab his shoulders as I ride him, his fingers gripping my hips tightly as I drive myself to the brink.
“I’m close Kor,” I moan out, my words barely making any sense. Kor sits up, taking my nipple into his mouth and flicking it with his tongue, and that’s all I need. I come hard, and a few thrusts later he finishes inside me, grabbing my hips hard as he bites down on my shoulder.
“Damn, I didn’t expect,” he pants out, and I kiss his cheek, as he turns to look at me.
“Do you remember?” I ask, hoping that the black I saw in his eyes means he does, but the confused look he gives me proves he doesn’t.
“Remember what?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I say and kissing him before he can read my expression. Letting his kisses erase any disappointment that he doesn’t remember, and let myself get lost in him. We stay like that a while longer, as I try to forget the fear that when he does remember, he'll hate me for not stopping this because of the curse. I couldn’t stand him hating me, and it makes me sick to think he might. What have I done? When did my life get so complicated?
Chapter 14
Isola
Black shadows surround me, pressing against every part of my body as I try not to scream out from the pain. The bitch won’t hear me scream, that’s for sure. My dragon beats against my mind, but I can’t let him out, the fucking seer has locked him away. I imagine Isola as the pain floods every part of me, remembering what she looks like, how sweet her lips taste. How she is mine, and once I get out of here, I will tell her that. Even if she doesn’t want me, even if the curse takes everything, I will be at her side. Friend, protector, guard or lover. It doesn’t matter, I just want to see her.
“Enough, stop this!” I hear someone demand, but they won’t be able to stop her, no one can.
“I said no more!” the man shouts, a growl reverberating with his words this time. The black shadows move away, dropping me onto the floor. I cough blood out, wiping my mouth as I look around for Dagan and Korbin. I finally find them both passed out on the floor. The bitch started with them before me, and they couldn’t handle it for too long, not that I’m far from passing out myself.
“We should kill them, they will only try to escape and help Isola. They aren’t loyal to you my son,” I hear Tatarina say in her overly sweet voice. I turn to see Thorne watching me as he stands next to his mother.
“I don’t want them dead, I want them available to use against her. Think about it mother, if Isola ever remembers, or anyone tries to help her, we need someone to use against her,” he explains, and I push myself up.
“You betraying bastard,” I spit out, but he ignores me, still watching his mother. She pushes her pale blonde hair over her shoulder, and I see the black veins crawling all up her arms. If it wasn’t for the darkness around her, she would look so sweet and innocent with her big doll like eyes and features. She is using a lot of dark magic, so she must have a dark spirit, the very opposite to Isola. That makes Isola her biggest threat, yet, she isn’t dead. I would know if anyone killed Isola, it would destroy my soul.
“Fine, fine. We will keep them alive…for now. Let them starve, no one helps them,” she says and walks away. Thorne watches until she shuts the dungeon door behind her, and finally meets my eyes.
“How could you? You know what she is to you, what she could be,” I growl.
“Don’t, I don’t need advice from you,” Thorne spits out, anger burning in his eyes as his dragon turns them silver. Thorne shakes his head and reaches into his cloak, pulling out three little bottles. He puts them on the floor just inside the cage.
“Drink these, they will heal you and the others,” he says, confusing me.
“Why do you care? You have your throne and everything you wanted,” I ask.
“I don’t care, but Isola does. For that, I will keep you alive and help you escape when the time is right,” he says, and I step back, not understanding why.
“Are you going to let us go, only to use us against her somehow?” I ask. “I can’t believe you would just to help her.”
“Does it matter why?” he replies but I know it’s a lie, I can see it in his eyes. I don’t question him on it, knowing I’m missing something. And I need to figure it out, I need to figure Thorne out.
Fucking hell,” I mutter, sitting up in bed as another one those messed up dreams bother me again. Haunt me. Ever since I came to this town, I can’t stop dreaming of dragons, of a beautiful girl with blue eyes so clear they almost look like you can fall into them. I dream of a castle, of being locked away for years, and a guy named Thorne bringing me food. Looking after me and the others. For some reason I hate that bastard, and I want to punch him. Then there are dreams of a girl in a red dress, dancing, and looking so happy, so free. It’s always Isola, but it’s like she is someone else in these dreams. A princess, and a forbidden one at that. It’s a total mind fuck that makes me want her more than anything. I slide out of bed, leaving my room in only my pyjama shorts and walking down the corridor, pausing outside Isola’s room. I’ve always been able to smell people, which I know isn’t normal, but it’s not like I can turn it off. I can smell her, mixed with the scent of Korbin. So, their date went well, I guess. For fuck sake. I run down the stairs, taking the right through the lounge, and heading to the stairs that lead to the basement. I walk straight to the punching bag, lifting my hand and slamming it into it. I pour all my frus
tration, my hate and my confusion into every punch, closing my eyes and shutting the world off until my hands burn.
“Eli!” I hear shouted and I stop. Breathing heavily, I turn to see Korbin standing a few feet away from me. His hair is messy, and he's just wearing his pyjama shorts, smelling so much like Isola that I want to hit him.
“You’re bleeding,” he points out.
“I heal quick, always have. Don’t worry about it,” I say and he offers me a towel. I place it on my hands and quickly step away from him.
“How was your date?” I ask tensely, and he picks up on it.
“Good. She is mine now, Elias,” he states, the possession in his voice isn’t hard to pick up on. He has another thing coming if he thinks I will just walk away.
“For now, I’m not backing off. The naughty princess isn’t something I’m willing to give up on,” I warn him and he walks over, until he is stood straight in front of me.
“Back off,” he bites out.
“Make me,” I say, being deadly serious.
“What the fuck is going on?” Dagan shouts, being the voice of reason like he usually is between us. He comes over, pushing his way in the middle of us, and I try to calm myself down. I don’t really want to fight with Korbin or Dagan, yet it’s hard to think of anything else right now.
“What the fuck is going on with you two idiots? Explain,” he demands.
“I’m not sharing Isola, and fuck face doesn't get that,” Korbin replies in a dry tone.
“I’m guessing your date went well then?” Dagan says, and I hear the growl in his voice, making me smirk.
“You like her too,” I state, but he doesn’t answer, or look at me. There’s a tense moment between all of us, none of us saying a word. We can’t, or won’t, give up on her. That means there is only one way we can have a happy ending with Isola. I think she means more to us than just some random girl. It's been more than that for me since I first saw her. I don't need them to tell me how they feel, I can see it in how they watch her.