by Riley Storm
Speaking was easy. Rane could physically talk. But the act of telling Natasha, of revealing to her how he felt, that was far from easy. Simple, yes, but rarely were simple and easy the same thing.
Yet the way things had gone down the day before…how much longer could he keep going on like this?
Rane wanted to tell her, to put it out in the open. It was likely, he assumed, that her fears stemmed from the feelings she was having, without understanding why. Rane at least had Damien to talk to, to tell him he wasn’t the first to feel this way, that it was, for whatever reason, normal.
Unfortunately, Natasha and Anna hadn’t had a chance to talk, to exchange notes on how they were affected by the dragons. He could totally see Natasha pushing him away because she was scared of how strong her feelings for him were, after barely knowing him.
“So, what do I do?” he asked the shower, looking up, letting the water pour over him.
You tell her, duh.
Could it be that simple?
Of course, it could. March over to her quarters, knock on the door and go in. Speak to her. Plainly, openly, without dancing around anything. He didn’t need to come on too strong, to tell her that he wanted her to move in or anything wild. Just confess that he had feelings for her and that he wasn’t scared about them.
And neither should she.
Shutting off the shower, Rane toweled off and got dressed, his sights set on what he was going to do. Whatever Natasha decided, he would respect that of course, but he wasn’t going to regret anything on his end. He would tell her everything he felt and hope that she would reciprocate, but he wasn’t going to live with the thoughts of missed opportunity, of ‘what could have been’.
He ignored the looks that came his way as he entered the dormitories, climbing the stairs past the Novice levels, and then into the Initiates. Each level was given over to a certain year, he’d learned, with only Masters having permanent rooms.
Once he reached the twelfth level of dormitories—the sixteenth level overall—he emerged into the hallway, walking past several other witches. At this level there were far fewer people moving about, but still several of them gave him looks of disapproval.
Rane walked right past them, marching up to her door where he knocked lightly and politely.
Then he waited.
That was when his heart started hammering in his chest, and his stomach tied itself into a knot and then began to twist itself around. There was a sound from within and his insides nearly inverted themselves as his pulse elevated some more. This was it.
The door opened to reveal Natasha’s face.
“Rane?” she asked, sounding surprised to see him.
“Hi, can I come in?” he asked in a rush, then pushed the door open and breezed in past her, not willing to risk her shutting the door in his face. She could throw him out after he’d said his piece. Not before.
This time, he looked around carefully before speaking.
“It’s just me,” Natasha said from behind him. “Nobody else this time.”
He nodded and turned to face her.
“What are you doing here?” she wanted to know.
“Doing what I should have done earlier,” he said, licking lips that had suddenly gone dry.
Natasha was suddenly wary. “What are you talking about? What do you mean?”
“I need to tell you the truth,” he said, trying to continue, but finding his willpower suddenly failing him.
“The truth about what…” she said, shifting uneasily, eyes darting around.
“About how I feel,” he said, forcing the words out, past his mental block. She might reject him, but she might not. “I like you, okay? I actually, truly, care for you.”
Natasha’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth.
“I don’t want you thinking that I’m just interested in you physically, or as friends, or as a liaison, teacher, whatever.” He exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as he said it. “I like you. I like your drive, your determination to succeed here. You have a brain and you aren’t afraid to use it,” he said, smiling wide.
“Rane, I…”
“You’re gorgeous too,” he continued, “but you’re also kind, caring and compassionate. Last night, you could have thrown me out, but you didn’t. You took care of me when I was in a bad state, and you did so at your own expense.”
He could see the circles under her eyes, knowing she must have been up late, because of him. Yet she’d done it, without a complaint either.
“I’m not going to pretend any longer, Natasha,” he said, taking a tiny step forward. “We tiptoed around it for too long, acting like there was nothing there. I’m done pretending, I’m telling you how I feel.” He hesitated. “And I think you feel the same.”
Natasha swallowed visibly.
He watched her face, gray-blue eyes so wide he could see straight into their depths. Her hair was straightened this morning, he noticed, tied back into a ponytail, the red flames of her locks trapped by a hair elastic that seemed strained to contain it.
It was a good look. He liked it, but his focus was on the rest of her, on what she was going to say.
“Rane, I…”
Natasha hesitated, and in the silence that followed, they heard the pounding of footsteps in the hallway beyond.
Both of them turned their attention as several sets went pounding by, and they heard shouts.
Natasha moved to the door and pulled it open, and he followed, wondering what was going on.
“What is it?” Natasha asked a passing witch.
“Patrol is back. It’s bad. We’re assembling.”
Rane swore softly, not liking that news, but glad it wasn’t enough to interrupt.
Then he took stock of Natasha’s face. “What is it?” he asked, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “Natasha?”
“My roommate was on that patrol,” she gasped, and then raced out into the hallway.
Rane cursed his luck, but he didn’t hesitate either, taking off after Natasha.
Chapter Twenty-One
Natasha
“Nearest balcony?” Rane asked, catching up to her.
“What, why? The stairs are over there,” she said, pointing. Balconies were not a concern to her just then. She had to get downstairs, to find her roommate!
“I can get you there faster. Balcony, now,” he growled.
Belatedly, she remembered his powers. Natasha pointed straight ahead. “Through those doors, it’s an atrium and a balcony sort of thing.”
He took her hand and they pushed through. Rane didn’t stop running, and she fought to keep up.
“What are you—ack!” Natasha yelped as he pulled her into a tight embrace and then leapt from the balcony without looking below. She stifled a scream, trusting Rane with her life—literally—at that moment.
Wind swirled up around them and guided them down, racing around the face of the building until the main courtyard opened up in front of them.
They landed swiftly, some of the first to arrive. The patrol was on the courtyard, most of the witches slumped against one another. Blood covered their robes, many of which were ripped or torn.
But in the center of it all, was a body.
“Oh, God,” she said, horrified. “Izzy?” she called, hoping against hope that it wasn’t her roommate.
“Nat?”
She spun at the voice as others began coming out of the halls, carrying supplies and aid to the witches. Rushing over to one of the witches, she cried out in happiness that her friend and roommate was okay.
“Izzy!’ she cried, wrapping her roommate up in a hug.
“Ouch. Gentle,” the other witch said, pushing Natasha away while she peeled her robe back to reveal a triple row of cuts along her abdomen. They were wide and looked like they’d been deep, though they were somewhat healed.
“What the hell happened, Izzy?” she wanted to know.
Nearby, Rane was standing guard over them, but her attention w
asn’t on him at the moment.
“We were ambushed.”
“Where is your dragon?” Rane growled. “I only see witches.”
“We didn’t have one,” Izzy said, glaring at Rane. “Not all patrols go out with dragons. We’re capable of handling things ourselves.”
Natasha saw Rane clearly bite back his tongue, but his eyes still strayed to the dead witch. He didn’t say anything more, however, for which she was thankful. The dragons were already a hotbed of discussion, she didn’t need him stirring up dissent at a time like this.
“What hit you?” she wanted to know, pushing the hair out of Izzy’s face.
“Vampire,” Izzy spat. “Struck this morning, just before the sun’s light came over the mountains. We weren’t ready at all. It got Karen, and I found it feeding on her body.”
Natasha gasped in horror. “Furies,” she cursed.
“It took me by surprise, which is how I got these,” Izzy said, gesturing at the wounds on her stomach. “But I managed to get the other’s attention. It was strong, Nat, so strong, you don’t understand.”
“Did you kill it? Is it still out there?” Natasha asked, looking up at the nearest wall as if she could see what was beyond it.
“Yeah. We killed it. Took most of our energy to do so, but we staked it out and let the sun burn it to a crisp.” Izzy bared her teeth. “It ain’t coming back. Ever.”
She looked up at a confused sound from Rane. “Sunlight kills vampires. Period. It doesn’t banish them back to the Abyss, like a stake through the heart. It’s dead-dead.”
“Good,” Rane rumbled. “It deserved nothing less.”
Natasha nodded, her eyes focusing on the dead witch in the center of the courtyard. Others were moving in now, some gathering around the young woman’s body. Several were crying as they recognized their friend, while others prepared to move the body away, so that it was no longer present.
“Hi.”
She looked up as a witch knelt next to Izzy.
“I’ll take it from here,” the unknown woman said. “Get her to the infirmary, where we can heal her up and make sure none of the vampire venom transferred.”
Natasha nodded and stepped back. Izzy tried to stand, but her left leg buckled. It was only then that Natasha saw the giant claw mark along the side of her leg as well. She moved to help but Rane was there first. He caught the young woman and then lifted her into his arms.
“Where?” he growled, making it clear to both the medic and Izzy that nothing was changing until he got the witch where she needed to be.
Izzy seemed unimpressed at being carried by a dragon, but she was too exhausted to protest as Rane led her off the courtyard to receive attention, leaving Natasha by herself.
She watched the others follow. After a vampire attack, any potential exposed victims would be taken to ensure they were not infected. That was procedure. Soon, the courtyard was cleared except for the bloodstains and the mourners.
Natasha took a deep breath, watching the small huddle of witches who had been friends of the deceased. They had all left the other day in good spirits. It was rare that creatures attacked a patrol. Going up against eight witches wasn’t usually a recipe for success for most monsters from the Abyss. Even a vampire had to be feeling either bold, or very hungry.
It was a brutal reminder, she thought, of how quickly life could end. You never know when it will be over.
And there’s only one shot at it. One attempt to live a life you want. Without regrets.
Natasha’s mind wandered back to Rane when she thought of regrets. Of what could have been between them.
What possessed him to come confess to me this morning, she wondered. He’d shown up with a purpose she couldn’t understand, driven to tell her how he felt, uncaring of any consequences. He’d wanted to make sure the words got out; she could feel that now.
As if he didn’t want to live with any regrets.
She sighed heavily, her eyes focusing on the spot on the stone where the woman had lain, where her blood still stained the ground until it was cleaned. That was all that was left of her. Those marks. It could just as easily have been Natasha lying there, or Izzy, or Sara.
Her mind wandered back to the night before. To things getting hot and heavy between them, and her stopping it.
What if she hadn’t? What if she’d given in to her desires, to her feelings, and let things develop between the two of them? Could she perhaps find a way to undo how things had started, to move past that?
Not if you never try. If you keep pushing him away, you’ll never have that chance.
Her gaze lingered on the bloodstains.
And a chance was better than nothing at all.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Natasha
Knock-knock.
She shivered in anticipation. Her body was trembling, filled with excitement and mild terror at just how bold she was being. Was this the right decision? Was it a wrong one?
It didn’t matter. She’d made it, and Natasha was going to live with it.
The door opened to reveal Rane. She watched his face go from curiosity, to confusion, to astonishment as he processed the fact that not only was she outside his door, but she was wearing her robe.
And only her robe, as evidenced by the way it hung undone from her body.
“I like you as well, Rane,” Natasha said, then threw herself at him, yanking on his neck, pulling him down to her level so she could kiss him.
The dragon shifter froze, clearly caught off guard by her forwardness, but it didn’t take him long to react. His arm wrapped around her waist and he lifted her from the floor like she was a feather.
The fire burning in her body blossomed hotter than the surface of the sun as he pinned her against the wall while he closed the door. His other hand grabbed her jaw and twisted her head to the side, exposing her neck to his mouth, and his teeth.
She gasped in unexpected pleasure as he kissed and then bit the tender skin there, the sensation of his teeth sinking in causing all sorts of pleasurable reactions down the rest of her body that she’d never known.
“Furies, that feels amazing,” she gasped, evoking the name of ancient witches as her head lolled to the side. Everywhere he touched her blazed with heat. It was exactly what Natasha wanted, what she needed.
Her robe fell completely open, exposing her large, pendulous breasts to his gaze, and a moment later to his mouth. Natasha leaned back against the wall as he sucked on her nipple and gently pinched the other one, sending tiny shocks of pleasure through her body.
The decision to come over wearing nothing but a robe had been a bold choice, an overt indication that she was here for one particular reason, but she’d not wanted him to be confused, to think that she wasn’t sure of what she was doing.
Natasha wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. The way things had started be damned, she wanted to see what was going on between the two of them. It was too strong for her to be concerned otherwise.
Strong fingers slid across her soft stomach and then between her legs. She was already soaking, the walk through the dormitories and across the outdoors having aroused her more than she’d ever expected. The thrill of knowing what she was doing, and the possibility of exposure had left her more than prepared for him before she’d even knocked on the door.
Rane groaned as he felt this, and she gasped when he found her clit, his other arm and body still pinning her against the wall several feet clear of the floor.
“Oh fuck,” she whispered, struggling to maintain her composure as he wasted no time in pleasuring her. “That feels so good,” she moaned into his ear, nipping at the lobe and then sensually flicking her tongue over the tip as he responded loudly to her touch.
She loved his willingness to make noise, not feeling the need to be silent. It was hot, and she found herself responding to that, her own barriers, whatever had remained, falling away.
“I want to feel you on top of me,” she begged, reaching between them to
find his crotch, his shaft tightening his pants as he grew hard beneath her touch. “And you’re wearing far too much clothing.”
Rane pulled his head back to look her in the face. “Well someone cheated and got a huge head start,” he teased, drinking in the sight of her exposed body.
“Well, now it’s time to even the score,” she said, pushing him away, forcing him to lower her to the ground. “This. Off,” she commanded, pulling his shirt up and over his head.
“Just who’s in charge here?” he asked playfully as the shirt cleared his head.
Natasha was too busy marveling at his chiseled upper body. “Oh my,” she whispered, imagining what that was going to feel like pressed down over her.
“I haven’t even taken my pants off yet,” Rane said as he undid his belt. “How are you going to react to that now?”
He dropped his pants and underwear, revealing a magnificent cock that popped free, mostly hard already. Natasha stepped forward and dropped into a squat, grabbing the base with one hand, flicking her tongue over the tip.
“How’s this for a reaction?” she asked sultrily.
Rane nodded. “Yup. Yup, that’s good. I’m good with that.”
She giggled, then took him into her mouth, not wasting any time. He groaned loudly and grabbed the back of her head, pushing her back down. Rane was firm with his actions, but when she hit her limit, he never pushed her past it even if he did hold her there for a second or two. Just enough to make her feel vulnerable and under his command, but not long enough to ruin the moment.
In fact, him taking charge, making her do what he wanted, was, if anything, turning her on more. She stayed on her knees looking up at him, watching his face as she pleasured him. His hands stayed firm on her head, occasionally taking control away from her as she sucked, bending her to his will.
By the time he growled at her and ordered her to stand up, Natasha was quite literally dripping down the inside of her thighs.
“My turn,” he growled, kissing her deeply, not caring where her mouth had just been.
Then he pushed her back up against the wall and shoved his face between her legs. His sheer size meant she had to hook a leg over his shoulder for him to have proper access, but the instant his tongue flicked out and over her, Natasha stopped caring.