by ERIN BEDFORD
I didn’t have to wonder what would happen next because Raiden took one look at me and strode out of the room. My eyes brimmed with unshed tears at the hurt in his gaze before he left. It might not have been my fault, but part of him blamed me for it. It was clear as day on his face.
“Give him time, Maya,” Fujin said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “He always held her up on a pedestal.”
“He’s her baby,” Raijin confirmed with a sad shake of his head. “She’s always been so careful around him. More so than us. We knew she was behind some of the dastardly things that have happened in the past, but we never expected anything like this.” His gaze settled on me with a shameful frown. “I cannot apologize enough for the distress our mother has caused you and hope you will not blame her sons for their parent’s mistakes.”
“Of course not,” I quickly said, shaking my head as the tears ran freely down my face. “I’d never imagine doing such a thing. I just feel so bad that I had to be the reason your picture of her was ruined.”
“She did that all on her own.” Jack stepped up beside me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me near. I buried my face in his chest, his cool temperature felt good against my heated face. “Do not blame yourself for this at all.”
“Raiden does though,” I muttered into his embrace. “He hates me.”
Firestar snorted. “You have that man wrapped around your little finger. He could no more hate you than any of the rest of us. If anything, he’s upset because his mother hurt you. Not the other way around.”
“Do you think so?” I picked my head up and glanced at Firestar and the brothers who nodded solemnly.
I wanted to believe them. I knew logically it wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t made his mother do those things. Hell, I’d even warned her what it would cost her, but she did it anyway. Then again, I wasn’t a mother, I didn’t know how far I would go for my offspring. Maybe being a parent made you a bit crazy.
It would sure explain my father’s problem.
Sadly, that didn’t change the aftermath. Raiden had finally seen what his mother was like. It was what I wanted, but even so, it also had hurt him. I could only pray now that it wouldn’t ruin the strenuous relationship we already had.
19
I didn’t dare sleep by myself that night. In fact, we should have left right away, but Raiden insisted we wait and say goodbye properly in the morning when our heads were cooler.
Curled up to Raiden, who had also insisted I stay with him, I couldn’t sleep. Though, he had wanted me to stay Raiden hadn’t done much more than grunt at me from the moment I came to his room. I didn’t know what to do. My mind reeled with what had happened. I felt so bad that Raiden and his brothers had finally seen how nasty their mother truly was, and I knew if I felt this horrible, Raiden probably felt worse.
“Raiden,” I murmured quietly, in case he was sleeping. “Are you awake?”
“Hmm?” was Raiden’s response, not telling me if he was actually sleeping. Shifting on the bed, I leaned up on my elbow to get a good look at his face. Before I could sit up completely, Raiden’s hand stopped me. “Don’t, Maya.”
Sighing, I drew my hand along Raiden’s chest, my fingers running through his chest hair. “We should talk about what happened.”
“No, we shouldn’t.”
I could hear the exhaustion in his voice, and I couldn’t deny I felt the same. Nevertheless, letting something like this fester would not only hurt our relationship but destroy it all together. The humans always say that communication is the number one reason relationships fail. Well, I didn’t know if any of those humans had ever met a dragon shifter male, but they weren’t exactly the talkative type. Not unless it was about fighting or fucking.
“Raiden,” I tried again determined not to let our relationship go to the dumps because of this. “I’m sorry about your mother.”
“Thank you.”
Frowning at his short answer, I wondered if he was still angry at me for not telling him. I knew I’d be mad if my family had gone behind my back and propositioned one of my men. Though, I also didn’t have false images of my family. Or rather my father. He wouldn’t even do it behind my back. So confident in his own decisions, he’d do it right in front of me—without consulting me.
“I should have told you right away,” I continued with an apologetic sigh. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt. I know how much you love your mother.”
Raiden didn’t answer for a long time, and I thought he might have fallen asleep on me. Then when he did speak, I wished he had been sleeping.
“I’m not stupid,” Raiden snapped, shifting in the bed to face me.
My eyes locked on his darkened face, I shook my head. “I never thought you were. Just...” I winced wishing I felt differently, “A bit blind.”
“I know my mother has a temper and can be a bit overambitious,” he explained, defending her like any son would. Still, I couldn’t let it go.
“I think prostituting out your mate is a bit more than ambitious,” I pointed out with a disgusted twist of my lips.
“You’re right,” Raiden answered, his hand coming out to stroke my face. “What she did was unacceptable and unforgivable. How I could be so blind to how she really is, I don’t know.” I felt him shake his head beside me before rolling back onto his back. “I still love her. She’s my mother.”
“Of course, you do.” I curled up to him again, so that I could still see his face. “I wouldn’t expect you to suddenly stop caring about her.”
“I just can’t understand how she could be so heartless.” Raiden sat up suddenly, making me roll to the side. He hunched over his legs his back turned to me. “What kind of person thinks it’s okay to use someone like that? Not even the fact that you are mine.”
“It’s a good thing I am then.” I placed my hand on his shoulder, making him turn to me.
“Are what?”
“Yours,” I murmured, ducking my head down.
“How do you do it?” Raiden asked, tipping my chin back up. “You have three men who adore you and, yet you never treat any of us less than the other.”
Flushing, I was happy he couldn’t see my embarrassment. “I don’t know. I never expected to be in this situation, let alone be happy about it. You each give me something different, and I couldn’t bear to lose any of you.”
“You won’t,” Raiden assured me. “At least, not me. No matter what happens, I won’t leave your side.” He grabbed my hands in his and stroked the top of my hands. “I want you to know, I don’t blame you for my mother’s actions. I’m sorry if it seemed like I did.”
“I know but thank you for saying so.” I put my hand on top of his and then leaned forward to press my lips to his.
He didn’t respond at first, and I wondered if we would ever get back to normal. Then like a fire had been stoked within him, his hands came up to cup my face, angling it to the side as he kissed me back. His tongue attacked my mouth as if he were claiming every inch of it.
My palms found the hard planes of his chest as we laid back down, Raiden between my thighs. It didn’t take much foreplay to get us ready and when Raiden slid inside of me, it was just right. Kissing and touching, we couldn’t get enough of each other as we moved together as one.
When we came down from our high, I realized something.
“You know,” I said, tracing the lines of his chest with my fingertips. “I think that’s the first time we ever just had plain old vanilla sex, no kink.”
“Oh?” Raiden commented his tone that of a completely sated man. Then without warning, he was above me again my hands pinned above my head. “I can fix that.” His voice had taken on that commanding bass he always seemed to have when we made love, but there was something different about it. Something more vulnerable.
Laughing at his antics, I shifted beneath him until he released me. “I wasn’t complaining, just making an observation.”
“So, you like me with a little kink?” He rubbed his
already hardened length against my hip.
Cupping his chin in my hand, I leaned up and pressed my lips to his with a soft kiss. “I love you any way I can have you.”
Raiden went still against me, and I feared I had gone too far. Should I have waited to tell him? I hadn’t exactly planned it, it’d just come out.
“You love me?” Raiden asked after what felt like an agonizing amount of time.
“Yes?” I drew out, cautious of how he would react. I didn’t expect him to say it back, but I didn’t think I could take it if he denied my feelings.
Raiden picked up my hand and laced my fingers with his own before bringing it to his mouth. “Good because I love you too.”
“You do?” I cocked a brow before realizing he couldn’t see me in the dark.
“Of course, I do. I love your kindness and spirit. And bravery,” he chuckled. “Not everyone would go against my mother and live.” He bopped me on the nose before his hand slid down my face to cup my breast. “I love touching you, knowing you are all mine.” His hand then settled on my flat stomach. “And when you are fat with child, I will love you even more.”
“Fat with child, you say?” I said dryly. “That’s good to know.”
“Just more of you to love,” Raiden countered with a laugh. “I’m sure the others will think the exact same thing. You will be one adorable pregnant woman.”
“More like one miserable one,” I grumbled and then gasped as Raiden’s fingers stroked between my thighs.
Before we could get intimate, there was a knock on the door. We glanced at each other though we couldn’t see very well. Neither of us had been expecting visitors, which didn’t bode well. Who would knock on our door this late?
“Stay here,” Raiden commanded as he got out of the bed. A flash of light filled the room as Raiden conjured his trident. The glow from it lit up the room so I could watch him walk across the room butt naked. I thought about reminding him but then shrugged and let him do his thing.
“Who is it?” Raiden asked his hand on the doorknob.
“It’s us,” Firestar’s voice came through the door. “Let us in.”
Raiden glanced at me and smirked before asking, “Us who?”
I could practically feel Firestar’s irritation on the other side of the door and covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing.
“Jack and Firestar,” the fire dragon growled from the hallway. “Now let us in before I break down the door.”
“Okay, okay,” Raiden said and opened the door. “Keep your britches on.”
When the door was open, Firestar and Jack marched into the room. They didn’t look happy. Even more so when they saw me in the bed.
“Get up,” Firestar demanded and grabbed my clothes off the floor before tossing them to me. “And get dressed. We’re leaving.”
“Leaving?” I asked as I scurried out of bed and into my clothes. “Why?”
Jack pressed his lips together into a thin line before letting out a disgusted sound. “Change of plans.”
“Why? What happened?” Raiden asked, pulling on his own clothes. “Was it my mother?”
“I overheard a guard talking about arresting some traitors in a few hours. Conspirators with the raiders,” Firestar explained and then formed his kusarigamas in his hands, swinging them for good measure. “It’s best if we are gone before then.”
“Wait a minute.” Raiden stepped between them his hands up in defense. “I have a hard time believing that my family would do that.” We all shot him a look which made Raiden quickly add. “All right beside my mother, but I thought we had that all settled with my brothers earlier. How do you know they were talking about us?”
“Because,” Firestar answered with a menacing growl. “They said that Western whore and her men. Know anyone else they could be talking about?” Firestar stared Raiden down and when he didn’t answer, nodded. “Good, then let’s go.”
I helped Raiden gather up his belongings, and then we headed for the door. We were just ready to leave when another knock sounded. Glancing at each other, a sense of unease filling the room. Jack formed his war hammer, and I withdrew my dagger ready for an attack.
“Who is it?” Raiden asked, causing the others to glower at him. The smart thing would have been to open the door and attack before they knew we were even in there. Raiden might know how his family was now, but it didn’t keep him from being too trusting.
“It’s Raijin and Fujin,” Raijin’s voice answered. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” Raiden asked for once not just opening the door to them. “We’re sleeping.”
“No, you aren’t,” Fujin argued. “We just saw the other two come in here. So, unless you are having foursome, open the damned door.”
Raiden gave us a questioning look as if to ask what to do. Firestar tightened his grip on his weapons, his jaw clenching before nodding his consent. Breath held, I waited as Raiden opened the door for the second time in a span of a few minutes.
When the door swung open and revealed his brothers and only his brothers. We visibly relaxed. We stepped back from the door, so they could come in and closed it tightly behind them.
Fujin and Raijin took in our drawn weapons and held their hands up, showing us, they were defenseless.
“Whoa there, we come in peace,” Raijin said, dropping the bag in his hand. It fell to the ground with a loud clank, sounding heavier than it looked.
“What do you want?” Firestar asked, not dropping his weapons, though the brothers clearly weren’t a threat.
“You need to leave,” Fujin said, and when we stiffened added, “Don’t get me wrong, you guys are always welcome by us, but mother...”
“Mother’s a little bit more of a psycho than we thought,” Raijin finished for him with an exasperated sigh. “She apparently didn’t take our punishment as well as we hoped and escaped. She rallied her supporters, which—”
“Includes, some rich guy on the coast. Who, if the intel is right, has been just begging for a fight,” Fujin interjected with a meaningful look to Raiden. “Which is why you need to leave now before they come for you.”
“But we’ll never get out of here without a fight,” I said, looking to the others for confirmation.
“She’s right,” Raiden answered and then paused before asking, “Where’s father?”
Fujin and Raijin glanced at each other and then Fujin said, “Dungeon. He was arrested shortly after we found out about mother.”
“Then we must rescue him,” Raiden cried out, heading for the door.
“No, Raiden.” Fujin grabbed Raiden’s arm, stopping him from leaving. “There’s no time. We have to get out now.”
“Fine,” Raiden growled, not happy with the command. “Then the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can come back and save him.”
“Wait, what about you?” I asked the two brothers before we could leave them behind. “What if your mother comes for you?”
Raijin smirked. “Don’t worry about us, we’ll hold them off as long as we can so you can get away. We’ll catch up with you.”
Decision made, Fujin and Raijin took turns hugging Raiden, murmuring something to him I couldn’t hear but chalked it up to brother stuff. They then turned to Jack and Firestar, clapping hands with them each with a respectful nod. When the time came for them to say goodbye to me, they’re expression changed to distraught.
“We’re so sorry, Maya,” Fujin apologized and ran a hand through his hair, real anguish in his expression. “We would never have done what she wanted. Even if we thought you wanted to.”
“Yeah,” Raijin agreed with a quick nod. “We couldn’t do that to Raiden or you. Not for all the powers in the world.”
“Thanks, guys. That’s really good to hear.” I offered them a small smile to show them I didn’t blame them for their mother’s actions.
“Well, we know words can only go so far,” Raijin continued, grabbing the bag that had been dropped to the ground. “So, we brought y
ou a peace offering.”
“This is a bottomless bag,” Fujin explained shoving the dark purple bag at my feet. “It can carry all sorts of things, we even put a horse in there once.” He chuckled and glanced at his brother with a smile.
I tried to pick up the bag expecting it to weigh a ton, but it was surprisingly light. Grinning up at the brothers, I hugged them both. “Thank you, it’s a wonderful gift.”
“We already packed it with everything you could need,” Fujin continued, waving a hand at the bag. “Have you given any thought to where you will go next?”
I frowned at him and then looked at the guys. “Well, we can’t go back to my home. My cousin wants me dead, and Firestar’s father would be breathing down our necks to get the money we said we’d get him. So that leaves...”
“My home,” Jack answered, coming forward. “We can go to the north. There are no raids there, the weather is too cold for anyone to try. And no one knows of you or your abilities,” he finished with a soft expression.
“Are you sure?” I asked. It sounded too good to be true. “We could always find a portal and hide on Earth. Then come back when things have settled some. Or I’ve got a child to show them.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Jack took the bag from me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Besides, I would love to share my home with you. You’ve already seen these two's, it is only fair you spend time in mine.”
“All right.” I nodded before turning to the others. “It looks like we are heading north.”
I didn’t know if going north would solve our problems or only make them worse. I did know that it was better than the alternatives. We couldn’t stay in Raiden’s home while his mother was dead set on making me empower her sons. At my home, who knew what waited for me there. Ned might have fulfilled his promise to tattle to my father, or he could be biding his time waiting to kill me. Either way, going north was the only option. I just hoped it was the right one.