Before I could figure out what that meant, my arm started to burn. Briefly, I was aware of Aloe glancing up at me, and I realized I’d been mistaken in my original assessment. I couldn’t even berate myself for that, though. My vision went unfocused, and my sense of scent seemed a million times stronger.
Briar’s pheromones went straight to my head. I couldn’t remember why I wasn’t supposed to touch Briar. He needed me, and I needed him so badly it hurt. In the background, I heard the queen start to argue with Aloe and Belladonna.
“How could you do this?” Hydrangea asked. “How could you betray your own family?”
“I’m sorry, Hydrangea,” Aloe said. “We had to do this, for Lavender.”
“Your son only ever thought about his own benefit and his own pain,” Belladonna said. “As regrettable as this is, he has to pay the price for his selfishness.”
The queen was already summoning the guards, but I didn’t even have the patience for it. I lunged to my mate’s defense, unsheathing my sword and attacking the two dryads who’d hurt Briar. They hadn’t expected it, so I could have easily killed them if Rosa hadn’t intervened.
He pulled me back, and my blade missed my foes by mere inches. I growled at Rosa but then caught sight of Briar, still lying on the settee. Just like that, I lost interest in combat.
Guards poured into the room, but I’d already abandoned my blade and rejoined my mate on the low couch. I buried my face in Briar’s gorgeous blond hair, completely hypnotized by his scent.
As I brushed my fingers over Briar’s curls, I nibbled on his ear, bringing my hips close to his. Some of the pain I had felt through our mate bond immediately diminished, and I took it as cue that I was on the right track. When I licked over his earlobe and allowed my hands to trail over his sides, Briar’s petals immediately parted and fell, leaving my mate naked and wanting underneath me.
How could I have resisted him? It would have taken a man far stronger than me to do so. Gods, my breeches were still filthy with the seed from my previous orgasm—the one that we’d shared in the dream world. And yet, I felt like a young, randy teen, like I hadn’t come in forever and I needed to be inside Briar more than I did my next breath.
Some part of me acknowledged that my inhibitions had been shoved aside by whatever substance the druids had forced into me, but it didn’t actually affect my attraction to Briar, so I didn’t care—especially not now. And so, shoving aside the remnants of my rational side, I pressed my mouth to my mate’s sweet lips.
It was the first kiss we actually shared in the real world, and it was absolutely and utterly delicious. Briar had tasted amazing in the dream, but here, it was better, sharper, more genuine. I couldn’t really explain it, because every time I touched my mate, it had been real in spite of the less-than-ideal circumstances. But now, there were no barriers between us, no risk that I would fall through him if I attempted more, and the unique feel that could only exist here, in our reality.
I licked over the seam of his lips, and my mate granted me entrance, moaning as I thrust my tongue into his mouth. He rubbed against me, the friction of his dick against mine so very delicious, and yet not nearly enough. As I devoured his wet cavern, I slid a hand between our bodies and gripped his hard cock. Briar released a small choked whimper, trembling beneath me, trying to push into my hold, frantic and so beautiful I couldn’t bear it.
As sweet as he was, I broke our kiss because I needed more, so much more. I wanted to replace my mouth with my dick, to fuck his face and claim him in that visceral, almost vulgar way. And I wasn’t alone in that desire at all. Even as I pulled back, my lover pushed me down and climbed on top of me. He tore off my still-bloody shirt, all the while grinding against my crotch. I stared up at him, dazed, already reaching toward him once again.
He didn’t allow me to go through with my plan. Vines grabbed my wrists and held my arms up, binding me to the arms of the settee. I’d never been one for passivity, but now, I allowed my mate to take over and do what he wished. He fervently reached for the bindings of my pants, his hands trembling as he struggled to open them.
I wanted to assist him in his self-appointed task, but my aid turned out to be unnecessary. With a little help from the thorns and briar he used as extensions of his will, Briar ripped off my belt and the fastening of my breeches, freeing my cock from its confines. His hot hand engulfed my leaking dick, and he jacked it softly as his avid gaze fixed onto my face. I strained against the vines, aching to do the same for him, to hold him and touch him and kiss him and fuck him—oh, gods, oh, shit, oh, yes…Fuck him, yes, over and over and over again.
Briar had other ideas. Crawling down my body, he licked those sinfully plump and pink lips. That was the only warning I got before he took my dick in his mouth. It was my turn to cry out, to scream his name as pure bliss exploded over me. It wasn’t the first time I’d gotten a blow job, but it sure felt like it. Briar didn’t have experience, but his enthusiasm and his desire for me more than made up for it. In fact, as he bobbed his head up and down my dick, he took the shaft deeper and deeper. At first, he massaged whatever part of me he couldn’t suck in, his soft, clever hands gripping the base of my cock in a hold that was pure sin. But then, his fingers traveled over my testicles instead, and the rhythm of his suction increased, like he was ravenous for my taste and simply couldn’t get enough. I strained to look at him, and just the sight of his full lips was almost enough to make me come. A moan echoed through my bond with Briar. “Yes, yes. Come. Come for me. I want to taste you.”
It was far more incoherent than that, more a thought than anything else, but the desire came through loud and clear. Finally, Briar took my dick all the way into his throat and swallowed around the head. That was all she wrote. Holding onto the vines that still bound me down, I came, flooding Briar’s mouth with my seed.
In spite of his inexperience, Brian didn’t gag or choke. He managed to take every drop of my offering, his ravenous hunger not sated even now. If anything, he seemed even more frantic than before. As he released my dick from his mouth, more vines emerged out of nowhere and ripped off the remnants of my clothes. With the corner of my eye, I distantly registered that the briars seemed to have formed a barrier of sorts around us, keeping anyone from interrupting. In that moment, I couldn’t be happier about. On occasion, those sharp thorns did scratch my skin, but the light injuries just awoke nerve endings I’d never been aware of.
Licking his lips, Briar fixed me with those gem-like eyes. Their usual emerald had turned into black diamonds, the pupils completely dilated. A touch of his small hand had my prick hard as a rock again. With a satisfied smirk, Briar positioned his opening over my cock. Before I could even attempt to regain some control, my mate impaled himself on my dick in one single hard motion.
Instantly, he went rigid, his breath catching as both pain and pleasure converged inside him. Just like in the dream world, his ass was slick with that self-lubricating substance that facilitated intercourse for dryads, but he had been a virgin and we hadn’t used anything other than saliva on my cock. I hated the thought that anything about me had brought him discomfort, and the way his eyes glittered with unshed tears nearly made me lose my arousal altogether.
In the end, it didn’t happen, because my mate’s body relaxed. His hands landed on my abs, tracing the lines of my muscles. One single tear flowed down his white cheek, but he was smiling, and his eyes danced with the same reckless passion that I’d experienced before.
I lost myself in it, in that seductive look I couldn’t hope to resist. His perfume engulfed me so utterly and completely that I simply couldn’t hold back any longer. My precious control smashed into a million pieces, and I thrust up inside him, drawing out a musical cry from my lovely mate.
There was no more pain now, just lust, bright-red passion, and the rightness of what we had together. Briar pushed back against me, shoving himself on my dick, meeting me thrust for thrust. He was impossibly tight and hot, his channel squeezing me in a vel
vet fist, now swallowing me in almost greedily. I held onto the vines tighter, the prick of the thorns giving me an anchor in a world that was beginning to dissipate in the scent of the beautiful flower that was my mate.
The vision of beauty of Briar riding me with abandon nearly stopped my heart. He threw his head back, his blond hair like cascade of gold falling over us. I wanted to touch him back so desperately that my hands ached and burned. I wanted to kiss and nibble on the white column of his neck. I craved the taste of his sweet lips and his salty sweat, and so many other things I couldn’t even fully understand.
In response to my need, the vines around my wrists finally loosened. While I could have probably freed myself before, I hadn’t wanted to force Briar and harm him in any way, so it was a good thing that he’d released me. Immediately, I pushed him off of me. As he fell back, my dick left his body, but I wasted no time to fix that unbearable mistake. I crawled on top of him and buried my aching prick inside him in one hard, smooth thrust.
Briar wrapped his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck, bringing me so close to him that the only thing I could focus on was his beautiful face. This seemed to be something he liked to do a lot, and I couldn’t say I wanted to protest. From this angle, I could feast my gaze on his beauty. He had freckles, I realized, a small mattering of them over his cute button nose. I didn’t know why, but that made me fall in love with him a little more—like it made him more real.
With a growl, I started shoving my dick in and out of his slick, tight hole. He went wild underneath me as my every thrust hit his special spot. Waves of sensation flowed through our connection, the pleasure I myself was giving him pooling back into me, adding to my own ecstasy. His hard cock rubbed against my abdomen, the friction yet another ingredient to the maddening cocktail of sensation.
Under the circumstances, it came as no surprise that soon the pleasure became too much to bear. It didn’t seem to matter at all that I had just come in Briar’s mouth. That orgasm could have happened a month ago, because it hadn’t helped stave off my need for him, and it couldn’t prevent the climax building inside me.
My mate was becoming increasingly loud, which I took as a sign that he would soon come. I increased the speed and strength of my thrusts, wanting to feel his ass tightening around my cock as he found his peak. In response, he released short, keening noises that sounded like “leh,” “leh,” “leh,” and might have been an attempt to utter my name.
He was so close now, his bright blond hair wet with sweat, his entire body taut with sexual tension. The vines he controlled now swept over my body like an extension of him. They tightened around my torso and legs but didn’t try to stop me, instead encouraging me. One particularly daring red rose caressed my face and Briar’s at the same time.
A myriad of conflicting sensations rushed through me. Briar’s hair smelled so sweet, but that perfume mingled with the scent of sex and man. The touches of the rose petals on my flesh were gentle, but the thorns still bit into my body. Beyond it all, it was Briar’s soul that held me captive. Even now, when he was torn in the fires of his desire, he reached out to me with such innocent honesty. His purity and kindness had nothing to do with the carnal, and because of that, it took one single word for me to come.
“Leonard,” Briar whispered in my head.
Those two syllables held so much feeling that I couldn’t even begin to process it all. I thrust one last time inside Briar and came, my body convulsing in the potent waves of our orgasm. Wet heat splashed against my abdomen, signaling the fact that my mate had found his peak as well. Our mate bond pulsed with his magic and his pleasure, and I loved him so much that I didn’t know how I’d ever lived without him.
Sadly, our happiness wasn’t meant to last. As the high of our orgasm began to fade, I slid out of him, aiming to make sure he was all right. I felt the moment when the curse changed and recoiled against me. Suddenly, I couldn’t see Briar anymore. Even my bond with him became veiled by something I couldn’t recognize. I tried to reach out for Briar again, but I didn’t get the chance. My world went black, and I knew nothing more.
Chapter Eight:
In Which Wars Are Not Made with Rose Water
Six months later
Arthurian armies were approaching the Dryad Kingdom again. It was the third time in the last six months. Obviously, Leonard’s family was looking for him. I wanted nothing more but to welcome them, because I knew how much Leonard loved them. And yet, here I was, waiting at the very edge of the kingdom, ready to ambush them.
So far, there had been two other expeditions. Two of the witch’s children had been caught. They were powerful, but they hadn’t been able to hold the magic of the Dryad Kingdom in check. And now, the third expedition had come, and I dreaded the knowledge that I would have to harm more people.
All was quiet, but I could hear the mournful whispers of the trees, trying to soothe me. They knew how much it hurt me to have to do this. But I couldn’t afford to back down now. I had too many things to protect.
My hand rested on the swell of my stomach, and I drew strength from the now-familiar presence of my seedlings. It was the one good thing that had come from the one time Leonard and I had made love in the real world. He had been cursed into the same eternal slumber that had once held me, but he had left me pregnant with our children.
By my side, Aloe and Belladonna stirred restlessly. “Where are they?” Belladonna asked.
I didn’t answer. I never did, even if we’d been forced together in the campaign against the Arthurians. I had later learned that the witch had Aloe and Belladonna under a threat, that of never allowing their daughter to wake. I hated that they’d chosen to trust her and betray me instead of focusing their efforts on defeating the witch. Maybe I could have understood it. Many of my people had blamed me for my inability to obey my parents, which had eventually led to the curse being cast on the whole of the Dryad Kingdom. But I was done being understanding and blaming myself for other people’s decisions. My ability for sympathy had faded away the moment when Leonard had fallen asleep.
Up ahead, I finally saw a flash of bright light. I heard the distinctive flap of wings and frowned. It seemed that, this time around, the Arthurians had brought a special type of reinforcement.
I allowed myself to see through the roses now scattered all throughout the kingdom. “Dragons,” I said to nobody in particular. “There are dragons with them.”
A blue dragon and a red dragon, to be more specific. Ice and fire. That could be a problem. The red dragon in particular could harm my kind. The scales of the creature would make it immune to the thorns I used as projectiles. But it wouldn’t be immune to Belladonna’s poisons.
I threw a glance toward Belladonna, and she nodded jerkily. We didn’t speak, but we didn’t have to. She knew what to do, and if push came to shove, the witch was always around, watching us. We had an unwanted ally in this fight against the Arthurians.
“Be careful, all right, Briar?” my aunt Aloe whispered in my ear.
I ignored her, my resentment of her so hot and bright it made the vines I controlled sway around me like snakes. In a way, I preferred the way Belladonna behaved. At the very least, she didn’t try to put a concerned façade to hide what she’d done. But Aloe…I had respected her. I had trusted her with my mate’s health. She and her mate had poisoned us both.
Thankfully, Aloe took her leave before I could lose it. My men must have noticed my disquiet, because one of them warily approached me. “Your Highness?”
“Wait for it,” I told him calmly. “Wait until they enter the forest.”
He nodded, looking a little relieved as he returned to his place in the ranks. I distantly wondered what he knew and what he thought about me. After the curse had returned, my parents had fallen asleep, too. That left me in control of the throne, and most of my people didn’t understand how it was possible for such a thing to happen when I’d been so involved with the curse. There had been whispers that I’d deliberat
ely made it return, and the entire thing might have turned against me if not for the arrival of the Arthurian armies.
Dealing with the external threat made the rest of my people forget about the internal one, but sometimes, I asked myself whether they knew the secret I was hiding, the one I shared with Aloe and Belladonna.
Shaking myself, I focused on the approaching army. This would be a difficult battle, and I had to get it over with as soon as possible. Lately, I tired far easier than before, something which I blamed on my pregnancy. I couldn’t be sure, of course, because all I had to go on was ancient records on Arthurians and their ways. In any case, I was fairly certain that no one, not even a dryad, was supposed to go into battle while heavily pregnant.
At last, my wait came to an end, and the Arthurians entered the forest. Wanting this to be over already, hating myself for it, I gave the silent command to attack—a word whispered to the trees that only dryads could hear.
Instantly, chaos exploded in the area. Somewhere to my right, I heard Belladonna and Aloe shoot into action. Their guardians were probably watching over them, and I was fairly certain they would be all right even if they were going against the dragons. Besides, I had myself to worry about.
Closing my eyes, I directed the vines and briars I controlled to attack the coming army. To their credit, the Arthurians faced my magic without fear. Their blades slashed at my weapons and I winced whenever one of them managed to land a blow. But I’d grown accustomed to battle in the past months. More importantly, even now, when Leonard was beyond my reach, I knew he was by my side. I had to believe that he would understand this and wouldn’t blame me for what I had to do.
At first, I used my abilities largely to distract the Arthurian force, and it worked. It gave my men time to shift into their second form. Oaks, pines, birches, willows, and many other trees now stood behind me. They ran forward—insofar as trees could run at least—swamping the Arthurian army.
Briar Rose and His Not-So-Charming Prince [A Tail Like No Other: Book Five] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 10