With another groan, he pressed her to the wall, intent on ripping her clothes off and plunging inside her right then and there.
Her cry of pain stopped him in his tracks – a sharp sound that had him abruptly pulling away, even when her warmth called to him.
The sight of blood on her shirt cleared his head.
Sophia leaned on the wall and closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath.
“I need – to rest – a moment.”
Then her eyes rolled over her head and she slumped and fell onto him.
Robbie gathered her quickly and placed her on the bed, his hands feeling clumsy and rough even when he tried to be gentle. He pulled her shirt up and saw another bandaged wound, soaked with blood. If her already fast healing didn't heal it yet, it meant only one thing – that the wound was too deep and needed time.
He could have torn the wolf apart for that alone.
A soft, pained moan came from Sophia's mouth, and her eyes fluttered open and met his.
“Hey,” she whispered, then smiled.
Then she closed her eyes again and breathed evenly, as if she was asleep.
Frustration brimming at the surface, Robbie stared at the wounds again. Then, at her now serene face.
Then he stood up and went to work.
*****
He woke up when the night was quiet, and Sophia was gently tucked in his arms. How that happened, he couldn't determine because he'd fallen asleep an hour or so after tending to her wounds, re-dressing her top and watching over her.
A groggy glance at the clock told him it was after two in the morning. Then Sophia moved, snuggling closer and pulling him back under in her warmth. A soft sigh, a whisper of a kiss.
His cock hardened, eager to bury itself inside her. But his mind protested, fogged him with sleep.
When Robbie woke up again, the sun was just starting to rise and she'd turned to the other side of the bed, still asleep.
Careful not to rouse her, he re-checked the wounds on her stomach and her leg. Once he'd determined they were almost healed, he got out of her room as fast as he could, with plans to have breakfast brought to her later.
But first, a quick flight. To clear his mind.
To clear his senses.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sophia’s morning was composed of warm pancakes with honey and strawberries, a hot shower to ease her aching muscles, and repeated knocking of her head on the tiles to get some sense into herself.
She’d calmed down enough an hour later, got dressed in a casual skirt and a shirt, then took her weapons with her for a practice down the fields. Last night’s incident was an accident, but it was a stupid one, and she wasn’t going to let it happen again. Had she slipped last night, or acted a half second too late, she’d have been the one on the ground instead of the wolf.
The thought alone made her shudder. She wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
It was too late to jog now, but perhaps a quick sparring session would ease the muscle pain and stretch her muscles out. Then she could spend the afternoon in the library and research more offensive and defensive spells, then practice them when she had the time.
The positive plan cheered her up, and intent on finding Finn in the huge castle, she made a run for the part of the castle where the food was. Finn usually hung out there to fuss over what breakfast was (or to get second and third portions) before doing his daily flying, and she could catch him there and convince him to spar with her first. If Finn wasn’t available, then there was Robbie – a much competitive partner with his demands, pushing her to get better and trying to stem his want for her until it became practically non-existent.
The thought of him and that irritated her and aroused her at the same time. The conflicting feelings irritated her even further as thoughts of his stupid kiss came to mind, plummeting her mood to the ground – so when she spotted the shadow on the corridor of the large hallway, she launched herself at it right off the bat without thought.
If it was Finn, she could always claim she was venting out her frustrations on him – of course he wouldn’t mind, because he usually never did.
If it was Robbie, all the better. She could punch him right away.
Putting whatever skills she learned into her attack, Sophia chanted a quick spell to lend her a few seconds of unspeakable strength. It was a taxing kind of magic for such an early time in the morning, but she could spare it for today. Then she did a roundhouse kick and felt the body of the other person give as she flattened him to the ground – hard. Her sparked hand went for his throat, at the spot where his pulse beat. One flick of her finger and he was going to be knocked out cold.
Awesome.
Triumphant at her successfully smooth move, Sophia opened her mouth to gloat.
The gloat died in her throat when she found herself gazing at…a stranger.
Oh, no.
Dark-gray eyes stared at her with curiosity and mild interest. Then a familiar voice chuckled behind her.
“Nice going, Soph. Charlie, this is Sophia Gray – resident witch and sometimes psychotic freak who likes to terrorize people in my hallway.”
The handsome man nodded slightly, perfectly calm and composed. “It’s absolutely nice meeting you, Miss Gray.”
“Soph, this is Charlie Takeshi. I’ve already told you the basics about this guy, but you should also note down that he is the most boring dragon out of all of us. A snooze fest, really. You might find yourself sleeping every time he finishes speaking a paragraph or two.”
The introduction made her want to laugh and cringe at the same time. Instead, Sophia gulped. “Um. Hello?”
A spark of what might have been humor entered the man’s eyes as he carefully nodded his head again.
“Hello to you, too,” he said, his voice polite and holding traces of a cultured accent. Finn had mentioned before that he was from Japan, although he didn’t look pure Japanese in her initial perusal. She managed to get a glimpse of pale skin and a long, aristocratic nose before she realized that no one was moving. At all.
Another second or two, and she realized that her hand was still locked on the pressure point on his neck. With a start, Sophia made a move to disengage and apologize right away.
Then the roar came out from another voice.
A familiar voice.
What happened next was a blur of incredibly fast movements as Sophia felt herself being lifted from the ground and covered by a wall of warmth and hardness. The roar lowered down to a growl, sounding like a warning and a threat at the same time. It vibrated around the castle and made her stiffen as the tone registered.
Sophia stayed where she was, letting her heart settle down from its repeated loud pitter-patter and allowing herself a second or two to calm down. Her body eventually softened, and finally, she looked up and met green eyes.
Her heart started racing again, much to her dismay.
Damn it.
Robbie’s hands were on her arms, steady as a rock and gentle as he rasped out two words that had her stomach jumping.
“Good morning.”
Her mouth went dry. “…hi.”
A flicker of a smile slid at the side of his mouth, and her gaze travelled there, remembering their kiss last night. She looked up again and found his gaze on her mouth, and she licked her lower lip in reflex.
His hands tightened.
The movement made her remember his hands last night, all over her – touching where he pleased, with no holds barred and enough passion to burn the both of them.
She wanted those hands on her now.
She also wanted to run very far away.
If sparks could be visible, she knew they would be crackling all over their heads right now, lending to the heat.
Robbie’s hand moved down in a slow, singular movement.
Her breath stopped.
Then someone cleared his throat, and the moment was broken.
“Good morning to you too, asshole,” Finn intoned cheerfull
y. “Perhaps you’d like to greet our most boring dragon in residence?”
Robbie’s hands slowly removed themselves from her skin, and she was torn between sighing in relief and lamenting the loss. He took one hard look at Charlie, his tone turning short.
“Don’t touch her.”
A spark of irritation flickered. “He wasn’t touching me, Robbie. I knocked him down.”
The surprise in Robbie’s eyes was followed by a very approving look. “Good job.”
Sophia turned to Charlie. “I’m so sorry, by the way.”
Charlie nodded easily. “No harm done.”
Robbie snapped. “Do not touch her again.”
Charlie remained as pleasant as ever. “Of course.”
“Meeting,” Robbie finally growled, the hard look back and extending to Finn.
Finn rolled his blue eyes, then saluted happily. “Lead on, man. Bye, Soph.”
Robbie gave her one last look, his expression unreadable before the three men joined together in a harmonious stride that spoke of warriors who’ve known each other’s moves for years. Finn at one side, tall and lanky with wild, red hair and an easygoing personality. Charlie on the other, not as tall as Finn and so polished with his graceful steps and perfectly calm stance. Then, Robbie, in the middle – an ass sometimes, and a brilliant strategist. Able to drive her crazy with anger and crazy with desire at the same time. Able to make her laugh at his unexpectedly quick wit.
Broad all over and hard, with a quick temper and a difficult, stubborn mind.
And gentle hands.
Of course she wanted to jump the middle man. Of course.
Sighing in frustration at her muddled thoughts, Sophia didn’t wait for them to disappear down another corner. She started walking in the other direction as fast as she could, straight for the library with the intent of skipping the fields and one goal in mind.
Destressing via magic.
Perhaps smashing a cheap vase or two if she could get away with it.
Finn probably had some in stock, anyway.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The meeting lasted for only a few minutes as they discussed Charlie’s latest exploits in Japan and the still missing Henrik and what it could potentially mean. The death of a dragon was a grim topic because there were only a few of them to begin with – and birthrate had never really been that abundant due to most of them not finding their mates yet (or some trying not to mate with theirs).
With the discussion dampening their moods, they went on to the fields to spar instead. The first in turn were Robbie and Finn, who hadn’t sparred in months. Finn was aggressive and had a black belt in karate in the past as a benefit, while Robbie relied on his knowledge during his boxing stints when he was young. They tested each other for a few minutes before getting the hang of it and going full force, with Charlie calmly observing from the side.
Finn was goading Robbie to attack, while Robbie simply waited for Finn to do so, so he could block his friend’s moves. It was good to sweat it out, and it was good to know that none of the other dragon’s words had any effect whatsoever – a much-needed tactic in battles, so to speak.
Finn delivered a powerful hand blow while Robbie was still trying to recover from the previous block.
“Have you been sleeping on the job, old man? Your moves are getting pretty lame.”
Robbie expertly shifted to the side to avoid the blow. “That’s because I’m not wasting energy – unlike you.”
A twinkle came in the red-haired man’s eyes. “Saving your energy for something else, huh?” He turned to Charlie. “What do you think, Chuck?”
Charlie tilted his head, eyes on their fast-going limbs as the spar went on. “I think you’re wasting your energy, Finn.”
“Boo, you bore. You both know what I’m talking about.”
Robbie shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“So you have no idea that a certain smoking-hot witch is proving to be very interesting in my eyes and if you don’t hit on that, then I will—”
The blur of movement that followed caught Finn straight in the jaw. Unprepared, he dropped to the ground, startled and bleeding from the mouth.
A slight smile appeared on Charlie’s own mouth as he kept watch.
“Looks like you’ve been had, brother.”
“The ass is just pissed,” Finn muttered, wiping the blood and alternating between a manic grin and a frown.
But Robbie was no longer listening as he stalked inside and left them both alone.
*****
He found her inside the library, sitting on the floor with a book in her lap and a very serious expression on her face. It wasn’t such an uncommon sight because he sometimes found her like this, absorbed in her research and her mind away from the outside world. What was uncommon was that the library had turned white.
With snow.
There was light snow falling from the ceiling, where Finn’s dragon art was still painted. It covered the floor in a blanket of white, snowflakes drifting lazily and some getting caught up in her hair, which was pulled up in a loose bun. The tendrils that touched her cheek made his fingers itch to touch. Instead, he closed the door with a quiet click.
He knew the moment she sensed his presence. Her body stiffened before she deliberately willed it to relax as she turned to look at him.
Her honey eyes alone were enough to have his cock alone stiffening, and it was his turn to will himself to relax.
“Hey,” he murmured.
“Hi,” she said softly, then stood up with the book in her hands. He managed to read the title, Fun Magic Spells, before noticing the sparkle in her eyes.
“I didn’t know Finn had this kind of book at hand,” she continued, indicating her hand around the library in excitement. A flick of the finger, and the falling snow stopped. Another flick, and the snow resumed and fell faster. “Isn’t it just grand?”
Robbie raised a brow as he walked closer. “And it will help fight enemies—”
“—by intensifying the level and drowning them in the resulting avalanche,” Sophia finished in a savoring tone.
“Pretty gory, wouldn’t you say?”
“Only the best for our enemies.”
All throughout the conversation, Robbie kept coming closer and they kept their gaze on each other, the tension between them so thick that one could have cut a knife through it. As it stood, the silence kept on until he was just a few inches away from her.
Sophia gulped, and the movement caused his glance to flit slightly to her smooth throat. The thought of kissing it entered his mind.
“It’s no mess, this snow,” Sophia rambled, her voice turning soft. “It will be gone by the time I’m done with my spell.”
“Good to know,” he murmured, his hand going to the tendril. His thumb moved over her cheek and he felt her breathing stop. “Can you do one more thing?”
“What?” she whispered.
“Stop the snow now?”
“Why?”
His hand moved to cup her jaw.
“Because I’m going to have you here,” were his last words before he covered her mouth with his own.
Her mouth was just as soft as before, and he could taste the snow on her lips – a chilling sensation that contrasted with the heat she emitted, the heat that slowly engulfed them both. She opened herself to him completely, her tongue coming out and moving with his as he backed her against the nearest book shelf and savored her taste.
The snow hadn’t stopped, falling all over them as he changed the angle of his kiss – and in turn, changed the tempo from slow to hard, an erotic dance that made him almost lose his mind.
Hands flew – his to remove her shirt, and hers sliding down to unbutton his pants. Clothes flew as he pressed against hers, his mouth cruising down to nip a path from her jaw to her throat.
Sophia moaned and grabbed his arms, fingers clenching.
“This is insane,” she said, hands flying to his shoulders as he su
cked at a spot on her neck.
“Absurd,” he growled – then lifted her up to wrap her legs around him and thrust against her clothed heat. She moaned louder, pulling at his hair in a frenzy as he kissed lower until he reached her bra. He unclasped it and devoured the sight of her bare breasts, her nipples pink and beautiful.
“Hmm,” she rasped through sharp breaths.
“We finally agree on something, then,” he said as his fingers touched one nipple over and over.
“Shut up and have me.”
“As you wish,” he murmured before covering the nipple with his mouth.
It was pretty much silence from then on, save for their heated breaths as he alternated between her two mounds, sliding her down so he could deftly slide down her skirt, then her panties. Her hand reached down inside his pants and fisted his cock, and he helped her lower it and remove it completely. Robbie had to make a conscious effort not to come right then and there at her touch, and abruptly, he pulled her to him and pulled her down until they were on the snow-covered floor – him below and her on top of him. Robbie kept his eyes on her as one of his hands stayed on her hip to steady her, the other settling the tip of his cock until it was right before her wet entrance.
She was so, so hot, he couldn’t even feel the cold floor anymore.
He slid his cock in slowly, watching her eyes blur at the exquisite sensation. He gritted his teeth as he slid all the way in, her velvet, wet heat threatening to make his control snap.
He stayed still as Sophia started to move on top of him – rolling her hips and leaning down to kiss him open-mouthed. She was tight and pliant, and the resistance of her as she sucked him in like a vise made him want to arch up and meet her every move. To distract himself, he moved his hands all over her body, reaching up to touch her hair and pull her closer, then to her breasts, her stomach, her hips. Unable to take her slow rhythm anymore, Robbie slowly started to piston up, putting a steady rhythm that built higher and higher. He rolled her over until he was on top, his cock still inside, and with a singular movement, wrapped her legs around his waist as he pounded.
The heat built up as the sounds from her mouth grew louder. He muffled them with kisses and strokes, hearing her call his name once before he was the one calling hers repeatedly. One, last thrust, and she clenched against him so hard, her body vibrating as her orgasm took her to another world. Her nails clawed at his back as she arched up towards him and bit his ear.
Dragon: The Clan Legacy Series Page 10