by Rinelle Grey
Calrian’s heart filled with love. It was strange. He’d only known Rowan for a few weeks, and he wasn’t his flesh and blood, but he already loved him like he would love a son. And he wasn’t making it up when he said the kid had the heart of a dragon. He did.
Just like his mother.
Calrian had been very lucky Rowan was the one who’d found him, and that Rylee had been his mother.
He couldn’t have asked for a better family.
In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help thinking they were better than any dragon family he’d ever imagined, even if that thought did feel disloyal.
Chapter 48
“I hope you didn’t tell Rowan to fight back against those bullies,” Rylee said firmly to Calrian, once Rowan had gone to bed. “He’ll get hurt if he tries.”
“Did I try to fight Ultrima even though that was what I wanted to do?” Calrian’s reply was a little cryptic, but Rylee got the message anyway.
She heaved a sigh. “No, but I wish you could have.” She gave a shudder. “I can’t believe he thinks your sister would still even consider mating with him after all he’s done.”
Calrian shook his head, but the sadness returned to his eyes, and Rylee regretted talking about his sister instead of steering the conversation in a different direction. He’d seemed almost happy over dinner. And Rowan had certainly been happy with the idea of having Calrian for a father.
She definitely wasn’t averse to having Calrian around. She’d grown used to his presence. She relied on him.
More than that, she cared deeply for him, even loved him.
But deep down, she wasn’t sure she could ever replace the family he’d lost.
“Speaking of mating…” Calrian let the words trail off, but the look in his eyes as he stared at her was intense.
Rylee’s breath caught in her throat, and for a few moments, she let herself believe he meant it. That he felt as strongly about her as she felt about him.
But how could he? He’d just suffered a terrible loss. Now was not the time for him to be thinking of mating.
“You don’t have to let Rowan bully you,” she said firmly. “He likes and admires you, but that doesn’t mean you have to mate with me.”
“But I want to.”
Calrian’s words were short and simple, but they set Rylee’s heart racing.
“Really?”
Calrian took her hands in his and stared deep into her eyes. Rylee could see the emotion in them, almost feel it washing over her.
“Rylee, ever since the moment you met me, you’ve been nothing but kind and caring. No matter how much of an imposition I’ve been, you’ve never made me feel like I was in the way or like you wished I wasn’t there. In fact, I don’t think you’ve even thought it.”
“Of course not…” Rylee started to say, but Calrian interrupted her with a finger on her lips.
“You spend all your time thinking of what everyone else needs and not enough time thinking of what you need, but that’s okay because I want to do that for you. I want to take care of you, Rylee. I want you to never feel alone again. I don’t want either of us to feel alone again.”
His words brought a tear to Rylee’s eyes. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.
And yet, it wasn’t enough. She didn’t want someone to feel she was caring and to want to look after her. She wanted the real deal. She wanted someone who was passionately in love with her and felt like they couldn’t live without her.
She wanted someone whose grief at the thought of losing her was as great as Calrian’s grief at losing his family.
But she didn’t have any right to expect that of him. He’d just lost his clan. It made sense he may not want to take on the risk of another loss like that.
“I don’t think not being alone is a good reason for getting mated,” Rylee said regretfully. “I know dragons view relationships differently, but I don’t want to do that. If I get into another relationship, I want it to be because I can’t bear to be apart from that person, not because I can’t bear the thought of being alone.”
Calrian smiled. “I know, Rylee. You were the one who taught me that relationships could be about more than just mating, that they could be about love.”
Rylee’s heart thudded uncomfortably in her chest. “Do you mean..?” She didn’t dare finish the sentence, didn’t dare hope he meant something more.
But Calrian was nodding. “Yes, Rylee, I do. I love you. I never thought I could feel this strongly about someone without the mating bond, but I do. I want to wake up beside you every morning and lie down next to you every night. I want to be your mate, and I want to give your son the father he deserves.”
Rylee hardly dared believe he meant it. Even though he’d said the words and they were everything she’d ever wanted to hear, she found it hard to trust them. She found it hard to trust Calrian wasn’t being influenced by the fact that he’d just lost everyone else in the world and she was all he had left.
“I know you think that right now,” she said gently. “I know you believe it. But how can you be sure this isn’t just about wanting someone to replace your clan? How do you know it’s not just about not being alone?”
She desperately hoped he had an answer, one she could believe.
“Because,” Calrian said with a smile, “I was already thinking it before I found out about my clan.” His expression darkened for a minute, but then when he looked at her, it lightened again. “I would have said something to you earlier, but I didn’t feel like I could make a commitment to you or to Rowan when I thought I might be going into a war.”
He continued without pause. “I had a responsibility to my clan. I’m their prince, even if I’d never met any of them before. I didn’t have the right to make plans of my own when there was a chance I’d need to lead them into battle. The loss of that responsibility lies heavy on my heart, but there’s also a part of me that’s relieved because it means I have a chance to be with you.”
She should have known he’d have the right answer. She never should have doubted him. Rylee’s heart was singing even as it was aching for Calrian’s loss. “Do you really mean that?” she asked, needing just a little more reassurance.
“I mean it,” Calrian said sincerely. “I wouldn’t say it otherwise.”
Of course he wouldn’t. Calrian had never once lied or hidden the truth from her. Rylee knew she could trust him even if she found it hard to believe what he was saying.
She stared at him, drinking in the sight of him watching her intently, waiting patiently for her response. She knew if she let him, Calrian would be right there waiting for her every day of the rest of their lives.
She knew he’d never let her down, never hurt her as Eric had. She could trust him.
And now he’d said he loved her. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve such a wonderful man falling in love with her, but she wasn’t going to argue. She was going to grab this chance with both hands and never let him go.
Involuntarily, her hands reached out to grasp his even as her eyes filled with tears. “I love you too, Calrian,” she said through her sniffles. “And I’d like nothing more than to be your mate and to have you be Rowan’s father. Even if we do disagree on how to deal with bullies.” She laughed a little through the tears. “Who knows, maybe you’re right? Maybe he needed a father’s opinion, not a mother’s.”
Calrian squeezed her hands. “Don’t ever doubt your own beliefs,” he said firmly. “They come out of a place of caring for your son. He needs to know that. Besides, what I said wasn’t so very different.” He smiled at her and reached out to wipe away a tear that ran down her cheek. “You’ve raised a wonderful son, Rylee. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”
And Rylee believed him. It was easy to believe everything was going to be fine. How could she even doubt it with her dragon prince by her side?
As she looked into his eyes and saw the heat in them, her own blood heated. More than fine. It was going to be a
mazing.
It didn’t matter if they didn’t have a house or a job or any money. They had each other, and that was better than anything else she could possibly hope for.
Chapter 49
Calrian was surprised he could feel the surge of attraction washing over him when Rylee stared deep into his eyes. Surely he should still be feeling grief, still taking in the loss of everything he’d ever known?
But as his heart filled with love and relief, he realised the loss of his clan wasn’t new. Somewhere along the line, in between the searching and hoping and worrying, he realised he’d already begun to believe they were gone.
As each day had passed with no sign of them, he’d grown a little more accepting of the fact that he’d never find them. And with that acceptance, had come the realisation that he’d never be able to wake his brothers and sisters.
And with each day he’d spent with Rylee, he’d grown a little more in love with her.
He told himself that even if his clan were here now, he wouldn’t know any of them. It was silly to miss dragons he’d never even met. That only helped a little though, because along with his clan, he’d lost his brothers and sisters. Somewhere in the back of his mind he still hoped he’d be able to rescue them someday, but that day would be a long time coming. He’d need a plan and a method. But somehow, with Rylee by his side, he hoped that day might just come.
But right now, he wasn’t going to mourn his clan’s death. He was going to celebrate his life, and he was going to honour his clan’s memory by having the best life he possibly could with Rylee. He would build a new clan with Rylee, Rowan, and perhaps down the road, some little dragons of their own.
At that thought, his heart welled up with so much love and happiness and hope he thought it might overflow.
To keep it a little under control, he leaned forwards and kissed Rylee. He tried to keep it light, cool, and even a little distant. Rylee might have professed her love for him, but that was still not an agreement to be his mate.
By now he knew she understood what being a dragon mate meant, so he wasn’t concerned that she didn’t get it. But he wanted that acknowledgement from her before they took that step. Their relationship had to be entirely mutual. He hadn’t been making it up when he’d said Rylee had changed his view on relationships.
He wanted her to want to mate him. And he wouldn’t take the next step until she did.
But despite those thoughts being at the forefront of his mind, when his lips touched hers and he breathed in her familiar scent, he had to admit he lost control a little. He couldn’t resist flicking his tongue into her mouth and tasting her.
That was his undoing. That and the little moan she gave when his tongue thrust against hers. Her hands clutched at his arms, and she edged her body closer to his.
It was an invitation, all of it, but Calrian knew he had to be sure. With great effort, he pulled back a little to stare at her wide, dark eyes. His voice was a little breathless as he said, “I know you said you loved me, but I need to ask, Rylee, will you be my mate?”
Her gaze was overflowing with love as she opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, and then nodded furiously. She swallowed a few times before saying, “I thought you’d never ask.” She giggled a little wildly at the words, and Calrian could feel her whole body shaking.
“Does that mean..?” He wasn’t quite sure what it meant.
“Yes,” Rylee said overly loudly. Then in a more normal voice. “Yes. Yes, I want to be your mate, Calrian.”
That was more than definitive enough for him. This time, when Calrian kissed her, he didn’t hold back. He let every bit of pent up feeling he’d been suppressing over the last week or so overflow. He kissed her with a desperation he hadn’t, until that moment, known.
And she kissed him back just as passionately.
Until she stopped.
It took all Calrian’s willpower not to cry out in protest as she pulled back. Some of his disappointment must have shown on his face because she giggled again. “Where are we going to do this? I don’t want Rowan walking in on us. How did dragons avoid that in the lair?”
Calrian smiled reassuringly. “Dragons have very good hearing. I would know if Rowan was coming long before he arrived here. We would have plenty of time to stop and make ourselves presentable. But Rowan is a perceptive lad. I doubt he’s going to come anywhere near us.”
Rylee smiled. “Good point. He’s practically been pushing us together since the first moment you arrived. I guess that means we don’t have to doubt how he feels about us mating.”
“He wants to see his mother happy,” Calrian assured her.
“Not to mention the fact that he thinks it would be cool to have a dragon as a stepfather,” Rylee countered.
Calrian couldn’t help smiling at that idea. “Seems there is nothing further to hold us back.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at Rylee, waiting to see if she could come up with anything new. He wanted to be sure to reassure her of any doubts she might have.
But she didn’t seem to have any. She gave him a sultry smile and stepped closer, putting both hands up against his chest. “Nothing at all,” she whispered, and then she kissed him.
Calrian couldn’t quite believe this was it, that they’d dealt with everything needing to be dealt with and they could mate. This wasn’t how he’d expected it to happen. He’d thought he’d be waiting a few years, watching his sister, Sarian, and his brother, Warrian, mate before he did. Even then, he would have been listening to his brothers’ and sisters’ advice on who to mate.
He wouldn’t have been falling in love, and it certainly wouldn’t have been with a human.
How strange it was, the way everything had worked out.
But he couldn’t make his mind focus on that thought for long because Rylee’s lips on his were hot and insistent and pulled him away from all other thoughts. The urge to mate with her, to bond with her, to make her his, overwhelmed all else.
His tongue thrust in and out of her mouth, savouring the taste that was uniquely her and branding it into his memory. Her hands roamed his body, far bolder than she had been last time they’d mated, pulling his shirt out of his belt and sliding up under it. Rylee moaned against his lips, and it was as if the sound went straight to his groin.
Calrian couldn’t help groaning in response. He wanted her now. And all these human clothes were in the way.
Rylee apparently thought the same thing because she was edging his shirt up, rubbing his nipples, sending waves of desire flooding through him.
Two could play at that game. Calrian pulled her shirt up, sliding his hands up her back and unhooking her bra before moving to her chest to cup both her breasts. Rylee’s sharp, indrawn breath as he rubbed both thumbs across her nipples only made him harder.
She tugged his shirt over his head, her fingernails scraping across his back, and Calrian had to move to pull it off completely. Rylee gave a small murmur of satisfaction and paused to pull her own shirt and bra off.
Calrian took a moment to take in the sight, drinking in her smooth skin and perfect breasts. Yes, they had some stretch marks, she was a mother, but they didn’t detract any from her beauty. In fact, they enhanced it.
He bent and took one of her nipples into his mouth, running his tongue around it, enjoying her moans of excitement. Once he was sure one nipple had been thoroughly tended to, he moved on to the other until Rylee was breathless and clutching at him. Only then did he lift his eyes to her flushed face and kiss her again.
She met his lips eagerly, kissing him with a passion that took his breath away. He’d never expected to feel this outside of the mating bond, and he still marvelled that it was possible. Perhaps humans didn’t suffer too much for not experiencing the mating bond after all.
He found it hard to imagine he could love and desire Rylee more than he did right now in this moment.
And yet, with every touch of her hands and kiss from her lips, the feeling only intensified. It wiped out all
other thoughts from his mind. There was only him, Rylee, and the too great a space between them.
Rylee seemed to be thinking the same because she began tugging at the waistband of his pants, trying ineffectually to undo it. Since she didn’t break her lips away from his, the attempt was largely unsuccessful.
Calrian enjoyed her struggles for a few moments, but then he too became impatient. He pulled back, accepting the loss of touch just long enough to remove the offending pants.
Rylee took advantage of the moment to do the same until she stood naked in front of him. Calrian wanted to take a moment to stare at her, to take in every curve of her gorgeous body, but she didn’t wait for him to enjoy the sight.
She closed the distance between them, and as her warm skin pressed up against his, he couldn’t object. He would appreciate her body by the feel of it against his.
For a while, he lost himself in her kisses and in running his hands all over every curve of her body, memorising it with his fingers. But before long, the touching of skin wasn’t enough. He needed to be inside her, to be even more deeply connected with her.
The air mattress was only a few steps away from them, so he guided her over, not breaking his lips from hers, and somehow, awkwardly, they half lowered, half fell onto the mattress. Rylee giggled breathlessly against his lips, but the sound turned into a moan when he used the extra access to slip his fingers between her thighs.
Calrian groaned too when he felt how wet she was. She was as ready and eager for this as he was.
That realisation destroyed any self-control he might have had. Rylee parted her legs willingly, and Calrian slid into her, giving a deep groan at how right the movement felt. This was where he belonged, where he was meant to be.
Rylee breathed his name, half in desperation half in a promise.
Calrian thrust in and out, slowly at first, then as his desire grew, harder and faster. He buried himself deep in her with every thrust, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more of her. He kissed her lips awkwardly as they moved together, and it helped a little, but not enough.