Shit. I’m supposed to be keeping my head here!
I reach for a piece of cut fruit on another platter, but Khal stops me, placing his hand on mine. Tingles run up my arm, making my heart race.
“No, try this one,” he says, picking up a juicy-looking wedge of yellow fruit.
He brings it up to my mouth rather than setting in my hand. I really shouldn’t, but I open my lips. His eyes are glued to my mouth as I take a bite of the juicy fruit and sweetness bursts in my mouth. He pulls back the fruit and I lick my lips. His eyes darken.
“Good?” he asks, his eyes rising from my lips.
They’re so hot at this point that I feel an urge to fan myself. I nod, not trusting my voice. Still holding my gaze, he pops the other half of the fruit into his mouth, chewing. Oh man. How do I defend against this? I can’t even meet his eyes the rest of the meal. Luckily, it’s winding down.
“One moment, please,” he says, getting up and walking over to the door.
What is he doing? He opens it and talks to one of the guards, which leads to an odd whispered argument where I can’t make the words out. I can’t be hundred percent sure because they’re far away and talking in low tones, but it doesn’t sound like they’re speaking the Zmaj language that I’m familiar with.
They have a different dialect? I’m sure if I ask, I’ll be told that protocols stop him from replying. The argument ends and Khal beckons to me.
“Come with me.”
“Come with you?” I repeat, and he nods.
“No, thank you.”
“What?” His eyes widen in surprise and his mouth drops open.
One of the guards beside him smiles, but Khal looks at him and he quickly wipes the expression off his face.
“Why not?” he asks, turning back.
“Nora still hasn’t come back. How do I know you’ll bring me back here? That I won’t be disappearing somewhere?”
He sighs, shaking his head.
“You have my word that I will be returning you safely,” he says gravely.
I raise a brow.
“Your word?” I repeat.
He nods. What the hell? It isn’t like he couldn’t do whatever he wanted anyway. I’m not any more safe here than I would be anywhere else in this place. Besides, maybe I’ll actually gather some intel once I’m out of the stupid room.
“Okay, fine.”
“Thank you,” he sighs.
He gestures for me to walk ahead of him. The guards give me hard looks as I step past them, but they don’t try to stop me. That’s a first.
I fall into step beside Khal, walking through a hall that looks like a variation of the room we were in, smooth-cut walls that can’t possibly be natural, all a sandy-brown color with streaks of red. He doesn’t lead me far and I don’t really see much beyond the hallway.
“Through that door,” he says, pointing ahead.
We go to the door and he produces something that looks like a key which he uses. The door clicks and he pushes it open. He steps to one side and indicates I should go through first.
I walk out onto a balcony that overlooks a small area outside that is covered with beautiful flowers. A cacophony of colors. Purples, blues, oranges, yellows, pinks, lavenders. It’s stunning, especially here where everything so far has been drab and monotonous. It’s so incongruous that it takes me more than a moment to process it all.
“Oh, wow,” I whisper, stepping out further.
The gorgeous plants are growing in absolute defiance of the natural order of Tajss.
A refreshing drink for a parched soul in the clearly manicured and well-tended garden. It’s a geometric design carved out with walkways and perfectly designed landscaping fit into a thirty-foot-square space.
It’s perfectly symmetrical, an almost starburst design starting from the middle and expanding out, with smaller design pieces within. It’s anchored by bushes and trees amongst the flowers, giving it an odd mix of manicured and natural that is truly arresting.
“How...?” I whisper reverently, afraid to spoil the beauty with the harsh sound of my voice.
“There is a small spring that spouts out of the ground almost directly in the center of the garden,” Khal points out. “We use it to irrigate the area.”
“Why isn’t anybody down there?” I ask, seeing the pathways. “Or at least here looking down at the garden? I’d be here every day!”
He chuckles. “That hallway hasn’t been used for some time. Neither has the garden, apart from it being maintained.”
He points out across the garden and I look to where he’s pointing.
“Do you see that pattern over there?” he asks, gesturing toward an odd star pattern I’ve noticed it in various motifs in the small parts of this place I’ve seen.
I lean over, squinting to see more clearly. When I turn my head to answer him, he sets his mouth against my own. It isn’t any less mind-blowing than the first time. Stepping closer I curl my hands around his strong neck. The feel of him against me is intoxicating.
How can I not want this? How have we been staying away from this heat?
Khal breaks the kiss, pulling back, his eyes glittering with the same desire coursing through me.
“Let us return to the room,” he says hoarsely.
“Yes,” I agree, letting him tug me back through the doors.
He leads us back down the hall, past the guards and through the door. They give us odd looks, but I don’t think much of it. I’m too focused on what I know is coming. As soon as the door closes behind us, Khal pulls me back into his arms and I sink back against him.
He feels so good, so strong against my own body. And his kisses...
I try to get closer. His hands slide down and cup my butt, raising me higher up against him so the kiss is easier to maintain. I sigh against him, my fingers sliding into the silk of his hair.
Yes. More.
Turning us around, he starts to walk so I wrap my legs around his waist, but I don’t take note of where he’s taking us. I’m fully focused on something else completely. The hard shaft pressing against the cloth covering my pussy consumes my attention. I know exactly where he’s taken us when my back hits one of the pallets on the floor.
Horizontal? Yes, please. I tug at his robes then I break the kiss.
“Off,” I huff hoarsely, pushing at the voluminous fabric. “Take it off.”
He doesn’t argue. Between one breath and the next, he’s down to skin, covered in delicate scales, each one overlapping the one below it. The scales catch the light as he breathes, causing tiny rainbows to my eye. The edge of the scales are tinted with bright yellows and greens and seem somehow alive, expressing his burning desire. My hands itch to touch him, but he doesn’t get back on top of me to make it easy.
His cock is massive compared to a human, and I’ve heard the stories—all the girls have—but seeing a Zmaj dick for the first time is breathtaking. Literally. It’s not only the size, impressive as that is, but it’s ribbed. Actually, god-honest ribbed for my pleasure. Yay me!
The underside looks soft, but the top has a bony rib structure going down to the base of his pelvis where I see a bone knob. It only takes me an instant to realize that protrusion is designed to hit my clit when he’s fully inside of me. Hot damn, this is going to be good.
His eyes go to my own clothes and he arches an eyebrow. His cock bounces up and down, bobbing as if calling me to it with a summoning spell.
“Got it,” I respond to his unvoiced question, sitting up to chuck the shirt over my head rather than dealing with the buttons.
I slide off my pants and underwear in another go and then I’m as naked as him. He stares at me, the look in his eyes making me clench my thighs together. It’s almost too much, that look. Like he wants to... consume me.
“Come here,” I urge, raising my hands to him.
His eyes meet my own as he complies, being sure to keep his weight off me with his forearms.
“You are the most beautiful thin
g I have ever seen,” he murmurs, his eyes an inch away.
I’ve never believed anyone more. Reaching up, I pull him back into a kiss, pouring all of the desire I have for him into it. He returns it and then some.
Sliding my hands down his muscled back, my hands hit the curves of that truly amazing butt. I have to squeeze it. He breaks the kiss, rising up above me. His eyes track down, stopping at the curves of my breasts. I watch as he raises a hand, cupping one of them gently, his gaze utterly fascinated.
“You are so soft,” he murmurs, caressing lightly with his fingertips.
I make a sound when he inadvertently brushes over my already-hard nipple. He stills, noticing the small reaction. So he does it again, focusing his attention on the tight point. I squirm under him, closing my eyes so I don’t have to see him watching me so closely.
I completely miss when he bends over to kiss me there. I jerk at the warmth of his mouth, sliding my hands over his broad shoulders. He nuzzles me, his breath hot against my sensitive skin. Then he scrapes his teeth gently over the sensitized flesh.
I cry out, arching up against him.
He stays there for...a long time. Kissing, licking, sucking. Nuzzling against the undersides where the skin is even more sensitive until I can’t stay still underneath him, my skin breaking out in a light sweat, my legs slowly moving in response. When he lifts his head, he looks almost drunk.
His eyes are at half-mast, his cheeks flushed, lips swollen. Then he moves down.
I bite my lip as I watch him settle between my legs, his large hands pushing my thighs apart. His eyes don’t stay on mine after that. His fingers trail across the embarrassingly wet flesh there.
“So soft,” he mutters.
And then he leans in and licks a long line up my length with the flat of his tongue.
“Oh God!”
My hips try to raise up, but he holds them down. He’s a quick study. He attacks me with his mouth, with his tongue, making a soft humming sound of enjoyment as he seeks out every nook and cranny.
Until he fully discovers my clitoris.
The reaction I have from that first light touch is enough to have him shifting all his focus there. I cry out, my hands digging into the pallet on either side of me when he seals his mouth just there.
And sucks.
That’s it.
“Oh!”
I try to hold in my cries, but I’m not all that successful as the orgasm rips through me. Hot and deep and oh so necessary at that point. He keeps me up there, his mouth not stopping until I tug at his hair.
“Enough,” I gasp, tugging him up. “I want you inside me.”
His breath isn’t exactly steady now either as he sits up and settles back onto his knees.
His hand curls around his length.
“You are small,” he remarks, staring down at me.
“It’ll fit.” Hopefully. “Just... go slowly.”
He shakes his head.
“I will hurt you. It is not a good idea.”
Oh no. We’re not getting this far and then turning around. Sitting up, I crawl over to where he’s still on his knees and straddle his lap. His eyes scan me with a hunger that only stokes my own as his erection bumps against me. Close to where I want him, but not quite there.
“I’ll control it,” I tell him, kissing him lightly. “Okay?”
“I...”
He trails off, his hand clenching at my hips. I’m going to take that as a yes. I reach down and take him in my hand, aiming him up toward me as I rise up.
I take a deep breath as his blunt head hits my entrance. This is going to be tight...
I drop down slowly, one inch at a time, up and down to help him slide in. It is tight. Almost too tight, but I want him so much and I’m so wet from that first orgasm that I somehow make it work.
I slide down onto him until he is fully inside me. My eyes are clenched tightly shut, my breath coming in gasps once more. I’m beyond full. And I can feel his heartbeat deep inside.
Khal kisses my face, my neck, my shoulders, his hands touching every inch of skin he can as I adjust to the intrusion.
I collapse against him, leaning against his strength for a moment. Until I can’t stay still anymore. Leaning back, I grip his shoulders, our eyes meeting as I slowly rise up and push back down.
His eyes cloud as the sensation hits him, his nostrils flaring, hands gripping my hips once more. We start to work together. I rise up, but his hands help me, steadying my hips, taking some of the weight. When I drop back down, his hips thrust up. And I feel exactly what all those ridges are for.
I cry out as my clitoris is stimulated exactly right. It’s the hard turning point.
Soon, we’re going at each other so fast, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh is loud in the small room. Sweat drips down my body, my face tucked in against Khal’s shoulder now. The second orgasm hits me like a freight train.
I muffle my cry against his skin, my fingernails digging into his back as I shove myself down against him, grinding against that last ridge. Khal growls, shoving himself in that last inch and joining me over that glimmering edge.
I feel him jerk inside me, his body shaking as the sensations wash through him. Then we just sit there, clinging to each other. Supporting my back, Khal carefully lowers me onto the pallet, slipping out of me in the process.
I sigh, luxuriating in the softness as he comes down on top of me. My eyes snap open as I feel an erection nudging at me once more.
Second penis. The Zmaj have two!
I totally forgot that fact until this...oh.
Khal leans down to kiss me as he starts to thrust once more, this time slow and steady. Gentle and long, until the orgasm is kind of a gentle shimmer sliding through me. Khal comes quietly the second time too, his mouth still on my own, our breath mingling. I am completely done after that one.
I half feel Khal sliding in behind me and spooning me securely. I’m totally down for the count and I’ve never slept so easily.
17
Khal
She falls asleep lying on my chest. I watch her sleeping face, unable to take my eyes away. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips slightly parted, her hair just a bit mussed. I have never seen a lovelier sight. All I want to do is stay there in the pallet with her, hold her close, and drink in her presence.
But I should not be here at all. Should not have done what I just did. I ignored duty, ignored protocols completely and simply indulged in what I wanted. Reveled in the gift that is Ashlee.
Even though I know that what I did was wrong, I cannot regret it, but I should not stay any longer. I cannot fix what I have done, but maybe I can stop myself from falling further. Willing myself to move, but I don’t. Ashlee is nestled in against my side, her head on my chest, her breathing causing her chest to rise and fall.
I know what I should do, but it is completely the opposite of what I want to do. I struggle with that reality for quite some time, lying here and staring at Ashlee’s face. Wishing for a different reality. One where this would be simple, but that is something I cannot control.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly as I pull my arm out from under her and lower her head off my chest to one of the soft pillows. She frowns slightly in her sleep, wrinkling her pert little nose, then she settles back down once more.
I sit up, eyes still locked on her. I do not want to leave, but I must. Duty is not convenient. Protocols are not convenient. If keeping them was easy, then we would not be who we are. I cannot lose sight of what I have vowed to uphold.
Even when it is not convenient for me. Even when it tears me apart inside. I stand up and look down at Ashlee, scanning her, attempting to memorize how she looks right then. I know I will never forget.
I dress quietly before I turn toward the door. Every step feels like I am ripping something away from my heart, but I continue.
I am not weak.
I take my obligations very seriously. I do not look back when I open the door, because I
know, deep inside, the sight of Ashlee could break me. So I step outside and close the door behind myself.
The same guards are still at the door. They do not hide their disapproving looks. There is no chance that they do not know what just occurred in that room between Ashlee and me.
There is nothing I can say to defend myself, so I ignore the looks of disapproval. I feel enough of that emotion myself not to absorb everyone else’s as well.
My first order of business is to find Archion. Luckily, that does not take long.
When I go to check in on Nora, I find him there, sitting beside the bed, holding her delicate hand in his own. I am glad Tashak allowed him to have access to her. She is sleeping soundly in the medical area, hooked up to various machines and being monitored by two Zmaj. The visual of the area is a bit intimidating, but Archion doesn’t seem to notice anything but Nora.
My gaze falls to his large hand holding her much smaller one and, for the first time, I feel a part of me awaken inside. Absent one moment and completely awake and alert the next. The feeling is so strong that I stumble to a halt, overtaken by the swamping emotion. There is no question what it is. That part of me awakens along with a knowledge that I have a mate as well.
Ashlee is meant to be mine. She is mine.
It’s a bittersweet realization.
The joy of knowing I have found my mate clashes with the pain of knowing it conflicts directly with my duty, directly with my obligations to the Order. I don’t know what to do, but it’s clear I cannot function with these emotions roiling inside of me.
I push it aside for later with great difficulty because right now I need to function. These emotions cannot paralyze me. My chest aches even when I try to set aside this new knowledge, this conflict inside me.
I step back, deciding not to interrupt Archion or the medics. I won’t help him or them in the state I am right now. I need to be alone and find some control over myself. Turning away, I return to my quarters and lie down on my cold pallet.
Alone.
When I close my eyes, the empty space next to me is a throbbing ache, holding my attention. I imagine Ashlee lying next to me, warm, filling the space that I know is hers. Where she belongs, next to me. Mine.
Dragon’s Temptation: Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book Fifteen Page 13