by Ginna Moran
Moving in closer, he brings his lips to my ear. “I know who you really are, Delphia. I knew your parents.”
I suck in a sharp breath, fear rising inside me. I swing my bound arms out and whack them into his muscular bicep. “Don’t call me that.”
“But it’s who you are. You will have shamed your clan if they knew you took on a mortal persona.” Quillon’s eyes flash green for a split second. “You’re the last of the Drakovich females.”
“I’m not. My aunt is still alive. My mom’s sister—”
He shakes his head. “Your mother only had brothers.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
“Not many females are born in the sky clans, and when they are, they’re promised to the strongest allied clans to continue powerful bloodlines.” Quillon flicks his gaze to the shed door. “They’re also killed to stop such a thing from occurring, which is why the Drekis will murder you. You’re the last Drakovich female dragon, a clan at war with the Drekis. It’s their duty to stop your bloodline.”
“Fuck, we have to go,” Rose says. “Someone’s coming.”
My mind whirls with Quillon’s words, confusion and intrigue crashing through me. He can’t possibly be right about me. I’d know it if I were able to transform into a dragon, right? And the Drekis? I don’t know what to think. This is all so crazy.
A hand squeezes my shoulder. “Did you hear me, Delphia?”
I flare my nostrils. “Don’t call me that, especially now.”
He tightens his jaw. “I need you to distract CO Dreki. It’ll give us time to get out of here. And tomorrow, I’ll find you. Promise.”
I don’t even get the chance to agree as Rose leads the way to a small window at the back of the shed. Quillon stays on her heels and helps her fold her wings to squeeze through. I hear the clank of the chain-link gate smack closed and rush toward the door.
Sinking my weight into it, I try my best to block Kash’s entrance. I know it’s him without even having to peek. It’s the strangest thing. He pushes against the door without forcing it open. If he does, I’ll probably fly across the shed and hit the other side.
He taps his fingers on the door. “Nova, you don’t have to be scared. It’s me.”
Sucking in a small breath, I hesitate without saying anything. I want to give Quillon and Rose as much time as possible.
Kash pushes against the door again, forcing it open a few inches. “You need to be stronger if you plan to keep anyone out. Remind me to take you to the gym. We’ll start tonight.”
“Uh, what?” I finally remove myself from my spot in front of the door to let him in.
“You need to be able to defend yourself.” He enters the shed, dressed in a clean uniform, unripped by his transformation into a dragon. I don’t know why it bothers me, but it does. He went and got dressed, leaving me to my fate. I shouldn’t have expected more from him. “I can’t babysit you every second, kitten, and something is going on around here. I was missing three COs, who were supposed to be on duty in the yard. My brother made a huge fucking mistake, trying to publicly claim you like he did. You will be tested, taunted, and possibly hurt because of that.”
I groan. “Fucking great. That’s your excuse for abandoning me?”
He surprises me with a chuckle. “You were far from abandoned, but yes. I will not make the same mistake as Rowan and make things worse. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you the only way I can. I hope you like wrestling. I won’t risk giving you a weapon.”
I turn my gaze to him, annoyance rushing through me. How he can go from dickhead to suddenly concerned about me pisses me off. I have a clear enough head in this moment to recognize how twisted it is to be so attracted to the Drekis that they can easily make me forget how they treated me when I first arrived.
“I don’t need your help, Kash. I’m not your responsibility.” I steel myself toward his cocky-ass expression, because technically, I am his responsibility as an inmate. But now, I’m a bit nervous about it. If what Quillon said is true, I’m screwed. “Maybe the best way to help me is either getting me out of here or leaving me the hell alone.”
“So...you want to walk yourself back inside?” he asks, smirking.
Fucker. I can play his game too. “Yes.”
“Some inmates are still in the yard.”
Ugh. I shake my restraints, wishing he’d take them off already. His gaze breaks from mine, and he glances down and grabs my arm. Without a word, he unlocks them and lets them drop to the floor. My wrists throb, my skin tender and red from the magic and metal rubbing against me. Kash links his fingers through mine and pulls my arm up to inspect it. His fingers graze over my skin in a feather-soft motion, and I shiver, imagining him touching the rest of me like this.
“You’re in need of care. The restraints trigger if you move too quickly...” His attention jerks from my hands and to my mouth, and I realize I’m no longer wearing the gag he put in place. “How did you get the muter off?”
I press my lips together, trying to remain expressionless. I have no good explanation for it, and I don’t want to tell him about Rose. I need her and Quillon if things get even worse here. I need people who understand what it’s like to be an inmate and not the ones in charge. “It just fell off.”
“You’re lying, Nova.” His eyes flash with firelight. Swiveling on his boots, he peers around the small shed. His muscles bulge in his arms, his veins rising with his tensing. “Who was here? Who let you in? You must tell me.”
I narrow my eyes and flick his shoulder. “I don’t have to tell you shit. You left me to defend myself in the yard with a bunch of men who want me as their queen bitch while you were off flexing your power in beast mode. I’m lucky that someone was nice enough to help me.”
“At what price? Nothing comes for free.” He clenches his fingers into fists, his handsome face scowling as he looks at the window like he can envision Rose and Quillon sneaking through.
He’s right. Rose did mention that only I was capable of getting something that she wanted. Sighing, I run my fingers through my messy hair, wishing I could put more space between our bodies. Kash keeps stepping closer, passing the invisible barrier of my personal space like it no longer belongs to me.
“It doesn’t matter anyway.” I chew my lip, trying to think of what I could possibly do for someone, and my mind flickers to what I expect a male inmate would want from me since I don’t have basically anything but my body to offer. I just hate thinking it, and my face burns at the thought of saying it out loud. “I’ll do what I have to do until I get out. Agreeing to giving a guy a blow job later isn’t any worse than the meals you keep trying to force me to eat. I’d prefer to suck dick over that.”
Uh-oh. Maybe I went too far.
“I don’t believe you,” he says, huffing a deep breath.
“Seriously? That nasty meat is—”
“Not about the meat. About the price of helping you. I know the assholes here, and if they wanted that, they’d have demanded it on the spot.” He flares his nostrils, glowering at the thought. “And I’d kill whoever it was for even suggesting it. They know that. So tell me the truth. An inmate smart enough to help you knows they can get more than that. Because you’re mine.”
“But I’m not,” I argue. “I don’t belong to Maddox and Rowan either.”
“Nova,” he says, touching my hand. My skin buzzes, my body reacting to his gentle touch. It draws me closer until I rest my hand on his chest, feeling the thrums of his heart beating. “I need you to tell me. I don’t like the idea that you owe someone because I failed you. I want to handle it.”
I blink a few times with my confusion. Who is this man standing before me? This isn’t the asshole who dropped crackers on the floor and demanded I clean them up. Is it possible that something possesses him, and he’ll change the second I pull away? I have to know. I don’t like being played with.
“What has gotten into you?” I purse my lips, drawing my gaze to peer into his hazel eyes. “You�
�re being weird. What happened to the jerk who threw crackers on the floor or demanded I clean his apartment while you lounged around butt-ass naked? I feel like this is some kind of trick or test, and I refuse to be fooled by your charm.”
He narrows his eyes and tightens his jaw. “Is that how you want me to be? Do you like that?”
I throw my hands out, swatting them to his chest so that he takes a step back. “No, but I don’t get any of this. What changed? Is this because of Rowan? Maddox?”
He grunts at the mention of his brothers. “Yes.”
“Seriously? They have a thing for me, so now you do too?” I scrub my hands over my face. “What did they tell you?”
“It’s not like that, Nova. We have a lot to talk about because however you ended up in the Mortal World hindered you of things you should’ve known.” He licks his lips and takes my hand. “And I want to tell you as much as I can, but not here.”
“Yes, here,” I snap. “So tell me.”
“Not here,” he repeats.
“Damn it, Kash. I’m not leaving here until you tell me.” I pull away, wishing he would just tell me what the fuck is going on.
Rowan flipped his attitude after our hot as fuck shower session because he said he knew I was innocent. But he never told me how. I hate the sudden hope rising inside me. What if Rowan told Kash, and Kash believes him? What if they can get me out? What if—
“Oh yes you are, kitten.” Kash flips me onto his shoulder, surprising the hell out of me. “You need care, a change of clothes, and probably something to eat. I’ll only talk to you when you can think clearly. It’s a lot to take in, and I need it to sink it. You’re not from around here.”
I smack my hand against his back, getting him to shift me off his shoulder and into his arms. I cling to him like a damn koala because he doesn’t set me back down. I dig my fingers into his shoulders, leaning in closer to glare at him. “Oh, so now you believe me that I’m not from this shithole.”
“Shithole? Maybe only Max. Now it’s even more obvious that you’ve never seen Magaelorum.” He chuckles, his cinnamon breath dancing around my senses. “And so you know, I knew the second I saw your face when I was amid transforming. The Dreki Clan rules the skies in this area. You acted like seeing me in my true form was...indescribable.”
“It was all right. At least I didn’t ride on your face like Rowan.” Heat bursts in my cheeks at the way the words come out. What makes it worse is that the innuendo is quite true for that matter. And now my vagina wants to remind me.
Kash swallows, his throat pulsing with the gesture. “Next time,” he says, his voice turning breathy. “You can ride me any way you please.”
Fuck me. “Is that so?” Did I really just say that?
By the feeling of his hardening cock growing enough to feel his shaft grazing my thigh, I know I did.
“After I fix you up and feed you.” He spins me with him as he turns toward the door. “If you want. I know I always chill out after a good time.”
The audacity he has makes it impossible to think of anything else. What he suggests sounds like my kind of date, despite being in this hellhole prison.
“It depends. Do you take inmates to your living quarters often? Will your brother come barging in again to throw me in the pit? Will you—”
Kash moans under his breath, leaning in so close to me that all I can think about is how close his lips hover near mine. “No more questions. I need you to be quiet until I get you to my room.”
“Then help me,” I tease, searching his eyes. I can’t help myself. He prods at something inside of me that wants to test his boundaries and will. “Make me.”
“Nova,” he whispers. “I shouldn’t.”
“I guess all the Drekis can’t be rule breakers.” My smile widens, loving his astonished expression like my remark totally offends him.
He reacts by closing the space between us, brushing his lips to mine while sliding his hand to my ass to hold me tighter against him. The world shifts with his sudden movements, and he continues to kiss me, tasting my lips, as he carries me from the shed.
His tongue slides into my mouth, caressing mine in deep, soft strokes, far less aggressive than either of his brothers. And now that I think of Maddox and Rowan, I can’t help thinking about exactly what I’m doing now. I’ve kissed all three of them, and I’m nearly certain if Kash doesn’t stop soon, I’ll end up going even farther.
Something inside me is addicted to the rush of crossing the invisible lines, testing the restraints of these dragon guards. I know deep inside, none of this could end well. They don’t seem like the type of brothers to let someone get between them, especially not an inmate despite whether or not they believe I’m innocent. And when they prove as much, then what? I’m not sticking around here. I’m going to find my way back to Galaxy and the family I made as one of his sky dancers.
My back hits a soft cushion, yanking me from my thoughts. I was so lost in Kash’s kiss, how delicious his mouth tastes, how attracted I am to him...and his brothers, I didn’t realize he somehow managed to take me back inside and to his living quarters uninterrupted by anyone. It’s enough to distract me from Kash’s kiss that he eases away and combs his fingers through my hair to push it behind my ear.
“You’re safe here. We have a few hours for things to be sorted out,” he murmurs, staring intently into my eyes. “You won’t get in trouble.”
“What about you?” I ask. “This can’t be part of your protocol.”
“Warden’s out.”
My mouth forms an O. “So you’re just going to let the prisoners do whatever they want? You’re not worried they’ll kill each other?”
“They’ll be fine.” He runs his hand to the back of my neck. “You don’t need to be concerned. The only ones they ever want to murder are us.”
I highly doubt it, but I decide to drop it, especially after my two terrible experiences in the prison yard. Some of these inmates act like they want to cage me even though I’m already imprisoned. Since they don’t have the power they have outside these magic walls, they want to flex whatever they can here. Being one of the few female...shifters—fuck, that’s still impossible for me to believe—puts me at a disadvantage.
I bob my head, finally responding to him. “I guess you’re right.”
“I’ve been working here for years, kitten. This isn’t the first time we’ve been understaffed. Hell, half the time, at least two COs are sleeping on the job. I’ve done it. Shit gets boring when you’re required to stay on the property unless granted permission otherwise.” Kash grabs my hand and pulls me from the couch. “But we can talk about that more in a sec. I want to take care of your wrists. I can’t pin you how I want unless they’re better.”
Damn it, do I love the sound of his wants. My body is fully prepared to let him have his way with me, pinning me beneath him and all. But a part of me doesn’t want him to know that. An even bigger part of me wants to keep my attraction to him completely hidden. He’d love it way too much if he knew I was already thinking about him ripping my clothes off to sink inside me, stretching me in ways that my body loves and wants and suddenly really fucking needs.
He releases a deep purr from his throat like he heard my thoughts. “You like the thought,” he murmurs.
I raise an eyebrow. “Do you really think I’m going to let you do that?” I ask, silently begging myself to stop thinking about how warm his hand feels around mine and how I can nearly imagine the heat trail it’ll leave over my body if I allow him.
“I do, actually,” he says, smirking. “All I would have to do is kiss you again.”
“I’m not that easy.” At least, not usually. This place gets to me, and I don’t care. I don’t care about any standards the Mortal World put into my head. Because I’m not there.
“I didn’t say that.” Kash tugs me toward his bathroom and motions me inside. I can’t stop the damn memory of Rowan pleasuring me in a shower identical to Kash’s, and it turns me on enough
that I shiver and inhale a small breath. “It’s not your fault that I’m irresistible.”
Tipping my head back, I release the loudest laugh. Kash grins at me, the intensity between us lightening a bit. With the lightness smoothing his features, he turns from handsome to fucking hot, sexy, and fine-as-hell, that I can’t help myself from sliding my hand around the back of his neck to kiss him again.
And my simple kiss sets him off.
Scooping me up, he plops me on the counter, spreading my legs open by my knees to stand between them. I squeeze his hips between my thighs as heat rushes through me, blazing from my lips to the rest of my body. His body feels so good close to mine that I rush to unbuckle his belt to unhook the clasp on his uniform pants. A rumbly noise escapes his lips, his teasing fading only to be replaced with scorching desire that sends every molecule on my body buzzing. Unzipping his pants, I reach into his boxer-briefs and pull his raging hard-on free. I stroke my fingers over his thick shaft, making him moan.
“That feels so good,” he mumbles, kissing me harder. He squeezes my thigh. “I want to touch you too.”
I nod my permission, allowing him to pop the buttons open on my jumpsuit. He pauses, glancing down at the T-shirt of Rowan’s I’m wearing underneath. His jaw twitches, a look of first confusion and then annoyance crossing his features.
But I don’t apologize. I won’t.
He surprises the hell out of me by hooking his fingers to the collar, stretching the fabric so fast with his powerful strength that he rips the shirt right down the front, exposing my breasts to him. I gasp at the coolness of the room before Kash snakes his hands to my back and pulls the rest of my jumpsuit down. My heart and lungs compete to see which one can work faster as Kash bends down and sucks my nipple into his mouth. I moan under the good pressure of his mouth, stealing thoughts of Rowan right from my mind. All I can think about is the warmth of his body, the sensation of his mouth, how hard and ready his dick is...
He kisses a fiery trail up my neck and back to my mouth, expertly lifting me off the counter an inch with one hand while using his other to tug down the rest of my jumpsuit. He growls again at the sight of Rowan’s boxers on me and rips them off as well, exposing the rest of my body to him.