“Aegis, I…” she said, trailing off, not sure how to accurately describe what she was feeling through so much overwhelming sensation.
“I know,” he replied, his voice rough and sultry. There was no time for thought here, and she loved the sound of their voices mingling in the dusky silence of the room around them. “I feel it, too. But are you ready?”
She squirmed against him. “So ready.”
“After everything, it’s just hard to imagine…” he trailed off, pulling himself out from under her, watching her with those sparkling green eyes, that handsome face. Even now, he was overthinking things. Concerned for her.
But she was a woman. A dragon. His dragon right now. If he would just take her.
“All right,” he said. “I see it in your eyes. I always see the world in your eyes.”
The softly spoken words nearly undid her, and she struggled against him, trying to make him hurry.
Despite her position on top of him, languid and limp with pleasure, he had no trouble gently pulling her off of him and reversing their positions.
On top of her, broad shouldered and possessive, he looked like his usual, haughty self. But completely in love with her.
It shone in his eyes.
A shiver of anticipation and excitement coursed through her, the dragon deep inside her roaring with approval at the rapid turn of events.
Aegis let out a huff and reluctantly got off the bed just long enough to strip off his clothing. When he faced her again, climbing over her, she caught her breath at his beauty. The sheer size of him. There wasn’t a single place that didn’t please her as her eyes roamed over him. If only she’d seen him like this before. She didn’t realize how long she’d been wanting him.
She opened her legs for him as he came back onto the bed. Suddenly, she knew exactly what she wanted and how to make it happen, and his eyes widened as her legs wrapped around his back, trapping him against her.
For a prolonged moment, he waited there, the warmth of his tip teasing her as the magic of it all settled upon them. The two of them, Opal and Aegis, together like this for the first time ever.
Opal could only pray it wasn’t the last.
And then with expert control, and a desperate nod from her, urging him onward, he slowly slid into her, inch by aching inch. An exquisite, almost painful pressure filled her, and she clenched her legs tight around him, willing herself to relax.
Aegis was clearly holding himself back, blond hair falling over his perfect face as he closed his eyes and waited for her to adjust. When his eyes finally opened, she saw rapture and felt the pressure inside her give way to liquid, molten pleasure.
Oh, Aegis.
She twisted her hands in her hair and wondered how she was going to take it when he moved.
And then he did.
At first he came out slowly, the wet friction so powerful it left her body begging for more. And then as he thrust back in, a little bit faster this time, her hands left her hair to twist in the sheets at her sides. She cried out in pleasure, feeling her whole body poised on the brink of something unthinkable.
His face was intent, warm, pleased, and overwhelmed all at once. Everything she felt reflected back at her.
She tried to think of something to say, any words that would fit this incredible moment, but the feeling of his rock-hard, velvety-soft cock thrusting into her made speech or even thinking fairly impossible. So instead, she just tried to keep her breathing regular as he began to pound rhythmically into her, the electric heat coursing through her making her eyes roll back in ecstasy.
And as Aegis began to move faster, as if responding to the roiling tension quickly building in her, she could feel his body tightening as well, the muscles in his arms going taut as the thrusting intensified and their two dragons roared out to each other amidst the frenzy of sexual pleasure.
She was teetering on the edge, her entire body buzzing with heat as the bed rocked with the motion of their bodies. She tried to hold it off as long as possible, savoring the almost out-of-body feeling that came with being so close. But then Aegis thrust into her one last time, pushing some indecipherable spot deep within her that kicked her over the edge and into that ethereal place outside of space or even time, where only incredible, ineffable pleasure exists.
A second later, Opal felt Aegis’s cock become more rigid than ever within her, followed by a powerful, pulsing sensation as warmth spilled into her and his arms coiled around her, holding her as the throes of ecstasy overwhelmed them both like a powerful storm.
She couldn’t help but call his name, over and over and over again, in pleasure as shocks of release pushed through her, followed by aftershocks that surprised her and left her feeling tingly and wonderful.
Aegis pushed himself back onto his elbows, still inside her, and caressed her cheek with one hand, followed by a soft kiss on her lips that said everything about the moment without needing any words.
Yes, there was explaining to be done. Things to be figured out. But as Aegis deepened the kiss, Opal knew only one thing for sure.
This was the Aegis she’d waited for.
Chapter 12
A knock on the door interrupted their kiss, and Aegis pulled back with a sigh, grateful they’d locked the door before starting.
He didn’t want anyone to see Opal like this. She was his. More his now than she’d ever been before, whether she liked it or not.
The dragon inside him was raging, pacing, longing to claim her, to slip his ring on her ringer.
The old Aegis would have done it.
This new Aegis knew better.
“Who is it?” he called out, irritated by the interruption. Just another reason for them to be on their own when the time was right.
“Zach,” the voice called.
“Can you get out of here?” Aegis called back. “I’m kind of busy…”
“I just thought you’d want to know Sapphire’s baby is coming.”
“Hallie’s in labor?” Opal said, sitting up, shock on her face replacing the beautiful afterglow.
Aegis tried not to be bitter about it.
“Yes,” Zach called, voice slightly upset. “I knew at least Opal would want to hear about it.”
“I do,” Opal said. “We’ll be out soon. Is there anything we can do?”
There was a pause. “No. But it’s not going well. Luckily, Sapphire is the best dragon for this with his healing powers.”
Opal looked at Aegis, slightly green. “Is she going to be okay?”
Aegis shook his head, not wanting to talk about it. It shouldn’t be happening at this moment, when everything was finally fine. Then again, perhaps it was opportune…
“All right, Zach. Thanks for telling us,” he called sharply and heard Zach’s footsteps disappear down the hall.
Opal got up and began looking for her clothing, which was all over the floor. Aegis caught her by the hand. “Where are you going?”
“Out to check on them, see if there’s anything we can do.”
An agonized groan rent the air, sending fear and unpleasant angst through Aegis. He kept hold of her hand. “We could go.”
“What do you mean?”
“We don’t have to watch this,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do anyway.”
“What do you mean nothing we can do?” She faced him, holding the gown against her. “What do you know about this?”
He sighed. “Nothing worth telling. My mother died in childbirth with me. But I have no idea if that’s a usual outcome.”
“You should have said something,” she said sharply. How different this all was from a moment ago.
“I’m not the one who chose to mate a human,” he said. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Your mate is going to die because you mated her’?”
“If it’s true,” she said. “And there’s nothing that can be done?”
Aegis shook his head, blocking out the screams of his mother that he’d heard even in her womb. It was the reason hi
s father hated him, the reason his family had sold him. It was a memory he kept far from him.
His mother had been stupid for continuing to birth him. She should have let his father kill him.
Dragons were small as young, but they were advanced in the womb compared to humans. Some could think and were somewhat aware, though most couldn’t hear them.
He had been wanting to leave before any of this happened. He didn’t love the people he’d gotten to know here, but he hadn’t wanted to watch any of them in pain.
Opal sat on the edge of the bed, dark hair streaming over her shoulder. She bit her lip, looking lost, and Aegis wanted to comfort her.
Just a moment ago, he’d been inside her, feeling the most intense pleasure of his life.
Now screams rent the air.
He sat next to her, not proud of the instincts that came to him. He put a hand on hers. “We could run,” he said. “We’re nearly mated. Now that you’ve accepted me, you could take off my collar, and we could get out of here. Be on our own.”
She shook her head, and he saw a small tear drop down one cheek as she pulled her hand back from him.
He caught it, keeping it in his, though it was clammy. “But I know that’s not what you want.”
He took a deep breath, a plan forming in his head. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do. He was going to walk right into possibly the most unpleasant thing he could experience. He told himself he was doing it for Opal, but maybe that wasn’t the whole of it.
Every scream made him think of Sapphire and how his friend must feel being so helpless. And Hallie, who had always been kind to him, despite his screw-ups.
Dammit, he was coming to care.
Well, he wasn’t going to stay here forever, but he was here now, and he might as well see what he could do about it.
He rummaged in his drawers and pulled on soft black sweats, a white tee shirt, and a robe over the top, belting it loosely and rolling up the sleeves.
“You’re leaving?” she asked. “Where are you going?”
He threw her a look over his shoulder as he put a hand on the doorknob. He didn’t want to make any promises. He didn’t want her to look at him with disappointment if it all went wrong.
“I’m sorry, Opal,” he said. “But I do know one thing about the collar, and that’s when a human is in danger, it doesn’t work. Right now, Hallie is in danger, and if I’m going to help her, I need to know you’re safe.”
“Aegis, don’t leave me here—”
“Stay here on the bed and go to sleep. Don’t wake until the screaming stops.”
Her eyes grew heavy, but there was anger flashing in them as she fought him. “You can’t just run away. I know this is traumatic, but I thought you cared, and…” Her eyelids fell, and she flopped back on the bed, out.
He never wanted to use force on his mate, but this was one time it was nonnegotiable. She’d never forgive him if he didn’t try to save her friend, and she was too compassionate, too kind to be able to stay calm if she saw what was happening.
There was nothing she could do to help, so she might as well rest where he knew she was safe so he could focus.
He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead as another scream rent the air. “Sleep well, precious,” he said. “I’m going to go try and deserve you.”
Then he went to the door and readied himself to do the first unselfish thing he’d ever done in his life.
The scene that greeted Aegis when he reached Hallie’s room was even worse than he’d pictured.
Hallie was in agony, twisting on the bed and holding her stomach, and Sapphire was over her, holding her hands and looking more helpless than Aegis had ever seen him. The calmness that was usually in his eyes was gone as he looked over his mate, trying to send healing power into her as she bent back and howled out another scream.
Aegis’s eyes narrowed in on her stomach. Everything looked relatively normal there, but he knew it wasn’t from the sounds Hallie was making.
Lana was on the other side, holding Hallie’s hand, looking pale but resolved. He had to admire the way she stalwartly stayed with Hallie through what was definitely a terrifying moment.
He’d never thought when he came back to this place, solely to help Opal, that he’d actually be here in this moment where everything was going wrong. That he’d actually care about the chaos and pain all around him.
Ruby was in the corner, holding Faye, who’d fainted. Erin was crying in Zach’s arms as he talked to the oracle through an earpiece.
Bridget was running in with another basin of hot water, and Diamond was behind her, carrying towels.
Judging by the other basins and towels around, they hadn’t been much use.
Aegis took a step forward, and Sapphire’s eyes flashed to him, the fluorescent-blue depths wild with pain.
“Stay back,” he said. “Just get out of here. Did you come to watch?”
“He doesn’t know what he’s saying,” Zach said, setting Erin down in a chair and stepping forward. “He’s mad with grief.”
“I know,” Aegis said coolly, folding his arms. “But he’s not helping things.”
Sapphire shook his head wildly. “You’re going to stress her. You’re going to—”
Aegis felt the complete lack of restraint from his collar and was surprised that instead of using it for his own good and getting the hell out of the mansion, he only thought of how he could fix things in this moment. “Shut up for a minute,” he said harshly.
Sapphire’s mouth closed.
“I’m the only one who knows anything about this, so you’re going to listen to me.” He strode to the foot of the bed. “And you’re going to calm down,” he ordered Hallie. “Your life depends on it.”
“I can’t,” she said.
He waved a hand. “Understand that you’re going to be okay if you can just calm down.”
She closed her eyes, and her body relaxed slightly. She jerked again with pain, but he saw her make a conscious effort to stay as calm as possible. She seemed to know there was at least a chance to fight now.
“What the hell are you doing?” Zach asked. “You shouldn’t be using your powers.”
“Do you want her to die? Like my mother did? Because if you do, by all means, chase me out of here. It’s unpleasant for me to relive this anyway.”
“Why do you care?” Sapphire asked, able to speak again. “You don’t care about us anyway.”
“Oh, stop whining,” Aegis said. “And move.” He waved Sapphire away to the other side of the bed and took his stool so he could examine Hallie. “I’m going to touch your mate. Is that okay?”
Sapphire nodded, cheeks hollow, eyes deadening. “I’ve never seen her in pain like this. When I met her, she’d been in an accident. Had been dealing with horrible pain. She never complained. Never cried out. She has to be dying.”
Aegis nodded. She probably was.
Sapphire let out a howl and buried his head in his hands as Zach stepped forward, putting his hands on the other dragon’s shoulders. Ruby came forward, too, encircling his friend.
Sapphire looked up at Aegis. “You can touch her.”
“I may not need to,” Aegis said, looking at her stomach curiously. He saw a small bulge, like a foot kicking out, and was amazed and in awe of the tiny creature in there fighting to get life. But there was another little bulge, right after. Pointed. Inhuman.
The infant was shifting.
“Oh shit,” Aegis said. “Okay, I know what’s happening. I’m going to try and talk to him.”
Sapphire didn’t look like he even knew what to say to that, so he just nodded.
“Where’s Dom?” Aegis asked. “Someone get him.”
“He’s just outside,” Lana said. “His empathy makes these things difficult, and he was only stressing everyone out. But if it can help, I’ll get him.”
“Get him,” Aegis snapped, returning his attention to the little thing inside Hallie.
It was hard to imagine
it as anything but a parasite. An odd mix of dragon and human. Like he was, he realized belatedly and with no small amount of self-hatred.
But as usual, he found himself wanting others to avoid pain that he had felt. He didn’t want this little creature to kill his mother without being able to help it.
And luckily, Aegis’s powers made it so he could communicate even if no one else could.
He placed a hand on her stomach, over the bulge of what he thought was a wing. “Stop moving.”
It stopped.
Aegis sighed in relief as the room went silent, everyone holding their breath with hope. “You need to stop shifting. You’re killing your mom.” He closed his eyes and focused on his hand, on his power. “Unshift.”
He felt Hallie’s belly move beneath him, calming, and the bulge beneath his hand disappeared.
Aegis could clearly see in the little one’s mind, see his body and his position, his memories of the past few moments.
“He wasn’t positioned right. He was trying to shift to turn around. He didn’t know it would hurt you,” he said to Hallie, who looked shocked but a little better than before. Her breathing was coming easier.
“Now what?” Sapphire asked.
“You need to come over here and heal her up inside, because his wings were scratching her. For a dragon shifter, it would have been fine, because dragons regenerate. But for a human, it was traumatic.” He looked up at Hallie. “You should be proud of her for fighting.”
Sapphire took Hallie’s hand in his and pressed his other hand over her belly, sending blue fire to heal her. “I am. Just tell me what to do. I’ll do anything.” He stroked her face. “I love you, baby.”
Another contraction hit, and she was too tense to talk. She arched back, her hand gripping Sapphire’s as Dom came into the room, led by Lana.
“What can I do?” Dom asked, looking gaunt.
Aegis didn’t have time to feel pity for him. “I need you down here, communicating with the baby.” Funny how he’d gone from calling it the creature to the baby after being inside its mind.
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