Ella nodded as if she understood perfectly what I meant. And maybe she did. She took a long drink of water, her eyes focused on the lake in the distance. There was no doubt that she was a beautiful woman and it was hard to not be distracted by that. But she was more than just her physical beauty. Far more. There was a depth to her that was refreshing. That drew me to her.
I resisted getting close to people. Given what I did, it was almost impossible to maintain a healthy relationship – especially since I had to keep what I did a secret. And because there were few Dragonborn women around, if I did want to take a lover, they would most likely be human – which necessitated the secrecy.
But Ella knew what I was and what I did. And in many ways, she was exactly the same. The fact that we were so open and honest with one another was a new feeling for me. It was one I enjoyed. One I relished. It invited an intimacy I found uncommon in my time in the world of man.
Truth be told, Ella stirred something deep inside of me. She awoke a fire within me that had been dormant for some time – simply because I had nobody to share it with. But as I looked at Ella, marveled at her, I began to wonder if maybe I finally did.
“Why is it that you do this, Ella?” I asked. “Why do you fight the monsters?”
She hesitated a moment before speaking, as if collecting her thoughts. “I guess it's much the same reason you do,” she said. “It's to protect the people. It's a sacred duty to me as well – making sure that no other little girl out there has to –”
Tears welled in her eyes and I could see that she was struggling with the emotion of a painful memory. I had my guesses and assumptions about what that memory might be of, but I wanted to hear her story.
“So that no other little girl has to what, Ella?” I asked gently.
“So that no other little has to watch her parents be butchered by those monsters,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “So that no other little girl has to have that memory in her head and never has to know what it feels like to lose her family to those – things.”
I thought her passion for the fight stemmed from something like that. She fought with a rage and fire burning brightly inside of her. But unlike most, who let that fire burn too bright and lost control, Ella seemed to draw her focus from it. It seemed to give her more control and at the same time, made her absolutely lethal.
“I'm sorry you had to endure that, Ella,” I said. “I truly am.”
“After my parents – died,” she continued, as if she hadn't even heard me, “Jacob took me in. He shouldn't have, but he once told me that I reminded him of his own daughter. Anyway, he brought me into the Order. They started training me almost immediately. Weapons. Martial Arts. I must have learned ten thousand different ways to kill somebody. They also gave me an education that would rival even the Ivy League colleges. They believe that developing the mind is every bit as valuable as developing the body.”
I nodded. “I agree with that wholeheartedly.”
She gave me a small smile. “But they also infused my life with plenty of propaganda,” she said. “Non-humans are bad. They must be eradicated. They're a plague upon this world and must be wiped out.”
I shrugged. “In a lot of cases, they're correct.”
She looked over at me very pointedly. “But not in all cases,” she said. “And that's the problem with the Order – they don't differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys. If you don't have human DNA, they think you belong on the point of a sword.”
It was something that had always been a curiosity to me, but a question I hadn't yet asked. “How is it that you overcame that type of – programming?” I asked. “Why did you not just kill me when you had the chance since that's what you were taught to do?”
She shook her head. “I don't know,” she said. “I just sensed something – different – about you. I've been dealing with monsters for quite a while now and you just didn't put off that bad or evil vibe I get from the bad guys. I just didn't think you were – bad.”
I grinned at her. “Well, I appreciate it,” I said. “Very much.”
The sun was slipping toward the horizon quickly, bringing another day to an end. We both stood up – it was time for Ella to go. Much to my regret. I found that the more time I spent with her, the more time I wanted to spend with her. Nonetheless I knew that Jacob would never approve of her spending time with me – a non-human. And the last thing I wanted was for her to get into trouble because of me.
“When will I see you again?” I asked.
Ella looked at me and gave me a gentle smile. But instead of answering, she surprised me by closing the distance between us and putting her hands on the sides of my face. We stared into one another's eyes for the briefest of moments before she leaned in and kissed me.
Chapter Fourteen
Ella
It was impulsive. Reckless. Maybe even stupid. But I'd been wanting to kiss Zarik for a while and had resisted that urge every single time. Yet as we stood on his back deck and I was faced with the prospect of giving in to my urge and going home alone again, I finally gave in to my desires.
Our tongues danced together, swirling around in my mouth as I ran my hands across his body. I marveled at the hard angles and planes of his physique. Zarik ran his hands through my hair, gently pulling on it, pulling my head back, and planted a line of soft kisses down my neck.
A warmth spread out through the center of me, awakening a desire and need that had long been dormant. A fire ignited within me that no other man had ever managed to start before. And it wasn't long before that fire was burning high and bright. The heat within me was intense and threatened to consume me.
And I gave into it. As Zarik's hands explored my body, I gave myself over to the feelings of heat and desire erupting within me. The tip of his tongue was soft as he slid it from my collarbone, up to my neck, ending by gently nibbling on my ear before he kissed me again.
I slid my hands under Zarik's t-shirt, relishing the feel of his skin beneath my fingertips. I raised his shirt and helped him get out of it. He tossed it to the ground by his chair and then went to work, pulling my shirt up and over my head. It joined his discarded shirt on the deck. The sports bra I was wearing was gone next and then Zarik's mouth was on my breasts, licking and sucking, nibbling gently on my stiff nipples.
I let my head roll back as a soft moan escaped my lips. I ran my hands through his hair while he cupped my breasts as he sucked on them. His tongue flickered and darted over the sensitive spots, lingering for a long moment when I gasped, sending bursts of electricity shooting through my body.
His hands were suddenly beneath my ass and he lifted me up with seemingly little effort at all. I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my hands around the back of his neck. I ground myself against him, feeling his arousal – which made the fire in the center of me burn even hotter. I kissed his neck, gently biting on it as he carried me into the cabin like that.
Zarik set me down on his dining room table, still pressing himself against me as we kissed. He seemed to grow harder and his kisses became more frenetic, more passionate. When he looked me in the eye, I could see the need and desire burning inside of him. It was a look that took my breath away – I wasn't used to being the object of somebody's raw, unadulterated need like that.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice husky, his breathing ragged. “You don't have to –”
I put the tip of my finger against his lips and smiled. “I want to.”
And it was true. Over the weeks I'd been spending with Zarik, I'd come to see him in a completely different light. Yeah, he could sometimes come off like the typical, cocky, alpha male type from time to time. But as I got to know him, I saw how thoughtful he was. Zarik was kind and gentle. Compassionate and caring. He was so much more than just the Dragonborn warrior. So much more than a dominating alpha male type. He was a complicated man with a lot of different facets and layers to him.
And all of that had drawn me to him even
more than I had been before. The compulsion to be around him had grown stronger. More intense.
And it had made me want exactly what I was getting – him.
He kissed me with fire and passion, grinding himself against the warm, wet center of me. I reached down and started to fumble with the buttons on his jeans, but he stopped me. With a salacious grin on his face, he stepped back and gripped the waistband of the yoga pants I was wearing. In one smooth motion, he peeled off not just my pants, but my panties along with them.
“I want you,” I whispered to him.
“And you'll have me,” he said back.
Zarik stepped forward, but then lowered himself to his knees. He parted my thighs and leaned forward, burying his face in the warm center of me. I gasped and moaned as he used his tongue and fingers to pleasure me. He licked and sucked as he slipped two fingers deep inside of me. I moaned and called his name as he used his fingers and tongue harder, with more intensity.
It came on so suddenly, I barely had time to register it before my orgasm came crashing down on me like a powerful wave. I cried out as my body trembled and pulsed, my every nerve ending seemingly on fire. I was calling his name as my body shook and wave after wave of pleasure washed over me.
Eventually, the feeling subsided and Zarik stood up and smiled, my juices shiny upon his face. He leaned down and kissed me hard. Even though I'd just orgasmed, I was already going out of my mind with desire again. I grabbed hold of his pants and unbuttoned them quickly. Zarik looked me in the eye again, as if asking for permission once more.
“I need to feel you inside of me,” I said.
He let his pants fall to the floor and stepped out of them. Stepping forward once more, he teased me with just the tip of him. He slid it inside of me before taking it back out, making me gasp – and then pout.
“Please, baby,” I said. “I need you inside of me right now.”
Zarik thrust himself deep into me, making me gasp and cry out. He was a large, thick man and I wasn't used to it. My eyes were wide and there was a sliver of pain shooting through me, but as he began to move his hips, moving himself inside of me, the pure pleasure of it overrode anything else.
He leaned forward and I wrapped my legs around his waist again, gripping his steel strong arms with my hands. And as he began to pump himself into me harder and faster, I dug my nails into the flesh of his arms as I cried out.
Zarik slammed himself deep inside of me over and over again, my body on fire with the sensation of it all. I cried out his name, my breathing growing more ragged, my heart beating faster and faster. He kissed me, then trailed his tongue down my neck to my breasts as he continued moving inside of me. But I could tell that he was growing close.
Zarik's body – like my own – was growing tense. His breathing was becoming shallower and more ragged. And there was an inscrutable look on his face – one that told me he was trying to hold back, trying to extend the pleasure we were both feeling in that moment.
“Don't hold back, baby,” I moaned. “Don't hold back.”
My own orgasm was building again and I knew once it broke, it was going to be strong. Powerful. I was going to be swept away in a whirlwind of sensation. Zarik gasped and I felt him shudder. He squeezed his eyes shut and moaned as I felt his warm, wet seed filling me up. The sensation of it was enough to send me crashing over the edge once more and I called out his name as an orgasm tore through my body. We both trembled and shook as we rode out the waves of pleasure that had enveloped us.
Zarik looked deeply into my eyes and he smiled. I smiled back as I pulled him down to me and kissed him.
“That was amazing,” I said between breaths.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, you are.”
~ooo000ooo~
I woke at some point later, not even realizing I'd fallen asleep to begin with. I was on the couch with Zarik, our naked bodies intertwined and pressed together. My body ached in certain places – but it was a good ache. And it called to mind the night we'd had together – on the dining room table, on the floor in front of the fireplace, on the couch itself.
It had been a night to remember and one I'd never experienced before that. I'd been with men before, just never one so amazing and insatiable.
I enjoyed the feeling of being in his big, strong arms. Of feeling his breath on my back as he slept. Of feeling his body pressed against mine. It was a feeling of astonishing intimacy – one I hadn't experienced in some time. Maybe even one I'd never actually experienced before.
But as I lay there, reveling in the feeling, a jolt of adrenaline shot through me. Darkness pressed at the windows and the moon outside cast the world beyond in a shimmering, silvery light. My heartbeat accelerated and my breathing quickened.
“What is it?” Zarik asked, sitting up suddenly, his body tense and alert.
“What time is it?”
He ran a hand over his face and looked at his watch. “A little after two in the morning.”
“Oh God,” I said. “I haven't checked in with Jacob.”
“Oh Ella,” he said. “I didn't even think about it. I'm sorry.”
I jumped off the couch and dug my phone out of my bag. I had a dozen missed calls and twice as many text messages – all from Jacob.
“I need to call him,” I said.
“Of course,” Zarik said, standing up. “I can go into the other room.”
I shook my head. “No, it's fine,” I said. “I just don't know what to say.”
“Yeah, I don't think I can come up with something that's not going to get you in deeper.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. My heart was thundering in my chest and my stomach was turning flips. Jacob was going to be pissed. No question about it. He'd given me some leash and I'd broken his one rule – always stay in contact.
On the other side of that coin though, I was a twenty-four-year-old woman. I wasn't a child anymore. I shouldn't have to ask permission to stay out late if I wanted to. I was old enough to make decisions for myself.
Letting that thought rattle through my brain settled my nerves a bit. I was in control of my life. My decisions. And though I loved Jacob, I couldn't let him continue to control ever facet of my life. Not anymore. It was time I stood up for myself. Well past time, actually.
I pressed the button to call him and pressed my phone to my ear. Zarik quietly stepped into the other room to give me a little privacy. Jacob answered on the first ring – he obviously, hadn't been asleep.
“Are you okay?”
“I'm fine,” I said. “I'm good. I'm sorry to worry you.”
His sigh of relief was long and loud. “Jesus. I thought you'd gotten yourself killed, Ella. Where in the hell are you?”
“I'm with – a friend,” I said.
There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the line as he processed my words. I bit my bottom lip, my stomach churning.
“A friend?” the tone of awkwardness in his voice told me that he'd correctly inferred what I'd meant by saying a friend.
I nodded – yeah, as if he could see me. “Yes, I'm with a friend,” I said. “I just didn't realize how late it had gotten. I'm sorry.”
“But you're safe?”
“Yes, I'm safe,” I replied.
There was another long pause before he spoke again. “Are you coming home tonight?”
“Ummm... probably not,” I said. “It's pretty late. I'm not sure I want to ride at this hour.”
“Yeah, it's probably not a good idea,” he said. “But you're sure you're okay? That you're safe?”
I laughed a little. “Yes, I'm fine,” I said. “I just lost track of time.”
“Well, okay,” he said. “Just give me a call before you head home tomorrow.”
“Will do,” I said. “Get some rest, old man.”
“Yeah,” he said. “You too.”
I disconnected the call and dropped my phone back into my bag, letting out a sigh of relief. A moment later, Zarik stepped back into the roo
m and handed me a bottle of water as he gave me a questioning look.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Surprisingly, yeah,” I said. “He didn't flip out like I thought he would.”
“So, that's a good thing.”
“Yeah, I think so,” I said. “I think he finally realizes his little girl is growing up.”
“His little girl is a woman now,” Zarik said with a mischievous smile.
“Again?” I asked.
Without a word, he took my hand and led me back to the bedroom.
Chapter Fifteen
“So, who is he?” Jacob asked. “Your friend?”
“Just – a guy I met.”
I sat down across from him at the kitchen table the next afternoon. I figured the talk was coming, and though I felt more in control of myself, more confident, there were some things you just didn't really want to discuss with a parental figure.
Even more so when the man your parental figure wanted to discuss with you was somebody they saw as dangerous. An enemy. Somebody they wanted to kill. I wasn't sure how I was going to navigate those waters, but I knew that I was coming to a point where I needed to.
I felt bad about lying to Jacob all this time. About not telling him where I was going or what I was doing. Because I knew what his reaction would be. He was old school and took the laws of the Order very seriously. He would never knowingly violate them – nor would he tolerate those who did. And by not only letting Zarik live I was violating that law, I was pretty sure that sleeping with him did too.
Memories of the night before filled my head, put some color into my cheeks and a warmth in my belly. But I had to squash those down. Put them out of my mind. I couldn't let myself lose focus – and at the moment, my focus was on Jacob. Specifically, trying to decide just how far to let him into this world I'd discovered.
“Uh huh,” he said. “Where'd you meet him?”
I shrugged. “Around.”
Jacob looked at me evenly. “Why are you being so purposely vague?” he asked.
“Because this is kind of an awkward conversation to have,” I replied. “My – sex life – is private. Or at least, it should be.”
No Such Thing as Dragons : Complete Series Box Set (Books 1 - 5) Page 22