by Ines Johnson
Chryssie had no problem giving up control now that she’d tasted power. She lay back on the mattress, docile and pliant, waiting for the pleasure she knew was coming her way. She held her breath and dug her fingernails into Corun’s skin, waiting for her hymen to be torn.
Corun rubbed the head of his cock against her clit. Up and down, round and round the fleshy bits went head to head. Chryssie’s eyes slammed closed, and her mouth stretched open as the first orgasm tore through her. At her first convulsion, Corun slipped the head of his penis inside of her.
Her body was already clenching hard from the orgasm. Her sex pulsed in waves, first pushing at the thick head of his cock and then pulling him inside her channel. Only to push him out a bit and then pull him deeper inside.
Corun didn't retreat. He only pushed in. She couldn't tell what was pain and what was pleasure. It was one endless loop of stretch and pull. She was being wrung dry, and she didn't want it to stop. Her bossy dragon. He pinned her hands to her sides. He couldn't relinquish control, and that was fine with her.
She trusted him completely with her body, with her soul, with her life. He had given her more in the two days she'd been there than anyone in her life, and he asked nothing from her in return. When she was meant to be his sacrifice, he’d turned the tables. He had sacrificed so much to keep her.
"Corun, I love you."
His eyes glowed bright, but she saw hints of brown in the silver depths, as though man and dragon were one inside there.
"Words are not enough to express the depth of my devotion to you, my treasure."
He thrust into her.
"I will worship you.”
Another thrust, the deepest he could get into her.
“I will adorn you.”
This thrust ended with a swivel of his hips.
“I will live for you. I will die for you. If that is love, then I love you as well.”
Corun continued to thrust inside her, swiveling his hips, coating his cock with Chryssie’s very essence. Orgasm after orgasm tore through her through the night. Until she was comatose, lying in his arms.
She stared off into space, not truly seeing any bit of the world outside the window. It was a blank, static screen for all she knew. All she felt were the light kisses Corun pressed into her hair. If she were to lose her mind with this dragon and become a vegetable lying in the bed day in and day out after this, it would’ve all been worth it.
Chapter Nineteen
He couldn't stop touching her. He couldn't stop kissing her. He couldn't stop staring at her.
His treasure.
Not only would Corun have her for all of his life. He would have her for all of her life. But not like Kimber and Cardi. Corun would spend his nights, and many of his days, inside of his mate with the miraculous human technology known as the condom.
Chryssie would live. She would be healthy. He would make her happy. And he would please her to no end.
He would adorn her in his finest jewels. He would lay at her feet. The darkest rubies he mined from deep in the core of the earth. Yes, she would drip in red. She’d walk around covered in the brilliance he’d unearth for her.
Corun’s dragon slept peacefully inside his gut. He was noticing a pattern. When the taste of Chryssie was on his tongue, the dragon would roll over on its back and nap happily. When she was on his cock, the beast would fall into a coma.
Corun had found peace. As long as her smell was on him. As long as the taste of her was on his tongue. As long as she was within his reach.
It would always be this way.
He would never watch the life go out of her eyes. He would never watch her body be ripped in two to birth his young. He would be able to hold her and watch her eyes cloud with desire, not hatred or fear.
Corun put his nose to his favorite spot behind her ear and inhaled deeply. The honey-wine smell of her went straight to his head. He stuck out his tongue to taste her. That’s when he caught the metallic hint of blood in the air.
Blood was such a common smell in this castle of aggressive dragons that he almost dismissed it. But he hadn’t fought today. Violence hadn’t touched this room. Only love.
Corun pushed bile down his throat as he pulled away from Chryssie. She was draped over his body. Slowly, he rolled her over and out of his arms.
He saw no bruise on her body. No gash on her skin. But the smell was there, growing stronger.
Chryssie began to stir. As she did so, her eyes opened languidly. She licked her lips once her gaze focused on him. She pressed her thighs together.
The unmistakable scent of arousal mixed with the acrid smell of blood was stronger. Reaching down, Corun spread his beloved’s thighs. And there it was.
"A little morning sex?” Chryssie said in a sleepy voice. "All you had to do was ask."
"You're bleeding.” The words were choked. “I hurt you."
Chryssie looked down her body. She spread her thighs more, exposing her swollen sex, along with the gory evidence of his claim. Instead of shrieking in horror, she grinned with satisfaction.
“I told you,” she said. “It's the mythical hymen you said wasn't there."
Corun was not convinced. Inside his gut, his dragon woke, shaking off its lethargic stupor. A low whine caught in his throat when his beast tasted the evidence of its mate’s injury.
“Corun.” Chryssie put one hand on his chest. The other she used to lift his chin up, so they were eye to eye. “It’s natural for a woman to bleed after her first time having sex."
Corun blanched at her words. Just the very thought of hurting a woman sickened him. The actual proof of it made him want to jump from the window without unfurling his wings. “I hurt you. I am a monster.”
"You made me feel like a natural woman. Don't ruin this for me. I lost my cherry, and it was the bomb. Cherry bomb.” Chryssie grinned. “Get it."
He didn't understand her words. He'd caused her to bleed. He wanted to rage against something. He knew exactly what he’d rage against. But his dragon was just as distraught.
"I'll only bleed the first time,” Chryssie was saying. “And then during my monthly cycle, since I'm not going to get pregnant. I promise I'm fine."
She kissed his jaw. Her lips against his flesh were so soft. She wasn’t crying. She didn’t seem in any pain. Maybe he hadn’t actually hurt her?
"In fact,” she continued, “I’m quite ready for round two."
She pressed her lips to his. The honey-sweet taste of her was quickly washing out the metallic scent of his shame. Corun leaned into the kiss. Just when he was ready to press into her, she pulled away from him.
“Aw man,” she huffed. “I forgot. No more condoms.”
Corun blinked, trying to focus on her words. He was a ball of confusion. Shame, mixed with desire, mixed with agitation was a heady experience when all he wanted to do was to get back inside her.
“Could that Valkyrie get us some more on her next stop? Like a lot. Or maybe some birth control pills. In the meantime, we can get creative."
“Why would we need more? I still have the condom."
"You can't reuse condoms."
“Why not?”
"Because they become less effective or break when you …” Chryssie’s expression blanched. Her warm coloring drained as she looked down between his hips.
Corun looked down as well. He hadn’t lost the slip of plastic. He was still wearing the condom. Only it was in two halves on his penis.
"Uh-oh,” Chryssie moaned.
"Uh-oh?" Corun parroted. "Uh-oh?” His voice rose.
“It broke.” She winced. “I put it on you, and then took it off when I gave you the blow job. And then you put it back on.”
“What does this mean?”
She tugged her lower lip into her mouth. Only a few moments ago Corun would’ve leaned in and bitten that lip. Now he leaned away from her.
“You said the device was 99% effective," he said.
Sweat formed on her brow. Not only was Corun�
��s temper rising, but the temperature in the room was also rising as his nostrils flared and smoke furled out.
“Calm down,” said Chryssie.
"Don't tell me to calm down when I've killed you." He sprang from the bed. He yanked off the ruined condom, the piece of plastic that had ruined his life.
"I'm probably not even pregnant. It was my first time."
"One time is all it takes." He was pulling at his hair now. He'd only just gotten her, and now he was going to lose her. "I wish you would've never come here."
Chryssie had been on her knees, reaching out to him. Her eyes instantly watered as though there was smoke in the room. She collapsed against the headboard as though he'd burned her. “You wish I’d never come here?”
It was the truth. Her life would have been better if he'd never met her. She wouldn't have to die a gruesome death as his sacrifice.
He didn't want her life as a sacrifice. He wanted her to live. But now she'd made him a murderer. His greedy monsters were likely growing inside of her right now, preparing to take her away from him.
His dragon ached to snuff them out. It didn't matter that they were a part of him. That they would allow his line to continue. The cost was too high.
Corun had to get the fledglings out of her. But how? Maybe a potion? Maybe the birth control she spoke of back in her world? But that would take too much time to contact Morrigan and have her retrieve the items and bring them back.
Wait. Her world. What if Chryssie went back to her world?
Dragon shifters weren't made to live beyond the Veil. The beasts would die in her, and she would live. It was the only answer.
"Get dressed,” Corun barked.
"Why?"
"You're going home."
"I am home."
"No. You're going back through the Veil. Back to the human world."
Chapter Twenty
Chryssie sat stunned in a pool of ruined sheets. Her body was naked, but her head was feverish. Her fingertips were cold and numb as though the disease had found her in this haven. All twenty of her digits twitched and jerked as though she wanted to reach out, to step out, but her brain couldn’t coordinate any of her body.
Corun moved about the room. His motions were frantic, so quick, he blurred as he darted around. His gaze was the solid brown of the man, but the dragon’s fire rimmed the edges. He wouldn’t look at her any longer. He was getting rid of her.
Once again, she'd become a burden in someone's life. What was going on inside of her was too much for him to bear. So, she was being sent away.
She was used to the pattern. It still hurt every time. Because each time, there was a small part of her that had hoped she might stay. This time, all of her being had insisted that she was home, that she was loved, and she would never leave.
Corun sat her up like a rag doll. Her body went limp, and he had to prop her against the headboard. He gathered the fabric of a sheath dress in his hands, forming a large hole where her head would fit in.
Chryssie dodged the opening of the garment and dove into his chest. “You said you would never let me go.”
Corun’s heart pounded against her cheek, so hard, so fast she wanted to check to see if he was running. But they both sat still on the bed. His hot breath gushed out, burning the nape of her neck.
“I have to send you back,” he said.
“Please don’t.” She sniffled. Her voice was beyond pathetic, but she didn’t care. Her tears and a bit of snot seeped into the front of his cotton shirt. She dug her nails into the fabric as though she could hook herself into him. He easily pulled her away.
He was unmoved. It wasn't the first time she’d begged for someone to keep her in their lives. It never worked.
Chryssie hadn't allowed herself to love anyone in a long time. She hadn't believed anyone would ever love her back. Because she had never been good for anything.
She hadn't been able to save her sister. She hadn't been able to get revenge on the doctor who'd ruined her family's lives. And now she had let down the man she loved.
Corun pulled the dress over her head. He shoved her boots on her feet. He put her jacket on her. She remained still and lifeless when he tried to get her to walk. In the end, he simply lifted her like she weighed nothing. Because she was nothing.
“I cannot let you die,” he said as he marched down the hall with her cradled in his arms. “If you die, I die.”
His words should placate her. Wasn’t that the ultimate expression of love? For one lover to offer their life for the other.
“I don’t want to go,” she whimpered. She clung to him, locking her fingers around his neck. She knew it would be ineffectual, but she didn’t know how else to fight him. “It won’t be a life without you.”
Corun shook his head. His jaw was set. His eyes stayed focused forward. He did not miss a step. Soon they were out the back door.
Beryl and Ilia sparred in the backyard in human form. They both were shirtless, and bloodless this time. But their claws were out, and fire came from their flaring nostrils. They stopped when Corun crossed the threshold.
"Is this some sex game?" asked Beryl.
With Beryl’s guard down, Ilia took a pot shot at his brother. The punch connected, and Ilia doubled over laughing and pointing. Beryl straightened and barreled into his brother.
Chryssie would miss this. Though she had no interest in sparring with them, she’d miss battling them in the video game world. For the short time she’d known them, they had been real brothers to her, real family. And now she was being forced to give them up.
Beryl and Ilia both dropped their fists and their guards when she let out a sob. They quickly came in step with Corun. Flanking him on both sides. Overhead, Rhoyl let out a sorrowful moan as he covered them from the air.
“Are you hurt, Chryssie?” asked Ilia.
“What can we do?” said Beryl. “Who do we need to kill?”
"I'm sending her back through the Veil." Corun didn’t miss a single step as he relayed the news.
"You don't want her anymore?" Elek materialized from a shadow and fell into step with his brothers.
"I'll take her,” said Beryl.
Corun whipped his glare to his brother and growled.
"Not sexually.” Beryl held up his hands. “She can be my sister. Like Cardi."
"She's pregnant," said Corun.
The three brothers stuttered in their steps. Even Rhoyl faltered in the air.
“You don’t know that,” sobbed Chryssie. “We were only together one time.” But even as she said it, she knew something was different inside of her. She felt life in her body and not just her own.
“I won’t let them kill you.” Corun ran a hand down her face. He looked torn, but at the same time determined. “Dragon shifters never evolved to survive beyond the Veil. If you go back, they can’t thrive.”
He finally stopped walking. They were far from the castle. Chryssie hadn’t realized the speed at which they’d traveled until she saw the outline of the place she had thought would be her forever home.
They stood at the foot of a mountain under the bright sunlight. The air here was different. There was a charge in the atmosphere, like moving between a hot day outside into the doorway of an air-conditioned building.
Was this it? The Veil that she had come through? If it was a doorway, there was nothing to distinguish the place except the way it felt.
Chryssie looked away from the invisible doorway and turned her gaze to the man who had captured her heart, her soul. Corun’s hard veneer had cracked. He looked gutted and uncertain.
“Please,” she begged. “Please, don't send me away. I'll be good."
"You are perfect." He ducked his head and kissed her lips, softly, reverently. But with a sense of finality.
"I'm sorry," whimpered Chryssie. "I didn't mean to get pregnant."
"I know, my treasure." He kissed her right eyelid, catching the bitter tears that streamed from there. “Whether you are or not, you cannot
stay. I will take no chances with your life. You are far too precious to be a gamble. This is the only way I know to keep you safe from the likes of me and what I would create inside of you.”
“But you’ll lose yourself without me. Your dragon will consume you.”
“But you’ll live.”
Corun walked her to the edge of the Veil. She clutched at his chest. He unraveled her fingertips and set her on her feet.
“Live for me,” he said.
With those words, he let her go. She reached out for him, but darkness consumed her. Weakness returned to her body. It was the same bone-weary, breath-stealing weakness. She was cold again.
It all felt so wrong after being strong and warm. She tried to step forward, but she couldn’t see where she was going. She wasn’t sure which way she’d come from. He’d sent her away. Left her like all the others had. This was worse than death.
A footstep sounded from behind her, followed by a weary sigh. Chryssie’s heart kicked painfully in her chest. But she knew the newcomer wasn’t Corun.
“Decided to run, huh, sugar tits?”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Live for me.”
With those words, Corun let go of the love of his life and sent her back to her realm where he could never cross. When Chryssie’s body disappeared from view, he sank to his knees and waited for his beast to consume him. He was done being a man. He was tired of living, especially if he had to live without her.
Even if she weren’t carrying his whelps, he could not guarantee that another mishap wouldn’t happen. Both man and beast wanted her too much to keep hands and claws off her. One day, it would’ve happened. Now there was no possibility of it.
She would live. She might not be happy about the life she would live on the other side of the Veil. But at least she would live. That was what was important. Wasn’t it?
“Why did you do that?” asked Elek.
“She would die if she stayed here,” said Corun.
“We’re all going to die someday. That’s the bargain every soul makes when they reach for life.”