Dacea pumped the soap bottle a few times until a nice amount pooled in his cupped hand. Rubbing his hands together, he lathered the soap and began washing her at her shoulders. Down her arm in soft massaging strokes he followed the sounds of her pleasure, pushing harder in places like the palm of her hand and softer in areas where new skin had just begun to grow back. When the other arm was done, Dacea turned her and began down her back.
She flinched when he rubbed over one of the raised welts. He released the pressure but didn't remove his hands. Dacea didn't ever want her to be in pain from his touch. Lightly down her back, his fingers traveled over each and every healing line. Hailey didn't move, only the sounds of her heavy breathing gave him any inclination she was still with him.
As the soap washed away under the water, he placed a kiss on her neck, then one between her shoulders. Down the length of her spine, kiss followed kiss. He had to kneel halfway down and nuzzled his head against the small of her back. Wrapping his arms around her middle and held her for a moment. After a minute her hands came to rest on top of his.
He could feel her struggle for breath.
It broke his heart. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever set eyes on and she trembled because of what one dead asshole did to her.
"How can you stand to touch them?" Her voice choked out.
"Because it's you. I'm not touching anything but you." He left his one hand wrapped round her waist and used his fingers of the other to travel over one of the scars. "Everything about you is beautiful. Even these."
Her breath settled and a small pat on his hand told him she was good. His movements went from healing to seducing. Dacea wanted her to know that when he touched her it would only bring pleasure.
She began to melt in his hands. By the time he had made it to her legs, he had to re-lather. The attention he had spent on her ass was borderline worship. It was hard, but he moved on knowing more treats awaited him on the front.
Circle after circle of pressure slicked with soap. Hailey almost fell when he pushed a thumb into the arch of her foot. Her groan was lost in the sounds of the shower spray. He turned her to face him and she leaned back against the wall. Slowly, he traveled up the other leg, over her calf around the knee, and straight up her thigh.
The water pulsed onto his back. With Hailey off to the side, the suds had a slower dismount off her skin. He watched the bubbles glide down her body, over every ridge and valley. As he watched, his hands began to gravitate toward her inner thighs. Small, slow strokes up her legs and back down, up a bit further and down again.
He was mesmerized by the soap trails and didn't realize how long he had been teasing her. Hailey was panting, her legs shaking. He had worked her into a state alright. Worked himself into one as well. His cock was solid between his legs, pulsing to get where his hands traveled.
Dacea lifted his head and looked up at her. She was watching him with a fire in her eyes. Placing a kiss just below her navel, he let his lips remain for an extra second before getting to his feet.
Over her hips, his slow massaging fingers roamed. Each ridge of her ribs was explored, the delicate line of her collar bone traveled and finally, after far too long, he glided over her breasts. Hailey sucked in a breath and exhaled in a moan.
He loved her breasts; they were an overflowing handful with small, pert, rose colored nipples. He would never tire of watching them tighten into buds when he ran his fingers over them. The mark the guard placed on her was all but gone. He brushed his thumb over the spot where it had tarnished her fair skin. Gone, he thought, gone but not forgotten. Dacea would replace the memory with happier ones. He would cherish the spot until the only thing she thought about when she saw it in the mirror was his fingers and his lips on her skin.
Without warning Hailey reached forward and grabbed his cock. A hiss escaped through his teeth.
"Fuck, Babe."
She began to move her fisted hand up and down the length of him, slowly at first and then quicker, harder. He stole a kiss while she had her fun. Licking and nibbling her lips, her taste surrounding him in a citrus haze. Hailey's talented hands almost ended what had barely started. He gripped her wrists and pulled her hands away.
Her pout was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.
Since she was already there, Dacea lifted her and crushed her further into the shower wall. Hailey's legs wrapped around his waist, which settled him right at her entrance. He eased into her sex and slowly worked himself in and out.
She gripped his shoulders and breathed heavily into his ear. Her strangled breathy moan sent him soaring. Faster, harder he pushed and pulled. Dacea's hips moved of their own accord. She felt so fucking good around him.
The water sloshed down over their bodies. Her hair stuck in clumps to her skin. It was so dark it could be black against her porcelain coloring. Hailey was beautiful, so damn beautiful. Her mouth was open and her eyes closed in bliss. She rested her head back against the wall giving him an unobstructed view of his cock disappearing inside of her sex.
She contracted against him, clenching him as the first pulses of orgasm seized her body. Hailey came undone even more beautifully than he could dream. He could feel her muscles tighten, solidify—Dacea almost lost it himself. Her chest pumped air heavily in and out of her lungs. She held on to him and in a moment, was lost to sensation. Lips parted but no noise came out. She didn't need any as her face explained it all.
Dacea continued his relentless pumping. When she settled, her eyes opened and a smile smiled graced her lazy mouth. That's what did him in. The look, the smile, the love written all over her face, he couldn't hold on any longer and let go. Dacea was more vocal in his pursuit to climax, his moan suppressed within the falling water.
When he was exhausted, Hailey unwound her legs and slid gracefully to the floor. With her feet planted, he cupped her face and kissed her. It was a small thank you for coming to him in the night.
"I love you," she said against his lips.
Dacea loved the sound of those words from her sweet lips.
He turned off the water and pulled two towels free of the rack on the wall. Hailey squeezed her hair of excess water and wrapped the towel around her body. Dacea hooked his around his waist and followed her out of the shower.
At the vanity she began to brush through her hair. She started at the ends and would slowly work the comb through the tangles. He knew this was a process and would leave her too it. But first he took a second to admire the view. His Mate, in a towel, after morning shower sex…life was good.
As her head tilted to the side and all her hair hung off her shoulder, he moved in behind her and kissed her exposed neck. "I love you, Céile." Hailey smiled at him through the mirror. She hadn't flinched that time. "I'll get us some breakfast. Come out when you're done."
"Waffles?" she asked hopefully.
He chuckled and kissed her cheek, unable to be in the same room and not touch her. "When you look at me like that, how am I supposed to say no?"
"You're not. You nod and get your booty moving downstairs to make me waffles."
"Christ you're cute." He smirked. "You win. I'll make you waffles."
Hailey did a little wiggle, which he knew was her "happy dance." He left before she wiggled anymore and they ended up back in the shower.
Chapter Twenty-Four
She smelled waffles and bacon as she went down the stairs. He was pouring coffee when she made it to the kitchen. Hailey accepted the mug and a kiss while she stole a piece of bacon that was cooling on a plate. For being up half the night she wasn't at all tired. After waking this morning, she thought about sneaking out and going back to her house. He would never need to know about her lack of will power.
As she watched him sleep though, she realized that she wanted him to know she had been there. He had given her so much in the last two days; this was a small gesture she could make. So she stayed and napped a little longer. When her bladder was screaming at her to get up, and when her breath was bad
enough to make her cringe, Hailey knew she had to move. The plan was pee, brush teeth, and sneak back into bed before he woke. However the entire time she was in the bathroom the shower was calling out to her. She had used it before and knew how it could seduce her. Multiple shower heads were enough to seduce anyone.
Haley stripped and told herself to make it short. Not even five minutes had passed before Dak had joined her. Talk about waking up on the right side of the bed.
And now she had coffee, bacon and a dragon making her waffles. There was absolutely nothing that could ruin this moment.
Dak slid a plate with a fresh waffle across the counter. Hailey had taken a seat and began the process of buttering up. Each divot had to have butter and syrup. She was meticulous with the knife, scoping out holes that had too much butter and adding it to holes that didn't get enough. Once all the butter melted, only then could she add the syrup. Dak watched her, never commenting but she knew he was thinking her crazy was showing.
With him, she didn't feel the need to tuck it back in.
He went the untraditional route and drizzled honey over his waffle. She waited for him to sit beside her before digging into her breakfast.
"Did Alex and Lia leave already?" She wondered.
"I'd imagine so."
"So… more for us?"
"Exactly." He winked.
"What about Darby?"
"I believe she is still sleeping," he said stiffly.
"Lazy. It's what, 10:30?" Hailey drove a piece of waffle around the syrup. "Should I go wake her? No one should have to find out about waffles after it's too late."
"I think it's best if we just leave her be." His body clearly stated that this was a closed topic. They had gone twenty-four hours without an argument and she wasn't about to break the streak over whether or not to wake up Darby.
"So… more for us?" she asked again.
He laughed. When they were both full, he collected their dishes and put them in the sink for later. Her mug was refilled and he sat back down beside her. The light easy smile he had worn all morning was gone. Dak was now wearing his serious face. She let out a small sigh knowing she wasn't going to like whatever was about to come out of his mouth.
"I had an interesting call yesterday from the Council."
Her eyebrows shot up. "The same Council that tried to have you killed?"
"Yes. We have been summoned to the next meeting."
Hailey frowned. "We?"
He nodded. "They aren't sure what to do with me. Someone else is running Red now. I assumed I was officially out of the politics, but it doesn't look that way."
"Do you want to rule again?" She sipped her coffee, one of her legs sat between his and rested on the rung of his chair. They had never talked about what they would do exactly. Soon enough, she would become restless without a job to go to.
"Not if I don't have too." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "I want to try the non-royalty thing out for a while."
"And what does Dak like to do with his time off?"
He had to think about it. She could tell he had never taken the time to consider it before now. Hailey had also never thought ask him. Just one more tick in the "Dak knows more about Hailey than Hailey knows about Dak" column.
"Travel, hunt, get outside more I guess," he said after a moment.
"Bambi?" she asked with anxiously. Dacea felt like he just kicked her puppy.
"Jesus Christ." He shook his head, exasperated. "Fishing, then."
"Fish?" she responded with little enthusiasm. "As in worms, and boats and vests with too many pockets?"
He smiled. "As in sitting on a dock with line in the water on a warm day."
"Does this dock connect to a lake where I can float in a tube with a book?" She pictured the lake by Darby's cabin, secluded from the world with her book and a rope tethering her to the dock.
"Maybe."
"Then maybe I approve of this non royalty life." Hailey leaned in and kissed him playfully. She liked the future they were beginning to paint.
"What about you? No more crappy job. What's next for Hailey Holloway?"
She frowned. What was next for her?
Subject change, she thought quickly. "Why does the Council want me at the meeting?"
He dropped her hand and picked up his coffee again. Dak didn't look at her while the silence grew. He had a tendency to avoid telling her the bad parts. It only made her worry more. It was a bad choice in subject change on her part. What need would the Council have for her? It's not like she had done anything to provoke them, and if she had, it wasn't done intentionally.
"Dak, just tell me," she said when the quiet became too much for her.
He cleared his throat. "Yes, well…they want to meet you."
"Why?" She had zero desire to meet them.
"It has to do with our mating," he said elusively.
"Just spit it out already!"
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Katherine dug up something with our mating and went to the Council. They believe she is my Mate."
"But I'm your Mate."
One side of his mouth tilted in a smile. "Yeah, you are Céile." He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss. "But on paper, Katherine is my Mate. The Council has asked us to come and get it sorted out."
If it was just a matter of switching names on a paper he wouldn't be acting like this. "What happens if they don't think we are Mates?"
"We are," he answered defensively.
"And if they don't see it that way?"
"We are a secret race. The Council was designed to protect the dragon populous as a whole." He didn't sound happy about that. "They will do what is needed to keep our secret."
Hailey was an avid reader and it didn't take much to read between those lines. "So I'll be silenced?"
*****
Silas didn't bother knocking. As far as he was concerned, if his sister was inside, he didn't have to announce himself. And since he could no longer kill Dacea without upsetting Hailey, he would take every opportunity presented to annoy him.
Boo sat on the first step of the staircase. So this is where he had gone off to. The cat blinked his big yellow eyes at him.
"You keeping her safe?"
His head tilted to the side. Silas took that as a yes and continued past the staircase to the hallway.
Dacea and Hailey were talking in the back towards the kitchen. He slowed his steps and listened in.
"But on paper Katherine is my Mate. The Council has asked us to come and get it sorted out."
So the Council is having a meeting without his knowledge. Rat bastards. He would kill them all if he could. Unfortunately, their culture required a Council of Fuck Ups. Silas would just need to threaten a few more family members to gain back their obedience.
It was all so tedious and repetitive. How many times did he have to take a child just to get a Council member to vote a particular way? By now they should just know to do what he wants.
"So I'll be silenced?" Hailey's voice echoed into the hallway. Silas narrowed his eyes and took a few more steps down the hallway. If anyone laid a hand on her they would be getting a repeat performance of Lucas, the guard.
"I won't let that happen." Dacea growled.
Neither would Silas.
"That's not the point, Dak."
Silas turned the corner and spoke up. "You can't be killed because you are my family."
Both Hailey and Dacea turned in their chairs toward him. A light lit in Dacea's eyes. Didn't think of that one did ya, Red? Hailey was merely confused. "How did you get in here?"
He waved away her petty concern. "I have my sister back. I'm not going to let something as small as a locked door to keep me from her." He walked into the kitchen, and because it was there, took a strip of bacon. "Now what's all this about the Council trying to kill you?"
"Katherine went to the Council with some form of evidence about our mating," Dacea explained.
"Ahh, I see."
"But Silas, you
think I'm safe because we are related?" Hailey asked.
"There is no doubt about your safety. No one on that Council would harm any family of mine, especially you." He smirked. "You should see what I did to the guard that…"
Her body had gone stiff. Dacea was half out of his chair and rubbing her arm, whispering in her ear. Silas had fucked up. He had a moment of guilt but it passed quickly enough. He was still new at this caring emotion and should be given some free passes at fuck ups.
"However," he began once Dacea sat back in his chair and Hailey had gotten some color back in her face, "they can still say you are not Mates. Katherine is treacherous when she wants something she cannot have."
Hailey wouldn't look at him, instead turning towards her mug. Dacea on the other hand stared him down. It was cute how he tried to be Alpha.
"Yes, you would know all about Katherine's ways. Tells us, Silas, how you had her drug your sister and then kidnap her."
So they had put it together. He hadn't thought Hailey would have made the connection so soon. "I regret the way I went about obtaining you, Hailey. However, I stand by my actions. Katherine was actually the one who came to me with the plan. She wanted you, Dacea. Her obsession is a vicious one."
"How can you stand here and say those things in front of her? She is the one who was harmed because of your actions." Hailey laid a hand on his back, the action cutting off his words. Dacea looked at her with such love and concern. Silas didn't like it but had to admit that Dacea would protect her with his life.
"It's ok, Dak. I appreciate your anger but let it go. None of this is worth getting upset over."
He fumed in his chair, his fists clenched in frustration, but nodded at his Mate.
When she turned her brown eyes on Silas, he couldn't hold her stare and had to drop his eyes to the floor. He was ashamed. Silas could be a cruel bastard when he wanted but Hailey should never have been treated the way she had been. He should have told her from the start and not kept her locked away as his prisoner.
"Geez guys," Hailey sighed, "I'm not dead, Katherine failed at seducing you and I gained a brother. I put that in the win category."
The Hailey Holloway Complete Series Page 33