by Lily Cahill
She was kind of glad that she hadn’t yet—there was something so incredible about being able to balance on this precipice, to be able to feel the orgasms building inside of her, slowly, piece by piece. Where he had made her feel so loose, so relaxed earlier, she was now so tight, so close.
Her inner muscles clenched unbidden, and Arryn groaned, slowing his thrusts.
“You look gorgeous when you’re like this,” he told her, his voice low and dirty and making her shiver. “When you’re about to come. When you’re coming.”
At his words, she slid her ankles from his shoulders, letting her legs splay out as far as she could. She didn’t care what she looked like. He was so deep inside of her, and his hands were everywhere—on her breasts, her clit, clutching at her thighs.
Arryn leaned in close to her ear. “Come for me, baby.”
That was enough. A wave crashed over Marta, and she screamed her orgasms, feeling it rush over her again and again. It seemed to last forever, her muscles tensing and releasing as Arryn brought their hips together. He sped up, his movements going jerky and then, his eyes closed and his mouth fell open and he let go.
A moment later, he collapsed on top of her, his breath coming out in pants against her chest.
She reached up and carded her fingers through his sweaty hair, scratching lightly with her nails.
It was hard to believe she had ever run away from this. Never before had she felt this peaceful, this happy before. Love had always seemed so intimidating, full of reasons for fear. But trusting Arryn wasn’t difficult—in fact, it was one of the easiest things she’d ever done.
It didn’t mean things would be perfect. There was still so much to do—not just between them, but with the world of magic at large. But she thought of her perfect white light moment, the signal that the prophecy was now complete, and Marta smiled.
Peace in the magical world once more. And she and Arryn were going to help bring it about.
Things weren’t perfect, but they were pretty damn close.
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Box Set - Exclusive Bonus Story
SERAPHINA KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG the moment she sat down for dinner.
The King and Queen dining en famille with their four sons. Damien, the eldest, had been caught up in conversation with his mother about his royal visit to one of the neighboring towns, and whether or not it was a good idea. He insisted it was important, but she thought it was too risky with the unrest that was sweeping the country.
Blayze was trying and failing to flirt with the girl serving him his meal. Vincent and Arryn would not stop poking one another and then complaining to their parents.
It was all very innocent, very normal. Seraphina dined with the Dragomirs from time to time, though she preferred the privacy of her quarters. Valdez, the King’s most trusted advisor, was also permanently welcome at the King’s table. Wherever Valdez was, Seraphina preferred to be elsewhere.
Still, she wouldn’t let the advisor turn her away from her King. She had served the King’s father, and his father’s father, and his father’s father’s father. She was the court seer—a witch, but more than that. Her talent was not only with the normal magicks, but also in her ability to predict and prophesize.
The rumors around court had it that she was immortal. Ridiculous, of course, because no one was immortal. She was merely … long-lived. Very long-lived. When one saw the future, it was difficult to get a good grasp on time and what it meant. For the most part, Seraphina tended to ignore it.
But from time to time, a vision of the future rose up that she couldn’t ignore. As Seraphina sat down at the Queen’s left that evening, she felt the words of a prophecy bubble up inside of her. They were a mixed jumble, nonsensical until she could pick up a pen and write.
Her right hand twitched.
“Are you all right, Seraphina?” asked the Queen, her voice gentle.
Seraphina nodded, then shook her head. She was suddenly unsure if she was all right. There was something building inside of her, a sweeping kind of sadness. She looked out at the children around the table, their bright eyes and boisterous laughter, and she suddenly felt very scared for them.
“I believe I’m having a vision,” she said. She didn’t bother with an honorific. She was the oldest one in the room, after all. She had dedicated her life to the Dragomirs, hundreds of years before. As far as she was concerned, she earned the right to bypass that kind of formality.
No one in the royal family ever argued with her about it.
“Go, go,” the Queen urged.
Seraphina stood, then sunk back into her seat. Her knees were watery. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.
The King himself offered her his arm. There was a concerned look in his kindly eyes. “Are you unwell, Seraphina?”
She shook her head. “I need to get back to my chambers.”
The King understood immediately. “I shall escort you myself,” he said, leading her from the room.
The hallway was cooler than the dining room, and Seraphina felt her strength returning to her. But with her power came the need to write the prophecy. She slipped her arm from the King’s. “I shall teleport from here.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” The King asked, and suddenly time shuddered around him. Seraphina could see him as a boy, as a new father, as a corpse.
“No,” she gasped. She was suddenly certain he wouldn’t live to see his next birthday. “I must … I must ….”
She couldn’t force the words out before she teleported away. She stumbled into her private quarters and moved unsteadily toward her writing desk.
She picked up a clean sheet of paper and rooted around for a pen, pressing it against the surface. The words spilled out of her, unbidden.
The Dragomirs reach the end of their reign
Betrayal lurks in the heart of one they trust
The great will fall
Their sons will follow in their footsteps
When new bonds are formed, and old sins forgiven
When pride and vanity are defeated
When the past is past
And when a new destiny is accepted
Only then will peace return to the magical world
She dropped the pen as soon as the final letter was written and stepped away from her desk, her hand pressed to her mouth.
The Dragomirs would die—and soon. She couldn’t protect them; she felt it in her bones that the King and Queen would be the victims of the unhappiness within their kingdom.
Their sons, however. She reread the words she’d written, and she could see them in her mind—in a few years, hiding and scared. As young adults, living their lives in the shadows, moving from place to place, with no real home. As men, finally free of their curse.
In the last vision, they all referred to her as Glinda. She frowned. Sometimes the intricacies of time were lost on her.
Taking a deep breath, Seraphina stalked out of her room. She had to go and find the Queen. If she hurried, she could cast a spell to help her get her sons out of the castle.
All was not lost. She could not do much, but she could save the Dragomir boys.
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If you liked Kings of the Fire , you’ll love Lily Cahill’s series, Alpha Bear Princes.
Read on for a sneak peek!
Alpha Bear Princes:
Prince Hudson
Chapter One
Kay
KAY WALKED INTO THE STATELY bar at the Glenarm Hotel looking like a million bucks. She’d spent the last two hours making sure of it. Her berry-colored dress was selected specifically for the way it hugged her curves without revealing too much. She had on her highest
heels to make her seem as tall and thin as possible and her hair and makeup were done to perfection.
She wanted Chase to regret breaking up with her. She wanted it to hurt.
If she was being honest with herself, she wanted even more.
Kay had thought Chase might call when she arrived in Chicago, but she hadn’t expected her phone to ring practically the minute she landed. Though she tried to restrain her hopes, they kept rising like a helium balloon.
It’s just a friendly drink, she chided herself. Nothing more.
But was it? Maybe over six months apart had given him time to reconsider.
She did a quick scan of the bar, looking for Chase.
Her eyes landed on a tall man sitting alone at a table, engrossed in his smartphone. She recognized his face, but only from magazines. It was Hudson Royce! It didn’t seem possible, but he looked even better than he did in photographs.
He was a hard man to miss—big and tall, all muscle and chiseled jawline. He looked more like a pro football player than the successful CEO he was. Kay felt wave of heat pass over her just at the sight of him. Which, she supposed, was natural. He was the most eligible bachelor in Chicago.
Then something else struck her about him. He looked a lot like someone else she knew—a man named Elliott who was pursuing her best friend, Laila. The resemblance was actually uncanny. The two men were both large—tall and broad and muscular. They both had deep blue eyes and a strong chin.
But Hudson was much more tailored than Elliott. Elliott’s hair was a mop of unruly waves—much like his carefree personality. Hudson’s hair was cut shorter and brushed smoothly back, giving an impression of control and intention. And he was so damn handsome she had to force herself to stop looking at him.
She was here to meet Chase. But, looking around more, she saw he wasn’t here yet.
Damn.
She’d shown up a few minutes late hoping to make a grand entrance. Oh, well. She’d freshen up in the ladies room and give him a few more minutes.
Kay stepped inside the restroom and immediately felt uncomfortable. Three women—tall, blond women who looked enough alike that they could be sisters—were huddled together, arguing in whispers.
“We both talked to him. No luck.” one of the girls said. “Just do it, Annika,”
“Why?” the woman who must be Annika asked. “He saw me already. It didn’t work.”
“We need to be sure. Walk past him one more time.”
“This is pointless,” Annika protested. “And humiliating. He’s obviously not interested.”
“So make him interested.”
Their voices quieted the moment they realized she was there. She stepped into a stall to give them some privacy, but soon heard their heels clicking on the marble tile and the door swinging shut behind them.
What was that about?
They were probably trying to get the attention of a man—maybe Hudson Royce, but why? They hadn’t seemed giggly like it was a dare. They’d seemed serious, like it was life or death. Kay was probably reading too much into it. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t any of her business.
She left the stall and checked her appearance one last time. The thoughts started to rise in her again, as they did every time she looked at her reflections. Chase’s old words still rang in her ears:
“I’m sorry, but what did you expect? You just don’t look like a CEO’s wife.”
Who was she kidding? Nothing about her had changed. This dress wasn’t going to magically turn her into the stick-thin model-type Chase had always wanted—the kind of women he’d slept with behind her back while they were together. She’d tried to lose weight, but she was no different than she’d always been. So why would he change his mind?
But maybe it had taken her leaving. Maybe, once she was gone, he had realized he missed her enough to look past her flaws.
Then she remembered the way he’d looked at her the last time he’d seen her. It nearly sent her back to her car.
He called you, she reminded herself. He called you.
There had to be something he wanted. And maybe what he wanted was a second chance. So she would try to be strong. She would try to forget the words he’d said to her during their fight and listen to whatever it was he had to say tonight.
She touched up her lipstick one last time and headed out into the bar.
Chase still wasn’t there. He was fifteen minutes late now, and hadn’t so much as called.
“I’m sorry, but what did you expect? You just don’t look like a CEO’s wife.”
Why was it that every time she met a little hiccup, even a tiny rejection, those words came thundering back to her as the only possible explanation?
She had to get better control of herself.
There were so many other things about her that should matter more. She had an MBA from Princeton. She had ten interviews lined up at the most prestigious companies in the city. She had just produced a feature film for her best friend as a favor. For fun. She could handle Chase being a little late without letting her mind drown in all her inadequacies.
She looked around to find a table. Ordering a drink would calm her nerves.
In the distance, she spotted the three women who had been in the ladies room with her. Two of them were seated at a table as the third—the girl who was probably Annika—practically circled Hudson Royce. He wasn’t paying her the least bit of attention. He was on his cell phone, and only glanced up briefly as she passed, then glanced back down.
At that moment, Hudson put down his phone and looked up, searching the bar. He made eye contact with Kay, and she felt her breath hitch in her throat.
God, those eyes. Sapphire with flecks of onyx. She wanted to dive right into them.
He stood, holding her gaze. He wore what she was sure was a bespoke suit. There was no way something that impeccable was available off the rack in that size. The guy had to be at least 6’7”. The suit was charcoal gray with a dark blue tie that brought out his eyes.
Again, she locked on his eyes. They were absolutely stunning. So stunning, in fact that Kay realized she hadn’t moved since she’d seen them.
But it didn’t matter, because he was walking toward her. He walked directly to her as if he’d been waiting for her all along.
Chapter Two
Hudson
HUDSON STARED AT THE WOMAN who had just walked in. It was happening, he knew it was. His heart felt like it was beating at five times its normal speed. He felt light-headed and simultaneously more focused than he’d ever been in his life.
It was her. His mate. It had to be.
He’d never felt this way about anyone before—much less someone he’d only just seen. It was just like his Aunt and Uncle had described it to him.
Hudson let out a soft huff of disbelief. He had wondered if it would ever happen to him. He’d hoped, but knew it wasn’t a certainty. And now it was happening.
He studied his mate, and immediately felt like the luckiest man alive. She was fucking gorgeous. Petite in height, but curvy in all the right places. If he’d ordered her out of a catalogue she couldn’t have been more perfect. Light-brown skin and long, dark hair and beautiful, full lips. He had an immediate instinct to pick her up and carry her to his bedroom.
Slow down, captain, he told himself.
There would be time enough for that later. Right now, all he wanted was to hear her voice. What would it sound like? Birds? Bells? Or maybe it was deeper, fuller—sultry like a slow symphony.
He stood and walked straight toward her. She seemed a bit startled at his approach. Could she feel it too? Women weren’t supposed to feel it, he knew, but he thought he spotted recognition behind those deep brown eyes.
“Hello,” he said. “I’m Hudson Royce. And you are?”
“K—Kay,” she stuttered. Honeysuckle, that’s what her voice sounded like. Light and sweet and fluttering on the vine.
“Would you have a drink with me, Kay?”
“Actually, I’m a�
��” she said. “I’m supposed to meet someone.”
His bear let out a possessive roar in his chest, one that he had to fight to suppress from making it to his mouth.
“Who?” he asked shortly, knowing his face had gone stoney but unable to change it. He’d chase the poor sap off. He’d eat him for dinner.
“Um, my ah—” she stammered. “My friend.”
“Just a friend?”
“My ex,” the woman said.
“Your ex?” Hudson scoffed. Under his breath he muttered, “He must be the stupidest man alive.”
“Excuse me?” the woman laughed. There were the bells—full and clear and wonderful.
Hudson raised one eyebrow. “Any man stupid enough to let you leave him is an idiot who’s not worth your time,” he said, drawing on all his charm.
The woman rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “And what makes you so sure it was me who wanted to get away?”
Was she being serious? Hudson growled, “Any other possibility is simply ludicrous.”
She laughed again and it sent a thrill of warmth up his spine. He couldn’t help but grin at the sound of it.
He took her hand and placed it on his elbow, leading her to the bar. “Come have a drink with me. Best case scenario, your ex gets hit by a car on the way over here. Worst case, you’ll make him a little jealous, which I expect is the point of that dress.”
The woman looked down at herself and blushed. Damn, that was sexy. He could think of about a million other ways to make her blush. He wanted to try all of them.
“What if it was the point?” she asked as he offered a hand to help her up to the stool. She was a tiny little thing.
“Well, unfortunately for me, that dress will do its job,” he said. “Which is why I’m hoping for the hit-and-run option.”
Hudson motioned for the bartender and ordered their drinks: an old-fashioned for him and a vodka soda with extra lime for her. The drink annoyed him. No one actually liked vodka sodas with extra lime. They were disgusting. It was the sort of thing women who were watching their weight ordered. She didn’t need to be doing that. Her body was perfection. If anything, she was a little on the small side. If she were his—hell, when she was his—he’d put a stop to that nonsense immediately.