by Ophelia Bell
Eamon pushed back in his chair and smacked his hands against his thighs. “Well, let’s get you two some clothes and I’ll take you there.”
Chapter Twenty
Neph
The small cabin sported little more than a bed, a potbelly stove, a worn wooden table, and a pair of rickety chairs. But it was clean and weather-tight, the air gradually warming from the heat of the roaring fire Eamon had built for them shortly before departing into the snowy night.
Nothing but a single oil lamp lit the room, illuminating the quilt-covered bed where Vrishti sat, staring as though entranced by the flickering flame of the lamp. Neph’s heart ached just looking at her profile, the warm glow gilding her skin. His fingertips itched to touch the smooth, dark silk of her collarbone that peeked out from the oversized flannel shirt Ted had loaned her.
He swallowed thickly and turned back to the stove, opening it to add another piece of firewood.
“Are you thinking of Aodh?” he asked, using the poker to adjust the stack of wood until the new piece caught flame. He heard her slow intake of breath but kept his eyes on his task, unwilling to see any sign of how much she wished for the dragon.
“I suppose,” she said.
“That’s good. The more focused you are on him, the easier it will be to travel to him. You are only a passenger, of course, but your desires can speed things in the right direction.”
“Were we not focused enough that time? Is that why we didn’t go very far?”
“I … got distracted. That was on me. Your orgasm began just as I lost balance. The only thing running through my mind just then was how close the floor was to my ass.” He let out a soft chuckle and turned to her. She smiled at him and the knife in his heart twisted deeper.
“So next time we should do it lying down, is that what you’re saying?” she asked. “And make sure we’re both thinking of him. I get why you tried to look like him, but you don’t need to do that for my sake. Just … tell me more about him. Tell me why you loved him.”
He rose from his crouch and stepped to the table, grabbed one of the chairs and flipped it around facing her, then sat down.
“I still love him,” he said softly. “Why don’t you tell me why you chose him, even though you barely know him?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again and tilted her head to look at the ceiling for a beat. Then she shrugged. “That’s the thing, I never felt like I didn’t know him. The first time I saw him … Well, he acted weird, to be honest. Like he had trouble looking at me, but that’s how I felt too. Like if I let myself, I’d never want to stop. Then when he told me he was mine … it felt like the truest thing I’d ever heard. Like someone stating a simple law of physics. Like gravity. It just is.”
Neph’s lips curled in a soft smile as he listened to her. “That’s how it was for us at first. I couldn’t deny the draw to him. Even then we knew it had to be Fate who’d pushed us together, despite the fact that it never quite made sense. Our world didn’t want us to be in love. I wonder sometimes if we simply found each other too soon, but now I know there was more at play.”
She frowned. “You talk about Fate like it’s a person.”
“Oh, it is. The fucking bastard has toyed with our lives since the beginning of time. Some of us worse than others. Choice is an illusion. Just ask the turul how they feel about it.”
“The … turul? You mean the air shifters who turn into birds and have an affinity for music?”
He’d forgotten she knew so little about the higher races. There were no turul in the Sanctuary, so she’d likely never have run across one in her life.
“Fate’s cursed them to only have one true mate, who they recognize on sight once they find the person, but many of them go for centuries without setting eyes on their One. Fate no doubt knows the person’s identity from birth, but isn’t forthcoming about it. Dragons are just as bound by Fate as the turul when it comes to their mates, though they can breed with whomever they mark. At least with the nymphs and the ursa, there’s some sense of control over the matter.”
Her brows drew together. “Does that mean you and I are Fated too? I mean, if you and Aodh are, and I know he’s meant to be mine. If we aren’t, how does that work? Do we really just share him?”
A lump lodged in Neph’s throat. He didn’t want her to think she had no choice, even though she really didn’t. None of them did. “Dragons often take multiple mates. Ursa females almost always choose bachelor pairs of males. I’ve even met a pair of turul brothers whose One is the same woman. What do you think, Vrishti?”
She stood up and closed the distance between them, slowly unbuttoning her shirt as she moved. When she reached him, the green and blue plaid hung open, displaying the inner swells of her breasts and her sternum, and her smooth chest all the way to her navel. She unbuckled the belt Ted had loaned her and the oversized jeans slipped halfway off her hips without even unbuttoning, showing the top fringe of her dark curls. Neph’s cock roused at the gorgeous sight, his senses filled with her proximity.
“I think there’s a reason I couldn’t help but love you,” she whispered, reaching up to brush her palm over his cheek. “You tried so hard to give me him, but it’s you I want right now. I already have him. I think I had him from the start. Can I have you too?”
His chest burned with the overwhelming emotion that filled him. He couldn’t speak over the flood of longing. Instead he only nodded, and when she bent her head to press a kiss to his lips, his restraint fled. He slipped his hands over her hips, shoving the baggy jeans down until they fell to the floor. He gripped her full, round backside and pulled her tight, then drifted his lips over her jaw and down her neck, using his nose to push the shirt aside and bare one luscious breast.
Vrishti tangled her fingers in his hair and arched with a moan when he latched onto her nipple and sucked. Her head fell back, the long, damp tendrils of her hair tickling his forearms where they crossed over her lower back. Gaia’s tears, she was so sweet he could devour her, the fertile aroma of her sex flooding his senses as though she exuded magic from her very pores.
And he supposed she did—an ursa female in estrous carried the magic in every cell in her body, just waiting for the seed to be planted in her womb that would absorb all that power the Source had granted her to create new life.
He didn’t want to ruin the moment by reminding her of their task. This time would be just for them.
She shifted in his arms as he nuzzled her other breast, teasing his tongue around her nipple. Bringing one knee up, she moved in to straddle his hips. The wooden joints of the chair protested beneath him and he tightened his grip on her backside, standing and moving the two steps to the bed where he laid her down on top of the quilt.
She lay panting and beautiful in the lantern light, propped up on her elbows with the shirt half off her shoulders and wearing nothing else. Neph stood back and tore off his own flannel shirt, then kicked off the borrowed boots and slid the jeans down his hips. They hadn’t had women’s sized boots for Vrishti, so she’d just shrugged it off and said she didn’t mind going barefoot. The cold didn’t bother her nearly as much, which was a good sign she was finally fully coming into her ursa nature.
She licked her lips as her gaze raked down his naked body, lingering at his erection. “Are you going to shift like before? Should we … pack or something?” she said uncertainly, glancing at the floor where their clothes lay.
Neph shook his head. “I’m going to make love to you. Right here, right now, in this bed. I’m saving my primal power for the drift, which we’ll do next time your power surges. For now, it’s just you and me and as many of those orgasms I owe you as we can make happen.”
He crawled onto the bed, hovering on hands and knees above her bent legs. Dipping his head, he pressed a soft kiss to the inside of one knee, flicking his gaze to the dewy wetness that coated her core. He inhaled deeply
, savoring the delicious scent that he’d soon be drowning in. As he peppered kisses down the inside of her thigh, she let her legs fall wide, her gorgeous swollen folds parting and unfurling like a dew-kissed flower.
She remained on her elbows, watching his slow exploration of her thigh, her panting growing more rapid the closer he got to her core. When he brushed his mouth over her outer lips, she spread her legs even wider. His mouth watered, the hunger for her almost a living thing. If he had shifted, the primal power would have had him already buried to the hilt in her, fucking her until the bed broke. As much as he sensed she would love that, he wanted to make it crystal clear to her what his answer to her question was: She could have him, body and soul, if that’s what she wanted. So he would give her all of him tonight before their reunion with Aodh. Because he had no idea what might happen once he saw the dragon again in the flesh.
Her wetness met his lips and he darted his tongue out to trace her outer folds and savor the sweet flavor of her essence. The power that infused her juices buzzed on his tongue, sinking into his body like he’d just downed a shot of liquor, leaving him lightheaded for a second. He closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure at the euphoria. She most definitely was coming into her power now.
He’d had his tongue buried in her sweet pussy before, but this was the first time since her estrous began that he’d had the chance to taste her. Once the tingling sensation subsided, he braced himself, slipped his hands down her thighs, parted her with his fingertips, and licked. Dionysus save him, but she was ambrosia.
He sank his tongue into her, burying it between her wet folds and wrapping his lips around her entire sex in a hungry, languid kiss. He fixed his mouth against her, teasing the tip of his tongue up and down her slick channel before aiming at the center and licking up in one long, slow sweep to the swollen peak of her cleft.
Vrishti tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him tighter as her moans of pleasure encouraged him. But there was no stopping him now; he’d had a taste of her addictive essence and wanted more.
He focused his tongue on her clit, drawing the tiny nub into his mouth and sucking gently, much to her apparent pleasure. She let out a shuddering cry, her entire body arching off the bed.
“Neph, oh, yes!”
The sound of his name sent a shiver of pleasure from his ears all the way to his cock. He would be inside her soon enough. Until then, he hoped to incite more similar cries from her.
He started by pushing two fingers into her tight opening, hooking them to seek out the soft, sensitive flesh of her inner wall, where the trigger to this delicious essence of her lay hidden. With his mouth still fixed on her clit and his tongue gently swirling and stroking, he pressed his other fingers to her backside, merely teasing there at first.
He massaged her inner muscles with gentle, thrusting strokes, pressing rhythmically at that sweet spot over and over until his hand was coated with the delicious, power-infused juices. Gaia’s tears, there was enough magic in this alone to power a drift around the entire world. He had no doubt that during an estrous-fueled orgasm he could access any time in ancient history.
This bit of power would at least help him pinpoint Aodh’s time and place, even if they waited to go there. He wanted this night to be theirs alone. It might be the only night he had.
She bucked harder against him, her fingers pulling painfully at his hair, but he was relentless. She’d earned every mind-blowing orgasm he could give her after all the ones she’d given him over the past two days. He wasn’t about to stop until she lost control completely.
Sensing she was close by the flood of wetness that covered his chin, he went the final mile, pressing his finger against her ass and pushing deep. Her juices were so copious he sank into her easily and began fucking with almost no resistance, until her thighs clamped down on him and her hips jerked up. She pinned him between her legs, forcing his head tighter to her core, and he kept licking, relishing the breathy gasps and moans as her flesh throbbed and pulsed against his lips, and a full on flood of orgasmic fluid nearly drowned him in fertile power.
He rode out her spasms, gradually slowing his strokes, his licks, his thrusting fingers into both her tight holes. Finally he stopped and her legs relaxed, her thighs falling wide and her feet slipping down the blanket. Her hands fell away from his head and she let out an infinitely satisfied sigh.
Neph shifted up on his elbows, went to wipe his soaked face, but realized both his hands were covered in her juices too. Instead, he reached down and grabbed his discarded shirt to clean up.
Vrishti watched him with hooded eyes and a boneless look.
“That was worth waiting for,” she said with a happy sigh.
Chapter Twenty-One
Vrishti
Vrishti’s gaze traveled over Neph’s muscular, naked back as he added a fresh log to the small stove. His shoulders rippled like molten gold in the warm light, his dark hair brushing the very tops in a tangled mess. Her fingers still tingled slightly from the tight grip she’d had on his head while he tongued her into oblivion.
A warm pulse throbbed inside her womb, a small reminder that her estrous was still in full swing, even if she’d had a brief respite from the full force of the need. All she felt now was a pleasant ache of desire for the man who was teaching her how to embrace her nature.
Part of her still couldn’t quite grasp the idea that she could choose him too, and that he was more than willing to share the honor of being her mate with the dragon they both sought.
The slightest pang of guilt flared in her chest at the thought of Aodh. She’d fantasized and dreamed so many times of making love to him alone, that it seemed strange to have fallen so thoroughly for someone else. But when Neph turned those hypnotic eyes on her, gazing down at her with such complete and utter adoration, she understood the rightness of it. Fate be damned—she believed she’d want both men even if she’d really had a choice.
And if she were being honest with herself, she really didn’t mind having that decision made for her already. It made it easier to accept … easier to pull the covers back and shift over to let the big, lanky satyr climb in next to her and lean in for a soft kiss, and to know that somehow it would all work out. The pair of men would reunite and have the love they’d lost so long ago, and she would have them.
She shifted closer to the warm, hard body beside her, pressing her mouth harder against his, craving more of the desperate hunger he’d exhibited whenever he’d kissed her over the past few days. Neph murmured against her lips, pushing his tongue in deeper and tilting his hips against hers. His cock brushed against her belly, the hot, hard length teasing a shiver of pleasure that tingled between her thighs and reminded her that he hadn’t found his own release yet.
He closed his hand around her hip, sliding it to her backside and tugging her tight against him. She recalled the unbelievably slow and patient make-out session they’d first shared and how painfully aware of his arousal she’d been the entire time they’d kissed. She’d wondered then how his cock would feel buried inside her, but knew better than to test that desire at the time … knew she needed to let him guide her through the process, to follow his lead. And she was glad she had, but now she could take what she wanted. The earlier fantasy surged through her mind full force—the image of her pushing him flat on his back, climbing astride his cock and fucking him.
Her involuntary whimper made him pull back with an amused look. “What are you thinking, kitten?”
His gaze drifted to her mouth where she worried her lower lip between her teeth, the words caught in her throat. His thumb tapped her chin, then pulled her lip free and he dipped his head to suck her swollen lip between his own. He nipped it gently and pulled back again.
“Just say it. Nothing you could possibly think of would shock me.”
She laughed. “I wasn’t worried about shocking you. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around … well,
you. It still feels weird for me to want you as much as I’ve wanted Aodh since we first met, but at the same time, it makes sense. But what I wonder even more is what you two are like together.”
The fingertips drawing soft circles over the swell of her hip stilled abruptly and Neph pressed his lips together. His gaze dropped.
Vrishti lifted her hand to his cheek. “I thought nothing I could say would shock you,” she said gently.
“Not shocked,” he said, his voice catching. “I just need you to know I can’t make any promises that he’ll be happy to see me.”
“But you love each other.”
“If that’s all we needed, we’d have stayed together, Vrishti. And I have to confess that this …” He waved a hand between the two of them. “… is likely to piss him off. At least at first.”
“What? Why?”
He let out a sigh and rolled onto his back, swiping his hands over his face. Without looking at her again, he said, “You’re not a virgin anymore. He’s always had a bit of a thing for virgins, and I’ve cheated him out of it.”
Vrishti’s mouth fell open and she let out an involuntary laugh. “Seriously? Would he actually be pissed that some imaginary line has been crossed? After we went out of our fucking way to free him of his prison—that your sister put him in, I might add. He isn’t that dense, is he?”
She stared down at him, indignant at his confused look.
“Are you?” she added, her ire rising. “I may be new to sex, but it seems to me you and I crossed all the lines on day one without you sticking your dick into me. As far as I’m concerned, my stupid virginity is not yours to cheat anyone out of.” Her blood ran hotter the longer he stared at her without responding. In a huff, she sat up and threw her leg over his waist, smacking her hands down on his chest.
“This is my damn body, you got it? If he’s going to be pissed about some … mythological state that I no longer inhabit, that is not on you. Let him be pissed at me, because I’m the one who gets to decide what I do with my own fucking vagina. If I want your cock inside me, I’m damn well going to have it!”