by Gina Kincade
Ryland came running, falling to his knees next to his friend. He dropped his head into his hands and shook as silent sobs tore through him. Trista went to him, offering support even as her tears fell.
Draven opened his mouth to speak, and tried to lift his head from the ground, but all he managed was an agonized moan.
“Don’t talk. Everyone is okay,” Ryland said when he regained the ability to speak.
Cortney’s teeth chattered and her whole body shook. All the fear and anguish inside her released at once and left her reeling. She reached over, stroked his lip with her finger. Pink. And warm. Finally. Her vision blurred, and the lump in her throat threatened to choke her. He’d made it back.
“Let’s get him inside,” Ry suggested once Draven was able to sit up. Another man, Cortney couldn’t even tell who, came to his side, and along with Ryland helped Draven stand. All she knew was that his blast had woken the Odyssey, and everyone was there to support him and welcome him back.
Cortney followed, her legs shaking so much she stumbled. She still didn’t have any damned shoes on. “Lexie owes me a pair of flip-flops,” she told Trista as her friend helped her stand again.
“You’re such a nerd,” she responded, with a watery laugh. “I’ll get you a hundred pair of flip flops if you want.”
The men half carried, half helped Draven walk up the stairs to his room. “Where’s Cortney?” she heard him ask as they sat him on the edge of the bed.
“I’m right here.” Placing her hands on his cheeks, she gave him a soft kiss. “And you’re a jerk for scaring me like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ry clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll leave you to rest. Cortney hasn’t slept, and I’m sure you’re exhausted. We’ll talk about what happened tomorrow.”
Draven didn’t break eye contact with her as he nodded. “Thank you.”
Chapter EIGHTEEN
Draven pulled Cortney close, drawing her between his knees, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He hurt. Bad. But she was as pale as a ghost, and her teeth hadn’t stopped chattering since he’d risen again. He rested his head against her belly and hugged her tight.
“Are you okay?”
“No. Not even close,” Cortney said as she sniffled. “You scared me. Everyone thought you wouldn’t come back. I tried to tell them you would, but…”
He lifted his head and looked up into her eyes. “Had you not been here waiting for me, I don’t know if I would have made it. The phoenix refused to give up.”
She nodded and sagged against him. “Let’s get you into bed. Once you’re all healed and better, then you can start making it up to me.”
He smiled at that. “And what exactly am I making up for?”
Her eyes shone with moisture as she smiled back. “You scared me and shaved years off my life, for one thing. And I spent a night outside, cold, and alone. Not to mention, a frog jumped on my leg. That was definitely your fault.”
He would have laughed if it didn’t hurt his chest so much to do so. “How am I responsible for a frog jumping on your leg?” When she pulled down the comforter and waited expectantly, he slipped under the covers.
“It doesn’t matter. You just are.”
He thought she would slide in next to him, but she tucked the blankets around him and straightened. “Where are you going?” The last thing he wanted was for her to go to her room to sleep. He needed her close as much as he hoped she needed him, too.
“I’ll be right back. I need to freshen up,” she said, before heading into the bathroom. Moments later, the sound of the shower running drowned her quiet sobs—almost.
He gave her a couple of minutes before going to her. He was so sore, but his strength was coming back, and there was no way in hell he’d let her cry by herself when he could be there comforting her.
“You should be resting,” she said softly when he turned her and wrapped his arms around her again.
“No, this is exactly where I should be.”
One second she was barely leaning against him, and the next she had him hugged so tight to her that no space separated them from shoulder to knee. It was perfect. She buried her face in his neck, her tears mixing with the hot spray. When she finally stopped shaking, he took his time, washing her hair with the sweet smelling shampoo she’d brought from home, and lathered a soft cloth and bathed every inch of her body. When he got the cloth ready for himself, she tried to take it from him, but he kept it. He would have laughed at her pout if she didn’t look so damned tired.
By the time he had bathed himself and dried them both off, her eyelids were drooping. According to the clock on the bedside table, it was past seven-thirty in the morning. Close to eighteen hours, damn it. And by the looks of things, she’d been down on that beach with him for all that time. He shook his head.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked as she cupped his cheek.
“I’m better than okay, love. I’ve got you, and you’re amazing. Let’s go to bed.”
***
Cortney ran as hard as she could, but every time she got close, Draven drifted farther away. He didn’t turn to look at her. He just kept walking. His phoenix screeched and thrashed, trying to break free, wanting to get to her, but it couldn’t. Her heart raced, and her lungs couldn’t get enough air, but she ran on.
A heavy weight pinned her down, and she struggled against it. She had to get to him.
“Wake up, love.”
She gasped for breath. “Draven,” she called out, needing him to hear her, to come to her.
Her shoulders shook, and warm lips pressed onto hers. “I’m here. It’s okay. Wake up now.”
Draven’s words filtered into her sleepy mind, jerking her awake. The second her eyes popped open, his mouth came down on hers, stealing her fear, and replacing it with the sweetness of his kiss.
“You were having a nightmare again.”
She nodded. “I like the way you wake me from a bad dream,” she admitted as she let her hand wander down his back to his ass.
He drew in a quick breath when she reached it and gave it a good squeeze. “You should sleep more, little bird,” he said even as he ground himself against her.
She glanced around the room. The tall trees outside the bedroom window cast the room in shadows with the setting sun. “I’ve slept long enough.”
He rolled, taking her with him so that she lay on top of him. “Then I should get you something to eat,” he suggested, but his hands were roaming over her body, fanning her need.
“I’m not hungry,” she added before she nipped his chin, “but if you need to rest, that’s what we’ll do.” The image of him lying so still on the sandy beach flashed in her mind. “You’re still in trouble for scaring me like that, by the way.”
Cortney tried to look stern, but when he grinned at her, she couldn’t help but smile back.
“I know. Maybe if I fix you some peas later, you’ll forgive me? And for the record, I’m all better. Pain is gone. I’m as good as new.”
“Peas won’t save you, but nice try.” She licked her lips and took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do it. Let’s do the binding thing,” she told him, her voice breathy and soft. He was healed. She loved him. There was no reason to wait.
His fingers dug into her hips where he gripped her tight. That sexy warbling sound in the back of his throat rumbled free. “What are you saying, little bird? You have to be clear here.”
“I came so close to losing you last night. And I can’t. Not to death, and not by leaving the Odyssey.”
He took a deep breath, and she thought he might say something, but in the next instant, he brought his hands up, thread his fingers through her hair, and held her so that their gazes locked.
“Be sure, Cortney. There’s no undoing this once it’s done.”
“I’ve never been surer about anything in my life. My career is important to me, and I won’t give it up, but we can figure something out.” They could iron out the details l
ater. She tried to lean in to taste his lips, but he still held her where she was, uncertainty clouding his eyes. “I love you, Draven. I want you to claim me. I want to be yours.”
Whether he pulled her down, or he came up to meet her, their lips crashed together in a hard, toe curling kiss. His tongue speared into her mouth, taking, demanding. She wrapped her arms around his neck, devouring him. She couldn’t get enough.
Delicious warmth tingled down her spine in a feather-soft caress that had her squirming against his hardness. He moaned and released her head, sliding his hands down to her ass again, holding her more firmly to him.
Heat spread across her back and over her ass and legs. “Oh, that feels good.”
“I want to see you, when I claim you, little bird.”
His cock jerked hard against her belly when she wiggled again. “Is that right?”
The pale yellow flames of the phoenix licked over his shoulders and neck, traveling down his chest to where their bodies met at her breasts. A slow pulse throbbed between her legs. She’d experienced the phoenix’s touch in their lovemaking before, but this was different. It was greedier in its exploration—more demanding.
“Straddle me, love. Let me enjoy your body.”
Yes, straddling him was a good idea. Taking his cock inside her was even better. She pushed up and braced herself with her hands on his chest. The hard length of his shaft nestled between her folds. Tilting her pelvis, she rubbed herself up and down his cock, moaning at the exquisite pleasure shooting through her. “I need more.”
“So take it.” He gripped her hips, lifting her off him so that she could position him at her entrance.
She watched for a second, awed by the phoenix’s flame rising to meet her, before sinking down on him. The fire fanned around her thighs, brightening and growing, covering more of her skin. When it finally reached the juncture between her legs, covering her pussy, and climbing her belly to her chest, she threw her head back and moaned. It was as though hundreds of little tongues licked and tasted every part of her.
She looked at him again, her eyes a little out of focus. Her fingers dug into his chest as the phoenix explored her breasts. It took its time, discovering every inch of her skin and marking it as its own. Her need climbed with each feather-light stroke.
Lifting her hips, she slid up Draven’s cock, before sinking down, taking him all the way in again. As soon as she did, the phoenix moved with her, licking up and over her clit. It was too much, yet not enough. “Draven, please.”
***
Draven had intended to let her take the lead and do whatever she wanted, but the phoenix’s need blasted through him. His cock, so full it hurt, jerked with every little twitch of her pussy as she rode him. Nothing had ever felt so fucking good. He wanted to fuck her fast and hard, taking her, claiming her. And he would, but not yet. Free to explore, the phoenix wasn’t done playing.
The hard grip of her pussy on his shaft sent pleasure through every inch of him. He cupped her breasts, squeezing them together, before tugging on her nipples.
“Do that again,” she said as she tensed and arched deeper into his touch.
He tweaked her nipples again, giving them a sharper tug, and she moaned. Her pussy quivered around him, milking his shaft. Steadying her, he sat up, shifting the angle. Cortney gasped as her clit rubbed against him. He was deep—so deep. And if he wanted to, he could send her flying over the edge of her climax with a few quick flicks of his thumb over her clit, but he wanted more.
Draven pulled her legs around his waist and pressed her back until he was covering her. He claimed her mouth, licking across the seam of her lips, demanding entrance. She opened up to him, then whimpered when he pulled his cock from her body.
His hands on her breast lit with fire as he continued to tease and torment the hard little peaks. He had to have a taste. Lowering his head, he sucked one between his lips, flicking the tip with his tongue. Cortney cried out and arched into him, digging her nails into his shoulders.
Grazing his teeth over the tip, he waited for her moan before biting gently, then moved to the other, giving it the same treatment. Kissing his way down, he nipped at her belly, leaving little red marks on her skin for the phoenix to cover and heal. When he got to her pussy, he looked up at her. Her chest heaved with her labored breaths. A pink hue flushed her cheeks, and her eyes were closed.
“Look at me, love,” he demanded.
As soon as her eyes popped open, he took a long lick from the bottom, all the way up to her clit. He twirled his tongue around it, then flicked it over the top. She moaned, and her eyes almost closed again, but she kept her gaze on him. He sucked the swollen bud between his lips, and her hips jerked up. Every sexy sigh and needy whimper slipping past her lips had his cock throbbing harder.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to claim her. The phoenix needed its mate. He lifted his mouth from her and licked his wet lips. “The phoenix wants you, Cortney. Will you let it take you?”
She was already nodding before he was done speaking. “Yes, please. Now.”
He gave her another long lick, and she threw her head back. Her thighs shook around his shoulders. “Spread your legs wide, little bird. Watch.”
She did as he asked, and leaned up onto her elbows. The flames grew brighter, stronger as they made their way to her pussy. The pleasure of the phoenix was almost more than he could bear as it tasted her soft flesh, teasing her clit with the pulsing heat. The moment it reached her opening, her body tensed and her breath caught in her throat.
It pushed inside, filling every bit of her, pulsing, throbbing—claiming her flesh for its own. Draven’s cock jerked hard.
“Oh, God, Draven. I can’t…” Her moan filled the room as the phoenix moved within her. “Please, please, please,” she chanted.
“What do you want, Cortney? Tell me.”
“You. Inside me. Now,” Cortney told him when she was able to speak. “I need you to fuck me.”
It only took a second to position himself, and another to brace himself for what he knew was to come before he slammed deep inside her. The phoenix’s flame raced over his body, engulfing them both. His skin burned with the beast’s power rushing over him, and he knew she had to be feeling the same, but the pleasure exploding from his core shoved the slight discomfort away.
He snapped his hips, fucking her fast, and hard, taking everything she had to give, and giving her all that he had until she cried out as pleasure overtook her. Her pussy clenched and released, squeezing his cock in a grip he struggled to get through. Fiery pleasure raced down his spine as he buried himself deep, releasing his seed inside her. At the same instant, the phoenix blazed bright, searing her flesh, marking her from the inside out.
She gasped and stiffened for a half second, but then the pleasure the beast shared with her had her spiraling again. Gripping his shoulders, she came, milking every last drop from his body.
Chapter NINETEEN
Cortney couldn’t move. Every single muscle in her body had turned to jelly. She wasn’t even sure when, but at some point, after her whole body had shattered, Draven had flipped them over so that she was on top of him again. His warmth enveloped her, making her more than a little sleepy.
“I can’t move,” she said as she snuggled her face into his neck and breathed in his scent.
He chuckled and stroked a hand down her spine. “Mission accomplished, mate.” He said the last word softly, almost reverently.
“I am now, aren’t I?” She smiled against his skin and kissed his neck.
“You are.”
“So, does that mean I’m a phoenix now?” she asked. It was an important question, and she probably should at least look at him, but she didn’t have the energy to lift her head.
“No, as far as I know, none of the human women who have mated with a phoenix shifter have gained the ability to shift. You will have the healing of the phoenix now, though.”
“If I were to die, would I come back?”
He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Yes. Same as the rest of us. Though we’ll do our best never to test that theory. I don’t think I could survive the wait until you rose again.”
Her cheeks heated, and she looked at his chest. “And if we were to have children someday, would they be shifters?”
He tilted her face so she would look at him. “Do you want to have children, Cortney?”
She supposed they should have had those discussions before the whole claiming thing, but it wouldn’t have mattered. She still would have wanted to do it. “Someday. Maybe. Or maybe we can get a dog first. A retriever. I love those. That way Lexie would have a friend to play with and might leave my flip flops alone.”
His smile lit his eyes. “Then, someday, maybe, if we decide we want children, then the dominant phoenix genes would come through. They would be shifters. And if you want a dog, we’ll get a dog.”
Her heart did a little flip at the thought of their children running around the castle with a puppy chasing at their heels. Followed by an image of them getting into the same kind of mischief Draven had gotten into. She imagined watching them at the top of the turret so high above the ground, leaping off without a care in the world, and her heart stuttered. Yeah. definitely not ready for that. A dog would be better. She rested her head on his shoulder again.
“One last question.” She waited for his fingers to still on her back. “What about those peas you promised me?”
EPILOGUE
The four rooms at the end of the hall were ready. The hospital beds had been delivered the day before. It had taken a lot of work, but Cortney finally had her infirmary set up in the castle. After Draven had claimed her, he had mentioned that the surrounding villages were in need of a clinic of sorts. Of course, Cortney being more ambitious than most, took it to the next level and wanted to care for more than just cuts and minor injuries.
Recruiting staff had been the toughest, but with the right incentives, and some much-needed government funding, she was all set. Tomorrow, the first set of nurses would arrive along with one doctor. They would stay for a week, caring for the patients in shifts. They had more than enough room for everyone to stay, which made the whole thing that much more enticing.