It was as if a ghost had replaced his mate, for she had turned so white. “You’re dying,” she said. “Because of me.”
“No, not because of you. If anything, I should take the blame—”
“We could have mated long ago… We could have…” Tears glistened at the corners of her eyes. “Take me. I’m not afraid of you anymore. Rayse, I… I don’t want you to die because of my selfishness. I don’t want to see you come to harm because of me anymore. I… I love you.”
He didn’t deserve to hear those words from her. His world came crashing down, and from those fragments, a new beginning formed around him. Relief and happiness and just a tinge of fear bubbled in his chest. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Say them back. The words.” Her voice quavered. Worry crept into her expression, as if she was afraid he didn’t feel the same. It was foolish thinking.
He smiled. “I love you too, Constance Rinehart. To the sun and back. I love you more fiercely than I have felt for anything else.”
He lowered his lips to her, and they kissed.
It’s over.
This relationship… this temporary bliss… She had destroyed it for herself. Mating with Rayse was going to be the final nail in the coffin.
Why had she been so foolish to cast that spell? She had refused bonding with him because she knew once she tried to, whatever fragile bond they had would shatter like glass and she would lose him… lose everything.
The feeling of his lips over hers was white-hot. It blinded her and made it difficult for her to think, but even then, the sinking sensation in her stomach would not go away.
Rayse’s coarse, large hands swept up her frock, pushing aside the fabric. His touch left behind a trail of burning need. The rock beneath her was hard and uncomfortable, but how gently Rayse treated her, and how amazing the warmth of his skin felt, made up for it.
Back in the village, if someone had told her that a dragon man could treat a woman like this, she wouldn’t have believed them. She would have laughed off the joke, brushed the comment aside, then skipped along her merry way.
But she wasn’t laughing now.
No, she was panting and gasping because of the way he could work his tongue, because of how Rayse knew to put just the right amount of weight on her—to not crush her with his heavy frame, yet envelop her with his presence.
He dug his fingers into her hair and tugged lightly. Not enough to hurt her, but with enough force to send more lust shooting toward her racing heart.
He forced their lips to part and said, “You told me you weren’t afraid, but you are.”
“Not of you,” she replied, the blood pumping in her veins so hard that they threatened to burst open. “It’s… it’s because I’m not used to this,” she lied. Part of her nervousness was due to that, but what she was truly scared of was the pain of separation she would have to endure after their bonding.
“You don’t have to hold back,” she said.
“I might hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Do it.” She kissed the side of his lips. “It’s better that way.”
This woman had absolutely no idea what she could do to Rayse. Her words had unleashed all that he had been suppressing, unlocking his beast from the cage he had kept locked tight for so many days. He was losing control… He had no idea where his newfound energy had come from. It was the final burst he could muster at the end of a grueling race.
He narrowed his eyes. “You… you shouldn’t have said that. Little fire… Constance… you’re only a human.”
“I can take it. I’m stronger than you might think.”
Fuck her.
He couldn’t silence his dragon. He didn’t want to.
Fuck her. Take our mate. Give her pleasure like never before. Make her scream our name, over and over again, and then make love to her until she is completely ours.
“Yesss,” he hissed, answering his inner beast.
He could see hesitance in Constance’s eyes.
He was too far gone.
Claim her.
He ripped the frock from her bodice, tearing it to shreds. Within seconds, his pants were off. His cock had been straining at the fabric, hurting him. He could smell the lust from her center, but to make certain, he thrust a finger into her and circled it around her walls. He grunted in pleasure when her wetness coated his hand.
He forced his lips upon her. With a hard tug on her hair, he pulled her head aside, revealing her creamy neck. He moved his mouth toward the inviting nape of her neck and bit down—dragons enjoyed marking what they owned.
“Rayse…”
At first, he was wary of causing her harm, but then she mewled, “…more.”
A flame ignited in him. He couldn’t withstand the aching need shredding him apart. He was going to… had to… claim her. Hard.
He parted her legs and dragged her so his cock was positioned right over her pussy. Without saying a word, he slammed into her as fast as he could. His wanting of her was eating away at him. All he longed to do was to satisfy his desire, and she was the only one who could massage that need away.
Her scream bounced off the walls of the cave. At first, he thought it might have been pain, but soon her screams were accompanied by moans and grunts. He reveled in how she shared in his pleasure.
He needed to be deeper in her. He picked her up and pressed her against a nearby boulder, never stopping his thrusts.
She asks for more, his dragon said. We must please her.
“Rayse… Rayse… I…”
Right then, he pulled out as far as he could, before forcing himself all the way in again. His body shook with the shocking sensation. His mind was going numb, and all he could think about was fucking Constance.
His wings spread from his back. He had fully lost control of his dragon, and it had taken the reins.
At first the pleasure consumed her. It filled Constance’s mind, pooling and accumulating in there in a fiery warmth.
And then the sharp pain bit her.
It began at the top of her clavicle in a dull ache. She ignored it, before it spiked down toward her shoulder and back up. She winced. Rayse continued to pound her into the boulder. Her fingers curled into claws. Her nails scratched against the coarse shale. The pain coupled with the pulsing at her center drove her mind into numbness.
“Rayse… it hurts…”
He didn’t slow.
He had gone off the deep end, and part of her liked that. She loved how she could drive him crazy and coax out the beast in him. She enjoyed knowing that she was this… desired.
Then again, she did want him to stop because of the searing burning at her shoulder.
Was this her punishment? Was this the bond breaking?
Her stomach tightened as that possibility gripped her. No. It couldn’t be over this quickly.
Her body had a mind of its own. “Rayse, Rayse, stop!” Even as she said that, the knot in her center unraveled and she fell off the edge. “I love you,” she said over his animalistic grunts, attempting to convey what she felt one last time. She had to say it before he didn’t love her back.
Her walls contracted around him. His eyes flashed yellow. That, coupled with his black wings spread-eagled behind him, might have been a terrifying sight. The woman she had been when she first met him would have been scared out of her wits. But the Constance today could only find him beautiful.
She reached out to touch his obsidian wings, and that seemed to send him over the edge, too. A growl snapped from his throat. As if from instinct, he leaned over and bit down at her shoulder where the pain was. She expected the searing sensation to double, but instead, a milky coolness dissipated it. He thrust his hips into her in an invigorated pace. Then, with one last hard, forceful thrust, he released himself into her.
And then it was over.
What she feared had come to pass. They were no longer mates. Tears were spilling over her cheeks. She hadn’t realized she was crying until then.
His eyes shifted back into their usual human warmth and his wings retracted.
“Rayse… I—”
“It’s beautiful,” he said, looking at her shoulder.
“What?”
“Your mate mark. It’s… It leaves me speechless.” He lowered his head and kissed the spot he had bitten her.
She didn’t know what he was talking about. Curiously, she turned her head and peered at her shoulder. Her lips parted in shock. The same kind of mark Marzia bore now graced Constance. It was an intricate pattern of a dragon. Its tail started at her clavicle, and in a series of spiky, tribal-looking swirls, the dragon trailed down toward her shoulder. It looped around her arm like a band.
She frowned. “It seems like some parts of it are missing. Doesn’t the tail seem to end abruptly?”
“It’s perfect.” Rayse smiled.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Greta told her the spell was to…
That crazy lady lied. Relief swept over Constance like an ocean.
She threw her arms around her mate. Her emotions came out of her in a tidal wave, and she cried into the crook of his neck. “Oh, Rayse. Oh, thank the heavens. You had no idea how worried I was.”
“Worried about what? My condition?”
“That too… But no. Greta had given me a spell to break the bond. She said the next time we mated, our bond would break. And that made me so scared.” She leaned back to gauge his response.
His smile fell as his eyes widened. “You did what?”
Fury boiled beneath his expression. A twinge of fear crept up from her chest. “I… I presumed it was for the better. I didn’t believe we could forge a bond. I didn’t think…”
The look on his face darkened. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you?”
“I’m sorry, Rayse—”
“And you were willing to just give it all up.”
“I was afraid. You were falling ill because of me. I’d rather save your life than our bond.”
He pulled his body from hers. A waft of cold air flooded her skin, replacing his comforting warmth. “I would have given up my life just for the chance to spend a few more centuries with you. If that spell had worked… you would have robbed me of the one thing I’ve wanted the most.”
“But it didn’t.”
He swept a hand through his dark, tousled hair. “Maybe it did. The betrayal still hurts.”
Betrayal? She had made that decision for his own sake. Or had she? Perhaps she had been running away from a problem, and had condemned Rayse to an eternity of solitude because she was too selfish to face her own demons.
Rayse stalked toward the entrance. “I need some time to think over this.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“No, but you did anyway. I-I can’t look at you right now.”
She swallowed the pain his words caused. “You shouldn’t leave. What about the other dragons? They might spot you.”
“I’m better now. I can protect myself.”
She blinked, then scanned his body head to toe. His previously battered self had been repaired. He had returned to having the menacing, almighty presence he’d been before their mating took its toll. It was as if the forming of their bond had pumped newfound energy through him, and his body had used that energy to heal.
“I’ll be waiting,” she said, clutching her hands to her chest.
Without turning around, he coldly replied, “Yeah.” He whisked out of the cave.
The rain refused to stop beating down on her. She stumbled forward, afraid to slip. She couldn’t stand the suffocating darkness of the cave anymore. She had to get out to clear her head.
Rayse hated her.
Perhaps the spell had worked after all. She bore a marking as a statement of their completed bond, but it didn’t mean anything if he had less care for her than an ant.
Thankfully, the cave was on the ground, which meant she didn’t have to scale a large cliff to find freedom, but the abyss of rocky dryland in front of served as another obstacle. A large silhouette of Everndale wavered in the background. How far away was it? The distance didn’t look unmanageable. She knew Eduard and her home would be somewhere around there.
I should go back into the cave. There’s nothing around here.
But the stubborn side of her gritted its teeth and pushed her onward. She trudged toward Everndale. Even if she didn’t make it, a walk would serve to clear her foggy head. Tears were still pouring from her eyes as guilt swarmed her chest.
When her legs were sore and she was genuinely considering turning tail, Shen swooped down in his dragon form. He let go of the crate of supplies from his claw. The dragon shot her a questioning look before stalking away. He returned shortly after, fully dressed.
“Femriahl? What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“Walking.”
“Where is Rayse?”
“Probably gliding around somewhere.”
Unconvinced by her answers, Shen frowned. “You shouldn’t be out here. And shouldn’t Rayse be…” His gaze moved to her shoulder, to the dragon mark. “I see. But the two of you ought to be closer than ever with the bond just formed.”
“We had a falling out…” She left out the part where she was afraid she’d lost him forever. “Rayse doesn’t want to talk to me right now.” She hesitated, then asked, “Shen, can you take me back home?”
The dragon raised a brow. “Dragon Keep? That place isn’t—”
“No, not Dragon Keep. My home before all of this. Evernbrook.”
“Milady, I honestly don’t think you should be out prancing around without anyone protecting you. The dragons are still restless, and many are hunting you down.”
Shen’s concerns made perfect sense. She questioned why she was acting so foolishly. Emotions often got the better of people. “Then you can take me there.”
Shen’s mouth gaped. “But femriahl… You should stay somewhere secure. Rayse might come back—”
“We can leave a note for him.”
He scratched the back of his neck.
“Please,” she said.
His gaze flicked to her cheeks, and he noticed the tears amongst the rain.
He sighed. “I don’t know what happened between you and Rayse, but I’ll oblige. Come with me as I drop this crate off and leave a message. You shouldn’t be standing around like a duck fresh for the picking.”
Chapter 20
Rayse’s wings caught the cool, rushing winds. He allowed the exhilaration to course through him, reveling in the return of his power. He had been weaker than a human for far too long. He was the Black Menace again, this time with a true mate.
His renewed strength served as encouragement for his ambitions. He knew he could defeat any dragon who dared challenge him when he returned, and he could claim his rightful place as femrah. But the crippling weakness he had just experienced, and remembrance of the iciness and omnipotence of the Dragon Mother, gave him second thoughts.
What would Constance want him to do? Perhaps losing this position would give him freedom, for he no longer had to suffer the chains of leadership.
But Constance didn’t care for what he wanted. She had nearly severed their bond, robbing him of the companionship he’d always needed. Knowledge of her betrayal sliced through his chest, leaving a throbbing ache he couldn’t get rid of. Red clouded his vision as his anger at her rose. He knew the emotion was fleeting—he couldn’t stay angry at his little fire for long. Still, he needed to put some distance between them to cool his head.
The rush of the winds served to dampen his rage. Hours later, he found himself in front of their hiding place.
“Constance?” he called. He couldn’t avoid what had happened forever, and it was probably for the best that they talked things through.
The cave was empty.
He stalked into the cave and found a message from Shen:
Lady Constance wants to return to her home in Evernbrook. She seemed quite distraught.
I agreed to take her there to not upset her any further. I will be there for protection, so fear not for your enemies hunting her down. She requested you meet us there when you’re ready.
Rayse crumpled the paper in his hands and tossed it aside.
His inner dragon gnashed its teeth, snarling with volcanic aggressiveness. Possessiveness shot through him like a sharpened arrow, and all he could think about was how his mate had been stolen from him.
Constance’s last meeting with Eduard had not gone well. Ignoring the knot in her throat, she rapped her knuckles on the smooth wooden door. “Eduard?” She counted the heartbeats as she waited, Shen by her side.
What if Papa reacted the same way he did last time? She didn’t know if she could stand seeing her father in a crazed state of irrational delirium like before.
The door inched open. “Who’s there?”
“Papa, it’s me.”
“C-Constance?”
“Let me in, please.”
He pulled the door open further, just wide enough so he could peek out. “Who is he?”
“One of Rayse’s trusted warriors, Shen.”
“And Rayse? He’s not about to swoop down and light fire to my ass, is he?”
She almost cringed as she recalled the way Rayse had bullied her father. “He’s not here.”
The trepidation seeped away from Eduard. He swung the door open, welcoming her. “You’re sure about this? I get to keep my head? I miss you dearly, little dasher, but that man was terrifying.”
“Shen will make sure no harm comes to you, won’t you, Shen?”
Shen dipped his head. “Unless the situation calls for it, no harm will come to your father.”
Eduard’s jaw tightened. “Well, that’s not a very reassuring statement.”
She flashed her father a sheepish grin, trying to lighten his anxiety.
The aged man gestured to the dining chairs. “Uh, make yourself at home.” He paused, then scratched the back of his head. “This will always be your home; you know that, right? I’m sorry about last time. I didn’t mean to act that way… I let my emotions get the better of me.”
Obsidian Wings (Soul of a Dragon Book 1) Page 18