by A. K. Koonce
One palm grips my ass hard while his other hand holds us firmly in place against the wooden wall next to the door leading to the captain’s quarters. With his cock sliding into me so fast, I can barely catch my breath as that energy deep inside me twirls tighter and tighter, leaving me gasping against his parted lips. The wood behind me shakes with every pounding thrust of his hips, and it isn’t until a low groan from Chaos sounds through the air that I feel all the wild, pent-up lust inside me come crashing down. My release soaks down his shaft with a shaking moan falling from my lips.
And only then does he kiss me. His hand fists through my hair, pulling like he needs a better hold on me—on himself—as he fucks me impossibly harder.
A mixture of pain and pleasure tingles through me, but the intensity of my orgasm doesn’t acknowledge either. All I can feel is waves of release for several long seconds.
Every inch of his body melds against mine, his hips drilling into me, making my thighs clench tightly around him like it isn’t enough. He always has such a strong hold on the darkness inside him. In this moment I want it. I want every completely good and every sinfully bad part of him.
He gives me just that.
“Harder,” I gasp against his lips.
And it seems to enrage his desire.
He thrusts so deeply into me, massaging one spot just right that all I can think about is the way he feels there. Suddenly, it seems that’s all he can focus on as well. Dark eyes drink in the sated look in my gaze, and he slows his pace when he sees something of interest. With unwavering force, he sinks himself in, angling his hips to find the place he realizes I like. Over and over again, he rocks himself hard against my g-spot until I can’t hold his gaze anymore. My nails sink into his skin, clinging to him as every other control I own releases to him. My sex clenches his shaft, taking him impossibly deeper as my orgasm trembles recklessly through me.
A low groan shakes through his chest just before he finally stills against me. His hold on me becomes gentle the moment he comes. The bruising way he held me in place becomes a sweet touch of his hands caressing my body.
His lips stay close while his temple rests along mine. For several seconds, we just stare at each other with sated attention. The pretty glinting color of his gaze returns gradually. The way he looks at me is the sweetest appearance of affection.
I never could have imagined that our lives would lead to here. I waited all those years just to be with him, just like this.
The tingling waves of my release still shudder through me like a reminder. Sinister smiles a lazy, content smile, like he’s thinking the same thing I am.
“What are you thinking?” I whisper against his mouth.
The smile makes his eyes shine, turning the darkness fully back to a pretty shade of crimson once again.
“I’m thinking about how your brows scrunch when you come.” The moment he says it, his smile widens from the ridiculous look I give him.
And here I thought romance was alive and well tonight.
“I’ve heard you make yourself come before, Arrie. I slept outside your bedroom window for over five years.” His fingers push a damp strand of hair away from my face, and I have no idea how this conversation turned into talking about my old pathetic sex life. “I’ve never seen it, though.” His voice lowers as his lips brush mine. “I’ve never felt it. I want to feel everything you have to give me. I want all of it.”
My lips part without words when my heart dips a little.
Maybe romance is alive and well.
The sound of boots slowly pressing over wood has me glancing up to see two shifters watching us with curious attention. Both of them are clothed now. Chaos stands just a few feet away, looking relaxed as he leans against the frame of the ship. Rime comes closer, though. He doesn’t stop until his arm brushes Sinister’s. His cold palm slips across my jaw. Slowly, he leans in and presses his lips to mine.
In a conspiratorial whisper, he speaks to me like it’s something he wants to share with me and me alone. Which is impossible, given the way he’s leaning over Sinister. “If the demon didn’t get you off, just tell me, my Tamer. Sinister doesn’t know it, but I still remember what your fake orgasm sounds like.” His taunting smile shines in his eyes, but it’s only there for a second before Sinister places a hand against Rime’s shoulder and shoves him away.
“Ay, fuck you, Shifter.”
The simple rise Rime gets out of his friend seems to be exactly what he was looking for, because he saunters back to Chaos, leaning there with a smug smile.
Yes, everything is perfect in my love life.
Including the redheaded shifter who’s standing at the very end of the ship. Naked. And watching the four of us like he’s been here the entire time.
Fourteen
The Reckless One
As terrible mage luck would have it, Kain spends the majority of his nude time explaining what had happened in Valencia. He spends so much time on it that my head hurts, and the weight of the night presses down on my tired eyes.
“So they’re hunting her?” Rime doesn’t appear at all tired. Protective anger fuels him right now.
I lean against Chaos’ chest, his strong arms wrapped securely around me as we sit on the floor and watch Sinister provide Kain with jeans and a shirt as well as some shining black boots that match his own. With a twist of his wrist, Sinister supplies each article of clothing, neatly folded, unlike the heap of clothes I normally get. How does he do that?
His power must be calmer, easier to process maybe.
“Skov showed up to Helen’s almost the moment my mother walked through the door to meet me. It’s like he knew.”
“Shit.” Chaos’ slow whisper fans against my hair.
“Right. But he didn’t do what I thought he’d do. Surprisingly, it was the opposite.” Kain pulls his shirt over his messy, fiery hair, peering out into the endless sea before lowering his attention to where I’m seated on the ship’s deck. “Did anything happen on the island?”
“Tell me what happened in Valencia first.” I hold his serious gaze, and it seems to be a real challenge for him to follow my instruction.
I almost beam with pride when he does. A small part of me likes when he lowers his control just a little bit.
“Skov didn’t report me. In fact, he’s been leading Carlin in the opposite direction. He made it clear that you’d followed Ellise to Attika instead of coming home.”
I can’t describe the pain that lurches through my stomach at the sound of his words. Part of me is terrified they’ll harm Ellise before I get all my answers. But a wiser part of me knows she’d never allow them to find her.
“Why would he do that? Why trust Arlow, a mage he really doesn’t know?” Chaos’ hold on me loosens until his big hands brush slowly up and down my arms. He’s all calming energy right now, and it’s definitely working. He’s keeping me grounded while all this information is flying around.
“Because of Agatha.” The sea breeze catches at my hair, and I stare out at the inky sheet of waves.
My one friend in my life, the one I threw to the wolves just to save myself when three dragon shifters showed up, and she’s the one protecting me when I need it the most.
A smile pulls at the corner of my lips.
“So Carlin isn’t a threat? He’s not going to just let his daughter’s death fade from his mind.” Rime’s arms fold across his chest, his gaze held intently on his friend.
He’s right. Rime is smart, and he and I both know Carlin will go to the King. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon.
My friendship with the Prince won’t save me when his father knows I’m a mage.
Kain shakes his head and it takes him longer than a second to reply.
“The person Carlin trusts the most no longer trusts him.” Kain’s deep-green eyes seem darker now in the shadows of the night, but I see the look in them when his attention passes from Rime to Chaos with an indescribable uneasiness in his gaze.
Is he
imagining himself in Carlin’s shoes? If Rime or Chaos gave Kain false, important information, he’d follow that information without question. That kind of blind trust is dangerous. But I know he’d never trade it for anything in the world.
“It won’t matter. Tomorrow we’ll be gone.” When I speak, four sets of intense gazes land on me.
“Good,” Kain says at the same time as Sinister starts to speak.
“Where will we go?”
I have no fucking idea.
“She still wants to go to Attika.” Rime’s even tone isn’t condescending or even angered. He’s just stating it like he’s speaking right from the deepest thoughts within my mind.
“I don’t know. We didn’t make it to the island. We never spoke with the mage who knows Ellise.”
“Why didn’t you make it to the island?” Kain cocks his head at me until I’m forced to look up.
“There was an incident.” I shrug just enough to force a heavy exhale out of his lungs.
I’m too tired. I’m just too tired to argue with him right now. Every muscle in my limbs hurt from the events at the island and every other muscle in my body hurts from delicious other reasons that I can’t really complain about.
Note to self: Do not antagonize Sinister’s demon when he’s fucking you.
“We should get some sleep,” Chaos says, his finger’s pushing back my hair while he stares down on my drowsy eyes.
Without waiting for Kain’s response, Chaos pulls me down until I’m tucked close against his chest, my head resting on his big arm. Rime casually takes a spot on Chaos’ other side, while Sinister provides us with the thickest, warmest blankets I’ve ever felt. They smell like him, tinged with cinnamon, heated with a sort of unnatural warmth that I can’t even explain.
And then we all settle in. Except for the alpha staring down on me. His attention skims over the men lying down, lingering on each of their faces before bringing his narrowed eyes back to me.
“Lie down,” I whisper.
He pauses but slowly lowers himself at my side.
It took time. It took more time than I originally expected it to, but I’ve unintentionally gotten these brooding, resilient men to listen to me. I have no idea how that happened.
Quiet breaths fan against the back of my neck, and I know Chaos is already asleep in a matter of minutes. It’s like not one single anxious thought flits through his mind to interrupt his deep, quiet sleep.
“They love you unconditionally. Without question,” Kain whispers as his hand slowly pushes across my hip. His big body, solid muscle, and gentle touch is all around me. I missed him and I can’t help but reach out and let my fingers trail up and down the hard lines of his chest.
Energy restarts within my body, coming to life just from the closeness of the man in front of me. I missed him so much.
“That’s a dangerous love.” I say it more to myself than anything. Because I can feel it. It feels dangerous and thrumming in my chest when I think about how much I care about these men.
The difference between my old life and now, is now I feel safe. It’s love built of spiking adrenaline but complete and total protectiveness. I’ll never be as cared for as I am right here, right now.
“It’s only dangerous if the ones loving you aren’t worth loving.” The weight of his body is more firmly against me, his chest melding to mine, his hips rocking until they’re perfectly against mine.
A smile tilts my lips, and he kisses that easy smile so slowly I ache deep, deep down.
How does he always know what to say? How are his words always so well thought out?
The feel of his tongue along mine becomes deeper, and it’s so consuming I don’t even think about it when I turn, push him down, and straddle myself over him. The feel of him beneath me, at my mercy, is different. It’s empowering. Sexy and completely emboldening.
Especially since I’ve seen his fantasies. In those fantasies, we’re just like this. My thighs locked against his lean hips, his body mine to be used however I like.
It’s like all that control he holds over himself and everyone else is relented to me in this moment.
He sits up, teasing my mouth with the faint feel of his lips. His big hands are gentle against my skin as he takes his time trailing ever so slowly down the sides of my stomach. It’s the lightest touch that burns over me until I’m moaning against his lips. His hands stop low on the curve of my ass and thighs. They stop completely.
It’s such a shift from our building desire that I pull back from him. The heavy exhales between us are the only noise while we study each other for several seconds.
And I still can’t figure out what the shifter is thinking.
“I’m going to take you to your island, Arlow.”
Not what I would have guessed someone with a massive erection pressing into me would say.
“You’re seriously thinking about that right now?” I settle my palms over his chest, feeling his hammering heart against my fingertips. A heart that’s clearly not pounding from dirty fantasies but from serious thoughts that are always circling his mind.
Why can’t he shut those thoughts off? Just for five—maybe fifteen, possibly thirty—minutes?
With a pent-up sigh, my dark hair fans against my face with the force of my tired exhale.
“You guys swam in.” His voice teeters with ridicule. “Someone tells you there’s water women lurking, and you dive. Right. In.” He blinks those beautiful but annoying green eyes up at me.
The asshole.
“What would you suggest we do, since you should be doing all the thinking around here?” My eyes narrow on him, my arms folding over my chest, far away from his delicious muscle tone. His palms continue to push sweetly back and forth against my curves.
“I’m a fucking dragon so obviously I’d suggest you fly in. Funny thing about mermaids, they don’t get airborne often.”
He’s so insufferable it’s hard to believe I missed him.
“I thought we could all stay in our clothes and just sail up to the island. We didn’t plan on diving right in. And there’s no way this ship would hold a dragon’s weight for you to fly off of it.”
I’m logical. I am. I’m not as reckless as he makes me out to be. Things happen. Bad things happen to everyone from time to time.
He lifts me then. My fingers dig into his shoulders as he abruptly stands with me wrapped around his hips. There’s an eerie, determined look in his eyes, and before I can dwell too long on it, he’s walking us toward the edge of the ship.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
With swift movements that I barely process, he swings me over onto his back, and I’m embarrassed of the shriek that slips from me
“We’re going to fly safely out to that island. It’ll take ten minutes. This is what you should have done in the first place. This is a plan. A real one. Not a let’s go swimming in a water-women-infested sea and hope for the best.” On and on he rants.
My lips part to argue, but before a word even passes over my lips, he jumps. I clutch on to him, prepared for the impact of the cold, crashing waves.
A tear sounds. The sharp smell of smoke tinges the air. And then a roar shakes through my body from the beast beneath me.
Warm, crimson scales are rough against my fingertips while the breeze whips around us so hard it steals my breath away. Higher and higher we soar. My heartbeat climbs right along with us as Kain sweeps those big red wings with gentle strength. A smile curves my lips as we fly into the night sky, but one thing pulls that happiness away in an instant. Pain sinks ever so slowly through my stomach.
Two ivory horns are cut short against the dragon’s head. They’re a jagged and harsh sight to see. Horns are a sign of superiority in the dragon world. And Kain gave his up for the shining onyx ring on my finger. He wanted a grand gesture to represent my shifter’s devotion.
And here he says I’m the reckless one.
I’m not the one soaring off in the middle of the night alone t
o a dangerous island.
My fingers stroke softly along his big neck while my gaze is captured by the uneven cut of his horns. Slowly, I hug my body against his until every inch of me is wrapped around his beast, holding him to me like I’ll never let him go.
It wasn’t reckless. Even this right now, isn’t reckless. No matter what it seems, I know without a doubt that Kain has thought every single detail and every single possibility through.
Whatever happens tonight on Isolde Island, Kain’s ready.
Fifteen
Then There Were Eight
In no time at all, we’re over the thick shadows of the island. We never actually descend, though. Minutes pass while the beast circles high in the night sky. I wait and wait for him to touch down, but he never lowers.
What are you waiting for?
My words slip into his bond on a quiet voice.
I spotted movement on the northern side along the tree line. I’m waiting. I won’t land if it’s a trap. I can’t risk getting you hurt.
My knees lock tighter around the warm dragon’s body. Minutes pass in cold silence. I have no idea what Kain saw because everything looks dark and ominous from up here. The dark sky bleeds into the inky waves, and those waves wash over the shadowy island below. Everything is an image of darkness.
Until white light streaks up. A trail of flashing color streams straight up into the sky and booms out, echoing off of the waters in a thunderous sound.
Another flash of light, this one much quicker, strikes out, flashing toward us with rapid speed. Kain twists, jarring me against his back as he dodges the blow with a thrash of his strong wings. Another boom rattles my teeth just as another slice of light twirls faster and faster toward us. Kain lurches. We dive down in one swooping move, and now we’re too low. Cold water sprays up from his wingspan, spitting chilling water against my thighs, and then he’s soaring straight ahead so fast the world is just a blur around me, but I know where he’s going. He’s flying right into the tree line.