by A. K. Koonce
Chapter Nine
Ignoring Reality
“Are you alright? You don’t look well.” The Prince’s pale brows lower over his shining eyes.
With another heaving breath, I force a smile to my lips. My hand shakes just slightly as I push my tangled hair down into an almost manageable state.
“Yeah.” The breathy tone of my voice sounds like sex itself. His gaze flickers across my flushed features.
Worry and embarrassment start to sink into me. I wasn’t loud. Let me rephrase because it’s been five years, and I might have been just slightly loud, but I wasn’t that loud.
Was I?
“Okay.” He nods but his posture is a tense sort of stance that makes me question what’s going through his little royal mind. “I brought your payment.” He motions for the two men who are holding an absurdly large and intriguing tote between them. Two more boxes weigh down the back of the shining navy carriage.
Payment. Yes. Excuse my shit manners.
“Please come in.” I step aside, and just when he’s about to enter, logic creeps right up on me and reminds me that there is a very naked man in my bed. “Wait!” I throw myself against him, blocking his path and making the two men behind him stumble, dropping the precious tote to the ground. “Be careful back there,” I say with concern, leaning on the tips of my toes to peer past the Prince.
“Can we come in…?” Thick brows lower even further and I can’t help but wonder how furious he’d be if he found Chaos.
Prince Linden is a friend. Kind of. An associate of sorts. But I know he likes me. And I also know he has a terribly fragile ego that constantly needs to be stroked.
How furious would he be to find out I spent all these months ignoring the advances of the most prominent man in the Kingdom just to fuck a dragon?
Goddess, where did my life go so wrong that this is a real question for me? A moment ago, I was so pleased with my good choices in life, and now I’m starting to second-guess those fantastic decisions.
How do these situations happen to me?
“Um—” Just before a lie has a chance to slip over my lips, a purring sound of fire and lust reverberates against my side. Chaos’ snout pushes beneath my arm until my hand is against the back of his neck.
His curious eyes settle on the Prince before me. Narrowed slits of glowing attention is held on him.
“Wow, he’s incredibly tame.” Linden’s brows rise a little higher as Chaos nuzzles closer.
And closer.
Until his face is nearly pushing against my breasts.
“Okay—” I shove the beast back from me, “—that’s enough.” My lips purse and a humming sound shakes through him.
I step back, my gaze held on the dragon as the Prince and his men usher my earnings into the room. The shack looks smaller now with the totes filling the majority of the kitchen floor. Not that I care. I’d climb in there and live with that money. And what a happy life I would live in there. Surrounded by all the things I care about in this world.
“I’m sorry I’m so late. Work always gets in the way.” He takes a step closer to me, and I’m very aware of his men exiting, closing my door behind them.
Until he and I are alone.
He and I and one big fucking dragon that’s glaring daggers at the close proximity of the Prince to me. His fingers slip through mine, and I force a pleasant smile to my lips.
I’m not an idiot. I know what he’s thinking, and I also know that he still owes me exactly seven hundred and fifty thousand parchels. Minus a bologna sandwich.
So I can piss him off, shove him away, and kiss that money goodbye. Or… I can avoid him. For at least another day.
And then it happens.
He kisses me.
His lips press fully against mine. Heavy and parting and demanding and completely suffocating. There’s an anxious feeling pushing within my chest.
I shove against him hard until he stumbles back from me.
Chaos wastes no time. The dragon’s storming steps bring slashing talons and sharp teeth into the Prince’s face. I barely have time to throw myself between the two of them. A rumbling growl of frustration and aggression rolls off the dragon as he stalks back from me, his glaring attention held on the Prince.
“I’m so sorry. They’re overly protective.” I put my hand affectionately against his chest and his wild gaze finally pulls to that small touch between us. “Could we reschedule for after you’ve taken the little beasts off my hands.” And paid me in full. The smile I give him is the opposite of how he’s making me feel right now, but I force it to hold in place.
Let’s reschedule for after I’ve left town. That sounds perfect. Yes, let’s call it a date.
The warmth of his hand makes me tense beneath his touch as it settles low on my back.
“Of course.” Once again, his gaze lowers to my lips, and despite how much I lean away from him, he pushes his lips on mine just lightly before stepping away, opening the door, and walking out of my fucking life.
For tonight at least.
A shaking breath falls from my mouth the moment he leaves. The air seems to actually reach my aching lungs now.
Chaos’ strong arm slips around me, his bare chest brushing against my back. Without a word he leads me back bed. He pulls back the blankets for me. Exhaustion pulls at my body as I slip beneath the smooth quilt.
Instead of lying over me, he slips in at my side, and I don’t hesitate to wrap myself around him. Corded muscle tone wraps around me as he holds me to his chest. I wish the last fifteen minutes never happened.
And that’s what I pretend. I pretend Chaos fucked me sweetly, and gently, and thoroughly. And maybe slightly roughly. And now, he holds me just like this in the most caressing way I’ve ever felt.
I pretend it’s perfect.
Until his whispered promise slips into my mind with a reminder of reality.
“If he touches you again, I’ll fucking kill him.”
Chapter Ten
Between a Dream and Reality
A dream that’s more of a memory than a dream drowns me that night. It pulls me under until I’m not sure what’s real and what isn’t.
It’s so familiar his scent of warm cinnamon and hot embers consumes me. Glittering crimson eyes shine down on me as I recall the last time I ever saw Sinister.
“I hate myself.” It’s a whispered confession that sinks right through my heart. “I hate that he hurts you, and I hate that you stay.” His voice is steady as it fans across my skin. He never knew that his brother literally owned my soul. “But most of all, I hate that you won’t let me help you.” Sinister’s palm skims over the bruise along my cheek, and my insides twirl recklessly from the feel of his touch against my skin.
I was always like that. My nerves could never withstand his nearness. Until very recently, Kreedence’s brother was the only man alive who ever made me feel this way. And I was too stupid to ever realize what that meant.
The sharp angles of his handsome features capture my attention as I stare up at him. His frame towers over me, but he leans into me to close the space between us.
My palm skims along the smooth inking lines twirling down his arm, and a sinking feeling in my stomach tells me he isn’t real. Not even my dreams allow me to enjoy Sinster’s forgotten touch. I wonder if I’ll ever forget what it felt like to love him.
Even when I knew I shouldn’t.
This is it. This is the moment that I ruined my life.
And his.
We were always friends. Friends with too much unspoken emotion between them. But right now, in this moment, we forgot that we were supposed to only be friends.
He’s so close to me, breeding warmth and lust all through my core. He’s the only person who cares about me in my life. Or at least … he was.
I want to feel something. Past all the pain and anger, I want to feel what it’d feel like to have someone love me. If only just for a second.
My palms settle on his strong shoul
ders as I meld against his body for the first freeing moment in my entire life. His head lowers and he draws out every slow second of his lips brushing against mine.
It’s our first and only kiss that I’ve relived a thousand times within my dreams. It consumes me, and it makes me ache for that feeling of lust and love that I haven’t felt in five years.
Until last night.
The memory of Chaos’ hands on my body flickers through my thoughts, but then Sinister’s lips part mine, and I fall into the consuming feeling of his touch. Warm palms push down my spine until every inch of my body is aligned with his.
“Come with me.” His lips pull away from mine before coming right back. “Come with me tonight.” Another small pause for our kiss to tease one another. “Right now, Arlow.” Another slow brush of his lips against mine. “You and me. Tell me you don’t want that.”
I kiss him harder because I can’t lie. I can’t tell him I don’t want that. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and it’s everything I’ll never have. Because my Kreedence owns me. He owns my soul with some form of black magic that I’ve never even seen before. I never realized I could temporarily use a form of old magic against his until it was too late.
I never even tried until Kreedence pushed me too far. When he took Sinister, that was the breaking point. He could hurt me over and over and over again but it wasn’t until he took away the one person I cared about that I fought back.
In my dream, I kiss Sinister even more, my fingers clinging to him so tightly it hurts.
Because I know.
I know it’s the last time I’ll ever see him alive … It’s the last time I’ll ever kiss someone I truly love.
And it’s the last time I ever let another person care about me. My life wasn’t worth the loss of his. Kreedence ripped him away from me, and I’ll hate myself every day for knowing it all could have been avoided.
***
I wake to the sensation of his tongue flicking against the base of my neck. The salacious dream becomes a needy form of reality. His mouth against my body washes away the memory from my mind entirely. I squirm against his weight until he starts to drift lower. The rough feel of his beard teases my flesh just right. Another worshipping kiss presses to my collarbone before Chaos’ hot breath fans across the top of my breasts.
Maybe I won’t sell them all. Maybe I’ll keep one of them for myself.
His teeth rake across my nipple from over my shirt, and I arch beneath him. My fingers fist his hair as his big palms push beneath my back to pull my aching bud fully into his mouth.
A moan shakes through me as my hips rock against his. I’m becoming entirely too attached to this one. We need space between us. Space is good.
I keep telling myself this over and over again even as I grind harder against his cock.
“Chaos—” He pushes the thin shirt away and his tongue swirls perfectly over my sensitive skin before sucking hard. “Oh my Goddess, Chaos. Wait. Stop.”
He tenses when I’m finally able to say what I know I need to say. He pulls back from me, waiting just as I instructed, but I can’t seem to remember at all why I said that damn word.
“Are you okay?” His tongue rolls across his lower lip, and once again, the urge to kiss him skims through my mind.
“Yeah.” My thumb brushes along the angle of his jaw. “I just have … a lot of stuff to do today. I—I probably need to go to town to buy more food. And we need to check to see if that mage showed up—” It’s not likely but I don’t mention that. “And I—I just don’t think we have time for sex.”
Who the fuck says stuff like that? No time for sex? There’s always time for sex.
Always.
But the terrifying attachment that’s pulling at my little heart is a feeling so strong it overpowers my urge to see how many times he could make me orgasm.
A lot. I bet it’s a lot.
Fucking emotions.
They always ruin all the good stuff.
“What if we skipped sex and I just went down on you?” It’s a testing question, like he knows how much I’m struggling to say no to him. Honestly, I want to feel that beard between my thighs more than I want my next breath.
“That—that is a good alternative.” I nod. He’s just so damn logical. Who am I to say no to someone so smart and rational?
And…
His tongue sears lower, flicking against my navel before raking his teeth hard across my stomach.
I love the way he makes me feel. I freeze with tension steeling my spine as that foul four letter word echoes on repeat in my head.
“Mmm, no. No, I don’t think there’s time for that. I’m sorry.”
Ugh. Let it be known, I stayed strong. Resiliently unbending.
My hands seem to have a mind of their own as I tell him no once more but push him down between my thighs.
“Low, I think maybe we should wait.” A smirk tilts his lips as my thighs tighten around his hard body. “As much as I want you right now, you seem to be … a little hesitant, and every time I fuck you, I want you relaxed. I don’t want whatever thoughts are in your head right now to be a distraction.” His big hands grip my thighs, and I nod to him. His palms glide against my skin. “I want you to want it.”
Why does he have to sound so sexy right now?
“You’re right.” Continuously, and stupidly, I nod to him.
“You want to go start those errands then?”
Another jarring nod. Seconds tick by.
“You’ve got to let go of my hair then.”
My eyes open and a wide smile graces his lips, showing me nearly all of his white teeth. Slowly, I release the tight hold I have on his soft locks.
Gently, he lowers his lips. He places a warm kiss to my stomach, his tongue sneaking out to slowly taste me. He’s this sexy sweet enigma that I might never be able to understand.
The energy in my core tightens to an unbearable feeling of need.
Then he shoves off hard from the mattress before striding across the room.
And I’m left gasping for a breath to steady my pounding heart.
Chapter Eleven
Her Honorable Word
When Chaos is fully clothed and my sex is no longer demanding his mouth, fingers, or cock, we head back to Agatha’s. There’s a new closeness between us as we walk. He doesn’t strive to touch me or coddle me, but his arm brushes mine with nearly every step we take, and I want to lean into that small touch.
It seems to go very noticed when Kain and Rime turn our way. They’ve shifted back to their natural, naked form, and I guess out of some weird respect for Chaos, I don’t look at their dicks.
Yes, let’s all give a nice slow clap for my ability not to look at impressive dicks when shown.
I hand them their jeans and shirts, and the suspicious looks in their eyes are held on the two of us as they quickly dress.
“So,” I can’t seem to help the smile that is pushing into place against my lips as I ask my innocent question, “did that mage ever turn up?”
I’m going to say no.
“No, not yet.” Kain looks at me as if he doesn’t trust me at all.
He’s a smart man.
“Do you three intend to stay here all day waiting for her?”
“Yes,” Kain says sternly.
“And then what? Will you go home? Call it quits? Maybe investigate a neighboring Kingdom for this devious but very beautiful mage?”
Did I mention beautiful?
Once more, Kain’s gaze narrows a little more on me. If he keeps it up, he’s just going to be squinting at me, and there’s nothing intimidating about poor eyesight.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?” My chin tips up at his accusing look.
“If she’s not here by this afternoon, we’ll have to check in with our source for more information.”
Check in. Two things cross my mind here: that gives me time to get the hell off their radar, but also …
“I’ll need at lea
st one of you to stay to make good on my deal with the Prince.”
“Your deal?” Kain’s head tilts at me for confirmation, and his fiery red hair catches my attention for only a second.
“Yes, I owe him three insufferably arrogant dragons. I can make excuses for a few weeks, but he’s already paid for at least one of you.” My arms cross as my words come out in a steady tone. “It’d be bad for business if I didn’t keep my half of the deal.”
Rime’s brows rise as his jaw begins to tic, and it’s the only indication that he’s outraged at the moment. That heavy quietness that he always has represses his angry words.
“I’m sorry; you actually think you’ll be selling us to the Prince? In what fucking reality do you think that’s going to happen?” Kain takes a storming step toward me.
“This one. This reality. We had a deal.”
“You had a deal.” Kain takes another single step, and his angry gaze is boring down into mine, his chest pushing against mine. The warm smell of campfire and timber wash over me in a delicious way.
“You can leave once he has you. You can eat all his fucking royal food just like you did mine, but I invested in you three. I gave my word. My word is important to me, Kain.”
“I can’t—I can’t fucking talk to her right now.” He carefully steps back from me, his jaw clenched tightly closed as he puts several feet of space between us.
Chaos comes closer to me, his shoulder warming mine as he finally stands up for me.
Finally. I hope he tells these two dragon dicks who’s in the right here.
“Let’s all just calm down. We’ll take tonight, and we’ll make a new plan tomorrow morning.”
Huh. He didn’t say one word about me being right.
I cock a brow at him, but he doesn’t meet my waiting gaze. He avoids me entirely.
I’m not going to lie, the name Dickless is definitely circling my mind right now.
Chapter Twelve
When Pasts Collide
Chaos chose them, his friends. I’m not really mad he didn’t stand up for me. It was just something that made me see us in a clearer light. He and I are nothing really. The other night doesn’t change our futures. I need to remember that this is just business for me.