by Jill Haven
“Bishop—”
He clenched his jaw and slowed his thrusts. “It’s okay. It’s my knot.”
“Kn-knot?”
“Just relax. It’s okay. It’s—” He groaned and his eyes rolled back in his head. The ecstasy on his face was so delicious that I immediately forgot to be scared and instead tilted my hips back and forth so that my opening tugged at the expanding flesh inside me. He cried out with joy and I gasped with amazement and how rewarding it felt to make him feel so good. And suddenly, the swelling became so big that it bumped against the little pleasure pearl deep inside my opening, and I felt a warmth growing in my belly where Bishop emptied his seed into me. With a cry, my legs reflexively shot out and quivered, my balls pulled up tightly against my body, and I balanced on the edge of orgasm.
The whole of my existence paused on that precipice. I watched, as though from far away, as Bishop leaned his head back and roared with a pleasure that was all dragon. I felt as though I were feeling what he felt, and the ribbon between us was so tight that it was like it disappeared completely. I wanted to float in that feeling forever.
Bishop gasped back to reality, met my eyes, grabbed my hard-on, and gave it two firm strokes. Immediately, I was back in my body and a sound like rushing water filled my ears. My orgasm exploded and sent pleasure ricocheting from my hot, filled hole up through my belly; from my balls to my erection, and all the way to my toes. Every part of my body jolted. I cried out a piercing wail and the electric shock of orgasm quickly melted into a pure, mellow pleasure that tingled over every inch of my skin.
The come down was slow. Everything was raw and sensitive. I held Bishop’s weight as he lowered down over the top of me and we melted into the bed. He whispered something about the knot, that we had to wait for it to shrink.
“I want you inside me forever.”
He moaned in appreciation. He wrapped his arms around me and flipped us so that I was bracing all of my weight on top of him. The different angle nudged my inner spot and I wriggled to tease out a few more jolts of pleasure. Bishop moaned and thrust back and forth slowly. I found his mouth. We kissed languidly, and played with the knot, teased how far we could get it out before we slipped it all the way back in again. I wanted him to stay inside me forever.
Three orgasms later, we faded out into sleep.
11
Bishop
Lilac and lemon floated in on steam from the bathroom in the early morning. Evan was awake and bathing, perhaps already adjusting to the team’s usual short hours of rest, but it was the sound of my phone that had woken me. I groaned and rolled over to slap at the bedside table for my cell and braced myself for a violent message from Vince, but it was from Ace.
Went back to speak with Beau. Leaving my number with him in case there’s trouble. - A
In a haze of morning grogginess, I composed a short, aggressive message about the importance of sticking to the plan, but another message came through before I had a chance to send it.
I know, I know. We have a tight schedule - I’ll catch a flight back so that we aren’t held up. See you at home. - A
“What’s that funny noise?” Evan stood in the bathroom doorway with a towel around his waist and another slung over his shoulders in the same fashion I’d dried off with last night. His wet hair looked darker and clung in tendrils to his ivory skin, and his lips looked especially pink after his shower. A drizzle of water spilled from the end of his hair and wove down his tight abdomen to rest at the base of his belly button. My breath snagged and I suddenly felt parched. A thrill bubbled in my belly as I considered a repeat from last night, and I pushed down the covers and wet my lips before a thump on the door broke me out of my trance.
“Ready to roll?” Ten asked through the flimsy wood panel door, while Evan perched beside me and poked at my phone.
“Ten minutes.”
“Roger that.”
“Were you playing a game?” Evan smoothed his fingertip over the lock screen.
I threw back the covers and grabbed a clean outfit from my duffle on the floor. “No. The sound was from a text.”
“A what?”
“A message.”
“A letter?”
“Shorter, ideally. And they arrive almost instantly. Here, you can send one to Ten. Keep it brief, and then get dressed.”
I left him to it while I showered, my cock straining and stone hard from the scent that lingered in the small bathroom. A blast of cold water calmed me somewhat and I was clear-headed enough to consider my tactics.
Sure, Evan needed to get his head in the game, but so did I. If I was going to keep him around then he’d need a field teacher who was alert and aware at all times, not wrapped up in lust, daydreams, and throbbing erections. I washed off last night’s tryst with firm, quick strokes, then threw myself out of the shower stall before I got carried away again.
A quick glance in the mirror made me flinch. The stark lighting was anything but flattering, but even still… Why was such a sweet creature seemingly so attracted to a lug like me? My eyes were cloudy; something I’d always taken as a hint that I might be a Storm Dragon—along with the multiple times lightning had struck near me without any effect. Evan’s were enviably bright and clear in comparison. I grazed my facial scar with my fingertips and cracked my nose at the bridge where it had been broken countless times with such extreme damage that the bone hadn't set quite right, even with dragon DNA speeding up the repair process.
Evan’s face was that of an untouched angel’s. Mine was a mess. But somehow, he wanted me. Maybe it was the same lucky stars that had kept me alive this long that were shining brightly now and had delivered him into my arms. Maybe it was just dumb luck. Maybe it was a flash in the pan, just like my past affair with another high-class omega who outstripped my rank and class. That heartbreak was ancient history. I prayed that it wasn’t to be repeated.
He may have been an angel, but he still wasn’t dressed. Not even close. His towel had come undone at the waist and barely covered his crotch. I threw a change of clothes at him and he didn’t even look up. He laughed at the phone and then beamed up at me with an unbridled glee that made my heart soar, despite my irritation.
“Seth is sending me some funny pictures. This one’s of a feline with its head inside a piece of bread! What does that even mean?” He cackled until the phone started buzzing.
“You sent a message to Seth? Didn’t I say to just text Ten?” I was shocked that Evan had taken to the technology so quickly. I’d thought that he’d have been kept occupied by the puzzle of composing and sending a single text, and I was impressed—if not a little annoyed—that he was already able to browse through my contacts and expand his social reach.
“I found his name on a list…” The phone buzzed and Evan gasped as he dropped it into his lap.
“Is that Seth calling?”
“Um…” He suddenly paled. “It says Carlisle?”
I hurried over and took the phone from Evan who nervously chewed his bottom lip.
“Get dressed.” I motioned, then answered the call. “Carlisle. We’re heading back today.”
“And you had better be bringing that Divine Omega with you,” he snapped.
“Beau wasn’t as co-operative as we’d hoped—”
“Evan. I mean Evan. He needs to go back to Vince, immediately.”
The blond paused with his pants pulled up halfway, clearly able to hear the volume of Carlisle’s snarling through the phone. I turned away, but I knew it would do little to muffle the sound.
“Vince has been breathing down everyone’s neck. He’s been all over the region, starting fights and practically accusing the alphas of stealing an omega from his clan.”
“He’s not mentioning the divine element, I assume?” I motioned for Evan to hurry up, and he obediently scrambled into his shirt and sweater, and shouldered his bag. I held open the door and he hurried under my arm into the cool morning air.
“No, that’s still under wraps. B
ut I cannot see a way around this, Bishop. Vince is going to cause a real issue if he doesn’t back down soon, and he won’t back down until Evan is returned to his watch. And frankly, you and I both know that Evan belongs to the Redcaps by dragon law.”
Ten opened up the back of the van and we threw our bags in.
“You’ve made exceptions to those laws before. Haiden and the Cloud Dragons…”
Carlisle sighed and I could practically see him rubbing his face. “This is different.”
“Damn right it is. It’s not your true mate we’re talking about.”
“God damn it, Bishop. It’s a completely different situation to what we faced with Haiden’s clan. Vince has been Evan’s guardian since he was a baby. He’s more like his father than a random clan member.”
“And the Redcaps are a close-allied clan to the Blood Dragons.” I could taste bitterness on the tip of my tongue. With a wave of my hand, I urged Evan into the van, but he stubbornly stood by me to overhear the rest of the conversation. Ten got behind the wheel and started the motor.
“Yes… And I’ll admit that I would like them to become an even closer allied clan, at that. I’m sorry, but this tryst has to end. You must take him back and then negotiate with Vince if you wish to continue to do anything with Evan.”
Fear, unbridled, flashed through Evan’s eyes. On pure instinct, I braced his shoulder with a firm grip and pulled him against me.
“And if Evan doesn’t want to go back?”
“You mean, what if you don’t want to give him back?”
A growl gripped at the back of my throat. Anger rumbled in my chest and singed my words. “Again, Carlisle, he’s an adult. I don’t own him and neither does Vince.”
I nudged Evan into the van and gave him an encouraging nod when he looked back at me with concern etched on his beautiful face. He sat back reluctantly before I shut the door. I didn’t want him to hear the vitriol that I gave Carlisle as I paced the parking lot with my fist clenched and a death grip on my phone. But given how loudly I blasted the Princeps Draco, perhaps he heard it all anyway.
Injustice hit a nerve, a dark memory of the omega I’d been forced to abandon long ago. Anger boiled over, and my skin prickled with frustration. Carlisle did little to defuse the situation, stubborn as always and suddenly unwilling to negotiate with me. I ended the call by smashing my phone against the gritty parking lot and stomping the technology into dust.
Ten took the cue to back the van out of the parking space and threw open the passenger door. I took a deep breath and swung into the seat as we pulled out of the hotel. Silence was thick in the air and I stared straight ahead at the bizarre Bavarian-style town as Ten got us back onto the highway. The passing nature soothed me, and my pulse slowed.
“I’m going to have to go back, aren’t I?” Panic was still thick in Evan’s voice. I turned to face him and was struck mute by the upset sheen of his eyes. What could I say? The decision had been made for us by the Princeps Draco.
And I was on the precipice of making my own decision. I’d just told Evan that he could stay with me—could I ever forgive myself if I broke my word to him, and so quickly too? No. If Carlisle was going through with this, if he was going to rip away the one person I’d really connected with in so long… Worse, he was going to force me to give Evan back to the family that he’d tried like hell to escape from… If he would treat us so cruelly, then I was determined to part from his command. I wanted nothing to do with the Blood Dragons if they were playing with this kind of injustice, just to keep the Redcaps at their side. The Enforcement Council had offered me a job. What would it hurt to see what kind of errand they wanted me to take? I’d have no problem dealing out justice on anyone for them, given the way my blood was scolding hot with fury at that moment.
It was that hot blood that made me feel powerful and more determined than ever.
“No,” I decided. “You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to.”
“But they’re going to keep looking for me.”
“Probably.”
“Then how will we—”
“We’ll figure it out.” I reached back and took Evan’s hand and he held mine with a strong grip.
The eight-hour drive back to West Virginia was slow and bogged down with silence. At the first rest stop, I climbed into the back to sit with Evan, hoping to give him some comfort. But as we drove, he wound his fingers around and around his hair, tugged at it, and then scooped it up into a high bun, let it back down again, and repeated the whole process while he stared out the window with a painful, scared look on his face. I did my best to soothe him by holding his hand and bringing him under my arm, but his anxiety held. Worst of all, it was somewhat contagious. It planted a seed of worry that would catch and spread through me by day’s end.
We stopped at Ashville for a mid-morning bite to eat at a funky burger joint that I thought Evan might enjoy, but he stared at the menu and then looked at me with a blank expression that was impossible to read.
I tapped my credit card on the table. “Want anything?”
“Um. Certainly not the beef.”
Ten snickered behind the oversized laminated menu, and I elbowed him sharply.
“A veggie burger then.”
“I’m really not awfully hungry.”
“We’ve got six hours left on the road. You should eat now. We won’t want to stop again.”
“Hm, fine. A ‘veggie burger.’ Whatever that is.”
“I’m not going to get you something if you don’t really want it—”
Ten snatched the credit card and impatiently went to order. He left us in a cloud of silence, and I wondered what Evan was thinking. Was this mood about returning to the Redcaps, or something else? Did he regret what had happened last night? Was he acting quiet out of shame or regret for what I’d done to him in the hotel room? The thought sickened me and the urge to comfort him was overwhelming.
“I’m not letting them take you.”
That struck a nerve. He winced and shook his head, his long locks trailing across the table. “They won’t stop trying to find me until they have me. My uncle is always boasting about the clan’s determination. And their ruthlessness…”
I scoffed. “That ruthlessness is usually carried out by hired mercenaries like me and my men. I’m telling you…” I took his hands and squeezed them tightly until he met my eyes. “I won’t let them take you.”
His pout quivered and slowly, a shy smile emerged. He nodded sincerely, like he was agreeing to trust my word, then squinted and tilted his head to the side.
“I have one question.”
“Anything. You can ask me anything, anytime. I want to teach you all about this world, and how to survive dangerous situations.”
He nodded and blinked. “What’s a veggie burger?”
I laughed, a booming thing that burst out of me unexpectedly and caught the attention of too many diners. I lowered my head in embarrassment but couldn’t stop chuckling, and got a thrill when Evan giggled gleefully.
To my relief, the veggie burger was to his liking and the fries were so popular that we ordered another basket to share. Ten handed me the keys on our way out of the diner. “Evan, you sit up front. I’m crashing in the back. I’m exhausted.”
“Did my snoring break through the walls last night?” I asked.
“Uh, not your snoring, per se…” Ten smirked and Evan gasped before turning a brilliant shade of red. I chuckled and grinned to myself as the memory of the night’s activities washed a little taste of euphoria through my body.
I drove us the rest of the way home with Evan sitting up front beside me. His mood seemed to be better after the meal and the assurance that I wasn’t sending him straight back to Vince. He pointed out wildlife and roadside attractions with the most infectious enthusiasm and by the time we crossed the border into West Virginia, I was on the lookout for deer and bobcats too.
Mist rose through the mountains as I rounded the pass leading to fa
miliar roads, and Evan gasped when he saw what looked like a large wild cat slink from the verge into the dense forest.
“Oh! Was that a panther? Or maybe a mountain lion?” He bounced in his seat and whipped his head around to look back at the empty space where the big cat had just been.
“Nah, they’re nearly extinct,” Ten piped up from the back seat, roused from his sleep by Evan’s high-pitched enthusiasm.
“Hm. What do you mean? What is ‘extinct’?”
“They’re all wiped out. Dead.” Ten spoke with a bluntness that I would have preferred that he curbed. “Humans killed them all off for fur and meat and for fun, the dumb fucks.”
“Oh.” A deep disappointment rang in his voice and made my heart clench. “I read about mountain lions all the time in my nature books. I guess those books are outdated too.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. I had a tussle with a mountain lion a few years ago.” I grinned as Evan’s eyes widened.
“Is that true? Are you, how do you say it? Toying with me?”
“You did not see a mountain lion,” Ten insisted.
“I absolutely did. Came eye to eye with it in the backwoods just near here when I was on a patrol for Carlisle. There’d been talk of farm animals mutilated in this part of the state and he was worried that rogue dragons were to blame. Easy way to break the Exposure Laws, getting caught chewing on a goat leg…” Evan scrunched up his nose in disgust. “So I went out there thinking that I was looking for burn marks and the scent of smoke, when I should have been watching my back against a big sneaky cat.”
“Did it getcha?” Ten was enthralled now, and I appreciated his sudden zeal.
“Big claws stuck in my shoulders when it pounced on me out of nowhere.” Evan gasped and covered his mouth. “And fangs in my bicep. I think there’s still a scar, it got in real deep and didn’t heal like normal. No idea why. Perhaps some kind of bacteria.”