47. Onora
Chapter 47
Onora
O nora heard Dryston come into his room, and she stood from where she lay on the bed, reading, and walked to the doorway, peeking in. They left it open all the time now, and she sometimes wasn’t certain where she should be, but when he was there, he always sought her out, wanting to touch her and hold her, even when they weren’t having sex.
It was an odd but not unwelcome experience for her. She liked how much he wanted her, and she had never realized how calming it was to just lay in someone’s arms, silent, reading or sleeping or just thinking. Her darker thoughts left her mostly alone now. She spent a lot of time training with the demon warriors, or helping Halst in the stables, bonding with Onyx, and she found that the rich life she had here, with all of the bonds and colony dinners and Dryston, was something that was slowly healing her old wounds. They may be scars, but she wouldn’t want to lose the proof of all she’d been through. It had made her who she was—for better or worse.
Dryston was tense, his face that impenetrable wall he always wore. She felt a tightening around her ribs at the sight. She strode to him as he sat on the bed, bumping his leg with hers, so it opened and she stood between them. He looked up at her, a small, very small crack in that armor evident in his eyes. She brushed her hand along his cheek and he caught it, pressing it there and closing his eyes. He bore the weight of the realm on his shoulders, the weight of the maladies of his ancestors. The weight of his family, his colony.
“How can I help you?” she whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, burying his face in her abdomen and holding her tightly. She ran her hands through his hair, brushing her nails along his scalp, and he pressed harder into her. She ran a finger gently along the edge of his horns and a strangled groan came from him, followed by, “Onora.”
She ran another finger along it and his wings shuddered. His breath changed as it beat against her torso. She placed her palm at the base and gripped, stroking, and his back rose and fell heavily with each breath. She gripped the other one and did the same. He pressed his face deeper to her stomach, desperately tugging at her shirt, pulling it out of her trousers and planting kisses all along her skin.
Would she ever tire of him? Ever tire of his touches and kisses? She didn’t think she would. She knew when this inevitably ended, she would never have a lover like him again. But she could only enjoy it now. She would give him what he needed. She took a step back, and he jerked, catching himself on the bed from the loss of her against him, his eyes ravenous as they looked her over.
“Take your clothes off,” she said, steadying her voice to the one she used as a commander.
His eyes flashed, understanding there, but no defiance. He stood, smirking as he removed his shirt slowly, revealing his well-defined chest to her, the trail of dark hair on his abdomen dipping below his waistline and making her gaze stick there.
“Do you like what you see?” he said, all male arrogance.
She placed her finger to her lips. “Shhh, Dryston. You will do as I say. Speak when I ask you a question. And come when I tell you to.”
His eyes darkened at her command, and she knew she had been right in her assessment of what he needed. Someone else in control. Someone else to take over.
“You’ve obeyed me so well,” she cooed, running a finger along his cheek. “You’ve been so, so good for me.”
He only stared at her, ready and waiting for her command. She walked around him, trailing a hand along his bare skin, taking in his tall and muscled frame. He shuddered, swallowing as she did, and she smiled, coming before him. She undressed, reveling in how his gaze became heavy lidded with lust. Then she stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest.
“On your knees.”
He obeyed swiftly, his hands gripping her ass and sliding to her thighs, sending a wave of heat down her body.
She grabbed his chin, running her hands along his face. “Take your fill.”
He pressed his face into her, licking and sucking, lapping up her cunt like it was the best thing he’d ever tasted, and her head tingled, dizziness making her sway into him, propping herself up against his shoulders. She stroked his hair, avoiding his horns, save for a few strokes at the base that made him groan against her, the vibration rippling against her sensitive nerves.
His hand came up to her breast, palming then flicking the nipple, and she groaned, gripping his shoulders tighter, tighter, her nails digging into his skin, when she finally came, the sensation rippling through her core and up her torso, sending shocks through her whole body.
He looked up at her, smug, licking his wet lips and she knew she would have to hold out on his pleasure, edging him, making him earn it. Making him so desperate for the command of relief that he would beg.
“Get on the bed,” she said, and he obeyed, laying down, his proud length hard and twitching and on full display. She grabbed the ropes he kept under the bed and straddled his chest, taking his wrists and bringing them above his head, carefully and deftly tying him to the headboard. His eyes darkened more, and she smirked, leaning down to kiss him.
His lips met hers, their tongues clashing and teeth clanging in the passion of it, and she pulled back, placing a finger on his lips.
“Slowly.”
He nodded, and she leaned down again, slowly kissing him, taking her time, his breaths more desperate, like a plea, with each stroke of her tongue over his, each bite of his lip. Then she kissed his neck, nipping and licking, making her way to his nipples, sucking and swirling as he writhed and groaned under her.
“Plea—”
But she stopped, shaking her head, and he shut his mouth, swallowing hard.
“Now it’s going to take even longer, Drys,” she said.
He nodded, pursing his lips as if that would help him keep the words in. She grabbed a bit of cloth from the side table and wrapped it around his mouth, tightening it so he couldn’t speak.
She sat back, angling her body so he could see perfectly, then she slid her hand down from her neck, fondling her own breast, then down, down, between her legs. He watched, breathing heavier, licking his lips as she stroked her core, swiping from entrance to clit.
“Put your tail in me.”
He shifted, his tail coming out from under him, and then he slowly brought it to her entrance, nudging as she rubbed her apex. Then he entered, and she moaned, shuddering against the sheer pleasure of it. She writhed and groaned, rocking her hips against it, and he grunted, groaning along with her, his cock growing harder and harder as he bucked his hips, as if trying to find any friction.
Fuck, she wanted to feel that inside of her.
But not yet. He was nowhere near ready for the release yet.
“Keep your hips still,” she said, and he obeyed.
She palmed her breasts, thrusting in time with his tail, the sweet ache between her legs growing as sweat dripped down her forehead, her legs shaking. He closed his eyes, brow furrowed painfully, his cock so swollen.
She stopped, shifting and coming over, grasping the shaft and giving it a hard stroke. He groaned loudly, his hips jerking up with the movement. Taking it firmly in both her hands, she licked from the base, taking her time, making patterns and swirled up the shaft until she licked over the tip, met by a deliciously salty taste.
His knuckles were white from gripping the ropes, the veins in his arms matching the same lurid bulge as his member, his chest and legs misted with sweat.
He smelled amazing, like midnight and the smoke of a campfire, the fires of a forge. Dipping down, she licked his balls, feeling them tighten, and then she gently sucked on them. He couldn’t control it anymore, couldn’t contain himself, and she wouldn’t stop him as he writhed against her passionate attentions. Finally, she came back up, giving another languorous lick before taking him into her mouth and sucking, pulling him in and out, his hips thrusting up into her and she let him, let him hit the back of her throat and she moaned, her cunt dripping wet, desperate to feel him fill her up entirely.
She couldn’t let him finish before she felt that. So she stopped, and he stared at her, desperate, pleading, a male undone. Then she moved over him, running a hand down his chest and savoring how he undulated under her caress, before she took his cock and slowly sheathed herself over it.
His groan rocked her, his hips thrusting inside her, filling her, the sensation of his swollen cock making her legs quake, taking a moment to recover, taking a moment to try to remember her name or who she was in the wake of that glorious sensation.
He kept thrusting inside her and she rocked her hips, meeting his movements, and his breaths were harried, whimpers escaping him repeatedly, an anguished plea for release. She moved up and down, savoring how his eyes took in her whole body greedily, how his hands strained against the ropes, desperate to touch her and unable to. She reached forward, rubbing his nipples as she moved her hips in a way that her clit lit up, making her gasp, moving against him as desperately as he moved against her. He groaned, opening and closing his mouth, holding back the flood of words that threatened to spill.
She whispered a kiss in his ear, slowly removing the gag and reaching up to untie the ropes. “You may speak, Dryston. Say whatever it is you’ve been holding back.”
Then she kissed him, his own mouth devouring hers, pulling her lower lip between his teeth and holding it there long enough she felt dizzy.
“I love you, Onora. I love you. Gods, I love you.”
She stopped her motions, staring at him in shock. She blinked, trying to process it. He didn’t mean it. They were in the throes of passion. He meant that he loved what she was doing to him. She swallowed as he stared at her, wide-eyed as worry lined his features.
She should have kept going, should have ignored it. Hearing him take it back right now might shatter her. She wished she had only tucked it into her heart to pull out like a prized jewel later. Now she would be confronted with the fact that she wanted to say the words back. She loved him, too. But he had just meant ...
“You don’t have to say it back, Onora. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that. Fuck ... I’m an idiot. This isn’t the time or place to say something like that. I know you don’t feel the same way.”
Her head spun with his words. “You ... love me?”
He blinked. “Yes. I do.” His words were precise, stilted. As if he were bracing.
“No. You don’t love me.” She let out a breathy laugh. How could he love her? Wasn’t this just sex for him?
He shifted, sitting up and moving her so she was still on him, but they faced each other now. He grasped her face.
“I love you. No expectations. No conditions. I love you, Onora. I’ve been meaning to tell you. But I didn’t know when was a good time.”
She slammed her lips to his, and they kissed, long and hard. Her heart raced and ached and she wanted to cry for the first time since she was a child, but may the gods be damned, she wasn’t about to start now. She pulled back, breathless. When she did, there was a tender vulnerability in his eyes that broke her. She didn’t have words at that moment. Her emotions were a flurry, dust kicked up in a tornado, and she didn’t know how or what to say. “I love you” was too simple. It didn’t even begin to encompass what she felt for him.
So she rocked her hips, and he groaned again, twitching inside of her. She kept going, slow and deliberate, grinding hard against him and reveling in how he writhed under her, his expression of ecstasy. Shadows came from both of them, dancing and twining, playing and caressing as sparks of lightning jolted off her and onto him, not hurting, just sparking and lighting up the room. She rode him, bending to kiss him as they both tumbled over that edge together. They collapsed in one another’s arms.
“We barely know each other,” she finally said, afraid he would take the words back, afraid he had only meant them for the moment of passion.
He ran a thumb across her temple. “Here, yes.” He dropped it over her heart. “Here, yes.” Then he cradled her face, making her look into his eyes. “But our souls have known each other since the universe was only cold darkness. Our love has existed since before the gods thought to craft these bodies of flesh. Can’t you feel it?”
She nodded, closing her eyes. “Yes.”
He kissed her and then she pulled back, gasping out the words, “I love you, too. I don’t know when it started. It snuck up on me, but maybe I always have.”
A smile lit across his face and she thought he might cry, but he couldn’t cry because then she would. He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
“You’re my mate.” He uttered the words as if they were precious, delicate, something easily broken.
His mate.
By the gods, she was his mate.
She’d been worrying all this time, and she was his mate.
“What exactly does that mean?” she asked. “I know that it’s a strong soul bond, but I’m not sure I understand it fully.”
His hand stroked up her arm. “It’s a deep and never-ending bond between two people. We will always be drawn to each other and be connected. It also means that you’re the Lady of Shadows.”
She frowned, propping herself up to look at him. “Wouldn’t that happen after marriage?”
He shook his head. “Magic isn’t concerned about legalities. The markings on you are the markings of the mate of Lord of Shadows, and it marks you as the Lady of Shadows.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that regardless of if you want it, demons are naturally inclined to obey you. It’s part of the colony’s magic and instincts. We fall in line to the most powerful and follow them. The Lady of Shadows is equal in authority.”
Her heart started racing. “A human?”
“My mate.” He kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes, leaning into it. “They all already know. They could tell when you challenged them at the council meeting.”
She groaned. “Will this cause problems?”
He shrugged. “Some people have expressed concern, and some may be unhappy about it, but most are impressed with how you dedicate yourself to the royal guard. Kalen has begrudgingly sung your praises.”
She felt a spark of pride at that. Kalen barked at her every day and never complimented her like he did the others. In many ways she couldn’t keep up with the demons. She was smaller and weaker, but in other ways she was better. She could climb and dodge and react faster because of her smaller size, and the gryphons warmed to her easier because she was less of a threat.
“Let me keep working with them, I don’t want anyone to think I’m here to rule over them without knowing anything about them.”
He ran a hand through her hair, silent for a moment. “Does that mean you accept the mate bond?” His words were careful, and he wouldn’t quite look her in the eye.
“Yes,” she said and kissed him deeply. “I want to be with you, Drys. As long as you’ll have me.”
It took every ounce of her courage to say that, and she stared at him, swallowing hard as she waited for his response. Maybe he didn’t want her as his mate. Maybe he would hide her away or send her away after this fever of passion broke.
He kissed her back passionately. “Then you will have me forever, Onora. Till our bones are dust and our souls become stars.”
“I think even then, you will have me,” she breathed against his lips.
“Good,” he said and kissed her passionately, moving to be over her, ready for more.