8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Eldrake
I slammed my door shut, the sound reverberating through the small room, and threw my hat and cloak onto the desk. My boots hit the floorboards hard as I paced, fists clenching and unclenching.
That dress. That Godsdamned dress.
The way it clung to her curves, the way her hair framed her face when she wore it down. The way she looked up at me with those wide, amber eyes— completely unaware of what she was doing to me. My jaw tightened as blood rushed south, my body reacting before my mind could rein it in.
I groaned, running a hand through my hair. I’m crushing. I’m crushing HARD. This was bad. Really bad. I was the Captain of a Riftborn squad, for Gods’ sake. I didn’t get crushes ; I executed missions. I led. Fought. I didn’t spiral over a redhead in a yellow dress.
I’d seen beauty before. I’d had it. Left it. Burned it behind me and walked away. But this was something else. Something I couldn’t walk away from.
My jaw ached. I’d been clenching it so hard I hadn’t noticed. I braced my shaking hands against the desk. I’d been so disciplined for months. No distractions, no indulgences, no women. It was supposed to make me sharper, stronger. Instead, it had left me… lonely and… frustrated.
And now? Now, all I could think about was her.
My draconic bloodline wasn’t helping, either.
Passion, dedication, lust—our emotions ran hotter, deeper, and more consuming than most. For a while, pouring all of that intensity into the rebellion had been enough, but now…
I wanted her. I wanted to taste her. I wanted to burn for her and blame her for the flames.
I dropped onto the edge of the bed, head bowed. My chest rose and fell with shallow, useless breaths. I stared at the floor, but all I could see was her—standing in the kitchen, soaked, breathless, close enough to touch.
The scent of her still lingered in my senses—spiced tea, warm skin, honeysuckle. And when I looked up, I saw the dogwood she’d tucked into the vase.
My mouth quirked—just for a second. But the smile vanished as I circled back to the moment in the kitchen.
Gods, I hope she wasn’t afraid. She looked afraid.
Had I overstepped? I had asked permission to touch her, hadn’t I?
But what if she felt like she had to say yes?
Fuck. The thought sent a pang of guilt straight into my gut.
I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to banish the image from my mind. But instead, it brought her back even more vividly—her bodice soaked with tea, the fabric clinging to her skin and becoming translucent, highlighting the peaks of her hardened breasts.
Gods, her breasts, shining and damp… Her breath shallow as I stood so close…
“Fuck,” I hissed, the ache in my trousers impossible to ignore. My cock throbbed, hard and hot, straining against the leather. I hadn’t let myself feel like this in months, and now it was her. Only her.
Growling under my breath, I shoved the covers back and collapsed onto the bed.
My hand slipped past the waistband of my trousers, fingers wrapping around myself, the need blinding.
I closed my eyes and let her fill me—her softness, her scent, her quiet fire.
Her gaze made me feel like I wasn’t just something illegal, but something…
worthy . Something wanted . I stroked with a steady rhythm, breath catching, hips rising toward the friction like I could claim something I didn’t deserve.
Evandra…
Her name echoed in my mind as I came, the release slamming through me like a breaking wave. I gasped, arching into it, the tension uncoiling in a rush that left me dazed—and then, for a split second, something else.
The Rift inside me pulsed—sharp and hot, like a heartbeat that wasn’t mine. A shimmer stirred just beneath my skin, electric and foreign. Not pain. Not power. Something aware. It vanished as quickly as it came, but it left a mark. That was weird.
I lay there, breathing hard, staring at the ceiling. But even as the heat subsided, the guilt and yearning remained, curling tight inside my chest like smoke.
“Gods help me,” I muttered into the silence, staring up at the ceiling.
This mission just got a hell of a lot harder.