Chapter Twenty Seven
Theo
Nash gives me a warning look before he nods and closes the door, sealing us inside the chamber. Daphne’s throat bobs.
My lips lift. “You tamed my feral dragon, and now you get nervous?”
She fists her hands and releases them, letting her shoulders drop. “Don’t mistake how terrified of being burned to a crisp I was.”
I stalk closer, and she backs up. “Then why do it?”
She lifts her chin. “Because I couldn’t exist in a future without you in it. Plus, you stole something of mine.”
The throb in my chest intensifies. “And what would that be?” I drawl as I rake her with my gaze.
“My soul,” she whispers. The words feel right. Validating.
“And in return, you have stolen a piece of mine.”
She drags her bottom lip between her teeth. “Then I guess we will have to take care of each other’s.”
“Looks that way. But I trust you.”
Her legs hit the edge of the bed, and she blinks as if she isn’t sure how I maneuvered her back.
Mate.
No, that’s not possible.
Mate.
My dragon is confused.
Not confused. Mate.
We will have to agree to disagree.
My dragon is smug inside my mind, feeling as if he’s won. It doesn’t matter, because the result is the same—she is ours.
Agreed.
“Are you still scared, pretty mouse?”
She shakes her head. With the force of what I’m feeling, she should be. It’s taking everything inside me to not devour her.
My hand slides into her wild hair, which I love. I fist it and tug to expose her throat, her pulse fluttering beneath her silky skin. She wraps her arms around my neck, keeping me close while giving me a taunting grin.
“Don’t poke the beast if you aren’t prepared for the consequences,” I warn.
Her breath hitches, making her chest rise and fall. “Don’t hold back,” she demands. “I’m not breakable.”
She is, but I’ve never treated her that way. She needs someone to give her permission to access the power at her fingertips.
My lips skim hers, which part as her eyes flutter closed. I breathe in her wild honey scent that both drives me wild and settles something inside me.
I unleash my emotions, and the tempo they barrel into her, she shudders in my arms. She’s about to do more than that.
Our lips meet, tongues sliding together. It’s messy, hot, and needy in a way that is uniquely Daphne. This isn’t about grace, but greed, and I’m here for it all.
The loss whispers against my mind. An echo of the grief I almost disappeared into.
Theo.
Her thoughts push against my mind. It shouldn’t be possible, but then again, this is the woman who has the power to both write the rule book and tear it up.
Clothes off. Now.
My hands yank on the ribbons at her back, tearing them.
Is that you? she asks, her voice full of wonder.
Yes, pretty mouse.
The gown falls to the floor, her underwear following, until she’s as naked as I am.
The different ways I want to take her war in my mind, each fantasy vying for first place until my mind is a jumble of need.
I need you.
I shudder at the power of her words. The gift of vulnerability is the most precious thing anyone can give.
I grab her hips and throw her onto the middle of the most ridiculous-sized bed I’ve ever seen. All the more space to roll around on. I’m not sure that’s what they meant when they put it in here.
My legs straddle hers. The moment my hard flesh touches her heat, I’ll be done for. I want to make this good for her before I act like a teenager.
I kiss down the valley of her breasts, and she arches her spine, pushing them up in silent demand.
My teeth scrape across her tightening nipple before I suck hard.
She cries out as I worry the other between my fingers, intensifying the pressure with each breath.
Her hands tighten on my shoulders, and she alternates between pushing me away and pulling me closer.
She’s already close. There’s a hint of flushed skin ready to break out the tempo she tips over. I love how responsive she is.
“Theo, please.”
I growl, creating vibrations on her breast, which makes her gasp. There are better places for that.
“I need to feel you,” she whispers. “Now.”
I find some control I didn’t realize I possessed and swap to her other breast, giving it the same treatment until her head is thrashing side to side and she’s practically vibrating beneath me.
Only then do I slide my knee between her legs and part her thighs.
Her nails scrape my back as I push her closer.
I want her to be as feral for me as I am for her.
The things I want to do with this woman, to do to her.
My hands push on her knees until they press against the soft blanket. I move my mouth lower, pausing to kiss around her belly button. One day she’ll carry our children. Not to appease the narrative, but to begin a new chapter in our future, one not written for us.
She giggles when my tongue flicks her hip bone. I love finding out what each part of her body does to her.
Then I’m where she needs me most. The first lick is the closest thing to Idlyican I’ve ever experienced. Decisions, decisions. Do I push her over the edge before, or make her wait?
Her thighs tremble.
Fuck it.
My mouth latches onto her clit and with no warning, I suck as hard as I did on her nipples. She jerks and screams as she comes apart for me.
I thrust inside her still-quivering flesh, which almost makes me lose it. I cover her body with mine, pinning her down and holding still to let it pass. I don’t want it to be over, not yet. I need at least another climax from her.
“I need you to move,” she growls.
I think I’m addicted to her. My dragon pushes against my flesh in agreement. I heat a few degrees, and her eyes grow wide.
“Are you getting hotter?” she whispers.
I try a shallow thrust to test my restraint. “Yes, but I won’t hurt you. Does it feel—”
“Good,” she breathes. “So freaking good.”
I move a little deeper, testing her. She wraps her arms and legs around me and pushes her mouth against mine. I get lost in the hot glide of her tongue and how she feels. I’ve never felt so connected, so grounded and free all at once.
I thrust hard, then slow, testing what makes her sigh and what makes her stop breathing for a tempo as she processes the pleasure. She angles herself, finding that spot that makes her cry out every single damn time. She tightens around my cock. Perfect.
I need to slow this down. I pull out, and she snarls at me. So damn cute.
I give her a wicked grin. She should know by now that nothing is ever that easy.
I lay on my side and guide her back to my chest before lifting her leg over mine and thrusting inside her heat. She turns her head, seeking my mouth, her pupils dark with lust and desire, but also love. Unfiltered, unconditional, paralyzing love.
With one hand circling that sensitive nub, I taste her lips and set a steady but deep pace, slowing when she tightens around me.
“I could have come three times by now,” she snaps.
I grin. “Sometimes, it’s about quality, not quantity.”
“If you don’t make me come, I have three other knights.”
Now it’s my turn to growl in warning. I have no problem sharing Daphne with my brothers.
Was it how I once saw our futures? No, but one can’t plan for a creature like Daphne Stone, and I don’t doubt she needs each of us to keep her light shining in this dark world as she does the impossible and tackles the mysteries of the realm.
She cries out when I pinch her clit in warning. My spine heats, ready to claim her once more as ours.
Mate.
My vision blackens at the edges as my dragon fights me. I shake my head, trying to force him back.
Daphne’s hand snakes around my head, and she stares into my eyes. “Don’t hold back,” she whispers.
She doesn’t understand what she’s asking for. She arches her back and grinds against me, taking me deeper. Fuck. Her teeth dig into my bottom lip, the sting exquisite.
“Daphne,” I utter hoarsely.
“It’s okay.”
She stretches back, baring her throat before sliding her hand between her legs and cupping my balls. With a few quick sweeps of my fingers, she falls apart around me. My teeth latch onto the curve of her neck, and I growl low as she pulls me over with her.
The pleasure blinds me, and I taste copper. My dragon yanks on the thread pulling us ever closer, testing its strength and finding it satisfying.
I lick the bite and lean my forehead against her flesh.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. I never want to hurt her.
“What? Why?”
“I bit you.”
She glances at the wound and smiles. “I enjoyed it. Turns out I’m a bite a maiden in the dark type of female and not a pillow princess after all.”
I chuckle as I kiss her lips once more. What did I do to deserve her? I move again, and her eyes widen as she tears her mouth free.
“Didn’t you?”
“Yes, Daphne. I did. Trust me.” I thrust hard, making her cry out. “But I’m not human, pretty mouse.”
“Holy Idol babies,” she murmurs.
No... our babies. Soon enough. I want to see her belly curve with the product of our love. Not now, when there’s a war to be fought. But in the future she is building.
I want everything with this woman who came from nowhere. Nothing else will suffice.
Mate.
Agreed.