Chapter Eighteen #2
Borrowing a page from her playbook, I came up with a diplomatic answer. “I think the odds lean in my favor.”
She laughed and stuck out her little finger. “Ready to pinkie promise on that bet?”
“I am.”
I hooked my finger around hers, and we shook, smiling. I didn’t let go afterward. I couldn’t.
Mina rolled to her side, propped up on an elbow. I drew her free hand to my chest and held it there.
“What?” I asked after a few seconds passed.
“Nothing. Everything.” Then she sighed. “What’s that saying? Situation normal…”
“All fucked up,” I filled in.
She nodded somberly. “At least we have each other.” Then her throat bobbed as she caught herself. “And this nice room,” she added quickly, trying to joke it off.
“I prefer the chateau,” I whispered. “And not because it’s bigger or grander.”
Mina nodded. “I prefer it too.”
We regarded each other quietly, and it occurred to me that this was one of those chance to talk moments. But where to begin?
I opened my mouth, determined to do my best to come clean. But just as I did, Mina sighed and nestled up against me.
“Finally, something nice in this crappy day.”
I snapped my mouth shut. So much for talking about the difficult stuff.
“Well, walking was nice too,” she continued. “And that teahouse. Not to mention that cake…”
“It is nice,” I whispered, kissing her hair. Oh, and her forehead — twice — before I realized where that was bound to take us.
She looked up, and those blue eyes caught mine. Blue and sparkly, like sunlight playing over the ocean. A deep, mysterious ocean I wanted to spend the rest of my life exploring.
She raised her chin, and we kissed, on the lips this time. Closed lips, then open.
“Hmm,” Mina murmured, sliding a hand over my ribs.
I rolled a little closer as my body heated.
And just like that, I was a goner. Because destiny was in the room with us, picking up the corners of the bedding to roll us even closer together.
The silky strands of Mina’s hair ran through my fingers, and soon, my limbs were wrapped around her.
Unconsciously. Inevitably. We were a couple of marionettes doing fate’s bidding.
And boy, was destiny in a hurry, because our movements grew faster and more urgent. Mina tugged my shirt upward, covering my body in kisses. Stomach. Nipples. Neck, which she reached by burrowing under the bunched-up fabric.
“Dammit…” she complained, stripping me of the shirt entirely. A process complicated by the fact that I was attempting the same with hers. We ended in a hot, sweaty tangle.
“If you go that way—” I wiggled my trapped elbow.
“No, you go that way,” she murmured irritably, like it was my fault and not destiny’s.
When we finally got both our shirts off, she practically crowed in triumph.
“See? I was right.”
“So right,” I mumbled.
“You should always listen to me,” she decided, getting to work on my pants.
“Just in bed or everywhere?”
“Everywhere,” she declared, going all bossy.
“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured.
She ran with the theme, issuing commands between breathless kisses.
“Lie back,” she ordered once I’d ditched the rest of my clothing.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said a little breathlessly. There wasn’t much left on her to remove either, and it had been far too long since we’d let our bodies play this game.
Mina braced her hands on either side of my head and leaned down for a kiss, all while straddling me. Multitasking I couldn’t keep up with, so I lay back and took what she had to give. Which turned out to be everything, as I discovered. No surprise, really, but finally, a good one.
Very good, my dragon hummed when she lined us up and sank down, letting me fill her.
Her lips parted in a blissful Oh, and she tilted her head back.
Then she started dancing over me. A slow dance, then a flirty cha-cha, followed by an all-out, passionate samba.
I gripped her hips and followed, because she definitely had the lead here.
But seconds later, when she moaned in frustration, we rolled, and—
“Oh!” she cried, wrapping her legs around me.
Soon, we were slamming together, as desperately as our very first time. Even more so, maybe, because there was more at stake now. This wasn’t about one night, but about forever.
“Yes…” Mina hissed, lifting her hips and clamping her inner muscles around me.
My senses tuned out everything inconsequential and amplified the impact of everything that remained, like the soft flesh of her inner thigh. The warm welcome of her body as she rose up to meet me again and again. The faint glow around her, signaling to the world that I’d marked her.
We can do more than mark her, my dragon roared.
I clenched my teeth, holding back my dragon fangs while powering into her. Again and again, until she clamped down one last time and cried out in ecstasy.
I barely held back a roar of my own as I exploded inside her. Then we collapsed, too blissed out to care about what came next.
The next time I opened my eyes, we were limp, panting, and clutching each other like we’d just survived the apocalypse.
How did I ever think I could live without you? I nearly said.
A good thing my vocal cords, like the rest of my body, weren’t all that responsive. All that came out was a croak.
“I know this is London, but I swear, we’re just around the corner from heaven,” Mina whispered.
I lay panting, incapable of thought or deed, other than vowing to hold on to her forever.
Eventually, we separated, but just long enough to clean up before spooning together under the sheets.
A minute later, Mina whispered fondly, “There you go again.”
I frowned. “What?”
She snuggled closer, not exactly protesting. “Protecting me.”
Damn right, I would. Against Gordon. Szabo. Celeste. The whole fucked-up world.
Need to protect her against yourself, a corner of my mind chided.
In that respect, I was failing miserably. But I would deal with that later. Right now…
I listened to her heart beating. To the quiet patter of rain. To the electric hum of a streetlight.
Mina snuck a hand around my side and tickled my ribs. I covered her hand gently.
“Already ready for more?”
She turned in my arms, facing me with a mischievous expression.
“Well, we do have a lot of lost time to make up for.”
I faked a groan, though I was totally on board with that plan. “We have a long night ahead of us, then.”
She grinned, snaking her hand down from my ribs to my waist and beyond. “I’m game if you’re game.”
Oh, I was game, all right.
“I call the top,” I said, rolling onto her.
She wound her arms and legs around me, then pinned me with a stern look. “You mean for this round. Now that we’re all warmed up and everything.”
I broke into a laugh. If that was just a warm-up, I was in serious trouble. But dragons loved a challenge, and the night was still young.
“You think you can keep up?” she went on teasing.
“I’m sure I can rise to the occasion.”
She groaned, and I blushed at the unintended pun.
“Looks like you already have,” she murmured, touching me to prove it.
Enough talk. More action, my dragon side grumbled.
I obeyed, silencing us both in the only way that mattered.