Chapter 62
EVANDER
Iknock on the door.
“Come in,” she says, her voice vibrating with tears.
“Raine.” I’m instantly next to her, but she holds up her hand. I stop.
“I don’t even know why I’m crying.”
“It’s a lot,” I say.
“Is it, though? Isn’t it? I’m living a fairy tale. In a castle. A castle filled with masterpieces. A castle filled with masterpieces and the three of you.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about you putting us last, but I get it.”
“No, I . . . I’ve never wanted anyone more.
Never wanted to stay anywhere more. It’s overwhelming, how deep I’m in.
I’m drawn to you. All of you. When Roark ripped off the door of the car, I .
. . I get it. I know exactly why. It’s ludicrous, being jealous of Percy, but if I’d seen Percy’s mate in the front seat with Roark, I’d have felt the same.
The same darn way. I can’t rip doors from their frames, but I get it.
And that scares me. It’s like there’s something waiting for me right out of my reach, and it’s driving me bonkers. ”
I run my fingers up the side of her arm. “I know exactly how you feel.”
Her lips hit mine, and I pull her to me. I need her. Her touch, her scent, her taste. Any time away from her makes me itch on the inside. These last few days were torture.
When she pulls away from our kiss, I tuck a length of hair behind her ear. “Thank you.” I wipe a tear from her cheek.
“For what?”
“For being here.” I kiss the top of her head. I want to always be here for her. I want to never let her go . . . but mating a human without the lightning? She wouldn’t be able to come back to the realm with us. We would need to stay here with her. Could I do that?
There’s a knock on the door, and it opens. Kieren. He’s held back from telling Roark and me what happened at Crest Wing today. It was clearly not good.
Roark’s behind him. Raine stiffens in my arms.
“Duchess? I—” Roark looks at Kieren like a dragonet being forced to say sorry to their sibling when they clearly aren’t.
“You what?”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have acted in such a manner.”
“You should be telling Percy that. Apologize to him.” Her blue eyes flash.
“That’s not something a dragon does,” Roark says.
Her lips purse, and her fingers squeeze my leg.
Kieren sinks to the side of the bed. But Roark doesn’t move.
“I don’t care. What you did was wrong and over the top. Like Empire State Building over the top.” She lets go of my leg and takes a step toward Roark. Her eyes glow at Roark.
Roark crosses his arms over his chest.
“Wrong. And ‘I’m a dragon’ doesn’t cut it with me. I’m a human. No, forget that. Percy is a person.”
“He’s a dragon.”
“Fine, but he has feelings. And he was helping me.”
“You want me to apologize?”
“Yes,” she says, exasperation creasing her forehead.
“I can do it, for you.”
“Not because it was wrong?”
“I suppose,” Roark says.
Raine crosses her arms over her chest and cranes her chin up to Roark’s. They stare at each other so long I’m twisting in discomfort.
“Fine, it was wrong. I shouldn’t have scared him, nor pulled the door off. I trust you, and I let the demon within me take control.”
Raine cocks her head.
“Right, it was me. Not my dragon.”
There’s a smirk on Raine’s face and it’s fucking adorable. She reaches up and grabs him around his neck. He hikes her up around his waist, and her legs lock on his back. There’s a flash of clothes being ripped off. I’ve got my pants and shirt off and take Raine from Roark’s arms to let him disrobe.
“I want you. I want all of you, but . . .”
“But what, Raine?”
“My life is spinning like a tornado. I’ve lost all control.”
“Then take it back. You’re in control of us. You’re the one who controls us. You, Raine,” I say and sit on the edge of the bed. Her shirt’s been stripped off, and her lovely, long legs are on either side of me.
“Me?” She shakes her head.
“Absolutely.” I lift both of us, moving us to the middle of the bed, with her still on top. “You do with me what you want.”
“What I want?”
“That’s what Evander said, Duchess,” Roark growls. “You’re in charge.”
“I . . .” She bites her lip. “Okay.” She pushes on my shoulder, dropping me to the mattress.
My smile could light the whole village.
Kieren moves to the left side of the bed, and Roark to the other.
“No.” She shakes her head and shimmies off me. “Against the wall.”
Heat soars up my throat. “Fuck.” I’m off the bed and snatch her around the waist. The only flat wall without wainscotting to dig into her back is between the two massive windows. Slick blue drapes loosely hang on either side.
Her breath stutters as I press her against the wall, my body flush with hers. The thud of her heart pounds against my chest. With one hand under her lush bottom and the other pressed against the wall next to her head, I smirk. “What now, Raine?” I whisper, my voice hoarse with desire.
She hoists herself up, scraping her flesh along mine until her core grinds against my cock. She hitches her legs around my hips, and her feet lock around my back. I push against her, pinning her there. Holding her there. Wishing for time to stand still.
“Damn, you’re beautiful.” I never thought I’d want my mate to have eyes as blue as the typical Crest Wing clan member. But on Raine? They’re fucking perfect. “Now what?” I repeat.
She takes a hand from behind my neck and places it on the nape of hers. Her dark hair tangles between my fingers. “Pull.”
Roark groans somewhere behind me. But she’s mine now, and he’ll have to enjoy the show.
Her eyes flutter closed as I tighten my grip on her hair, tugging gently and angling her head to expose the delicate line of her neck. My dragon wants to seal our fates. Take her as our mate, sink our teeth into her. But no. Not now. Not like this.
I lean in, my breath hot on her skin, and trace a path from her collarbone to her ear with my tongue. She shudders. Her short nails dig into the flesh on the back of my neck. Her breath shifts to shudders.
“Evander,” she whispers, a plea of desperation. I know she wants more, needs more. And I’m more than willing to give it to her.
I shift my hips and grind against her with a slow, deliberate rhythm.
Her body responds instantly, her back arching off the wall, pressing her breasts firmly against my chest. It’s enough.
I need her. I slide in, and she moans. Being inside her sets my blood on fire.
My free hand explores her curves, memorizing every inch of her body while I trail kisses down her neck. Soft, supple skin begs for my touch.
Kieren’s watching from somewhere, and Roark’s gaze is like a brand on my back. Their voices are in my head, but I’ve shut them off. More. Take her, they say.
“Now,” she demands, her voice breathy but firm. She’s taking control, just as I told her to.
“Yes.” This is a path I’m more than willing to fly. I tilt my hips and speed up the pace of my thrusts. Until she’s barely holding on to me.
I pull back and change the angle of my hips again, and her short nails have to dig into my shoulders now. I raise my hand, gripping the molding of the wall.
“I’m so close,” she cries. Her hands land in my hair. “Evander,” she screams, her arms rising to the sides as she lets her release happen. Her body clenches around me, taking me with her. My eyes slam shut even though I love watching her as she comes.
There’s a crack, then another, and we’re covered in blue silk gauze.
“Are you okay?” I fling the fabric up. It’s draped over us like a privacy tent.
She’s laughing, but there’s a what have I done look in her eyes. “I’m fine, but the curtains––”
“The curtains can be fixed,” Kieren says from outside our little bubble. “I’d give all the curtains in the realm to watch that every day.”
Icrawl out of bed. Roark’s long gone. He slept at the foot of the bed. Raine is right; he needs to apologize to Percy. But I’m not upset that I didn’t have to fight to stay at her side. My giant thunder mate likes to wait until Kieren or I are asleep and then move next to Raine.
The curtains are missing from the window and the floor. I’ll have to see if Leopold wants help with them today. I know he won’t, but I’ll ask.
Kieren’s asleep, his hand loosely over the top of Raine’s waist. I’m not going to wake him. This is one of the first days this week he hasn’t gone through the portal to fight with his parents.
I’m coming down the stairs to the dragon’s eye foyer when the curtains flutter, something that happens before the portal opens.
There’s a light rumble in the distance, the mountains around us complaining.
I hit the bottom step as Leopold rushes down the hallway.
He grabs one side of the tapestry, and I grab the other side.
The portal is already open, the inky darkness quivering.
“Do you want me to close the gate, sir?”
I have no idea who could be coming through the portal. We schedule visits through the portal to keep its use to a minimum. Too often, and magic causes disturbances in the area. We’ve had a few spring avalanches, but this time of year, things are relatively safe.
I reach out to Kieren and Roark. The portal is opening.
On my way, Roark says. I feel darkness around him. Might take a minute. I’m in the caverns.
Kieren doesn’t answer. He’s still asleep.
“Leopold, can you get Kieren from Raine’s suite?”
“Yes.” Leopold takes off up the stairs. I’m still staring into the void. Waiting for whoever it is to come through.