Chapter Thirty-Four
“I've got him!” Vasren declared as he entered our hotel room.
“You got him?” I looked up from the map of Bara's house I had drawn from memory—mine and those of the Raltven. Going by the outer dimensions of the house, we concluded there were areas we hadn't searched.
“Bara showed up on my excursion with his Hulfrin friend.” Vas sat down and smirked. “We talked. A lot. I confessed that our relationship wasn't the strongest.”
“What?” I whispered.
Vas leaned in to say, “I told him there were times I wished the mating bond affected you more like it affected me.”
“You . . . oh, I see. You implied that you wanted more control over me. Did he fall for it?”
“Of course.” He pulled two white silk ribbons from his coat pocket and tossed them on the table before sitting down across from me. “He gave me those and invited us to a party where he's auctioning off more items.”
“He just gave them to you?” I picked up the ribbons. They looked exactly like the ones Bara and Eliel wore.
“He offered me a partnership to sell them in Rushao. I'd get a cut of the profits. That's why he wants us at this auction—so I can see the other items he has for sale.”
“Holy fuck,” I whispered. “Did he tell you how to use these?”
Vas lifted an eyebrow.
“Let me amend that question. How do you use them?”
“I put a drop of your blood on one of the ribbons to activate the pair. He recommended I feign an accident and then use the ribbon to blot away your blood.”
“Only my blood?”
“Yes. I wear the ribbon with your blood on it, and it controls you through the ribbon I tie on you.”
“I can't just untie it?”
“The first command I give you will be to never remove the ribbon.”
I leaned in toward him. “But someone else could.”
Vas grinned. “I assume so.”
“All we have to do to free Eliel is untie that fucking ribbon? It almost seems too easy.”
Vasren shrugged. “Why would it be difficult? The shadow-form silk activates when you drape it over a body and then goes dormant when you remove it. It makes sense that the control silk would work in a similar way.”
“It must be the energy of a living body that summons the magic,” I mused.
“The magic needs a body to function. Shadow-form won't work if there's no body to hide.”
“And control magic won't work if there's no one to control.” I went quiet as I remembered how Eliel held his wrist out to me. “Oh, fuck, Vas. Eliel was asking me to free him. He showed me that ribbon. All I had to do was take it off!”
“Hey.” Vasren stood up, came around the table, and crouched by my chair. “You were being careful and with good reason. Magic can be tricky. That ribbon could have been enchanted to—I don't know—explode. You had to be sure before you dealt with it. Now, you're sure.”
“Now, we can free him.”
“Yes, but I thought we needed proof to hand over to King Raventar? Once we free Eliel, Bara will know we're after him.”
“You're right.” I rubbed my hand over my face.
“We're going to free Eliel and every other ribbon-slave in this city. I swear to you, Mate.”
“You've certainly come a long way, Sir Vasren. Are you a vigilante now?”
“I'm merely assisting the local Talon Force.” He smirked again. But then he went serious. “I support what you're doing, but I need it done properly, Katai. We find evidence and hand over the criminals for justice if possible.”
“If possible?”
“Well, if they attack us, we have to defend ourselves.” He winked.
“Vas, if you're not careful, you'll become a criminal like me.”
“You were never a criminal.”
“You see? I'm already twisting your perspective.” I tapped his nose.
“Yes, and I love the way you twist me.” He scooped me up and carried me to the bed.
Before his lips met mine, I said, “Vas, are you sure you want to do this?”
His gaze traveled over my face. “Absolutely.”
“Not me. This. The plan.”
“These are bad people, Kat. There's no denying that. I couldn't walk away even if I disagreed with your methods. Which I don't.”
“You don't?”
“No. Honestly, you're being more thorough than I would be.
I'd like to storm into Bara's house and tear it apart until I find the evidence we need.
But you know better. You know we need to be careful so we can catch everyone involved.
I . . . Kat, I admire what you're doing.
You're risking imprisonment and, well, me—all to do what you believe is right.”
“I'm not risking you. You're a Dragon. You can defend yourself. I would never put you at risk, Vas.”
“Kat, I don't mean it like that. You didn't know how I'd respond to this. Maybe it's more accurate to say that you risked us. Our relationship. I'm not happy about you taking that risk, but I admire it nonetheless.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Vas, I . . .”
“What is it?” He pushed himself up on his forearms.
“I've been preparing myself for you to react poorly, but I don't know what to do with this.”
Vasren chuckled. “I can tell you what to do with this.” He angled his hips forward to press his erection between my legs.
I grimaced at him.
“I'm sorry. You were trying to be serious.”
“Yes. I don't know what the future between us will be like. Are you going to be my cover forever?”
“Your cover?”
“My respectable mate—a strong Dragon knight with his tender-hearted human.”
“You say tender-hearted as if it's a lie.”
I shrugged. “I mean, submissive. All right? Meek.”
“Is that who you want to be in public?” He rolled to the side and propped himself on an elbow.
“No, but it would help conceal my true identity.”
“Hallaxgral? He's not your true identity. He's another mask you wear.”
“Yes, I know. You're right. But Kat is the opposite of him. He's easier to hide behind.”
“Fuck easier.”
I lifted my eyebrows.
“Do you really think I want you to go back to being someone you aren't? More importantly, do you think I want you to be someone you don't want to be?”
“No,” I whispered.
“That's right. I don't want that. Do you want to know how I see our future?”
“Absolutely.”
“I see you and me living on my estate as we wish to live. The real you and the real me. I want the truth from you in all things, Katai.”
“And what about all of this?” I waved my hand toward the table where the silk ribbons lay.
“You keep the other house for that. We say you're a merchant, which you are, and your crew are your employees who run the business for you. When you find a target, I'll help you. We will work out of your estate but live on mine.”
“Keep work and home separate.”
“Yes. And I can report your findings to the King.”
I winced.
“Kat, he's a good man. And you're a good man. You're not slaughtering people without cause. You're investigating crimes that the Talon Force won't or can't. If you bring the King proof of those crimes, he will tolerate your methods.”
“Tolerate. That sounds like something that won't last.”
“Whether it does or doesn't, won't matter. We will last.”
Vasren's pale blue eyes were no longer icy. Just looking into them warmed me. And the thought of a future with Vas in which I could be myself—a future living openly with him while secretly helping others—made me even warmer. Boiling hot.
I rolled toward Vas, pushed him on his back, and straddled him. “I like what you see.”
As I bent down to kiss him, he murmured, “I like what I see too.”
All thoughts of moths, captives, and anyone other than Vasren vanished.
As did our clothes. And all the space between us.
Not just physically. As I rolled my hips to take Vas into me, I sensed the distance between our hearts lessen until it felt as if we shared one organ, the beat of it thundering through my body.
Palms pressed against his hard chest, I undulated and swiveled my hips to churn him inside me. Then it was an up and down movement, slow enough that I could bend forward and kiss him. We moved together as if we could sense what the other needed. Because we could.
Yes, our lovemaking was beautiful. Sublime. Romantic.
It was also erotic and full of a lot of nasty words whispered against glistening skin. The combination sent me shooting into my climax with enough force to bow my back, my cock thrusting forward as my hair whipped Vasren's lower legs.
Vas grabbed my shaft and worked it through my release. “I love it when you come on me.”
That did me in. I fell backward, his cock still inside me, my body sprawled across his shins, and my spent flesh withering in his hand.
But Vas wasn't done yet. He sat up, shifted his legs, and leaned over me.
In a climactic daze, I watched him lift my legs and plow into me, his muscles clenching and releasing.
My cum dripped down his hard belly, moving with his thrusts to drip onto his shaft and slick his movements.
Inside me, Vasren hit all the sensitive spots I needed him to touch.
Suddenly, I wasn't tired anymore. I grabbed his broad shoulders and clenched my channel around him. A flush moved up my chest and over my face. My cock rose. Moaning, I rolled my head from side to side. And then I met my mate's adoring gaze.
Vas looked down to where we were joined. “Yes, I very much like what I see.”