Chapter 28 #2
She hadn’t thought he’d have enough fire to best her in a dance of courtship. So, to prove such a thing when he’d playfully taunted her, she’d publicly attempted to humiliate him by overpowering him in front of their king’s court.
Only to have been pinned down within the blink of an eye.
Selene had been impressed, but the embarrassment had wounded the proud dragoness’ ego, and the taste of her own medicine had been poisonous to their potential.
At least on her side. I saw in Malachite’s eyes that he liked how vicious she’d tried to be.
Kier also believed that had she been the victor, he would have been equally impressed and would have fought harder to get a chance to twist their tails together.
Malachite, like his name, was a storm. He also knew how to tame them, and his sister was a dangerous cyclone.
The meeting of their opposing chaos would capture her heart. She would try to dominate, and he would refuse to relent. Their mating would be built on equal footing, dirty tricks, and plenty of play. He knew her well enough to know that they were a perfect match.
She just hadn’t wanted to listen to his advice or opinions.
Kier tapped a claw against the stone, just as a strike of lightning illuminated both their faces in stark, blinding white. “When?”
“When I decide to.”
He quietly tsked at that.
He’d never shove Selene out of his home in her current state, but he had his own plans and desires to contend with.
“Well don’t wait too long,” Kier goaded. “He may have been interested in you, but you and I both know many females have sought his gaze.”
Selene cut him a sneer with a wrinkled snout before looking away haughtily. “If he so quickly loses interest, then he’s an idiot and I’m better off without him.”
He hummed a chuckle. So very right you are.
“Speaking of matehood, when do you intend to falter?” Selene asked, rending a choke from him.
“When I decide to,” he mimicked, causing her to huff in annoyance.
“Well, you must get rid of the witch before you can seek out a female to step within your lair.”
Kier considered taking a page from her book and inspecting his claws to feign indifference, but she’d see right through that. Instead, he shifted to his side to show he’d grown comfortable despite their conversation.
“The witch is of no concern to you.”
She lifted her foreclaw to the side of her mouth. “My blood debt would say otherwise.”
His gut tightened at her acknowledgement of that fact already. “This isn’t the time for this discussion,” he stated, throwing his snout towards the raging storm, thankful its noise would obscure their voices. “You have much to wade through first. We’ll deal with her when the time comes.”
Selene sighed as she crossed her paws. “True. It has merely been two days.”
Two long, agonising days... of having to be distant from the alluring creature he sought to be alone with unimpeded. He wanted to lie down with her as he had a few nights ago, or even watch her bathe.
Instead, she’d taken to going through his hoard of books to find something that interested her to pass the ongoing solitude.
“Still...” Selene pressed.
“There is no rush, and you have not even returned to your lair to check its contents.”
“Ugh. Why’d you have to remind me?”
His sensitive ears picked up on the smallest tapping of bare feet. Even over the sound of rain hitting the violent ocean, the sucking waves pulling back from the unmoving cliff, and the next boom of lightning, he heard it.
His head darted in the direction of his tunnels, just as Carwyn stepped into the expansive alcove of his entryway.
“Carwyn,” he greeted, shifting onto his paws and heading to her to find out what she sought.
“Morning,” she answered, rubbing an eye.
They met near the middle.
“What do you need?”
“Would it be possible for me to bathe in your spring?” she asked, lifting her sleepy gaze. “It’s rather cold today, and I’d prefer the warmth.”
He stared down at her, soaking in the gentle shape of her face he’d only seen in quick moments for the past few days. The spiral of her chestnut curls and the way they sat around her cheeks and round ears; her full lips and the way they slowly curled sheepishly at her request.
Then his gaze dropped down to the blue garment he’d gifted her and the way her generous breasts, soft and malleable in his paw, pressed against the low neckline. It truly was a waste to cover this female in frumpy, modest cloth.
“Yes. I see no issue with that,” he stated, stepping forward to take her that way.
To, perhaps, gain a little peek of her that his hungry gaze had been starved for.
“I can warm it myself, Kier,” she stated, flicking her eyes beyond him to convey something in secret.
He almost bit out a growl at her for stealing his chance, yet he let his expression go cold as he nodded.
She left, and he tsked at the fading back of her. It’s like neither female wishes for me to be alone with that witch.
Letting out an irritated sigh, he turned to find Selene staring at him with a frown. He plopped himself down at her side again to waste more of his precious time doing the opposite of what he wanted.
As always, he’d fallen victim to the whims of the females surrounding him.
But his sister’s stare was infuriating. Another second longer and she’d bore a hole in the side of his head.
“What?” he snapped, placing his jaw in his paw once more with his tail tip doing quick taps to take out his aggression in a manner she’d likely not see.
“You let her into your room of plants?”
“Sure. There’s no harm in her being in there.”
She scoffed. “I beg to differ. The ingredients in there are quite potent, should she choose to use them against us.”
“As I’ve repeatedly told you, she is of no danger to us. She intends neither of us harm.”
“What if she goes wandering further down the tunnel?” She looked behind them towards where Carwyn had disappeared. “Kier, the items you have in your workspace could be used for all manner of things. It is merely one alcove down.”
“She won’t venture beyond the room with the spring.”
“You cannot be sure.”
“The illusion I have in place hides it,” he reminded her. “And I know Carwyn wouldn’t provoke my wrath by poking into places she shouldn’t.”
She let out a small growl. “You trust her too deeply.”
“I trust her just enough,” he lied.
“You leave witchcraft spellbooks available for her viewing, some of them containing dark magic. You let her roam freely, rather than keeping her locked in a prison cell.”
“And she has been here a month and all she’s done was to ensure you opened your eyes. Do not forget that fact. She’s had ample time to do harm when you would have been none-the-wiser. She wouldn’t be so foolish as to try now when she has double the fangs to contend with.”
That forced Selene’s maw shut and her tongue still.
Yet, she continued to bore a hole in the side of his head, while he peered at the storm with deepening frustration.
I miss being alone with that female like an ache. His clawed fingers curled into loose fists. I tire of fleeting glances of her already.
Until Selene leaves of her own volition, I’m trapped in this hell of my own making.
A nightmare where he craved something he shouldn’t want, and it haunted him in his own home like a tantalising ghost just beyond the boundaries of his reach.
The moment I get my chance alone with her...
His eyes crinkled with mischievousness, which helped to unwind his gut as a tremor worked its way down his back. His tail tip curled in want.
I’ll get to put those items to use, now that I’ve found both of them.