13. Lena
LENA
T here was nothing else to say. Varyx’s decision was final, and if I argued, all I’d achieve was upsetting us both. I didn’t want to do that.
Privately, I wondered about the Void. Was the sudden increase due to me? Impossible , I told myself. Touching the Gate can’t be all it takes to set off the end of this world.
But what did I know? Nothing, that’s what. That storm, the one Varyx said was too big, started with the monster exploding out of the Gate the moment I made contact.
The obvious answer was to ask Varyx about it. But I didn’t dare risk hurting him like that. Also, and if I was honest with myself, more importantly, I didn’t want him to hate me. If we only had these few days, why spoil them with a truth that wouldn’t help?
So I did what any normal person would. I ignored the problem, trying to bury it under an avalanche of activities, as though water skiing would fill the aching hole in my heart.
To be fair, it was worth a try — have you ever been pulled across the waves by your dragon boyfriend? A+++ would recommend.
Each morning, Varyx looked tireder. No, that’s not fair; he never let it show. But I saw the effort he put into hiding his exhaustion. By mutual unspoken agreement, we never spoke of the problem, but it was impossible to ignore.
Eventually, even I had to admit this couldn’t continue. Sitting on the beach under the fabulous night sky, enjoying a warm breeze and each other, we were living a glorious lie.
“You can’t keep this up any longer, can you?” I said, squeezing his hand softly. He let out a long sigh, a bit of tension leaving him.
“No.” He had never sounded so forlorn, and he tightened his grip as he spoke. “Every night, the pressure on the Gate grows. The more time I spend with you, the greater the chance of a disaster. Thank you, beloved, for sharing this time with me, and for understanding it must end.”
“I hoped it wouldn’t. That something would change, and we could stay together.” I’d promised myself I wouldn’t cry. That turned out to be another lie.
“I confess I shared that hope,” he said, voice rough. “It was a beautiful mirage, but you are right. We cannot cling to it any longer.”
He pulled himself up from the sand, shaking out his wings, and I followed. Instead of his usual arrogant smirk, he gave me a sad smile. “Live a good life and find joy, Lena. Remember me fondly.”
I shook my head, a sharp denial. “We are not leaving it like this. You have to say goodbye to me properly.”
“Oh?” he looked at me, confused. “What does that— oof? ”
He broke off as I leaped at him, hauling myself up by his shoulders. Instinct brought his hands up to catch me and hold me still, and for a moment I was afraid he wouldn’t understand. Then a smile tugged at his mouth, and he lifted, one powerful hand cupping my ass, the other sliding up my back.
Our lips met, and the drumbeat of his pounding heart echoed through me. Each beat thudded through me, my own speeding up to match his. My bathing suit was in his way, and Varyx didn’t pause to deal with it—in a quick, smooth motion, he tore it from my body.
I gasped, blood rushing to my skin, and his deep, hungry growl made me shiver. Sliding my fingers into his hair, I pulled myself to him, and his lips latched onto my neck, teeth scraping over me. It was almost too much for me, and I threw my head back, moaning.
My dragon snarled and carried me up the beach. Maybe he intended to take me to my cabin—if so, he didn’t make it even halfway there. Under the beautiful nebula sky, he lowered me onto a towel on the golden sand.
He moved with deliberate care, kissing his way down my neck, hands roaming over me as though memorizing every inch of me.
I arched my back under him, breath hitching, body aching for him to fill me.
But eager as I was, I wanted this moment to last forever.
Relaxing, I stroked my fingers through his long hair, feeling the heat of him as he enjoyed my body.
A hand brushed between my legs, and Varyx growled approvingly as he felt how wet I was for him. Fingers slid between my lips, teasing, and he kissed my nipples at the same time. Fireworks went off inside me and my toes curled.
I’d never been so aroused, so desperate. And he wasn’t done with me yet.
His fingers pressed harder, just a little. Just enough to part my folds, to make me squirm and gasp under him. I whined, pressing up against him, but he pulled back each time, prolonging the delicious torment.
I bit my lip to keep from begging him, from giving in. A stupid stubbornness, perhaps. A battle of wills that I didn’t want to win.
“You want something, sweetling?” His whisper was raw and hungry, and it made me arch beneath him.
“You know what I want.” My voice shook as he teased, his finger circling.
“Say it. Tell me, beloved.”
I did my best to glare up at him, though I was hardly in a position for dignified defiance. Varyx chuckled and lightened his touch.
“Oh, you, you…” I trailed off into a whine as he pulled back further. And waited.
And I caved. “Fuck. Please, Varyx? I need you. Need you inside me, please—OH!”
He didn’t keep me waiting. Before I’d finished pleading, he was between my legs, his incredible, terrifying cock pressed against me, sliding through my slick folds.
His first thrust was slow and deliberate. Making sure I felt every inch of him slide home, every ridge along his length. I whimpered wordlessly as he filled me, stretched me, made me complete. I wrapped my arms around him, my fingers tracing the marks on his skin, and he shivered.
Withdrawing until only his cockhead remained inside me, he groaned something. Words or meaningless sounds, I couldn’t tell, but the meaning was clear. His passion was clear.
Varyx’s control slipped, his thrusts coming faster and harder, and he leaned in to kiss and bite at my neck, and my whole body tensed, fingernails digging into his back and scratching hard.
His teeth dug deeper, and he snarled a word. Despite having a mouthful of my shoulder, I understood him perfectly: “Mine.”
And that was enough to push me into the most intense orgasm anything I’d ever experienced. My whole body was afire, every nerve burning with pleasure, and I lost track of everything. No past, no future, just this one beautiful moment. No one else existed, just Varyx and me, alone in a world of joy.
My dragon didn’t pause, didn’t slow. If anything, he picked up the pace, making me a gasping mess as his body slammed into mine. I bucked and yelled, my throat hoarse, and came again.
And again.
Panting after my third orgasm, I looked up into the violet glow of his eyes and managed to form a word of my own. Squeezing hard, I whispered to him.
“Yours.”
And he came undone. All his restraint burned away like tissue paper in a volcano, leaving a roaring beast above me, inside me. All I could do was hang on and enjoy the overwhelming experience of him driving into me with all the speed and force a dragon shifter could summon.
His jaw tightened, and his cock seemed to grow inside me. Our bodies locked together, our hearts and souls mixing, and we tumbled over the edge together into a shared orgasm that left us gasping and clinging to each other, unsure where one of us ended and the other began.