Thirty-Eight
Kallie
Callum’s tongue skates across the seam of my lips. Testing the waters? Teasing? Who the fuck knows, but regardless, I happily grant him access. The moment our tongues intertwine, I feel like I’m floating. Everything else in the world stills. The flurry of voices running through my mind. The small buzzing the lightbulbs make. The beat of my heart. It all goes quiet, and suddenly, life makes sense. This life makes sense. Nothing has ever felt so right, a feeling of all-consuming need and completeness. And I crave it all.
One of his hands cups the side of my face and tilts my head back, deepening the kiss. He swiftly moves both of my legs around his waist before grabbing the backs of my thighs and stands, all while never breaking the kiss.
I fist the front of his shirt for support while he walks us over the wreckage and down the hall. His hands don’t leave me as his shadows open the door for us, and he kicks it shut.
He throws me onto the bed, and it catches me by surprise. Eyes wide, I’m caught off guard by the predatorial gleam in his onyx orbs as they roam over my body. But that same look is paired with a war raging in the sliver of green.
“Callum—”
“Don’t say anything,” he interrupts. I search the depths of my mind, finding the golden glimmer nestled back there, but not far down, the light goes out, and I know he’s locked up tight.
The red set of jammies I threw on after my shower leaves nothing to the imagination, especially now. My shirt is bunched up, the hem laying just under my breasts, and the straps hang off my shoulders, just one move away from fully exposing me. I reach for the nearest blanket, wanting to cover myself from under his microscope.
“You’re so beautiful.” The lust in his voice sends shivers down my spine. I don’t have a chance to say anything before his lips are on mine again, more aggressively than last time.
I’m full of desire and want. I crave everything he’s doing and more.
“More.” I need it all. He growls down the bond, and it goes straight to the apex of my thighs.
“We shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t do this.” He sends it down the connection, but it seems more of an internal talk with himself, like his wall slipped just a bit, and the thought escaped.
One of his hands skates up the length of my leg, mapping out every scar and imperfection of my body with his fingertips. They trace over the dip of my hip, up my side, until finally cupping my breast through the thin material. Anticipating my reaction, he greedily swallows my moan at the same time he pinches my nipple and rolls it between his fingers.
He begins trailing kisses down my neck before impulsively ripping my shirt down the middle. I gasp at the gesture, the cool air hitting me in an instant. Callum continues peppering long, vigorous kisses down my sternum until his tongue circles the other nipple before taking it between his teeth. He yanks hard, and my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. The small flick of his tongue sends a bolt of electricity through me, followed by a more powerful wave when he does it to the other.
Callum’s voice tickles our connection, “Tell me you want this.” It comes out like a prayer.
“I want this. I want you.”
“Callum, I— We need to go slow.”
“Princess, I know how you need to do this. You need to be in control. This is your only chance to get it out of your system, because the things I want to do to you…” He palms my ass before continuing, “They’re not gentle. I want to take you in every way. Claim you as mine. So do what you have to do, but I will be having my turn.”
I give him one nod of my head before he’s pinning my hands above my head. “Use your words, Princess. Don’t go quiet on me now. Tell me you understand.”
“I understand.”
“Good girl.” And he’s back on me, yanking my shorts off in one swoop. Like a shock to my system, the cool air meets my exposed flesh, but there’s no time to react. There’s nothing I can do against the moan passing through my lips from the sudden intrusion of his fingers.
My back arches off the bed.
“No panties?”
“I never wear them to bed,” I admit, and he groans with that knowledge.
“Is all this for me?” When I don’t answer, he swipes a finger through my wetness. “Answer me.”
“Yes.” He picks up his pace, his thumb touching the bundle of nerves, and I feel my orgasm building. My body starts to tingle, every nerve fully aware of what he’s doing to me, and there’s nothing I can do to stop the sensation. It’s liberating, and terrifying, All at once, I lose control and call out his name as my orgasm rips through me like a category five hurricane.
He pulls his fingers out and brings them up to his lips. I watch as he wraps his lips around them and sucks them clean.
Oh, my Goddess. He chuckles. Stupid prick.
“Stay out of my head.”
“Stay quiet.” And then he’s moving down the bed, kissing down each of my legs as he does.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m ravenous. And you look too good not to eat.”
He leaves me no time to respond, and all words vanish from my vocabulary as he punctuates his point with the soft touch of his tongue, licking up my slit, coaxing a moan from me. My fingers grip the bedsheets when he dips his tongue into my entrance, eliciting a gasp. He hums with satisfaction, and it sends vibrations straight to my core.
“Oh, my Gods.”
He doesn’t take his mouth off me as he says, “I’m not a god, Princess. And my name is the only one you’ll be praying to.”
He nips the awaiting bundle of nerves and continues his assault. It’s too much. The touch, the sensations, the high I’m shamelessly chasing. It’s all too much. He adds two fingers, quickening his pace, and I grip his hair, grinding against him, chasing my release.
“Tell me to stop.” All I can think is, Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop . But then my hands are being pulled away by shadows. They loop around my wrists before bringing my arms over my head and tying around the headboard, restraining my movements.
Callum feels my body stiffen. “You’re okay. You’re safe.” His words play over in my head as I begin pushing onto his fingers, his tongue never relenting.
His fingers curl inside me, hitting that magical spot, and it hits me out of nowhere. I erupt beneath his touch, my orgasm coming in waves of ecstasy. Callum continues pumping his fingers in and out, his tongue unrelenting as he laps up every last drop of my release.
I’m set free from my bindings, and only once they disappear do I realize I’d forgotten they were even there. Callum crawls up my body, showering me in kisses until finding my awaiting lips and allowing me to taste myself on him.
I don’t know how he did it. How at some point, against everything that’s happened, the shit storm that started from the moment he entered my life, he wormed his way underneath my skin and made me feel safe.
Like I’ve found a home.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him in closer and kiss him roughly, worried once the moment is broken, the rest will fall in line, and it will be the last time I allow myself to be vulnerable, to let myself have what I want, even if I shouldn’t. So I take. I take everything he’s willing to give me and more, probing at the wall that links us, banging on the outside and begging to be granted access. Even if it’s just a small piece, I want him to give me something to latch onto, give me something, anything to remember what it was like to be with him, to feel him everywhere, and to know that he feels the same way.
But he doesn’t. He leaves himself closed off, and I fight to keep the hurt, the pang of disappointment, buried deep. The rejection stings, more than I care to admit, but if it’s only my body he’s after? Fine, he can have it. Anything to protect my mind, my soul, my heart from the sheer truth of it all.
I push it all to the back of my mind and make sure my walls are as secure as they can be before flipping us over. His cock instantly rubs against my sensitive clit, and a shiver snakes through me. Vines sprout from the ground, and I repay the gesture he did to me and restrain him against the headboard. A mischievous look crosses his face. “Careful, you don’t know what beast you’re about to unlock,” he warns.
I burn his shirt off until it’s just a pile of ash on the bed. He hisses, and it leads me to ask, “Do you like a little pain with your pleasure, Cal?”
“I like whatever you do to me.”
I kiss his slightly burnt flesh before working the button on his leathers. I pull them down, along with his underwear, and what’s been hiding underneath is shocking to say the least.
“Cal.”
“Yes, Princess,” he says cockily.
“That”—I point to his extremity—“is not fitting anywhere.”
“Oh, baby, it’ll fit,” he assures.
Hesitantly I grip the base, and my fingers don’t even reach all the way around. I apply a little more pressure, and he lets out a hiss.
“Sorry, did that hurt?”
“No, it most definitely didn’t fucking hurt.”
I let out a giggle before licking the underside of him from base to tip. I swirl around his head, licking the drop of precum off before taking him into my mouth.
“Oh, fuck yes, just like that.” I hum, loving his praise. He yanks on the vines, and I smile to myself. “Hands to yourself.” I take him as deep as I can, which isn’t even halfway.
I suck hard and fast, using both hands to move over his shaft. He thrusts up, going further than I can take him, and I gag around him, but I don’t stop.
“If you keep this up, I’m going to finish embarrassingly fast.” I release him with a ‘pop’ and crawl up him, making sure to drag his length through my heat.
“We shouldn’t be doing this.” He says it out loud this time, and I stare at him in disbelief. Is he serious right now? Anger fills me, replacing the hurt I harbor. “What’s wrong?” he asks, brows furrowing, but I ignore his question, instead answering by guiding his tip to my entrance and lowering myself onto him.
“Kallie?”
“You said we shouldn’t do this. Well, too fucking bad, Callum. Take my body and fucking relish in it, because this is the only time and the only way you will have me.” Tendrils of smoke billow out from him, wrapping around my middle and halting my descent.
“Do you think I don’t want this? Because I do. With every fiber of my being I want you, but it doesn’t mean that I should. This was never part of the plan, Princess. But if you think, for one second, that I don’t want you in every way possible, you’re sadly mistaken.” I lose focus on the vines, and he rips out of them, gripping my sides with a punishing force before slamming me down, switching our positions.
Nothing could’ve prepared me for the sheer size of him. It feels like he’s ripping me in two. “Does this feel like I don’t want you?” He inches in a little more. “Because I do. I want you so fucking bad that it hurts. But it doesn’t mean I fucking should.” When I don’t reply, he pushes in farther.
“It’s not going to fit,” I squeak.
“I promise you, baby, it will.” He sounds like he’s in pain, but if anyone is in pain, it’s me. I scream out when he plunges the rest of himself in me, and it feels like my insides are being ripped to shreds.
“That’s it. Fucking take it, Princess. You’re doing so good.” I don’t move. I don’t breathe as I beg my body to adjust. He moves just a fraction, and the burning pain starts morphing into pleasure.
“You’re so fucking tight.” He strains. Every groove of his cock rubs against my walls as he makes small, short strokes.
“Callum.”
“Look at you, taking all of me like a good girl. I knew you could. And you look so fucking beautiful doing it.”
“I need…” Holy Gods, I can’t even manage a sentence. Has sex always felt this good? He thrusts in and out, and I think I might black out from the pain, or the pleasure—I can’t tell. My eyes squeeze shut. This is too much. Too much feeling, too much pressure. I just want it to stop.
Memories flood in behind my eyelids. “Eyes on me.” When I do, his wings stretch out before slowly lowering down, the bottom feathers grazing my skin. I’m taken over by the impulsive need to touch them, to see what they feel like against my fingers. Uncaring, I reach out and trace up the curve of his right wing. His cock swells inside me, and he hangs his head between his arms, a full-body shudder coursing through him. So I do it again. “Princess.” It comes out like a warning, but all I hear are promises.
Callum halts his movements, and his length grows with each swipe my fingers make over his very—apparently very —sensitive ethereal arches, stretching me beyond my limits.
“Look at us,” he breathlessly instructs. Straining my neck, I brace myself on my elbows and watch as he continues moving his hips, gliding his cock in and out of my opening. The force inches me back onto the bed, and I cry out. His hand encompasses my throat. “Don’t think, for a moment, you haven’t been mine.” His grip tightens, and I claw at the connection. “You will never be rid of me, Kalliope. Not in this life, the next, or any that comes after. You are mine, and don’t you ever fucking forget it.” He emphasizes his point with a brutal thrust, and that is my undoing.
Colors paint my vision as I come for the second time. A glow radiates around Callum, connecting the hue I didn’t notice forming around me, and suddenly, our life flashes in my head.
Every single moment plays for me in striking detail, from the first time we met up until now. Every encounter, argument, training session, and good memory plays in my head like a movie. Just as the credits should be rolling, the room comes into focus, his hand long gone from my throat and both firmly gripping my hips. His head is thrown back as he aggressively guides me over him again and again, until the final thrust does him in, and he topples on top of me.
Did he see that too? At some point, I started crying, and tears stream down the sides of my face, and Callum doesn’t hesitate before licking them away.
“What was that?”
His eyes bounce between mine. “I love you, Kallie. I have loved you since that first day in that shitty gym and long before that.” I’m stunned, not able to speak, especially with him still inside me.
“You can’t possibly love me. We barely know each other.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Princess. I’ve known you for a very long time. It was inevitable. I didn’t deserve you. Still don’t. But now it’s not a question if I want you, need you, crave you.” His cock swells inside of me with each passing word. “But I shouldn’t.”
“I don’t understand.”
A lazy smile pulls at the corner of his lips, and he pushes the hair out of my face, gazing into my eyes. “We’re written in the stars.”
At some point, we untangle from each other and get cleaned up. I opt to shower alone because, despite the events from tonight, I desperately need some space.
Shutting off the water and stepping out of the shower, I’m drying off when Callum knocks on the door. “Get dressed. We’re going out,” he says. Going out? I would rather die. Fuck, I was exhausted before he came storming into the house, and after that? I’m surprised I’m still standing.
“No thanks,” I call out. He opens the door and leans against the door frame, raking his eyes over my very naked body. “Do you mind?” I ask, covering myself with the towel.
He chuckles. “Modest now, are we?” Rolling my eyes, I still don’t move the obstruction of his view. “Anyway, as much as I would love to take you back in that shower and have my way with you, we have plans. And that wasn’t a question.”
Ignoring his former statement, I respond, “Either way, I’m tired and want to go to bed.”
“Too bad. Your clothes are already on the bed,” he states, pushing off the frame and walking away. Irritated, I brush out my hair and go see what he has planned. A set of leathers are laid out for me, and I might actually kill him if he thinks we’re training right now.
Just put them on.
“’We’re going out. That wasn’t a question. Put them on.’ Blah, blah, blah,” I mimic the overbearing ass.
I can hear you.
“Oh, I know!” I yell, trying to pull my pants up over my still damp skin—which is incredibly difficult. Finally, after I’m out of breath—and the leathers are basically glued on—I go meet Callum, who is waiting for me in the living room. Eyes drooping, I steal a look at the clock. “It’s 1:00 a.m.”
“Congratulations, you can tell time. Are you done pouting? We’re wasting moonlight.” He stalks off toward the door, clearly not waiting for my answer. Frustrated, I huff out a breath and follow him out.
The wings I caressed not long ago stand proud, and images of him falling victim to my touch play over in my head.
“Who knew you had such dirty thoughts, Princess?”
“Stay out of my—”
“Shut. Me. Out.”
I thought I did. Apparently, I’m not doing a very good job, or he’s found
some way around my defenses. Either way, I’m too tired to care.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” Then he takes me in his arms and holds me close to his chest, his heart
beating in tandem against mine. “Better hold on tight.” I yelp as we ascend into the night sky.
It doesn’t take long to figure out where we are going, and once I do, I can hardly contain my excitement.
“Can’t these go any faster?”
“Why don’t you just take in the sights?”
“The sights? It’s nothing but a bunch of tree tops.” At my complaint, he lets us free fall until I scream and clench tighter around him, bracing for impact. “Not funny.”
“Hilarious, actually.” I touch the apex of his wing as payback.
Tell him if he wants to keep his head, he will get you here in one piece, Voraxis states down our little glimmer. And now my suspicions are proven true. I tell Callum what Voraxis said, and he lets out a grunt. Men are so sensitive, my Gods.
Within a few minutes, we’re at the barrier, and my restlessness is oozing off me as we step through. Although I’m basically running on no sleep, my body feels like Jell-O, and I’m starving because someone interrupted my dinner, I still make quick work of jogging up and over the hill.
Voraxis stands proud in the sea of colors. I was beginning to think you had gotten lost.
Very funny.
“Are you ready?” Callum asks behind me. The other dragons eye him warily, not going too far from where we stand.
“Ready for what? You haven’t told me anything.”
“We’re going flying.”
I look at him inquisitively. “Isn’t that what we were just doing?” Voraxis takes a step closer, his wings flaring out, showcasing his true wingspan. Callum does the same. “Okay, can we cool it on the pissing contest? Jeez.”
Hop on, Firebird. I’ll show you what real flying feels like. Voraxis lowers his head, but I stare up and up and up. “There’s no way I can get up there.”
What is all that training good for? Get on. I don’t have all night. Does no one remember that I didn’t sign up for this? I was perfectly happy calling it a night before Sergeant Asshole decided otherwise.
“I can lift you up there.”
No! Voraxis bellows . You get up here yourself, or not at all. I relay the message to Callum, and he seems less than thrilled. Taking a deep breath, I size up Voraxis’s leg. It seems rude to step on his nose, but even then, I still don’t think I could make it over his head. The only logical way left is up his leg. Voraxis hears my thoughts and stretches out the closest one to me, keeping his head lowered to the ground.
I take a few steps back and make a general announcement. “I’m not sure if any of you understand, but I want to make it known: I am not hurting, attacking, or inflicting any intentional pain to this dragon.” I point at Voraxis. “I am simply just trying to get on his back. So if you would please refrain from attacking me, that would be much appreciated.” The other dragons stare at me like I’ve gone mad, and Callum lets out a shocking full-belly laugh.
They don’t understand you, Firebird. But don’t worry, I relayed the message loud and clear, Voraxis mentions while trying to suppress his humor. Taking another glance at the route I’m taking to get myself up this monster, I jump up and down a few times and shake out my limbs before getting a running start.
Scaling up his leg like a steep ramp, I’m hopeful as I reach my hand out to grab one of the protruding scales on his back. But I fall short. His back gets farther out of reach as I descend backward, and just when I think the hard surface I’ve hit is the ground, I’m rising back up. Voraxis has caught me on the flat of his nose and lifts me back up.
We’ll have to work on that , he says. I jump off his bridge, fling my leg up and over, and safely sit on his back. Adjusting, I quickly realize that his scales are harder than fucking rocks.
I’m gonna need a saddle or something. These hurt.
Don’t even think about it. Get over it.
“Alright, so how does this work?” I yell, wanting Callum to hear me down below.
You know you don’t have to shout, Callum says, flying up to meet me. Hold on—tight.
Voraxis begins moving, and I come to the conclusion, quite quickly, that there is a high probability of me plummeting to my death. I wobble side to side, and the ground shakes with each step he takes.
This should be interesting.
Voraxis’s monstrous wings spread wide before they start beating. We rise faster than I thought we would. I figured it would take a minute to get this beast off the ground.
Do not insult me like that.
Sorry, I whisper down the bond. Callum continues to stay steady with us, probably making sure I can actually stay on this ride.
My grip starts to slip, and I squeeze my thighs against the sides of his neck, pressing my front as hard as I can to him as we fly nearly vertical.
Almost there. But I squeeze tighter, praying we even out soon. Very soon. And thank the Gods, we do. Voraxis keeps us steady, and I sit up straight while noting Callum flying close by.
This is amazing, I say to them both. The stars and moon seem so close, just out of reach. The frigid air bites at the apples of my cheeks and the tip of my nose, but I don’t mind. I fling my arms out and embrace the night.
When I look over, Callum’s eyes collide with mine, and he inches closer.
If he thinks he’s getting a ride, he’s sadly mistaken.
I can’t handle all this testosterone.
Now, let’s go for a real ride, Voraxis states seconds before pulling his wings in tight, and we flash forward. I scream out in joy. The stars become a blur, and the night sky seems endless, blanketed in possibilities.
Out of nowhere, he nosedives, and we gain speed, the ground coming closer and closer. A scream of terror is ripped from my throat, and I shut my eyes. Voraxis’s scales dig and scrape against my frozen cheeks as I plaster myself onto him.
He swerves to the left, and I nearly fall off. I’m tousled and gripping onto anything I can to stay up right.
Doing alright? Voraxis asks.
Hanging in there. My admission causes him to chuckle. And I’m thanking all the Gods and Goddesses I don’t get motion sick.
Finally, we even out, and I swear we’re as close to the stars as we can get without breaching the ozone layer. I breathe in the crisp air, letting it inhabit my soul.
Callum’s husky voice sings to me, Is it everything you dreamed of?
Is what?
Flying with the stars. I’m caught off guard, so many emotions flooding through me, lodging in my throat. He made all my dreams come true. I’m finally flying amongst the stars. Tears prick the backs of my eyes as I watch him fly closer.
Make an exception. Just this once, I plead to Voraxis, and when he doesn’t reply, I take that as my answer. Callum lands behind me, not wasting a moment before wrapping his arms around my middle and pulling me into his warm embrace. I lean my head back and rest it on his chest.
He reaches up and places his hand around my jaw. I stare into his deep obsidians, getting lost in the sliver of emerald that’s seemingly growing brighter as he says with full conviction,“I love you.”
My heart fills and a sense of comfort washes over me, like I’m finally where I was supposed to be all along. “More than all the stars in the sky.”