Chapter 31 Leena
LEENA
We don’t stop, but the formation loosens as the terrain shifts. The ridge breaks into narrow cuts of stone and shadow. The others spread out naturally, covering angles, adjusting without needing to be told.
We move through a path in the rock, the group stretching as we navigate the uneven terrain. We’re not split, but not tight either. The second sun is already below the horizon, and the primary is almost gone too.
Behind us, I hear Drazan’s voice, low, giving instructions to the others. He orders them to make camp. I look back and see he’s not watching us, but I know he knows exactly where we are.
Kael’s arm slips from my shoulders. I glance at him.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” he says, still sounding rough.
He takes a few steps ahead, testing his balance. Watching his footing. Reclaiming something that was taken from him. Then he slows and waits for me. He leads us toward the lower ridge, toward the break in the stone where the wind cuts the sound, and the heat settles.
It’s not far, just enough for some privacy. Drazan doesn’t stop us. He sees it happening. Sees Kael shift toward me, and he lets it go. No command. No correction. Just a single look, then he turns away and gives us space.
The desert dips, a shallow cut between ridges where the wind has carved the stone into something like shelter. The sounds of the others fade. Kael slows; then he stops.
“You okay?”
His chest rises and falls more slowly.
“Yes.”
His gaze shifts over me, not scanning the horizon, not checking for threats. Just checking me.
“You are still bleeding.”
I glance down at my hand. The torn skin has dried into stiff lines with sand clinging to it.
“I’ve had worse,” I say.
“You said that before.”
“And it was true then too.”
He doesn’t smile, but something in his expression shifts. A flicker of something warmer than the controlled stillness he usually holds. He steps closer.
Close enough that I feel the coolness he radiates. The steady presence that’s become familiar. Grounding in a way I didn’t expect when this all started.
He lifts his hand, pauses, as if he’s giving me the chance to pull away.
I don’t.
His fingers close gently around my wrist, turning my hand just enough to see the damage. Careful and focused. The same way I’ve been with him.
“This was unnecessary,” he says quietly.
“It kept you from being dragged back into that thing.”
His jaw tightens slightly.
“That outcome remains unacceptable.”
I huff out a breath.
“We’ve established that.”
Silence settles as his thumb shifts against my wrist. Barely a movement, but I feel it all the way up my arm, and my breath catches. Just for a second.
He lifts his eyes to mine, and the air between us changes. Subtle, but there. He steps closer. His hand slides from my wrist up my arm, slow, deliberate, like he’s mapping the distance between us.
My pulse spikes. I don’t move. I don’t step back. I don’t break the moment. Because I want this.
“You stayed,” he says again.
The words are soft.
“I told you,” I answer. “I wasn’t going anywhere.”
His gaze searches mine, like he’s looking for something more than the words. Something that proves it. Something that holds.
He finds it. I see the moment it settles in him. The shift. The decision. His hand moves to my waist.
Not sudden. Not forceful. Certain as he pulls me a little closer. Enough that the space between us disappears. My breath stutters.
He lowers his head, not taking, not forcing, just closing the distance. Waiting. Giving me the choice.
My hand comes up to his chest without thinking, fingers pressing lightly over his hearts, which are beating too fast and too uneven.
“I’m here,” I whisper.
His eyes darken, then he closes the distance. The kiss isn’t rushed. It isn’t soft either. It’s… deliberate.
His mouth finds mine with a pressure that’s controlled but unmistakable, like he’s holding back just enough to avoid overwhelming me.
Testing. Learning.
My body reacts before my thoughts can catch up. I lean into him, closing the space he left open, my fingers tightening against his chest as the contact deepens.
He exhales against my lips, the sound rough, unsteady, like this is affecting him as much as it affects me. More.
His hand tightens at my waist, pulling me closer, anchoring me against him as the kiss shifts. Deeper, less tentative.
Not taking, but not holding back anymore either. The world narrows. The desert. The danger. The others. All of it fades.
There’s just this.
This connection.
This moment where everything we’ve been through collides into something that feels right.
His other hand brushes along my side, then stills, like he’s catching himself. The restraint hits me just as hard as the touch.
He’s still fighting it. Still holding that line.
I break the kiss first. Not pulling away. Just enough to look at him.
His breathing is uneven. His eyes locked on mine. Focused. Present, but there’s something else there too. Something tighter. Something dangerous in a different way.
“Kael…” I murmur.
“I do not want to stop,” he says.
Honest. Raw. The words send heat through me.
“Then don’t,” I answer softly.
That’s all it takes. Whatever control he was holding onto shifts. Not gone, but no longer holding him back.
His hand tightens at my waist as he pulls me back into him, the kiss returning with more force this time, more need, less restraint. And this time he doesn’t stop.
His lips move with mine. I run my hands up and tangle them in his hair, pulling him closer.
He growls, his hands shifting to my ass, pulling me tighter against him. I feel his girth digging into me, pressing hard as it strains against his loose pants.
The heat of my body is matched by the coolness of his, which seems to absorb as much as I can give.
He moves his hips, thrusting forward, and I groan, wanting more. I grind against him, aching with need, remembering his fingers inside of me.
We move against each other. Panting. Desperate for release. I don’t only want him. I need him.
I break away from his mouth, gasping for air. We stare into one another’s eyes for a moment that feels as brief as a heartbeat and as long as eternity.
There’s a fire burning in his that’s more than desire.
“Treasure,” he growls.
I couldn’t stop my smile if I tried.
“Yes,” I say, nodding as I lower myself to my knees.
I grab the tie of his pants and quickly undo it. When I pull his pants up and over, his cock drops and hits the top of my head. I stare at it in surprise.
I’ve heard all the stories about Zmaj cocks, but hearing and seeing are nowhere near the same. The rolling ridges along the top are fascinating. I take him in my hands and slowly—so slowly—slide up and down.
He shudders as he groans, which in turn makes me groan too. I switch him to one hand and slide my now free hand into my pants.
I stroke myself and him at the same time. I’m so wet my fingers keep slipping in, but they’re not enough. I want more. I want him.
I lick the underside of his shaft, slowly tasting every inch of him. When I reach the head, I open wide and take him in, swirling my tongue around while I furiously rub my clit.
He grunts, pushing forward, forcing himself into my mouth. I open as wide as I can and take it while three fingers slip inside, filling me. Preparing myself for what will be coming.
I tease him. Up, down, around the shaft. Grabbing his balls and squeezing. He grunts, groans, getting closer. When he grabs the back of my head and forces his cock in, I lose it. The orgasm rips through both of us as if it’s shared.
He fills my mouth while my fingers are clamped by spasming muscles. We buck and thrust, then come undone.
It finally passes, and I look up at him, smiling. He stares down with dreamy eyes, his cock slowly softening.
“Good?” I ask.
“Mine,” he says, hooking his hands under my shoulders and lifting me off the sand.
He sets me on my feet, but I barely have time to hold myself upright before he grabs my pants and jerks them down to my feet. I quickly step out of them, tangling only once.
The instant they’re off, he grabs onto my waist and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around him and we hold there, our lips locking.
He lowers me slowly down. The miracle of a Zmaj having two cocks comes into play when his hardness finds my opening. He slips inside easily, filling me slowly. One inch at a time, stretching me to my limits.
I don’t know how long it takes. All I know is pleasure as his cock slides deeper and deeper. I squirm and groan. He exerts control at a level I can’t even begin to comprehend. He grabs my hair, pulling back as he lavishes kisses up and down my neck.
His rough tongue slides over my skin while he keeps his cock fully seated inside me, letting me adjust to his girth.
I moan loud, not caring if the sound carries. He slaps my ass and the sting of the smack makes the pleasure all the sweeter. I grab onto his shoulders and pull myself up until only the tip is inside. Then I drop.
“Gah!” I exclaim as I’m filled fast and hard.
That breaks his control. It’s what I wanted. His hands are on my ass, and then all I know is pleasure as we go wild. It seems like no time passes before I’m exploding again. Wave after wave of orgasm passing over me while he holds me.
“Mine,” he whispers in my ear as yet another spasm rushes through.
“Yours. All yours. All of me.”
“Treasure,” he says, holding me tight.