CHAPTER 38 MILI
O nce we’re all situated in the living area, and Chrysthinia has brought the hunched-over shifters and me our tea, they finally settle into their most comfortable chair. Usually, Chrysthinia offers the prized seat to their guests, but I insisted they use it since they’re still healing from their ailment.
I glance over at Cory, Port, and Max, and bite back a smile at the sight of the dragon shifters squished together in the cramped space. I always thought that I had a hard time in the small home, but seeing the three tall men, puts it into a whole different perspective.
They’re sort of cute all sitting together like that, too. Port is in the center, with Max and Cory on either side of him. His elbow rests comfortably on Cory’s thigh, and his other hand holds him up from its place behind Max’s back.
They look awfully comfortable , I think as I look at the two of them. I assumed they’d been physical, since Cory and I practically walked in on them bedding each other in the dining chamber, but they look genuinely safe in each others’ company. It’s sort of beautiful; I just wonder how Cory would fit into the mix –or me.
I clear my throat to compose myself and turn to Chrysthinia. “Tell me everything.”
“There’s not much to tell, my dear,” they sigh. “I was unconscious for most of the blight on the land. A few days ago, I started dreaming vividly –sights of powerful fire and rain, earth and air working as one to bring salvation to Ethelinda. The visions passed in and out of my mind rapidly, so fast I could not grasp them. Eventually, though I don’t know how, I woke up. The rain had finally come, and the illness was washed away.”
“We cast the spell,” I nod. “The healing rain –Cory and I called it together.”
At that, Chrysthinia raises an eyebrow. Oh, godsdamnit –they’re going to ask who Cory is .
“Who is this ‘Cory?’” they reply, lips pursed. “I don’t know anything about him.” I open my mouth to reply, but Chrysthinia interrupts, “You –Cory. Are you a wizard? A warlock? No, that can’t be it. You’re not a faery, that much is certain, which leaves one thing: you’re a shifter, are you not?”
I wince and turn to Cory apologetically, but I see that he’s actually smiling softly. I raise my eyebrows and glance between Max and Port, but both of them are looking at Cory just as surprised as I am.
“I am a shifter, but, more importantly, I’m the dragon guardian of the Ethelinda volcano.”
There’s a moment of silence, then Chrysthinia calls out, “Ha! Oh, I figured. That makes sense now, doesn’t it?”
“You’re not upset?” I ask, completely taken aback.
Chrysthinia shrugs and shakes their head. “He seems fine. No evil energy, nothing lunar. The Moon has been up to all sorts of tricks. She sent someone down to us, I believe, just before the blight. Someone wicked and vile. A warlock!”
My blood suddenly runs cold. If the Moon sent someone to us before Chrysthinia got sick ... it could have been someone I met. Oh, Realm’s Mother – it could have been Kar. Did I let the Moon in?
I hear pounding in my ear as I stand up without thinking, making my way clumsily towards the front door. I fumble with the handle before stumbling out into the overgrown garden, hearing shuffling and muffled words behind me.
Still, I can’t stop. I make my way across the yard, breathing hard as I focus on just putting one foot in front of the other, pressing onwards even though I don’t know where I’m going. My vision goes blurry as my foot lands in a small hole in the ground, and I fall to my knees as my leg gives out.
My blood rushes in my ears and my breath takes up all my hearing as I look down at my hand. It’s scraped badly, and I find myself entranced by the small scratches and pieces of dirt buried in my skin.
Mili! I hear someone shout from far away.
I frown and sigh, my vision starting to darken around the edges. The shouting gets a little louder, and I turn around, curious where it’s coming from. When I turn, I see a fuzzy face in front of me – Cory? – and I mumble something incoherent before feeling my eyes fall back.
Everything goes dark.
–––
I wake up in Cory’s lap in Chrysthinia’s front yard. He’s sitting on the ground, clutching me tightly to him, staring down into my face with the most terrified expression I’ve ever seen on his face.
“I’m so sorry,” I manage to mumble. “I brought him here.”
“Shh,” he whispers. “I have to bring you inside, okay? Just relax.”
I sigh heavily and close my eyes, allowing Cory to curl me into his chest as he lifts us both off the ground. I inhale his scent, the cider and leather smell I’ve come to love, and try to push the vision of Kar out of my mind as he brings me inside.
“The bed,” Chrysthinia orders firmly.
As I look up at Cory, I see him nod at them, his eyes worried and his brow furrowed.
I let my eyes fall closed again as Cory walks me to Chrysthinia’s bed. He lays me down and I sigh, squeezing my eyes shut to will myself back to sleep. It’s horrible, being awake now that I know that the force which brought Kar’s devastation to Ethelinda was me .
I’d much rather sleep it all away –though that’s not seeming very likely to happen with Cory, Port, Max, and Chrysthinia whispering in half-hushed voices in the hallway. Despite myself, my ears hone in on their conversation.
“What’s the matter with her?” Max hisses, sounding as irritated as he is worried. There’s the sound of a soft punch, probably Port hitting Max in the arm. Max whispers, “Ow!”
“Oh, hush,” Port whispers back. “Something’s clearly upset her.”
Cory scoffs. “Brilliant, how did you manage to figure that out?”
“The three of you act like brothers,” Chrysthinia chuckles lowly.
“We might as well be with how much these two drive me mad,” Cory growls.
“Lay off it, Cory!” Max spits out. I can almost picture his hackles rising as he squares up to Cory, and I hear their footsteps shift as Port (presumably) moves between them.
Port whispers urgently, “Both of you, quiet! Realm willing, she’s sleeping by now.”
“Oh, really? If she’s asleep, why’s her heart pounding in the other room?” Cory grumbles. “You just want a moment alone with her, don’t you?”
“What?” Port and Max ask in unison.
“No, that’s not it at all,” Port replies, sounding wounded.
Max sucks in a breath. “We’ve got to work on that possessive streak of yours, Cory.”
Cory growls, but he doesn’t bite back with a snipe of his own. I suppose he is a bit possessive –not that I mind it. Still, Max and Port aren’t wrong. It’s good that Cory can recognize it, though.
“Look,” Cory whispers. “She’s still awake in there, and probably still terrified or upset or whatever the Realm is going on with her. Are you two going to help me help her, or not?”
“Of course we are,” Port murmurs. I imagine him laying a hand on Cory’s arm as I hear Cory sigh in response.
Max humphs, and there’s another soft hit –Port must have punched his shoulder again. I smile at the mental image, and Max replies, “Oh, godsdamnit, of course I’ll check on her, too.”
“Be gentle with her,” Chrysthinia whispers sternly. “She’s a precious one.”
“I know she is,” Cory says softly as Port and Max murmur their assent.
I try to steady my heartbeat as the door squeaks open, but I feel it pounding in my chest anyway. I sigh and open my eyes –no sense in pretending since they can hear it, anyway.
“Hello, my dear dragons,” I say with a forced grin that turns into a grimace. “You all must think I’m so ridiculous for getting so worked up.”
Cory kneels beside me and takes my hand in his. “I don’t think that at all. None of us do.” Max scoffs. “Well, except that one,” Cory growls.
A laugh escapes me as I look up at Max, who’s gazing down at me from the left side of the bed. “You think I’m silly, don’t you?” I let my eyes widen as I smile up at him, and my heart flutters as I see something in his expression soften. Little by little, he’s opening up to me –the thought makes me smile even more.
“Um, no,” Max coughs and shakes his head, “not much, anyways.”
I beam up at him and a red blush spreads over his cheeks. I quickly glance over at Port, who’s gazing at Max with a completely adoring expression, and my heart melts. As soon as the moment comes, though, it threatens to pull away as Max tries to step back. Before he can, I take his hand in mine and hold it.
Max’s face grows even redder, and I look quickly over at Cory to make sure he’s okay. There’s a strange, warm expression on his face that heats up my own cheeks, and I quickly divert my gaze to Port so I don’t completely lose my composure.
“Port?” I ask.
“Yes, dearest Milica?” he smiles.
I sigh, smiling back. “Will you forgive me for storming out so rudely?”
Port comes to the foot of the bed, then, and kneels before me. He rests a hand on my leg and says earnestly, “There’s nothing to forgive.”
There’s a moment where the two of us smile at each other, and it feels as if we’re the only two in the room –just Port and me, gazing into each others’ eyes. Then Max coughs, apparently annoyed with the tender moment. I roll my eyes and glare at him, though there’s no real menace in my gaze.
He smirks back at me and shrugs. “You know I’m not the sentimental type.”
“Don’t we all,” Cory teases.
Max waves a hand in the air, dismissing Cory’s snark, then turns to Port. “Come on,” he says, “let’s give the mighty healer a moment with her.”
As soon as the words leave his lips, a small fire lights in my abdomen at the thought of being with Cory ... alone. We haven’t really had a private moment to ourselves since the healing rain, and although I’ve been trying to restrain that carnal part of me that he brings out, it hasn’t been easy.
Port must see something in my expression light up, because his eyes widen and he winks at Max. “Yes, I think we’d better give them some privacy .”
I blush immediately at his comment, but Cory looks completely composed. For a second, as Max and Port walk to the door, I worry if his feelings have faded since our intimacy at the volcano’s peak. Tiny prickles of anxiety run down my arms, and I cross them to hide the sudden goosebumps.
Then the door closes behind Port and Max, and Cory launches himself at me. One of his hands holds him up against the headboard while the other wraps itself in my hair, and I gasp as he immediately begins to devour my lips.
I groan as his intensity grows, his tongue carving out space for itself in my mouth, his hand pulling my hair back so tightly I have to strain to reach his own lips. He moves to straddle me, letting his hand move from the headboard to the crux of my thighs. I feel my hips already twitching in anticipation of his touch, and he smiles against me as we kiss.
Even in the passionate embrace, the comfort of his scent and touch are like a calming balm on my nervous system. His hand wraps around my thigh and pulls me down so I’m lying flat against the bed, then Cory moves to lower his head to me. I gasp as he pulls my satin pants down with my undergarment, exposing my sex to the cottage’s cool air.
I watch his nostrils flare as the smell of my arousal fills the room; the anticipation of what he’s going to do to me is nearly overwhelming, and I barely bite back a whimper as he presses a single finger to my sensitive nerves.
He starts to circle his thumb around me, painfully slowly, and lets his eyes fall back on mine. My hands are strewn loosely to my sides, and he grabs them softly and pins them above my head. I bite my lip as he works my arousal into a frenzy, still going so godsdamned slowly , and he smirks.
“Do you know why I’m teasing you so much, Mili?”
His words confuse me, and I shake my head. “N-no?” I stutter. A growl reverberates from his chest and he slips a finger slowly inside me, eliciting a strangled cry from me.
“I still smell him here,” he hisses, his dragon sex eyes lighting up. My eyes widen, but he continues. “I smelled him, weeks ago, when you first bedded him. I was beside myself, nearly driven mad knowing you were with another man, the wrong man.”
“It was a mistake,” I whisper, gasping again as Cory slides another finger inside me. I writhe with the overstimulating combination of guilt and arousal –we could have had a civil conversation about this, but apparently Cory didn’t want to play nice.
“I’m glad you recognize that,” Cory growls, arching his fingers inside me and pressing against my walls. I cry out, unable to restrain myself this time, as Cory starts pumping his fingers against me in earnest. As frustrated as I can tell he is, he still smiles at the sight of me losing myself to him.
Just as I’m nearing the point of no return, Cory abruptly slows down, and I gasp in frustration. “Please don’t stop,” I whimper.
“I need you to listen to me, Mili,” he whispers back, voice hardly more than a low hum. I nod frantically, desperate for relief, and he continues. “As jealous as I was, I didn’t blame you. None of us did. He’s with the Moon, is he not?”
I nod, arching my hips to try to get more stimulation, but he slows even more and I hiss with irritation. “Cory!”
“He’s with the Moon – he’s not like us. He’ll take what he wants and destroy whatever’s in his path to get to it, do you understand?”
He stares at me, slowing to a complete stop until I cry out, “Yes, I understand!”
After I respond, he starts moving his fingers again, and my eyes flutter closed with a twisted combination of sexual frustration and delicious pleasure. He hums slowly as he starts to move, faster and faster, but I can tell even just through the touch that he’s weighing his words.
“You have to promise me something,” he murmurs. “Can you do that?”
“Yes,” I pant, “anything.”
His fingers reach a crescendo, quick and constant, and I whine with anticipation. “Don’t blame yourself for another man’s wickedness – but don’t ever bed him again.”
As Cory finishes his command to me, I crash over the edge, momentarily blinded by the intensity of my orgasm. I don’t hear anything, but when my eyes finally open again, I feel Cory’s hand clamped over my mouth.
“A bit noisy, are we?” he grins.
I expected him to be mad, given the nature of the strange conversation we just had, but Cory’s face is open and relieved. I smile up at him as a laugh bubbles out of me, the bliss of our intimacy overtaking me. Cory holds a hand out to me and I take it, allowing him to pull me into his lap on the bed.
He guides my legs around his hips with his hands, and I sigh as my limbs wrap around him. Cory tucks me into his arms until I’m all but folded into him, and gently kisses the top of my head.
I smirk. “Did you really think the time for that conversation was with your fingers inside me?”
“I didn’t want you running off on me again,” he replies, casually enough to make me roll my eyes.
“I’ll get you back for that.”
He barks out a laugh, then pulls back to gaze into my face with a wicked grin. “I’d love to see you try.”