5. Aries
Aries
B lossom is waiting for us in the basement when Mag and I arrive through the portal.
She looks up from where she’s scratching Bingo’s ears—something I’ve never seen him allow anyone else to do—and arches a brow at my naked human form before flicking her gaze to Mag whose pants are leaving puddles of water in their wake.
His scowl lightens at the sight of her, but she ignores his interest.
“Rough day?” she asks.
“Don’t want to talk about it,” he mutters.
When he starts for the door, she steps in front, blocking our exit. “You,” she tells Mag, “Should head to your scheduled area and pretend you’ve been here patrolling all afternoon. But you,” she says to me, “need to make yourself scarce for a while.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, immediately on alert.
“The council decided to show up today and poke their snooty noses into things.”
“The council?” I demand, my dragon surging beneath my skin at the thought of a potential threat anywhere near Paige.
“Whoa,” Blossom says, putting up her hand as I surge forward. “They’re the high council appointed by the library, and they don’t know how or why you’re here, remember? They aren’t going to hurt Paige,” she adds, noting my expression. “They’re the ones she’s been looking for, remember?”
My unease dissipates slightly, but tendrils of worry continue snaking through me. Their presence here is a threat; I don’t care what Blossom says.
Mag turns his gaze to me, all frustration he felt at my blocking the sirens gone. “I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
I force myself to exhale and step back. Physically shoving past the two keepers isn’t going to lead anywhere good, anyway. I could best them both separately—but together? That’s a fight I don’t want to get involved in.
“And I’ll get you some clothes,” Blossom says.
“Don’t bother,” I tell her. “I’ll go to the apartment and wait for her there.”
“You can’t let them see you,” Blossom warns. “Especially all of you.” She gestures to my nakedness.
“I won’t.”
I don’t bother to tell her I spent days sneaking all over this library without a single one of them ever noticing me. That I can make my way back up to Paige’s apartment without so much as a spider seeing me.
Which is exactly what I do the moment they’re both gone.
Using the tunnels that Constantine formed as well as sneaking into the rafters a time or two, I manage to make my way upstairs, completely unseen.
I dress quickly before heading back down, once again sticking to the rafters so I can keep watch from a safe distance.
While I won’t interrupt unless there’s an issue, I’m also not going to sit idly by in the apartment, wondering what’s going on. Not when it comes to my mate.
After getting as close as I can to Paige’s office, I use my shifter senses to hear what’s being said.
The voices coming from inside are soft, but I can make out Paige, another female, and a male.
Just as I am focusing in on the subject of their conversation, Paige’s office door opens below me, and I see the strangers emerge. The woman is older with short graying hair and a stiff set to her shoulders that makes her gait short and clipped.
The male is much more relaxed and trails behind her as if content to let her lead. She says something to him in a low voice and then raises her arm to reveal a keeper tattoo just like the one Mag and Blossom have.
She recites a few words, and a portal appears.
The two of them step through it, and the portal seals shut.
I wait another moment to be sure they’re gone and then drop to the ground from my place in the rafters.
Paige’s door still hangs open, so I push my way inside and see her sitting behind her desk with her head in her hands.
“Paige.” Worry slams into me, and I rush over, bending to one knee as I reach for her. “I’m here. What happened?”
She lifts her head to look at me, and I’m relieved to see she is unharmed, though her eyes are red-rimmed from the tears streaking her cheeks.
“My love,” I say and don’t bother waiting for an invitation before taking her into my arms.
When she doesn’t protest, I make a decision and start for the door.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Taking you home.”
Instead of arguing like she usually does, she only sighs and buries her face against my neck. That alone has my worry spiking. I don’t put her down as I hit the button for the elevator and take her upstairs to the apartment we’ve shared since my arrival.
Paige clings to me, stirring a need that hasn’t been met in days.
Inside our apartment, I shut the door behind me and turn the lock.
It’s not enough to keep out any of the creatures who roam this library, but it’s a clear message to stay away if they know what’s good for them.
Carrying Paige to the bedroom, I lay her gently against the mattress and stroke her cheek as I meet her gaze.
“I want to hear all about what happened today,” I tell her, “But not yet. Right now, I want to love you, Paige. If you’ll let me.”
She gazes up at me with desire reflected in her brown eyes. “Please,” she replies softly.
I lower my mouth to hers, reveling in the taste of her lips. She is addictingly sweet—a perfect flavor that has me craving her even as I’m already lost in her.
I deepen the kiss, and Paige responds, winding her arms around my neck.
She slides both hands up the back of my neck and buries them in my hair, pulling me closer.
Without breaking our kiss, I climb up and lower my body over hers, needing to feel all of her against me.
After the stress of the last couple of weeks, I am determined to remind her what it feels like to be cared for.
To be loved as though she’s the single most important person in this world and the next. Because to me, she is.
“Tell me what you need,” I whisper against her lips.
“I need you, Aries.”
“Show me where.”
She grips my wrist, moving my hand to cup her breast. “Start here,” she says with a mischievous smile.
“With pleasure.”
I squeeze her breast in my hand and claim her mouth with another kiss, this time with the full force of my need for her.
Invading her mouth with my tongue, I draw sounds from her that match my own desire.
She rocks her hips against mine, and I let go of her long enough to slip my hand beneath her shirt and brush my thumb over her nipple.
“Is this what you want?” I ask her.
“Yes.” She gasps, arching for more, and I’m only too happy to give it to her.
But the clothing between us is a barrier I can’t stand any longer. Drawing back, I note the disappointment in her eyes as I sit up.
“What is it?” she asks.
“I need to see you,” I tell her. “To feel all of you against me.”
I peel her shirt over her head and then reach back to unclasp her bra. Tossing both to the floor, I reach for her pants and peel those off too. Her panties are a tiny scrap of black fabric against her flawless body, and I inhale deeply as the scent of her lust hits me fully now.
“You are so beautiful,” I tell her, enjoying the way her cheeks flush at my compliment.
Standing over her, I undress and toss my clothes aside.
“You’re not bad either,” she says with a smirk. “For a dragon king.”
“Prince,” I remind her. I’ve yet to take the throne because I’ve yet to take a wife. Though I don’t speak that part out loud. I don’t want a shred of reality getting in the way of this moment together.
“Right. Pampered prince. I forgot.”
“I’ll show you pampered,” I growl, grabbing her panties in my fist and yanking hard. The fabric rips away easily, but Paige yelps in surprise. I lower myself over her again, silencing her sounds with a kiss that is anything but pampered or gentle.
“You should know I don’t intend to make love to you like a prince would,” I whisper against her ear, my erection pressing against her thigh.
“No?” she asks, breathless.
Her scent grows stronger at my words, so I nip at her ear as I growl, “No, I intend to fuck you like the king that you make me.”
She shudders beneath me, and I grin before taking her mouth with mine once again. My hands finally free to roam, I make sure to touch every inch of her beautiful body. By the time my finger dips low to her wet center, she is taut and desperate beneath me.
“Please, Aries,” she pants, “I need you.”
As much as I want to take my time, enjoy pleasuring her for as long as possible, her plea snaps my patience. I position myself at her entrance and drive into her hard enough to make us both gasp.
“Don’t stop,” she urges, locking her legs around my hips, and I can do nothing but obey.
Again and again, I rock against her, burying myself inside the woman fate has chosen as mine.
I meant what I said before: Paige will make me a king, and someday she’ll be my queen.
I won’t return home without her—even if it kills me.
And at the moment she comes apart in my arms, I follow quickly behind her with an orgasm of my own, and I know I’ll die a happy man in this world or the next.
* * *
An hour later, Paige sits on the couch in an oversized shirt as she tells me about the council visit.
I stand, arms folded, too on edge to remain seated in the chair across from her.
Her wine sits untouched as does my own. And the appetite I worked up earlier has now vanished, thanks to her news of the visitors and the woman’s threats against her.
“I don’t like it,” I say when Paige finishes.
“I don’t either,” she admits. “But they’re a necessary part of all this, and if Oliver can help me with the workload, maybe it’s not all bad.”
I bite back the urge to snarl my irritation at that idea. The thought of a strange male spending time with Paige, as he teaches her things, makes my beast want to char his flesh until he has none left. But I don’t voice that particular desire.
Jealousy will get me nowhere. Especially when I know I have nothing to worry about. Paige is mine. Destiny has deemed it so. And even if I didn’t have the mate bond to reassure me, I know what she feels for me is real. “If he can help you, then I suppose that’s a good thing.”
“Aries.” She gets up and crosses the distance between us, placing her slender hand on my chest. “I can’t fail. If I do—” Tears fill her eyes, and I cover her hand with mine.
“They won’t get the chance to wipe your memories, Paige. I swear I will burn this place to the ground if it means saving you.”
She shakes her head. “You’d kill everyone. Including the worlds protected in the books,” she says.
“You’re the only one who needs to remain standing,” I tell her, meaning every single word. “But I suppose I could resort to less fiery options first.”
Her smile warms my heart. “Thank you. That would be appreciated.”
I lean down and brush my lips against hers. A feathery soft kiss that soothes the beast within me. “You look better,” I say as I pull back. The lines of stress and exhaustion that have been etched on her face for the last few weeks are less pronounced than before.
“Good sex has a way of rejuvenating me,” she says.
I narrow my eyes. “Just good?”
“Great,” she amends. “Better than great, actually. Mind-blowing, earth-shattering, life-changing sex.”
I smirk. “Better.”
She grins and pulls away. After sitting back down, she takes a sip of her wine. But as soon as she pulls the glass away, I see that her smile has faded. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant lately.”
I cross to where she sits, taking a seat beside her and brushing my thumb over her cheek. “Don’t apologize. You’re under so much stress. I only want to keep you safe and well.”
She sighs. “I am lucky to have you.”
“I am the lucky one,” I tell her. “And everything will be okay. We’ll figure this out.”
“Aries... I have to say it because I feel like an asshole if I don’t.”
“What is it?”
“I have to be here because I’ve been chosen and because Hoc needs me, but you could go home—”
“Absolutely not.”
“—and check on your world, at least. Make sure your people are safe. I could release you from the library’s employment, and Mag could open a portal to your book—”
“Paige.” I grip both of her hands in mine and look her in the eye. “Listen to me because I don’t want you to doubt this ever again: You are my home, and I will never, ever leave you alone.”
“But your family—”
“Will understand. And when I do finally return home, it will be with you by my side. You’re mine, Paige. And I’m yours—forever.”
“Thank you, Aries.” Her shoulders sag, and she smiles though there’s a sadness in it that makes me wonder if she truly believes we’ll ever be able to leave this place behind. “You’re my home too.”
I pull her into my lap and breathe in the scent of her, letting it soothe my senses.
She melts against me, content to sit in silence, doing nothing.
It’s another sign she’s more stressed than usual, especially since she hasn’t brought up work or how behind she is in her tasks once since I carried her up here.
Before Hoc was taken, Paige had agreed to return to my world with me—for good.
But since Hoc vanished, she hasn’t once asked me about my promise to take her home with me.
I tell myself it’s her stress that has her distracted.
That bringing it up would only add to her current problems, not make her feel better.
But really, I know it’s because I can’t bear the thought of hearing her answer.
So, I close my eyes and remind myself, not for the first time in the last few weeks, that maybe it’s better not to ask the question…yet.