16. Aries
Aries
I haven’t let Paige out of my sight since we found Tawny, and for once, she doesn’t complain about my hovering.
In fact, she’s been surprisingly stoic, considering my need to keep her close meant having her accompany me through the secret tunnel in her apartment closet and into the hidden cavern where I leave Tawny’s body.
When we’re finished, I lead her back into her apartment. The moment we’re there, I turn to Paige and pull her into my arms, grateful for the moment alone together.
She melts into me, and I breathe in her scent, letting her presence soothe my dragon, who hasn’t stopped wanting to kill something in weeks.
“How are you holding up?” I ask when she finally steps back.
“Not great,” she admits, “But I’m handling it.”
She looks steadier than she did a couple of days ago, despite everything that’s happened. I reach over and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m so proud of you,” I tell her, and she lowers her gaze, cheeks flushing.
Her blush has my body reacting in ways that probably aren’t appropriate, given the fact that we just hid a body together. Unfortunately, my hardening cock isn't deterred by a little death if it means seeing Paige’s flushed skin in all its glory.
Paige apparently doesn’t miss my display and surprises me by stepping closer and reaching for me again. “Aries,” she whispers. “I know I’ve been distant lately.”
“You’ve been grieving, love.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to grieve right now. I want to forget. To pretend we’re living in a world where this kind of pain and all of these obstacles against us don’t exist. Can you...can you give me that just for a little while?”
I don’t waste a single second longer.
Sweeping her up, I carry her to the bedroom then toss her onto the mattress. She sits up on her elbows and looks at me with a playful smile lighting her face. “Is that a yes?” she jokes.
“How much do you like these clothes?” I ask, closing the distance between us.
“Why?”
Instead of answering her with words, I give into my need for her and rip her shirt off her body. She gasps, and I swallow the sound with a kiss that’s beyond impatient. Her tongue clashes with my own, letting me know she doesn’t mind my rough touch.
“Aries,” she gasps as I release her mouth, kissing a trail down her throat and across the swell of her breasts.
Her bra provides another roadblock, and I drag the straps down her shoulders, impatient for the barrier to be gone. The moment her nipple is free, I suck it into my mouth, and Paige makes a sound of pleasure as I flick her hardened peak with my tongue then nip at it with my teeth.
“Is this what you want, gorgeous,” I ask, needing to hear it from her mouth.
“Yes,” she gasps. “Don’t stop.”
I am more than willing to give in to her command. Dragging my tongue lower, I lick a trail from her breasts to the waistband of her pants. My fingers make quick work of the button on her jeans, and I’m just dragging them off her when the front door opens.
“Paige,” Blossom calls a second later. The urgency in her voice makes it impossible to ignore her.
I raise my head and meet Paige’s gaze, stifling a groan as I realize she intends to answer her friend.
“What?” Paige calls out.
“Oliver’s downstairs, and he’s looking for Tawny,” she calls back. “Better get down there fast.” There’s a pause as she adds, “Sorry to interrupt,” before quickly leaving again.
Paige’s gaze finds mine again, and her eyes widen with fear. I make a mental note to not only kill Oliver but to make him suffer first, but out loud, I say only, “I’ll come with you.”
Paige redresses quickly, choosing a new shirt since I shredded the one she wore earlier. She looks at me apologetically, pausing long enough to swoop in for a kiss. “Raincheck,” she says pointedly, and I smile, knowing she hasn’t completely moved on from where we just left off.
“It’s a date,” I tell her, palming her ass on the way out the door.
Downstairs, Oliver is waiting inside Paige’s office. I follow her inside, catching sight of an angry expression crossing Oliver’s face at the sight of me. He quickly hides it again, though, and smiles, focusing on Paige.
“There you are,” he says. “I’d begun to wonder if you’d abandoned your post.”
“No, I had another matter to attend to.” Paige’s cheeks flame with heat, but either Oliver doesn’t notice, or he’s doing her a favor and pretending.
“I don’t mean to steal you away,” he says, and I bristle at the choice of wording, mentally adding it to my list of reasons to flay him alive in the near future.
“I wanted to ask if you’ve seen Tawny anywhere.
We were supposed to meet up to discuss our meeting agenda tomorrow, but she didn’t show up. ”
To her credit, Paige doesn’t flinch at the question. “No, I thought she wasn’t due until the morning.”
“Right, of course, just wondering if she’d popped over again for some reason.” But his expression is still full of worry.
“Not that I know of,” Paige says. “Maybe she went to see Phillip again?”
Oliver frowns and looks at me. “What about you? Any sign of your favorite neighborhood councilwoman?”
“I haven’t heard a peep,” I say maybe a little too smugly.
“Right. Well then, I’ll see if I can track her down.” He heads for the door, forced to pass by where I stand. Instead of shying away, he punches me lightly on the arm and says so quietly, I doubt Paige hears him, “Best of luck at tomorrow’s meeting, Your Majesty.”
Before I can respond, he’s gone.
Paige meets my eyes, her worry clear. She doesn’t say a word, though, and I know we’re both thinking Oliver could still be close by. Which means our “break” upstairs together will have to wait a little longer.
“I’m going to take a walk,” I tell her, “See if I can’t find some sign of our visitor from earlier.”
Paige nods, and I know she understands my meaning. “We need to figure out who it was before the meeting tomorrow.”
“We will,” I promise her and then plant a quick kiss on her mouth that’s deeper than a peck. When I pull away, she looks a little dazed, and I grin. “That’s so you don’t forget about our raincheck.”
“I couldn’t possibly forget,” she whispers back.
I smile as I leave her, heading into the stacks toward where we found Tawny’s body.
My mind is distracted, remembering how Paige’s body felt beneath mine earlier and how much I need to feel her again soon.
I’m so focused on the plans I’m making for that break that I almost miss the book sitting out on the table near the break room.
The moment the familiar cover registers, I double back and stare down at the tome that contains the story of my home world of Astronia.
I haven’t looked at this book since I first arrived inside the Athenaeum.
That first night, Paige showed it to me to help me understand how I’d gotten here and why this library exists at all.
After that, I’d tucked it into a drawer in her bedroom.
I haven’t touched it since, and I have no reason to believe she did either.
So, the sight of it sitting here puts me on edge immediately.
I glance around, but there’s no one else in sight, and my senses tell me I’m alone.
Picking up the book, I let the pages fall open and my eyes scan the words written there.
I expect to find the familiar tale of a dragon prince ordered to marry before he can ascend the throne, heir to a kingdom that fought for and earned its freedom from an army of orcs who seek to destroy the people of Astronia.
What I find is a plot twist that has my gut wrenching along with it.
I have no idea how or why it happened, but the story has changed, and the impending future that is written on these pages is far worse than I imagined.
In my absence, chaos and mayhem have descended, and my once thriving and peaceful kingdom’s future now sits poised beneath the blade of a knife.
I have to get home.
I have to save my people. My family.
But if I do that, I might as well abandon this world to the same fate. Tawny and Hoc are dead, and the vote tomorrow could likely mean the end of everything Paige has ever known. How can I possibly choose which world to save and which to let burn when choosing one means losing the other forever?