Chapter Seventeen
Bryn
Bryn felt any inhibitions disappear as Sven laid her flat on her back and kissed his way from her neck down to her chest. He stalled at her breasts momentarily to suck her breasts until her nipples were tight peaks.
Sharp stabs of desire traveled down between her legs with each nip of his teeth and she moaned as she shoved tighter against his mouth.
Her hand found his cock and she stroked it the best she could. His sharp intake of breath emboldened her and she rubbed her thumb across the head. She could feel wetness and knew that her own center was already wet and wanting.
Sven continued his kisses across her stomach and she whined a bit when he moved and she could no longer reach him.
Her dismay was quickly forgotten as he spread her legs and settled down between them.
His tongue took a few tentative licks at her clit before exploring her opening with his fingers.
He stroked inside her as his mouth sucked and caressed the sensitive spot that sent her head into a cyclone of desire.
Pleasure overwhelmed her and she came within minutes.
Her body jerked as he gave one final lick before he moved back up to tower over her.
They were making love, but there were no warm and sensitive acts.
This was pure, unadulterated passion, and when he slammed into her, primal urges took over.
Her body arched to meet his thrusts and her body quickly started the journey to new heights before falling over the cliff together.
Their bodies moved in rhythm, instinctive, inevitable.
Every kiss, every touch drew them deeper into the pull, until there was nothing but pleasurable sensations between them.
Something made of fire and power snapped into place as Bryn cried out and clung to him as the wave of orgasm crashed through them.
Sven cried out and held her with his face buried in her hair as the world exploded into light.
As she drifted down from heights she had never known, Bryn felt something. Something…more. It wasn’t anything physical and she pulled away from Sven. It was like a presence that she could feel in her soul. She reached up and touched his bare chest. A presence that came from him.
His hand captured hers, warm and firm. “Bryn?”
She stared up at him. The connection ebbed and flowed between them, whatever it was. It felt like it should scare her, but instead, it comforted her. “What is that?”
Sven rested his forehead against hers. His voice was soft. “You can feel my dragon, can’t you?”
“I do, but I don’t understand.” She wanted to pull her hand away but somehow she was scared to death that she would lose the connection.
He kissed her forehead before his hand cupped her cheek. His thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. “And he feels you. Your aura, Bryn. It calls to him. It has since the day we met but I didn’t recognize it.”
Confusion clouded her mind. “My aura?”
“The energy that surrounds you. Anyone with a dragon can see it.” He dropped a butterfly kiss on her lips, so soft that it felt like wings had caressed her.
She sat up. “Who? Is your mother a dragon? Your grandmother?”
He nodded. “The entire royal family, including Lars. Most of the guards are from dragon blood.”
“But I’m not a royal or dragon. How can I… why do you…” There were so many questions that she didn’t know where to start.
Sven wrapped her in his arms. She listened to the steady beat of his heart and basked in the warmth. Royal or not, she was exactly where she wanted to be, even if she didn’t understand anything.
“I don’t think you’re entirely human.” His voice rumbled through his chest. “Your light shines too bright to not have some magical qualities.”
Her heart skipped a beat and she let out a short laugh. “That’s not possible. I’m just a normal, everyday woman. I’ve never been anything extra.”
“You are so much more than you know,” he murmured. He cut off her response with a kiss that seared her doubts away. “You’ve always been more.”
Bryn slid off the bed and stood naked by the nightstand as she poured a glass of water from an icy pitcher. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sven rolled over onto his back and covered his eyes. “I wanted to. I started to. That day you found your ring. That was why I took you to my office, so I could tell you. But for a dragon, I pretty much turned into a chicken.”
With a cheeky grin, she flapped her arms. “Bawk, bawk.”
“Smart ass.” He groaned and rolled to his side, propped up by his elbow. “I was afraid you would freak out and leave.” He bit his lip. “I’m really surprised that you’ve taken the news so well.”
She shrugged and took a drink. “I knew there was something different. I’ve always had an ability to notice things about people, if that makes any sense.
” She couldn’t even explain it to herself.
“I never asked because I couldn’t put my finger on what I noticed.
” She put her glass down and sat on the bed.
“And then it just didn’t matter. No matter how mad I was at you for rearranging my life, I just couldn’t make myself care enough to find a reason to leave. ”
“Not to mention someone almost killed Eva thinking she was you.”
“And that.” Bryn stared at him. “Is she a dragon? Can’t you like, heal yourselves or something?” She suddenly had no idea how much she knew about dragons was fact or fiction.
“Eva is not. And somehow, Magnus has found, or created, a toxin that prevents us from healing. That’s why I couldn’t heal after being hit with the arrow. It was dipped in that toxin. Martin is trying to break it down to find an antidote.”
“Is he a… you know.” She felt silly to continue using the word.
“No, he’s not. But like Eva, his family has been in service with the castle for generations, so they’re well trusted. He can actually do some tests on you to get some answers, if you’d like.”
“Of course I’d like.” She twisted her ring. “Do you think this ring has anything to do with it?”
“You were obviously drawn to it, so it has something to do with your history.” He pulled her to him and kissed her softly. “We’ll figure it out.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled into a deep kiss. “Why do I feel so safe with you?”
His strength steadied her as desire pulled them under. She gave herself to him fully, not just in body, but in trust. She knew that she should be upset with him for avoiding details, but her heart had already forgiven everything, whether she knew it or would still learn about it later.
The air thickened with heat and their shadows raced across the wall from the reflection from the firelight. She didn’t fully understand the ritual, but every kiss and every thrust of their bodies together felt like invisible threads that bound them together.
The fire in the hearth burned lower as Bryn lay nestled against his chest. Their breathing had slowed after their passion had played out. Sven stroked his hand down her back and she planted a kiss on his pec.
“What now?” she asked him, her voice just above a whisper.
“Hmmm?”
She ran a finger down his chest. “Now that the ritual has been consummated,” she felt heat flood her face, “a couple of times, what’s the next step?
” She tried to push intrusive thoughts out of her head.
She had told him that she wanted the ability to leave.
Now it was the last thing that she wanted.
“I don’t think you told me everything about this ritual. ”
He shifted and kissed the top of her head. “You would be correct. I didn’t give you the gist of the whole tradition.” Her head rose as he took a deep breath. “The bottom line is that the ritual is to produce an heir.”
“So I was supposed to… or I am supposed to… get pregnant?” Once again, she was rather surprised that the news didn’t bother her at all.
“Under the proper moon, yes. Once a legitimate heir is conceived, I no longer have to participate throughout my reign.”
“That’s comforting to know,” she teased. She didn’t think she could handle the thought of him mating some other woman to produce a baby. “And if a baby is, err, was, conceived, what happens to me?”
“The ritual has been consummated.” He tightened his grip on her. “And child or not, you are my mate. By magic, by choice, I don’t care. I felt the pull of a true mate, something I’ve never felt before, before we ever came in here. I think it was established the first time we met.”
“Another detail you forgot to tell me. Is that how the ritual works?”
“Technically, if no heir is conceived, then it’s the last time I see the woman. If you’re pregnant, you would be my mate for life.”
She leaned up and kissed him soundly. “Then let's hope we created a perfect little…” Her eyes flew wide open. “What? A baby? A dragon?” She sat up. “Can I get pregnant with a dragon?”
He laughed and kissed her hand. “I’ve already spoken with Martin.
You’ll be fine. And since we suspect there’s something unique about you, it’ll be more than fine.
” He ran his fingers across her abdomen and sent sparks across her skin.
Her nipples instantly peaked as goose bumps raised across her body.
“Our child will be the most loved ever. And my grandmother will be absolutely thrilled that she lived long enough to see the next generation of royals.”
“She’s a tough old bird,” Bryn advised. “I don’t think she’s as sick as she is lonely. Having a nurse just keeps her company without her asking.”
Sven caught one of her nipples between his teeth and made her squeal. “Never say nurse, you wench. She’ll have your head.”
She reached down and grabbed his member. “Speaking of head…”
She took him in her mouth and instantly felt the power surge through him as she pleasured him.
A tease with her tongue and she could feel the dragon in him purr as his hands tangled in her hair.
He guided her up and down as he got harder and harder.
It didn’t take long before he came into her mouth. He lay back, spent.
“I hope you’re pregnant because many nights like this and I’ll be worthless as a king.”
Bryn tilted her head as she crawled up beside him. He shuddered as she licked his nipple before settling down. “I love feeling you.”
“Any time you want,” he moaned.
“I don’t mean physically. It’s like your power surges into me,” she whispered. Her hand pressed lightly over his heart. “It’s like I feel your heartbeat in my soul, strong and steady. Is that weird?”
He smiled. “It’s the dragon bond. Dragon mating doesn’t just create an heir. It links us. You’ll feel me. Always.” He turned his head to meet her eyes. “Are you okay with that?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “It means that I’ll never be alone again.”
He kissed her softly and she melted into him, her trust wrapped around him as tightly as her arms.
The chamber was silent except for the crackle of the fire and the quiet rhythm of their joined breathing. Sven rested his cheek against her hair, and she closed her eyes as she let the peace of the moment sink into her.
For the first time in her life, she didn’t just feel like she was in the way or needed to do something. She was in love and had found what she was always meant to find.
Her mate. Her home.
Sleep claimed her wrapped in Sven’s warmth.
The dream started slowly. Wind rushed past her face.
She felt like she was on a roller coaster, except without a coaster.
She looked around as the ground flew by below her.
She had wings and she felt a freedom and a power that she had never felt before.
No one could hurt her. No one could ever step all over her.
She spiraled as she rose above the mountains and felt a peace in her heart that had never been there before.
She soared high above jagged peaks, the sky endless and hers to explore.
She woke and Sven’s arms were still wrapped around her. They protected her from anything that threatened her. His dragon’s presence lingered, and a strong jolt of curiosity shot through her about herself.
Am I a dragon?
She twisted the ring on her finger. She belonged with Sven, but how would it be possible if she really was a mere human?
Or maybe, just maybe, she had an unknown secret and belonged in this world too.