Chapter Nineteen
Dela
The woman came right up to us, standing along the edge of the table, her back to me as if I didn’t exist. She was tall and fit, her arms emphasized by the tight fit of her rust-red shirt.
It showed no skin, rising to her neck, but the form-fitting nature spoke of a firm stomach and lack of lines, backed up by muscle.
“Hello, Arid,” Ember said neutrally.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “My name is Ari.”
“That’s so dry. You should try Arid.”
I sensed this was a long-standing back and forth between them, but that wasn’t my focus. There was something about that name, something that tickled my brain. Had I heard it before? Not from Ember. I would have remembered that. If so, then where?
The men in the cave! One of them had said her name. I struggled to remember the context. Something about—
His mate. This is his mate.
My face must have given something away because Ember shot me a look.
“Is there a problem?” he asked.
Ari sniffed, finally looking at me.
“No, not at all,” I said, putting on a brave face.
Of course, Ember would be mated to a dragon shifter. Why would I have ever thought otherwise? And why was I so upset at the idea? It’s not like anything was going on between us. A kiss didn’t qualify us as anything.
I considered that, too. If he was mated to someone, assuming it meant what I thought it did, shouldn’t I tell her, then?
“She shouldn’t even be here,” Ari said derisively, dismissing me with another sniff and focusing on Ember once more.
Yeah, okay, fuck her. I was all for being the good person, but if she was going to start by being a snobby bitch, then I certainly wasn’t going to get involved in her personal life.
“That’s none of your concern,” Ember growled.
“She doesn’t belong!” Ari shouted. “You know that. Why would you bring her here?”
“That is none of your business,” Ember said, growing more irate by the second.
I thought about making an exit or at least moving to the far side of the room. If the two dragons came to blows, I did not want to be nearby, that was for sure. Ari was right about it. It wasn’t my place. I didn’t fit in.
“It’s everyone’s business if you brought a human here,” Ari said. “You know the rules.”
“Which is why,” Ember said defensively, “I am trying to find a way to take her back.”
Dela sniffed again. Apparently, it was her signature thing to do because she sure did it a lot. Then she did it again. And again. Leaning closer to Ember with each one.
“Her scent,” she said slowly. “It’s all over you, Ember.”
My scent? Dragons could smell me? I hadn’t showered since the morning, but still! I looked over at Ember, waiting for him to say something, but he just stared stonily at Ari.
“God-King,” she cursed. “You fucking kissed her, didn’t you?”
Uh-oh. I went still. If Ari was the jealous type, I could be in for a whole world of hurt real fast. I hadn’t even considered that. I probably should have. Everywhere I turned, I was placed in more danger than before, it seemed!
“It wasn’t like that,” Ember said, standing up.
I slammed my mouth shut, making sure I didn’t say what I was thinking.
It wasn’t like that? Then what the hell was it like because that had been no peck on the lips, that was for damn sure.
I could remember the fire between us in the cavern, the way my body had awoken almost instantly to his touch as he pulled my arousal to the surface, practically drinking it in.
I still recalled the press of his cock against my hips, hard and needy beneath his pants.
So if that wasn’t a “kiss-kiss,” then what the fuck had it been? Because either he was lying, or I was the worst judge of intent behind kisses ever.
Ari fixed Ember with a long look before she slowly slid the same gaze over to me, her gray-green eyes glittering like gemstones. She took a long breath in through her nose.
“Right,” she drawled. “It ‘wasn’t like that’ at all. God-King, I can’t believe we’re going to be mated.”
“We’re not going to be mated,” Ember said, his frustration boiling over for the first time since I’d known him. “How many times do I have to tell you that? Just because you want to be my mate doesn’t mean you are.”
Ari sighed. “Who are you going to pick, then, Ember, if not me? Is it going to be Cali, that airhead? Come on, you know I would make a good mate.”
“If I was as ambitious as you are to rule, then you know what, yes, I would agree,” Ember said. “But I’m not, and you aren’t it for me. The God-King would kill us both, or whatever he does to those who fail.”
“Then who?” Ari spat. Then she stiffened, her head slowly swiveling back my way. “Or do you mean to take … her? Is that it? You’re going to make the human bitch your mate, aren’t you? She smells like she’s in heat. I bet you like that.”
I stayed stiffly seated as Ari leaned toward me, placing both her hands on the table. When she resumed speaking, she spoke slowly.
“He could take you, couldn’t he, little human? Right here on the table. If he commanded you, you’d melt for him, spreading your legs like some breeding mare, taking his seed. Seed that belongs in a dragon. You’d let him do that while I watched, and you wouldn’t bat an eye, would you?”
I trembled. Despite everything, I knew she was probably right. Even just her talking about Ember taking me was turning me on more. My body ached for him. If he ordered me to lie back on the table, I doubted I could resist. He’d yet to touch me, and his control was nearly complete.
“Thought so,” Ari whispered victoriously. “Weak human bitch. Can’t handle a proper dragon.”
“Her name,” Ember roared, standing up so fast his chair slid backward across the room, “is Dela, and you will treat her with respect!”
Ari stood up straight, facing Ember dead on. The room went deadly still. We were the only three in there, but the tension changed abruptly at that moment. I wasn’t sure how, but I felt it. I was in serious danger all of a sudden.
“I will treat her however I want,” Ari said, her voice burning hot as lava with anger. “Nor will you dictate to me how I am to act. Be careful, Ember. You aren’t Fire Prince yet. You don’t sit on the throne. Which means you don’t command me.”
Ember trembled, his eyes swirling supernovas. “Take your jealousy,” he seethed, “and get out.”
“Don’t—”
“Now!” Ember bellowed.
Ari, however, was made of sterner stuff. She looked at me again. “You don’t belong here. You’re an outsider, and you’re weak. I can smell your fear, taste your terror, I can—”
My restraint failed me. “If you don’t like the way I smell so much, then maybe you should back up and mind your own business, don’t you think?”
I swear I heard a pin drop in the hallway outside, so quiet was it in the kitchen. Ari didn’t move, obviously flabbergast that the “meek little human bitch” had talked back to her, and she didn’t know how to react. Ember, meanwhile, was a ball of energy, ready to jump in if Ari came at me.
For my part, I stayed as still as possible. I didn’t look away from Ari, but I made no other threatening moves. I was in her territory.
“Impertinent bitch,” Ari said at last. “Are you sure about this, Ember?”
Ember moved, and I sighed with relief, waiting for him to escort this woman away from me finally. I didn’t know why she hated me so badly. It’s not like I’d asked to be there.
“You should go to your room.”
Thank god. He was getting rid of her. Now maybe he and I could talk and figure out a way …
They were both looking at me expectantly.
“What?” I asked, looking back and forth.
Ember frowned. “You should go to your room.”
“What? Me?”
He nodded. “It would be for the best.”
I licked my lips. After all this woman had done, he was dismissing me? What had I done to deserve that?
“For the best? I haven’t done anything, damn it!”
Ari just waved at me, a cruel smile filling her face. It was full of smug arrogance that I just wished I had the power to drive a fist into the middle of. Her and her taut body and pretty face could go to hell for all I cared.
“Now,” Ember added when I didn’t move, the word all but compelling me to move.
I stormed out of the room, angry at him but mostly angry at myself for doing as I was told. I should be resisting, standing up for myself, not folding like a piece of paper in a hurricane.
Who the fuck is this man, and how the hell does he have such power over me?