Chapter Twenty-Four
Dela
“Wait, what?” I yelped, resisting as he tried to pull me to the wall of fire. Fire. Did he not remember I wasn’t some dragon who could just waltz through flame unharmed? My hand was still tender from where I’d burned it on one of his scales! That was all I needed to know.
“It can’t hurt you,” he chuckled, pausing. “It’s just a look—fire to take us to the Fire Estates on Earth. Can’t you feel how it emits no heat? You’d be in extreme discomfort this close to a wall of true fire.”
“Maybe,” I said, staring warily at the wall. “But you’re also a dragon, and that should have been impossible, so why not a fire that only burns when you touch it? I mean, come on, Ember! Who even made this place?”
“Our God-King,” I said.
“Right. Your immortal ruler.”
“The first dragon,” Ember said. “He from whom all of us are descended. This is his home.”
I looked around the room nervously.
“Mount Drakonus,” Ember explained. “His chambers are far above us. You don’t need to worry about him coming to us here. You don’t need to worry about anything here. These are neutral grounds. Not even Albright would dare violate the sanctity of that.”
“His chambers?” I frowned. “So, wait, you’ve met him? He’s, like, a real person?”
Ember shrugged. “Well, no, not personally, but others have been up there, and they say he exists. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“Um, well, you know,” I said. “I sort of figured he was like …”
“Like your God?” he suggested, touching my chest over my heart. “Real in here if you’re a believer, but not necessarily in the material world?”
“I guess,” I said, uncomfortable at how he touched my chest. It was too soft and too warm for someone so big and strong. How could he go from strong and commanding to someone so tender with such ease? I’d never met a man who could do that. It was so emotional, and I wasn’t used to it.
And you won’t let yourself get used to it either. Stop evaluating him like a potential match. He’s taking you home to get rid of you. You’re a thorn in his side, someone he wants gone so that he can rule in peace. Trouble, nothing more.
Maybe so, but I couldn’t help but notice that, despite what he said, he acted another way.
If I were such a problem, why would he make so much effort to bring me home?
Putting a dozen of his kin in danger just to keep me safe?
Insisting that I ride on him and only him?
These were at odds with his stated mission.
And people say women are confusing.
“Are you ready to go home, then?” Ember said, reaching out a hand toward me.
Unlike before, he didn’t just grab mine but instead waited for me to take it. He was making me come to him. And he knew I had to do it because what other choice did I have? Ask to stay, to make his life even more difficult and potentially dangerous for both of us? I couldn’t do that.
No, scratch that, I shouldn’t do that. I could, but that would be an unjustly selfish move.
And even if I did try, it wasn’t a guarantee he would even let me.
There was every chance he would just order one of his men to carry me through the Rift and take me home.
That was an indignity I didn’t want to suffer.
“Let’s go,” I said, taking his hand and absolutely not listening to the knots forming in my stomach as his fingers threaded through mine. They were not going to control me, nor were the flutters of my heart or the other, more carnal desires slowly winding their way through my body.
His grip held my hand firm, and a momentary wave of calm flooded me. How the hell did he do that? I had no idea if I was thinking straight around him because all he did was scramble my brains. Then he went and did something that made me feel safe, making me want him to scramble me with his cock.
“Stop it,” I hissed furiously as images of him on top of me flooded my mind, awakening a fresh ache between my legs that would only be satisfied by his tongue running against my clit over and over again.
“What did I do?”
I looked up to see Ember staring at me with a furrowed brow.
“Nothing,” I said, taking a breath, trying to get a grip on myself. Would he let me ask someone else to take me through? Probably not. It was ten steps. I could do it. I was strong. “Come on, let’s go.”
I stepped toward the wall of fire, pulling him after me. Steeling my nerves as we approached the very real-looking flickering wave, I didn’t slow down but instead marched right through it. I wouldn’t be scared. Not this time.
The room we emerged into was a mirror of the giant cavern, but only a fraction of the size. The other dragons followed us through, and we had to move off the raised platform to a circular walkway that surrounded the perimeter to make room.
“Welcome to Casa Infernum,” Ember said with a wave. “Home of the Fire Realm on Earth.”
We walked through a thick sliding door and then proceeded up some stairs before emerging into—
“This looks the same,” I said, looking around. The walls were straight and square, carved from perfectly square blocks of stone. Bright tapestries and carpets of oranges and yellows and reds warmed the space. Gold accents were visible throughout, adding to the feeling of “fire.”
“What can I say? We like what we like,” he chuckled. “It’s modeled after Fire Castle.”
“Interesting.” I followed him down the hallway, while behind us, the other dragons went their own ways, seemingly familiar with the layout.
We reached a hallway, and Ember tugged me to the right. “This way,” he said lightly.
I followed, my attention focused on his hand still holding mine. Somehow, throughout it all, I’d failed to notice that he hadn’t let go.
Nor did I. It just felt so natural.
I dropped it now, following alongside him. “Where are we going?”
“To your quarters,” he said.
“Are we that far from town?” I’d figured his place would be nearby, but maybe we were elsewhere. Casa Infernum? Could be Italian. Perhaps I wasn’t as close to home as I’d assumed.
“It’s the dead of night here,” Ember said. “We’ll depart in the morning. Now that you’re back on Earth, there’s no rush. You should get some sleep. Especially if you work.”
“Ew, work,” I said. “I’d forgotten about that. But yes, some sleep would be nice.”
“Indeed,” he murmured in a voice that said he’d be willing to go without sleep for the right reasons.
Very abruptly, I became hyper-aware of the fact that none of the other dragons had followed us. We were alone as he walked me to my quarters. To the door.
I had visions of walking through that door, wishing him goodnight …
and leaving the door open. An invitation as old as time.
Would he take it? Did I even want to give it to him?
My body did. Yes, there was no denying the sexual awakening it underwent every time he spoke or touched me or when I simply looked at him.
But it was the “Time of Dela.” Trademark.
I was supposed to be focusing on myself and my mental well-being.
If I wanted to find something long-lasting, I had to ensure that I was in the right frame of mind to do it.
There needed to be more than just a willingness to be ridden by his ripped body and penetrated by his hard cock.
Even if those were some luxury benefits.
So, what would I do? Shit. What would he do when we reached my quarters? Would he try to kiss me or touch me? Would Ember give me any sign that he wanted me, or would he simply bid me goodnight, his willpower taking him away from me? I didn’t know. We were on Earth now. The rules were different.
Right?
“Dela?”
I came to a halt when he called my name from behind me. Turning slowly, I was greeted by the sight of Ember pointing at a door. “This one.”
“Ah,” I said, scurrying back in abject embarrassment.
I’d been so wrapped up in the idea of his abs and hard cock that I’d kept walking.
Hopefully, this place had hot water because I needed to relieve some of my stupidity once I was inside.
A little satisfaction would go a long way to thinking straight.
“These are yours,” he said, opening the door.
I didn’t bother looking inside. How could I when his face was inches from mine as he bent over? Leather and sandstone tickled my senses, the smell rough and manly in the best of ways, and I licked my lips.
“Thank you,” I said hoarsely, staring at his neck, unwilling to look up. I knew what would happen if I did that. If I gave in to the opening, presenting myself for his touch. For another fiery kiss that would leave me with nothing but a need to rub my aching clit until I fell asleep.
“You’re very welcome.” This close, his voice tickled my skin with its rumble, a pleasant sensation I would welcome at any time.
“Um.” I lifted my shoulders helplessly. What the fuck was I supposed to say? The friction was thick enough I practically had to part it with my hands.
“Dela,” he said, my name tumbling from his lips like wine into a glass, the perfect splash and swirl that pleased the ears and the eyes.
“Yes?” I whispered, my eyes half-lidded in preparation.
“After tomorrow,” he said. “When you go home. To your life. Your friends and family. You know that you can’t tell them about us, right? That you cannot say where you were or who you were with?”
“I know,” I said, forcing the gears of my brain into action. That wasn’t where I’d seen things going a moment ago.
“Even if you tell them, they’ll think you’re crazy. So best to just lie or brush the questions off.”
“Right.” He was right, of course. Who the hell would believe this story? Anybody in their right mind would say I’d lost it and recommend I be put away.
“I can compensate you,” Ember hurried on. “For your silence and the, um, inconvenience of everything. Money isn’t an issue.”