Chapter Thirty-One
Dela
I stared in a mixture of surprise and defeated understanding as Ari kissed Ember on the cheek like a tender lover. Between that and how she was all but draped over him, it was clear that he’d made his decision. The right one for his realm.
Tears flooded my eyes as I ran from the room. Why did I always repeat the same mistakes while hoping for a different outcome? I’d done the exact same thing with Ember as I had Paolo. Going back to see if things ended differently. Each time, my heart broke a little bit more.
I couldn’t learn. Why did I assume that, at some point, things would go my way?
That they’d be waiting for me and welcoming me back with open arms and a declaration of their true feelings for me.
It was obvious that it wasn’t in my cards, that I would never be given that moment where everything suddenly went right.
Someone, somewhere, had decided I wasn’t worthy of that sort of love and caring, so they’d decided to drive home the lesson in the most painful way possible.
Probably because they knew I was too goddamn stupid to learn it like a normal human.
So I had to keep recreating these heart-breaking experiences, hoping that eventually, after the twentieth time, I might understand.
Well, I was starting to get it now. It would probably be easier just to adopt three cats and stay single for the rest of my life than it would be to find someone who truly loved me.
All that and more crossed my mind as I ran down the plush carpeted hallways of Casa Infernum. Behind me, there was a tremendous bellow, and heavy footsteps came after me. Ember.
Shit. I’d gone and pissed him off. Even Pyre had seemed less than excited to see me.
I’d tried to stay calm at work, but as the afternoon went on, the more I couldn’t take it.
There was no way I could go back to normal life.
Not after everything that had happened. On top of that, I kept thinking about Ember. About everything I felt for him.
At some point, I realized I needed to see him again.
Even if it was just to get my feelings for him off my chest. Somewhere along the journey out of town, that had morphed into the hope that maybe I would walk into his room and be swept up in his arms. He would crush me to him, every muscle hard against my body as he laughed joyfully at my return.
Then we would lock eyes, and he would tell me how he truly cared for me.
That he doesn’t know how, but that he does. And then I would tell him the same.
Of course, that was all before seeing him and Ari. Clearly, he’d been thinking something else. Any feelings he’d had for me must have been lust-based, and from what I’d seen, Ari was making it very obvious she’d do whatever it took to fix that issue as well. Ember would be crazy to turn that down.
“Dela!”
I ignored the call and ran on, hoping he would get the hint and let me go. Maybe after, I would make my trek to the store and actually be able to bury my shame and pain in ice cream. No more magic transport to other realms. Just me, a spoon, and the container.
Today was definitely not a day for bowls or self-control.
I would eat the whole thing while watching a romance movie where the woman got the man she deserved.
And I would cry through the entire thing.
Then tomorrow, I would go to my boring, dragon-less job, and I would try to forget everything that had happened.
Somehow. That was tomorrow-Dela’s problem. Not right-now-Dela.
“Damnit, Dela. Hold on,” Ember shouted, finally catching up to me and blocking the way.
“Let me go,” I said, blinking furiously through the tears clouding my vision. Tears I knew I shouldn’t be shedding. He was only doing what was necessary. Though, that didn’t make it hurt any less.
“I don’t want to let you go,” he growled, holding his arms wide to block the hallway. “I want to talk to you.”
“About what?” I shouldn’t have said that. Now he had an opening, and I would be forced to listen to his answer. To be hurt all over again while he justified what he was doing.
“That wasn’t what you thought it was,” he said, speaking the line all men said throughout history when confronted with such scenes.
I’d known it was coming. I was prepared for it. After all, what else would he say?
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to sound tough. “I know you have to do it. For your realm.”
“You’re not listening to me,” he said, his blue eyes burning into mine for the few seconds I could bear to look at him. “It wasn’t what you thought.”
I pointed at his cheek, where the outline of her lips was clearly visible. “Are you sure? Because it certainly looks like exactly what I thought it was.”
Real fire flashed in his pupils, turning them yellow-gold. “If that’s the case, why are they on my cheek? Why did I turn my face away from her?”
“She was draped all over you. Arms on your upper chest, her boobs pressed against your pecs. Come on, Ember. I know what I saw. And you know what, I understand. I get it. You’re doing what’s best for the Fire Realm.”
“I’m not doing anything,” he ground out. “Other than trying to convince you not to run away.”
“I know I can’t be your mate,” I said softly. “And I don’t belong here. I’m a human. You’re a dragon. I should never have come back.”
“Then why did you?” he challenged, crossing his arms.
“I don’t know,” I said, avoiding his gaze.
It was a lie. We both knew it. I came back because I cared. Because I was interested in him. I hadn't been sure what I expected to happen from it, but I’d needed to. I had to see him again. Perhaps tell him how I felt.
I shook my head, reminding myself I’d already been down that line of thought. I was going around in circles, rehashing old points while avoiding the truth. A truth I wasn’t willing, or was unable, to speak.
“Yes, you do,” he said quietly, stepping closer.
My throat dried as he cupped my chin and tilted my face toward his.
“I do?”
He nodded gravely. “Yes, you do. You came back for the same reason I stopped her.”
I swayed slightly. It wasn’t happening. Was it?
“Why did you stop her?” I asked hoarsely, barely able to get the words out through my parched throat. I was staring at him, trying to fight the spark of hope from flickering to life deep within me. I couldn’t take getting hurt again.
“Because,” he said, fire swirling in his eyes like it so often did when he looked upon me, “she might have had her hands on me, but Dela, the only person I couldn’t stop thinking about at that moment was you.”
My knees buckled. Ember’s arm caught my waist, holding me upright until I got my legs working again.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Neither do I. But what if it is?”
The question was a growl, one of hunger, of desire. Need. For me. Somehow. He didn’t say it, but he didn’t need to. I felt it, instinctual. Matched by my desire. For him. I had to ask.
“What if ‘what’ is?” came my whispered words, drawn from me by the tension stretching between us.
“What if you’re my mate, Dela?” he asked, speaking the words I hadn’t known until that exact moment, in that exact place, I wanted to hear so damn badly.
“Is that even possible?” I asked while I waited for my heart to restart. “I thought I had to be a dragon?”
“I thought so, too. But I don’t recall anything stating that to be a requirement,” he said, speaking faster now, rushed with excitement.
“All I know is that the way I feel about you is how I’ve heard it described by the older dragons.
This insane, insatiable pull toward you.
Need for you. I don’t know how to describe it better than that.
I’ve never heard of it happening before, but Dela, what if it is? ”
“They’ll never accept it,” I said nervously, not quite believing what I was hearing. Was he really willing to give it all up just to be with me? After all, what else would he do? There was no way Albright and the others would be okay with him on the throne if he mated a human.
“To damnation with them,” he snarled. “I know what I want. And what I want is you.”
He wanted me.
Finally, at long last, someone wanted me. Someone was willing to fight for me, to go against the rules and conventions for me. Someone cared about me. Not just someone. Ember cared about me enough to defy every known convention of his people. For me. I stood up straight, filled with bubbly energy.
“I’m sorry,” he added, reining himself in slightly. “For what you saw back there. I should never have even let her get that close to me. I knew I didn’t want it, but—”
“But you were trying to figure out what was best for your people,” I said, coming back around to that one sticking point. “Are you sure that you stepping aside is the best thing to do?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated. “Well, if you and I, I mean, won’t you have to …” I trailed off at the look of determination on his handsome face.
“I intend to rule,” he said confidently, “with you at my side.”
“Oh,” I squeaked. “Is that even allowed?”
He shrugged. “We’ll deal with that when it comes. Together.”
Together. It was a heavy word, full of import and meaning. But had he truly thought it through, understanding what it meant? The consequences that would ripple out …
“I know,” he added. “It will be tough. But I can’t stop thinking, Dela. What if this is the solution? The way things are supposed to go.”
I blinked rapidly. “Huh?”
“I’m not the only one without an Eternal Mate. The other heirs are searching as well. Like me, they’ve had no luck with dragon women. So maybe it’s time we started looking outside of our realm. Perhaps the key to our rule lies with human women.”
“Maybe.” What else could I say to that? No way in hell would I suggest he was wrong. Not when I was finally, finally, getting something I wanted. A man who wanted me back. I wouldn’t give him up, not now. Not for anything.
“I’m still going to make it up to you,” he said, stroking my cheek, the skin of his hand rough but somehow perfectly tender. “I promise.”
“You don’t have to,” I said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.
I’m not going to be mad at you because you were trying to follow customs. You didn’t know I was there.
You thought you were never going to see me again and that this was your way forward.
As long as you promise you have no feelings for Ari, I’ll—”
Ember surged into me, his mouth finding mine as he grabbed my neck and pushed his fingers into my hair.
He pulled me tight, driving the air from my lungs as he kissed me deeper and harder than ever before.
I melted into his arms, offering myself up to him without hesitation.
The singe of his tongue burned my lips, lighting my mouth on fire as he took control.
“No feelings for her,” he growled. “Nothing but a possible arrangement of convenience. It’s you who I long for, Dela. Since the day you shut the elevator doors in my face, I’ve wanted this. Wanted you.”
“What can I say,” I whispered, half out of breath. “I’m a master at the art of seduction.”
He chuckled, then swept me from my feet without trying. I yelped in surprise and happiness as he pulled me to his chest.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he started walking.
“Taking you to my room,” he growled.
“Why is that?” I was fairly certain I knew, but …
“To make this official,” he growled, his eyes filling with flames of carnal promise.