Chapter Forty-Five
Mia
“It’s a good thing I don’t need my old job anymore,” I said, luxuriating in the presence of Tor behind me, my body molded against his, skin to skin, a soft, satin sheet the only thing covering either of us.
“Why is that?” he asked, kissing the back of my neck.
I shuddered, which produced a pleasant reaction below his waist, but neither of us made a move.
The last three days spent at Storm Keep consisted of lots of sitting on the throne, settling the Princedom down, and introducing me to all the various “important” people.
During the waking hours, that was. At night, the two of us had retreated to his private quarters to renew acquaintances.
Repeatedly. Now, on the morning of the fourth day, once was enough.
Though I could feel him rising to the challenge, there wasn’t enough time. It was a big day.
“Because I’ve been gone for three and a half days of work,” I reminded him. “Somebody kidnapped me and held me here.”
Tor snorted, hot air washing down my back. “The only thing that held you here was the ropes you insisted we try out the other night.”
Giggling and blushing all at once, I refrained from responding directly to that comment. It would be unladylike. Just like I had been that night.
Which is why it was so much fun.
“You know what I meant,” I said. “I’ve been here when they were expecting me to be there, working. I hope Ally told them I was okay. I’m sure someone came by to check on me after a day or two.”
I’d confided in Ally before departing for the ball that there was a chance I might be gone for a few days. It irked me not to be able to tell her the truth, but I knew if it ever did come out, she would understand why. Some things just aren’t for sharing.
“If there’s an ongoing search for you when you return, we shall deal with that then,” Tor said. “Together.”
“Together,” I replied, snuggling up against his firm muscles.
I loved how hard he was. Not even his cock, but the rest of him.
His muscles weren’t hard like steel or rock because they had give to them, they were flesh, but he was so …
solid that I felt wrapped in some sort of invincible cocoon when I was in his arms, and I never had in my life experienced anything like it. Nor did I think anything would compare.
“Well,” he said, stretching. “Are you ready? Today is a big day.”
“I know,” I said gleefully, throwing back the sheet. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be so much fun. You’re positive you won’t get in trouble for playing hooky?”
“We won’t get in trouble, no,” Tor said. “After all, you are the Princess of Storms now. You have a duty to acquit to the people. I’m not the only one running off for the day.”
“Yeah, but I’m new and human,” I said, turning my head and sticking out my tongue. “I don’t know better.”
Tor started to admonish me, something he’d had to do several times to truly get the point to sink in, but I stopped him.
“I know. ‘It doesn’t matter whether I’m human or dragon because I have the soul of a dragon, and I sit on the throne, so I must act like one and not use my heritage as an excuse, or the others will walk all over me.’ I know, my love, you have told me. I was just joking around.”
“Very well,” he said warily. “Though I don’t like when you joke about it either.”
I frowned, then rolled over so I could look at him. It was the first time he’d vocalized anything to that extent. “Why’s that?”
Tor’s face was drawn and serious as he looked at me, an expression he didn’t normally wear.
“Because it means you aren’t taking this seriously, darling.
You are royalty now. As hard as that might believe, it is the truth, and you have to accept that.
You have to believe it in your core and act on it without joking about who you aren’t really.
Because you are. You, Mia Cherryson, are a princess.
The crown sits on your head, which means you rule at my side.
But if I am away, you are the ruler of the Storm Clan, my dear.
That needs to sink in on a level I don’t think it has yet. ”
“You might be right,” I admitted, my mind whirling.
Me? Ruler of a clan of dragons? Sure, it wouldn’t happen often, but I had never really contemplated that aspect. That I would actually have to be in charge at times. That dragons, actual dragons, would have to listen to me.
“I don’t know the first thing about leading dragons,” I said. “I know furniture.”
“That’s why you have to take this a bit more seriously,” he said, stroking my cheek. “I haven’t pushed too hard because I know it’s all extremely new to you but also to me, so we’re figuring this out together.”
I smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I told him. “I just like that part of everything a lot.”
“What part?”
“Doing it together.”
He smiled and leaned in to kiss me, drawing it out despite his feather-light touch, a tease more than anything, with a whispered promise of more to come later.
“Everything I do is with you,” he said, his chest rumbling as he spoke, tickling my skin enough to produce a pleasant shiver.
“And I enjoy it,” I said, laughing. “Now, come on, let’s get up. We’ve got things to do! Fun things!”
He chuckled. “But I’m comfortable.”
“Too bad, mister, let’s go!” I said, yanking the sheet off us.
Groaning, Tor rolled over. “One condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You get out of bed first,” he said, leering at me.
“Perv!” I said, but I was already getting out of bed, and I purposefully paused while facing him, stretching big with hands over my head, while his eyes drank in my body.
Then I spun around and bent over to touch my toes.
The rumble that followed threatened to knock things off the walls. I grinned and slowly stood. “That’s what I thought. Now get moving.”
“Much more of that,” he said abruptly behind me and running a finger up my spine, “and we’re going to be even later, for reasons out of my control.”
“I think you can handle it,” I said, going up on my tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek.
It was a whirlwind to get ready. We had to tie up loose ends that had come up overnight and then depart Storm Keep, with me astride his back, now quite familiar with the whole process.
I’d feared that by doing so, it would lose some of the luster, but the truth was, the less I had to focus on staying seated, the more I could sit back and enjoy the vistas, which were beautiful.
We made good time to Mount Drakonus, a tail wind pushing Torrent along to speed our journey. I glanced up at the mountain's peak, wondering if the God-King knew of and approved of what we were off to do. I doubted it, but it was a fun thought anyway.
Our journey was unimpeded, and we quickly emerged into the basement of Fulmen Manerium, which, as I’d discovered, was the formal estate name. From there, we went to the garage.
“No, no, you drive,” he said, tossing me back the keys. “You brought it here. It’s your present. You get behind the wheel.”
“Okay!” I said warningly, getting in and firing up the engine.
The 1971 Chevelle SS came to life with a throaty roar that filled the interior and rattled me down to the bones. I grinned at Tor, who gestured for me to go.
I gunned it, and he was slammed back into his seat with a yelp of surprise.
We flew up the ramp and onto the driveway.
I slowed slightly to weave our way through the trees before exiting the property onto the long, straight country roads where I opened it up, the wind flying in through windows, making a mess of my hair as we zipped along.
Tor laughed with me as we hit the outskirts of the city, and I finally slowed to something just a hair over the speed limit.
“Was that fun?” he teased.
“Yeah, it was great. Was it good for you?” I said, winking at him.
He laughed harder, and we drove on, his hand finding mine and holding it tight. We pulled up in front of my childhood house and got out, Tor rushing around to open my door.
“Cutie,” I said.
He stuck out his tongue, then grabbed my hand, pulling me to the front door, where he knocked perfunctorily. I frowned at him. “What are you doing?”
“We’re guests. It is polite to knock.”
“Silly. We’re not guest-guests. Come on.” I punched in the key to the electronic door lock and let us in.
“Hello?” came a call from deeper in the house.
“Hi, Dad!” I called back. “I have a surprise for you. And a guest. So be on your good behavior.”
Laughter bubbled up from the rear of the house, followed by footsteps coming closer. Then my dad appeared, and I grinned, going to hug him. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hello, dear,” he said, his craggy face wrinkling in a giant grin. “Good to see you.”
“And you.”
“I know you,” he said, looking at Tor, big, mostly white eyebrows rising in confusion. “You were at the car auction. You bought the Chevelle. She came to talk to you.”
I could see wheels turning in his eyes already as he glanced back and forth between us.
Tor smiled and stepped forward, extending a hand. “That’s correct. My name is Torrent. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you. A lovely car you bought.”
“It is,” Tor said, nodding.
“Come on, Daddy,” I said, tugging his sleeve and pulling him toward the door. “Look.”
I opened the front door to reveal the Chevelle parked in the driveway.
“Ah, there she is,” he said, nostalgia filling his voice immediately. He left the house, went to the car, and placed his hand on it. “Hood’s still warm.”
Tor followed us out, wrapping an arm around me and giving me a squeeze when my dad’s back was to us. “I can see how much it means to him.”
“Same,” I said. “Come on.”
We walked over to where he was peering in the front. “Looks exactly like the one I had,” he said wistfully.
“Yeah?”
“Right down to the details.”
“What was the license plate of yours?” I asked, moving around to the rear of the car.
“WHZ2A” he said automatically. “We used to call it the Whizz.”
I laughed. “I hadn’t heard that nickname before.”
“Well, I didn’t use it around your mother,” he said conspiratorially, moving to the back of the car and looking it over.
I waited silently, Tor at my side.
“Hey …” he said, looking up. “What’s the meaning of this? It has the same license plate.”
“I know,” I said. “I figured that way you would know it was yours.”
I flicked him the keys as I spoke, feeling kind of like a badass from the movies. They flew over the trunk—
And hit him in the chest, falling to the ground as he stared at me. “What do you mean, so that I would know it’s mine?”
“Because this is yours,” I said. “Your car. You drive it now.”
He shook, fingers trembling. “I thought you were joking. You’re still joking. You have to be.”
“No joke,” Tor said. “It’s registered in your name, all ready to go.”
“You’re joking,” my dad repeated. “Seriously?”
“Absolutely,” I said.
“And that’s your surprise?” he asked. “What a surprise.”
“It’s half of it,” I said with a smile. “The other half …”
I let my hand fall to my side, grabbing Tor’s, his fingers sliding easily between mine and holding tight.
“You two?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Ah, Mia, I’m happy for you. Both of you. But you didn’t have to do this!”
We laughed, and I went and got the keys. “Dad. We did it because we wanted to. For you. So no more complaints or thoughts or whatever. You need to get in the car and go for a drive. Got it?”
He was still shaking his head as I pushed the keys into his hand.
Once he was in the car behind the wheel, though, the surprise on his face quickly morphed to a grin, which only broadened as he fired it up.
Thank you, he mouthed through the windshield.
I tapped my heart in reply before waving as he pulled out of the driveway.
“You know,” I said as he took off down the road. “We made one mistake here today.”
“What’s that?” Tor asked.
“We just gave away our only car,” I said. “We have no way to go home.”
Tor was silent for a solid handful of seconds.
“Fuck.”