Chapter 15
Archer
Archer regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.
What had he been thinking?
There was something wrong with him. Something fundamentally off that made him think it was completely okay to ask this person who hadn’t only saved his life but brought him into his home so easily, if he wanted to be his Daddy.
Archer's limited knowledge of the kink community was rooted in what he'd heard from friends and some not-so-innocent internet searches in the past. He'd gone to a club once but never actually made it inside. His nerves were too great.
Yet now he'd boldly asked this man, this powerful dragon shifter, if he could be his Daddy.
Archer wanted to hide. He wanted to bury himself beneath piles and piles of anything he could get his hands on, so long as he wasn't having to face Romilly. The big man stood before him, his expression shocked.
"Say that again, little one," he demanded, voice gruff.
It didn't scare Archer. More like it sent a shiver of need through him. He could imagine other ways Romilly might use that voice. Other demands that might be made.
Archer was getting ahead of himself. He could admit to that much.
It was just so hard. Everything about Romilly teased at him. It made him long for more physicality with the dragon. More connection. And now that he was healed, his mind was no longer on pain or figuring out what had happened to him. He instead wanted a different kind of feeling.
His cock throbbed in his pants as fire licked up his spine. Romilly's eyes glowed and his nose tilted in the air. He grumbled, his chest a loud rumble that Archer couldn't ignore.
"Oh shit," he breathed, remembering what Hadrian had said about dragon senses.
Did that mean that Romilly could sense his desire?
That he could tell how much Archer wanted him?
In a flash of movement, Archer got his answer. Because Romilly lifted him into his arms, making sure to wrap the boy's legs around his waist.
"Mine," he demanded. "All mine, little one."
Archer nodded quickly, not wanting to distract from the amazing situation he'd stumbled into. There would be time for talking later. Time for more of whatever Romilly had wanted to say.
His hands grabbed at Romilly's chest fervently. "More. I want more," he pleaded.
Romilly shivered like the words did something to him as much as the touch. "We can not, little one. I still have not told you everything."
"Fuck telling me!" he shouted. "I want you right here, right now, and you want me. Why are we waiting?"
Romilly's eyes started to glow. Archer took that to mean his dragon had come to the front. The animal was involved in their conversation now.
It might have been wrong of him, but Archer decided to get what he wanted the old-fashioned way. Tempting a beast.
"Hi, I'm Archer and I want you. I want Romilly the king." Romilly's chest vibrated beneath Archer's hand. "Yes, exactly. And I think that you can help me get it, can't you? You can make him see reason. He won't let me have you."
There was a second where the eyes continued to glow without any other movement, and Romilly didn't come back. There was no sign of the dragon either. All in all it flustered Archer, until the focus was back on him and hands were tearing at his clothes.
"Mine. Mine," he panted as Romilly disrobed him.
"Yours, little mate," Romilly bit out, his voice nothing but gravel. The soft tone he'd had was nowhere to be found. In its place was this animal that was far less human than before.
"Mate," Archer repeated softly. His body succumbed to the pleasure Romilly gave him. His mouth trailed down Archer's neck, his hands tugged and pulled, making it impossible for Archer to ignore what was going on. Yet still the word niggled at his mind.
Mate.
He knew what mates were. He'd understood from all the books he'd read and the worlds he'd explored in his childhood that mates were important. They were pivotal beings. And they were always someone's forever. The idea that he could be that for Romilly made Archer freeze.
Romilly instantly picked up on it. He drew back, and despite the way his hands were right on the edge of Archer's body, the man didn't move. Instead, he tilted his head to the side, the animal still somewhat in control.
"You said—" Archer started. "You said mate. Like fated. Am I?"
Archer witnessed the struggle between man and animal for a few moments before it was clear the man won out. The gold in Romilly's eyes faded as he came back.
"Oh, little one, I am so sorry. I did not think he would…I am ashamed of myself. I should have had better control."
Archer hushed Romilly. "No, don't. I'm not upset. And I don't need you to be mad at him. I just need to know if what you said was true. Am I your mate?"
This conversation was an odd one to be having, especially given that Archer was nearly naked. Romilly had managed to get his shirt off in his desperate state, but his level of undress wasn't near as far gone.
"I did say that," Romilly admitted, "because you are. That was the final secret, the one I had not told you yet."
"And why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I did not know how to say it. Because how do I say that you are the most important thing in my life, that you are everything I have ever wanted and dreamed of, that having you here means I get to no longer live in darkness?
How is any of that easy to say to someone who was hurt and who needed healing, to someone who did not know your type existed? "
Archer eased his hands to Romilly's cheeks.
He pressed against them, making sure his mate, his dragon man, was watching him.
"You have to trust me. Just like you didn't panic when I said Daddy, I'm not panicking about mate.
They are words that hold deep meaning, but they're not the end of everything.
Not unless you tell me you want me to leave. "
Archer went to remove his hands, but Romilly's eyes glowed again. The flash was just for a moment, and then Romilly shook his head.
"Do not dare try to climb down from me, little one. I need you in my arms. I need to hold you."
Archer smiled at that, not because of how desperate his mate seemed, but because his mate wanted him at all. He'd always assumed he was too needy, that the people in his life were right in what they said.
Now he not only got to understand that there was a supernatural world far beyond anything he'd ever dreamed up, but he also had a mate, a person promised to him by Fate.
Archer kept his gaze locked with Romilly's as he said, "You have to promise me that if things become too much, or if you decide that you don't want me anymore, that you tell me as painlessly as possible.
I don't know how this bond or mate thing works, but everything I've ever read suggests it won't be good for me. So please be sure."
Romilly moved across the room, easing into a chair so that Archer was on his lap. He raised his hands up, placing them on Archer's shoulders, holding him steady.
"I vow to thee on this day that I do not want another and never will.
If you accept me as your fated mate and we bond, then I will forever be yours and you mine.
No person or event can come between us, not even death itself.
I would go to any means to have you with me, to make you mine.
I would be your mate above all else, then your Alpha, then your king.
And most important to me, I would like to be your friend as well, the person that you come to when you need something. Your Daddy."
Archer grinned, overwhelmed with relief. "That's a lot of titles. Are you sure you want to give them all to me? Or take them all on?"
Romilly smiled back. "Positively sure."
Archer took a deep breath. "Okay, then. I'm your mate. What do we do to seal it? Is it just sex or a bite or some hocus-pocus spell?"
Romilly laughed heartily and it broke the tension between them.
"No, little one. It is a bit different for dragons.
You need not worry about that now. Understand that I am going to care for you and support you up until the moment you are ready to truly mate.
And from there, we will go over everything. "
The pout that covered Archer's face made Romilly laugh again. "But what if I don't want to wait? I feel like I've waited a long time to find someone who didn't see me as a burden. I can't mess up before you keep me."
Romilly pulled Archer to his chest, making sure to lay his head against him so Archer could hear his heartbeat. At least that's what Archer was telling himself was the reason behind it.
"Little mate, I will never want to give you up.
Whether we are fully mated or not does not matter, because I know in my heart that you are the one.
You are not too needy. You are not too much.
You are just perfect for me and Fate knew so.
I am a possessive man. I like to control things.
It is why being a Daddy is a perfect fit for me, as well as being king.
What I want right now is to be yours. I want to belong to you. "
Archer pulled back, needing to see Romilly's face.
"You want to belong to me? That doesn't make any sense.
You're the Alpha. I'm not a Beta or an Omega or whatever else you need.
I can't even carry children." Archer's voice hitched as he realized how difficult it would all be.
The only understanding he had of these types of dynamics were from his love of books.
He was ill equipped to navigate it in real life.
Romilly smiled softly at him. "That is a discussion for another time. Right now I would very much like to kiss you and get back to what we were doing."
Archer didn't think twice. He pressed forward, bringing his mouth to Romilly's and sinking them back into hungry kisses. Hands slid over skin and tugged at what little clothing was left between them.
When Archer was fully bare and Romilly was too, Archer rubbed himself against Romilly's abs.
The man was a work of art in clothes and even better out of them.
The ridges of his abs were perfect for Archer's cock to squeeze between.
As he thrust his hips, he felt a sensation roll through him.
It was different than anything he'd ever felt before.
"That is it, little mate," Romilly crooned.
Archer could feel fingers slipping back toward his entrance.
He trusted Romilly to take care of him, to not rush anything.
To his surprise, Romilly's fingers slid straight in.
That was when he noticed how slick he felt.
Pulling away from the open-mouthed kisses he'd been leaving on Romilly's jaw, he held steady and looked at his mate.
"Why am I… what is happening?" he said frantically.
Romilly pumped his fingers in and out of Archer's body. The noise was lewd, louder than Archer would have guessed, but they were in a quiet space, tucked away from the goings-on of the castle.
"It is your slick production, mate. I, as an Alpha, am quite large, and it would hurt you if your body did not adjust. It seems as if Fate knew this and gave you the ability."
Archer blinked. "You mean I have slick coming out of my ass as my own natural lubricant?"
Romilly smirked. "That is one way to put it, yes."
Archer reached back, pushing Romilly's hand out of the way, before grabbing Romilly's very well-endowed cock, pointing it where he needed, and sinking down onto it in one fluid motion.
Romilly groaned, his head falling back. Archer fell forward, landing on Romilly's chest as euphoria raced through him.
"Fuck, that's amazing," Archer panted. "I can't believe this is real."
Romilly gripped Archer's chin and brought his face up until they were nose to nose and eye to eye.
"You need to believe it, little mate. From here on out, you are mine."