Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DARIUS
Christmas Morning
I woke up holding Bria and breathed in her scent. Her alluring scent washed over me with a soothing vibration, telling me she was truly here.
After almost losing her, I had to be sure that this wasn’t just my imagination. I spooned closer, craving the warmth of her silky skin. The morning sun drifted in from the balcony windows, casting her in a golden glow.
My dragon stretched, satisfied. Mate. Home with us.
Home. That was what it felt like to have her here again. Home. Fulfilled. Happy.
When I replayed last night, the running around the ship to search for staff who could help me put my crazy idea together, I grinned.
I’d talked to Kylie about my idea, wondering if it was over the top.
She loved it and thought Bria would too.
Soon, Kylie enlisted others to help, including Maribelle and Rick.
Once word spread across the ship, a legion of supes swooped in from across the ship to help or witness my grand gesture—or to watch it burn out in flames.
Even Cedric and Marlene came, which made my debut on that stage a thousand times more difficult as they reminded me of my usual state of control during business negotiations.
I’d never felt more vulnerable, more on display, than when I stepped up on stage and sang to a woman I loved, hoping she wouldn’t tell me to piss off.
But she was worth it.
And when she sang with me with such brightness in her eyes, it gave me hope.
The whisper-soft murmur of the sea drifted in through the balcony doors, and the salty breeze caressed our bare skin.
I kissed her soft, exposed shoulder, and she stirred. She slowly roused, turning over her shoulder to smile at me with her eyes barely open.
“Merry Christmas, kitten.” I brushed my fingers down her arm. Her skin was warm and as soft as silk under the morning sun.
She smiled, and my heart skipped. “Merry Christmas, dragon.” She nestled back against me, stirring my already stiffening erection.
When I pressed it against her ass, she chuckled. “Someone’s awake.”
“Just thinking about you,” I murmured. Needing to touch her again, to ensure she was back here, I traced my hands down her sides, over her breasts, up her thighs…
She rolled onto her back and I slid over her, kissing and marking every inch of her with my lips. Last night, we’d rushed back here, burning with fire and desperate to surrender to each other. Now, I took it slower, wanting to savor every exquisite moment, bringing her pleasure again and again.
When I finally slid into her, she clung to me.
“Yes,” she purred. “I need you.”
“Need you too,” I rasped.
Her eyes glowed brighter with a feral gleam, her panther shining through, yearning for me. My dragon burned, agonizing to mark her, seal our bond with the mating bite.
“Darius,” she hissed in a low rumble and arched closer to me. “I’m ready. Mark me.”
I paused, staring into her eyes. “Are you sure?” We’d talked about it last, when the mating instinct had surged, and we’d said there was no need to rush. We’d claim each other when we were both ready, because the mating bite was sacred. Permanent. Forever.
Of course I was ready then, but I had to be patient.
“Yes.” Her voice sounded breathy, edged with need and desire. She tilted her head in invitation. “I’m yours. Always.”
Do it, my dragon urged.
Fire rose inside me, burning with wild, uncontrollable flames. Instinct guided me as I opened my mouth and bent down to the sweet spot near her collarbone. When my teeth brushed her skin, she braced herself and I sank in. The coppery taste of her blood coated my tongue.
I bucked into her, wild, feral, as magic surged through my veins, hot and bright, humming beneath my skin like wildfire.
It filled me with light and warmth, forging an enigmatic connection, entwining us through a timeless, magical bond.
I felt her let down her guard and accept me, surrendering herself to me, body and mind, as I did the same.
I pulled my teeth out and sealed the wound with a swipe of my tongue. She slid out from under me.
“My turn,” she said, her eyes gleaming feral in a way that must have mirrored my own. She straddled me and slid down my cock. “You’re mine, dragon.”
She ground up and down, dropping her head back, and her sharpened teeth were now exposed. My wild panther. Radiant.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmured in awe, brushing my fingers down her neck and over toward her flesh, now permanently marked with my bite. “And mine.”
Heat rushed through her. She held on to me as she moved faster. I bucked into her from beneath, both of us moving faster, harder…
“Mine,” she echoed. She cried out my name as she shattered and bent down, piercing the meaty area near my shoulder with her teeth. What bliss. I couldn’t hold on any longer, thrusting harder and harder until I exploded into her with fiery heat.
She bent over me and I wrapped my arms around her trembling body. We clung to each other, our hearts pounding and breathing hard, as the bond locked into place.
Mates.
Outside, the sun rose over the horizon with sparkling light. The sea hushed its calming rhythm.
My dragon exhaled with a rumble of contentment and curled into a relaxed pose.
Once my racing heartbeat slowed, I traced a swirl down her back, still slick with heat. “Merry Christmas, my mate.”
“Merry Christmas,” she whispered back, her breath warm against my neck.
Our new bond pulsed bright and radiant between us, as timeless as the tide.
I breathed in her scent and moaned in delight. “The merriest and most magical of all.”