Chapter 22 #2
I thread my fingers up into his hair and press him to my throat, feeling the silk strands slip between my fingers exactly the way I’d imagined they would during countless stolen moments of daydreaming.
“Are you gonna bite me or just kiss me?” A deep purr escapes my lips as I run the fingers of my right hand up his neck and into his hair, holding his head in place.
My left arm bands around his broad shoulders, and I draw lazy circles on his back, trying to soothe the tension I can feel coiled in his muscles.
The anticipation is killing me. Every cell in my body is screaming for him to complete the bond, to make me truly his after all these years of unconscious wanting. I’m practically vibrating with excitement and need, my dragon side fully awakened and demanding her mate.
Ever so slowly, I feel his mouth open and his teeth press to my flesh.
Human teeth first—it throws me off for a moment until his dragon’s teeth emerge and impale my flesh.
The bond burns fully to life, every nerve ending lighting up like I’ve been struck by lightning.
I feel like I can’t breathe as I hold him to me, my world narrowing to this single point of connection.
A deep rumbling builds in his chest, vibrating against me, before he releases my neck and runs his tongue over the wound. The healing saliva tingles and burns, sealing the bite that marks me as his.
As I open my wings, I take his hand and lead him into the cavern.
His palm is warm and slightly calloused against mine.
No one other than my close family has entered my private space before this moment.
I can feel the shift in him as we walk deeper into the darkness, his steps becoming more reverent as he realizes the significance of being brought here.
Eventually, we enter the main cavern with the large hot spring bubbling in the center.
The bioluminescence of the stones and fungi on the walls makes the space glow faintly with blue-green light, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.
Steam rises from the mineral-rich water, carrying the scent of iron and earth.
“It’s beautiful in here,” he says softly, his voice echoing slightly off the cavern walls.
“I dug it almost two months ago. Well, the main tunnel. I sensed the water down here, so I dug.” I stare at my inner sanctum, knowing this is where my dragoness wants to have her eggs someday. As much as the safety of the flight is important, this location is highly defensible as well.
Corvis comes up behind me and pulls me back against his chest, his warmth seeping through my dress.
His lips find my neck, and his tongue laves over the mate mark he gave me.
My core tightens and pulses softly in response, heat pooling low in my belly.
Every inch of my body craves the bond and yearns to complete it.
All I can hear in my head is that song by Ronnie, something about women being a weapon. The haunting melody echoes in my thoughts as I turn carefully, mindful of my wings. My fingers find the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head, revealing the body I’ve admired from afar for years.
My canines elongate as my mouth falls open, and I run my hands over his exposed skin.
His chest is littered with scars from battles and training—evidence that my family didn’t go easy on him.
I understand why now. He’s letting me lead, understanding that it’s dangerous for a black dragoness to remain unmated once she senses the bond.
My hands drop to the button at the top of his pants, and I pause, staring at my trembling fingers.
“I have loved you for so many years. Wished you had seen me. Wished that this day would come.” I look up at him slowly, searching his face.
All I see is love in his silver eyes and a soft smile that makes my heart ache.
“When you stiffened in my arms earlier, I wanted to melt everything in existence.” A slightly unhinged laugh escapes my lips.
“I followed you for three days after I scent-marked you, waiting to find the female who had taken you from me.”
“Did you look in the mirror? She would be staring back at you.” Corvis leans down and kisses my lips softly, and I feel his hands slip around my back to the silk ribbons that hold my dress together.
“I know that now. That, and Titan tattled on you and Hemlocke.” My fingers unfasten the top button of his pants, the small action feeling monumentally significant.
“Everything changes today,” he whispers close to my left ear, his breath warm against my skin.
“Nothing changes,” I answer back and nip his chin playfully, then roll my eyes. “Other than I will never be alone again.”
The promise hangs in the air between us, heavy with meaning and possibility, as the bioluminescent glow bathes us in ethereal light and the sound of bubbling springs creates a symphony of our new beginning.
He pulls the ribbons holding my dress together, and it falls to the ground at my feet. His eyes widen as he takes me in.
“When did you get pierced?” He gawks, staring at the bars through my nipples.
“My eighteenth birthday. I went to Balor’s piercer and then threatened his life. He gave me a female piercer, and I got the girls done.” I smile looking at the tent in his slacks. I drop the zipper and his pants fall.
“I can’t hold back, but I don’t know what to do with your wings.” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, I lead him over to the bed of furs I have here.
“They’ll be fine. Just don’t kneel on them.
” I climb onto the furs and, following my dragoness’s instincts, I pull off my thong and drop onto my hands and knees.
When I feel his heat behind me, I lower myself onto my forearms and spread my wings wide in submission.
I remember the horror stories of unsettled nests, and I don’t want that.
Corvis gasps as his hands go to my hips, rubbing my skin before dragging his length through my slick folds.
My heart thunders in my chest as I feel him press in for the first time.
The bond burns to life, setting every nerve ending on fire.
My talons extend as I dig them into the furs under me.
He stays still as the bond settles into place, feeling each other completely, letting me adjust to his girth.
My dragoness goes silent as he moves slowly.
I finally feel whole.