Chapter 23
Corvis
She’s all mine…
I press in slowly into her warm welcoming depths.
Her muscles are already pulsing around me and I want to scream with joy.
I look down at my mate in full submission and take in the full vision of her scales.
She has an almost four inch wide strip of scales that run from her hairline down to her tailbone.
Scales spread out like wings over her hips and down her thighs.
Out of curiosity, I slide my hands up her back and along her ribs.
She lifts her wings, and I see she has scales across her shoulder blades and over the ball of her shoulders to her biceps.
The implications of her potential hit me like a freight train.
As much as I don’t want another drake in the nest, it may be best for her safety.
“Move Corvis, please…” Raven whines, and I obey immediately.
Each slow rolling thrust makes the scales on the back of my neck stand on edge.
I feel Raven as if she is a part of me, as if a lost limb has been finally returned to me.
Her moans are music to my ears as I keep a steady, hard pace.
Each wet impact echoes in the cavern. She’s so soaked it’s running down my thighs.
Raven folds her wings in, and I can lean over her.
I bite at her skin as I move faster. Every slip and slide sends liquid heat through my veins.
Without warning, I pull out and flop onto the furs beside her.
Raven’s eyes blaze to life, and she climbs on top of me.
Feeling her slip down onto my length makes me close my eyes and roll my head back from the sheer pleasure of it.
Raven purrs softly as she rocks her hips, sliding up and down my length.
She angles forward; her breasts slide over my sweat-slick chest. I curl up and kiss her deeply.
This is better than any fantasy I have ever had in the last ten years.
We purr as I meet her thrust for thrust, her wings come down and cocoon us in their protective embrace.
I feel her core tightening, and I slide my hands to her breasts and pass the pads of my thumbs over the sensitive tips of her nipples.
Raven cries out as she arches her back; she cums so hard on my cock.
Every pulse makes me see stars. I thrust up into her as hard and fast as I can, chasing my release.
My balls draw up and I roar as I feel my cock pulses shooting my seed up into my mate.
Raven falls to my chest and wraps her arms around me the best she can, still rocking her hips through the pulses.
Our first time didn’t last as long as I would have liked it to.
The intensity of finally being with my mate after twenty-one years of waiting overwhelmed us both.
Then again, I don’t think most first times ever do—the anticipation builds up so much that in reality, no matter how perfect, they can’t quite match the fantasy.
Raven kisses my cheek several times, her lips soft and warm against my skin as she nuzzles me all over like an affectionate cat. The sensation sends pleasant shivers down my spine, and I can smell our mingled scents on her skin—sea salt and night air mixed with baked bread and ancient stone.
“What are you doing, silly?” I laugh, the sound echoing softly off the cavern walls as I watch her methodical attention to every inch of my face and neck.
“Trying to blend our scents faster. I want to smell like you, and you like me.” She pulls back just enough that I can see the pure elation blazing in her sapphire eyes. The blue seems to glow with inner light as she stares down at me, her pupils still slightly dilated from our lovemaking.
Her smile is so radiant it takes my breath away. I reach up and cup her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin and the delicate bone structure beneath my palm. I watch her eyes slide shut with contentment, her long lashes casting shadows on her cheeks in the bioluminescent glow of the cavern.
I can feel her in my heart and soul now—a constant warm presence that fills spaces in me I didn’t even know were empty. It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world, like coming home after a lifetime of wandering.
“Thought for a thought?” I ask her, my voice soft in the intimate darkness. It was the only game I could play with her to get what was really bothering her out of her when she was a child, a special ritual between just the two of us.
She lies down, pressing her forehead against my throat where my pulse beats steadily.
Her breath is warm against my skin, and I can feel the gentle weight of her body settling against mine.
“I’m thinking that you are the part of me I’ve been looking for.
” Her voice rings with such pure honesty that I can’t help but smile, my chest swelling with emotion.
“I know you are the part of me I was missing. You were so close but always out of reach. I couldn’t go more than a day or two without seeing you.” The admission tastes like freedom on my tongue. I turn and kiss her forehead, tasting the salt of dried sweat and breathing in her intoxicating scent.
“Did either of my parents tell you about the meltdown I had when they took me from you the first day we met?” She kisses my neck, her lips finding the sensitive spot where my pulse pounds, and purrs softly.
The vibration travels through both our bodies where they’re pressed together.
“I remember them telling me we had to go home. So I ran the best I could to find you and hug you goodbye.”
I close my eyes, listening to her words and letting the memory wash over me with perfect clarity.
“I remember the tears streaming down your face and you screaming for me. My father told me it was a strong bond for ones so young. A few days apart wouldn’t damage it.
” The memory still has the power to twist something painful in my chest.
“Daddy Balor had to hold me on the flight home because I shifted and tried to fly back.” She laughs, but there’s an edge of remembered pain in the sound.
“Thankfully, my dad saw it happen, and Daddy Ziggy phased and caught me mid-air before I could crash. He brought me over to Daddy Balor and had him hold me tight. I cried all the way home until I fell asleep from exhaustion.”
The image of tiny Raven in distress makes my protective instincts flare even now.
“I made my father fly us to your flight the next day to train. I didn’t want to be away from you.
I couldn’t—it hurt too much.” My fingers thread through her silky hair, and she sighs softly with contentment.
“The physical pain of separation was unbearable.”
“We never have to be apart ever again.” Raven kisses my jaw with tender devotion before she yawns, her body relaxing completely against mine. Within moments, she falls asleep lying on top of me, her breathing evening out into the deep rhythm of complete trust and satisfaction.
I carefully roll us to our sides, mindful of her wings, and pull her flush against me.
Her body fits perfectly against me, like we were carved from the same stone and finally reunited.
All of my dreams have come true in this magical cavern.
I have my mate in my arms, and she’s everything I could have wished for and infinitely more.
The warm weight of her sleeping form, the gentle sound of her breathing, the way her hair catches the bioluminescent light—it’s all perfect. My dragon purrs with deep satisfaction, finally at peace after decades of yearning.
The next thing on my list is to bring her to Hemlocke.
He deserves his happily ever after too, and I know Raven will want to complete all her bonds.
The thought of sharing her should bother me, but it doesn’t—we’re both her mates, both part of her heart.
If anything, it makes me love her more, knowing how much love she has to give.
For now, though, I’m content to hold her in this perfect moment, listening to her breathe and feeling the steady beat of her heart against my chest. After twenty-one years of waiting, I finally have everything I’ve ever wanted right here in my arms.
I had every intention of flying back the next morning, but Raven had other ideas. The memory of her passionate enthusiasm makes my silver scales warm along my neck. She wore me out completely, and we slept in until somewhere around noon, our bodies tangled together in exhausted satisfaction.
When I wake again, Raven is missing from the nest of furs where we’d fallen asleep.
Her absence creates a cool spot beside me that feels empty despite the warmth of the cavern.
I walk out of the shadowed entrance, and the brilliant afternoon sun almost blinds me.
The contrast between the dim bioluminescent glow and full daylight makes me squint and shield my eyes with my hand.
There’s Raven sitting under the shade of a date palm, her back against its trunk.
A small fire crackles nearby, sending wisps of aromatic smoke into the still air.
Several fish cook on improvised wooden sticks, their skin crackling and golden.
The scent of cooking fish mixed with wood smoke makes my stomach rumble with hunger.
“Morning, my love.” I purr with satisfaction, the endearment feeling natural on my tongue as I smile and walk over to her. I lean down and kiss her lips softly, tasting the salt air and something uniquely hers that makes my dragon content.
She beams up at me, her sapphire eyes sparkling in the dappled sunlight filtering through the palm fronds.
The sight of her genuine happiness makes my chest warm with pride.
She offers me a fish on a stick, the wooden skewer still hot from the fire.
“I hope you don’t mind I went fishing for us.
You looked so peaceful sleeping I couldn’t bring myself to wake you. ”
Her consideration touches something deep in my chest. She extends a talon with practiced ease, splits the back of the fish with surgical precision, and pulls the skin away in one smooth motion before eating. The casual display of her dragon nature mixed with domestic care is incredibly intimate.
I sit next to her on the warm sand, feeling the heat from the fire on my face and the gentle breeze carrying the scent of oasis flowers.
“Not at all. Whoever is up first is more than welcome to hunt or cook.” The fish is perfectly prepared, flaky and seasoned with whatever herbs she found around the oasis.
Raven smiles at me and nods, looking pleased with my approval.
“We should probably head back soon.” She stares at the position of the sun in the sky, squinting slightly as she calculates the time. The afternoon light catches the highlights in her black hair, creating an almost ethereal glow around her.
“Where are we going to stay?” I take a large bite of the fish, savoring the taste while watching her expression carefully. All the color drains from Raven’s face as if someone pulled a plug, leaving her looking pale and uncertain.
“I don’t know...” Her voice wavers with sudden anxiety. She digs around frantically in the small pile of belongings next to her and pulls out her phone. I watch her fingers moving at lightning speed over the screen, typing with the desperate energy of someone trying to solve a crisis.
The next thing I know, my phone vibrates against my hip like an angry bee. I look down to see a flood of messages streaming across my screen in rapid succession. Raven has added me to the family chat, and the notification sounds create a constant buzz.
At the end of the seemingly endless stream of texts that fly across the screen, Mina offers the guest house by the gardens.
The relief in Raven’s posture is immediate and visible.
It will have to do until we can dig Raven’s nest off the main nest in the upper part of the mountain—a project that could take months.
I watch Raven’s eyes dart back toward her cavern entrance, then down to her phone again. The longing in her gaze is unmistakable. Her dragon has claimed this space, and leaving it feels like abandonment.
“If you feel safer here, we can come here to sleep at night.” I offer gently, reaching over to take her free hand in mine. Her skin is warm from the sun and slightly rough from her morning fishing expedition.
“I don’t want you to suffer because of my dragoness’s demands. She doesn’t want to be above ground. She wants to be in the mountain.” Her eyes drift back to the cavern with obvious yearning, and I can see the internal struggle playing out across her expressive features.
“How about this—we can help dig the new nest. I know your mom’s breath weapon is insane for breaking rocks.
” I pause and look back at the cavern entrance, noting the perfect circular shape and the smooth walls visible from here.
Something clicks in the back of my head like a puzzle piece falling into place. “How did you dig down into the cavern?”
The question hangs in the air between us, loaded with implications.
I think Raven’s breath weapon is stronger than she’s letting on—possibly much stronger.
The precision of the tunnels, the way the stone looks almost melted rather than chipped away, suggests a level of power that even her impressive bloodline shouldn’t account for.
Raven’s eyes shift to meet mine, and I catch a flash of something—pride, maybe, or perhaps a secret she’s been keeping. The afternoon sun casts shadows across her face, but I can see the slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.