70. Chapter 70
Two days later, we were still staying at the same campsite. The males couldn’t decide on a course of action, and Dion got more restless by the hour.
And so I slept a lot.
The prince had left my side a few minutes ago—something he’d rarely done lately—and when he returned, he bent down, wrapped me tightly in a blanket, and picked me up, carrying me as if I weighed nothing.
“I can walk myself.”
“You’re still weak.”
“Dion.”
“Naya.”
“Since when do you coddle me?”
“Since you almost died one too many times. The strongest male can only handle so much when his beloved goddess is so damn squishy and obviously trying her everything to transcend to Udiona.”
Well, that shut me up. Almost certainly, he’d meant his answer as a joke, but there had been enough hardness and agony in his voice that I recognized the kernel of truth behind his words.
“I need to hold you, at least until I’m convinced you’re not going anywhere. Let me have this.”
“Territorial bastard.”
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything. I swear to you, from here on out, whenever anyone so much as looks at you funny, I’ll annihilate them on the spot.
I’m done taking risks when it comes to you.
You thought I was unhinged before? Welcome to your new reality, Nayana.
You invited someone like me into your life.
Therefore, you only have yourself to blame that I’ll never leave you again. ”
An icy trickle ran down my spine. He’d basically just repeated what he’d told me two days ago, but in much darker words, and even though I fought the sentiment, something in his murderous tone filled me with utter satisfaction.
Did his grim promise scare me? In a way, yes, but then again, I couldn’t fight the sense of protection he instilled in my battered soul.
We arrived at a bigger campfire than the one burning next to our bedrolls, and I blinked as Dion lowered me into another prepared nest. “Where did you get all those pillows from?”
“There’s a village nearby.” Dion preened while he tucked me into sheer softness and made sure that my blanket was fully covering me—he confirmed this not only once, but three times. His care was thorough—and entirely over the top.
Turning my head, I spotted Antas smiling as he observed his nephew, and I decided not to comment on the prince’s mother hen behavior.
“Ireas, you can approach.”
“Don’t be so bossy, princeling.”
“When you’re concerned, I’m as bossy as I have to be.”
Exhaling, I gave up complaining once more. Maybe this was Dion’s way of dealing with everything that had rattled him to the core.
“It’s alright, Nayana. He simply cares very much.” Ireas appeared at my side and tried to lift the thoroughly arranged blanket, which resulted in an angry growl from my other side. “I have to take this off in order to examine her.”
“She’ll freeze.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You won’t.”
“I will.”
“Will you let me do my job, or do I have to have you removed?” Ireas looked with such a strict glower at Dion that I couldn’t stop a giggle.
Not surprisingly, he showed the younger medic his teeth before he sat back. “If she’s getting sicker, it’s your fault.”
“Be nice.”
“I’m nice. If I weren’t, he would be dead.”
Before I could answer, one of his hands crept into my hair, and I had to suppress a sigh as his fingers deftly massaged my scalp.
Oh holy Triad, that felt so wonderful.
“No progression. That’s a good sign.”
“Fine.”
Opening my eyes, I didn’t miss the slight nod Ireas directed at Dion, and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion but was instantly distracted by the prince and his repeated routine of ensuring that the blanket wasn’t even an inch off.
Halfway through, he growled, mostly at himself, and dove under the blanket as well, tugging me into his arms, before busying himself with the covers once more.
Thain laughed. “Haven’t watched a better show in ages.”
Dion’s chest rumbled as he growled at the comment. “Shut up, Thain.”
“Have you been like that with your wife too, Antas?” I called over with fake exasperation.
“A fraction. But Dion’s devotion is nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“Quiet.”
Now, everyone apart from the male in question was laughing, even me. Aligning the fussing fae and the dark prince from two days ago into one picture wasn’t an easy feat.
When he was finally satisfied, he stroked a strand of hair out of my face, and I hummed in contentment.
Dion’s hands splayed on my back and pulled me closer, holding me as if I were to disappear if he didn’t.
His chest rumbled louder than I’d ever experienced before, and suddenly, his teeth visited the crook of my neck.
He didn’t bite hard, so his canines weren’t piercing my skin, but I felt a sting, and, instead of being shocked or angry, he awakened something deep inside of me, something that shot directly into my core.
What was wrong with me? Getting aroused in such a situation?
“Why are you biting me, Dion?” Divine Immaru, why did I have to sound so breathless?
Next, his magic erupted around us, wrapping me in his tendrils, which all vibrated in apprehension.
One of them was way too close to where all the tingling gathered, and I gasped when the tip brushed against my underthings.
The perpetrator wasn’t Harc since my pet was resting, circling my ankle, and he didn’t seem very impressed by his friends’ shenanigans.
At this rate, Dion would spiral out of control in no time because there was no way in Udiona all those sensitive fae noses around us wouldn’t pick up on my awakening desire.
Which would cause the prince to turn all territorial and murderous once more.
And I liked my friends far too much to allow him to slaughter them.
“Ah, His Royal Highness is a biter?” Thain snickered, and I shot him a warning glare, which he, of course, ignored. “He could bite me anytime.”
When Dion didn’t react but nipped me again right next to his first site of attack, I aspired to disattach him before he’d not only ignite a wildfire inside of me but also turn us into a public spectacle with potential lethal consequences.
Finally, he lifted his head, and his pupils were fully dilated. Not an ounce of amethyst was visible, but instead, they glowed eerily black. Uh oh.
His arms disagreed with my escape attempts, and so did his magic.
Well, I tried.
Admittedly, not very hard.
And with that, he bit me again, harder this time, and the pain was a very exquisite sensation, which I would have enjoyed more if we hadn’t been in front of an audience and if I hadn’t been so worried about him devolving into an out-of-control state again.
A tearing sound distracted me, and with shock, I realized that his tendrils must have torn my underthings. “Dion, stop,” I hissed.
“Mine.” This was his only reply as he shifted and pushed me under his stupidly large body, as if he aimed to shield me from invisible foes.
Only then did I notice the solid black wall around us—he’d hidden us from prying eyes. “We can’t—”
His magic definitely said we could. Dion was breathing hard and scraped his teeth across the skin of my neck. A needy sound escaped my throat.
Finally, I gave up my resistance. I couldn’t stop us if I tried. And honestly, I’d been ready to wave the white flag after his first nip.
“Tell me we can.”
“I—” Unable to answer, as what I presumed was one of the black strands surrounding us attacked my center, I found out that my body absolutely agreed.
Gasping, I bucked my hips, and my rational thinking slowly dissolved into nothingness. We were hidden, and I’d missed him, missed this, and although giving in was utter madness, I craved his touch.
So, I surrendered to him. To my lust.
Freeing my hand, I went in for the kill and whisked my fingers over his ear.
The effect was immediate. The tip twitched, and a guttural sound wrestled free from Dion’s throat. “Is that a yes?”
“How does it feel?”
“Like you missed me too.”
His movements became less desperate, instead more intentional, both his lips roaming my throat and his magic, whose ministrations resembled a multitude of hands caressing my skin. And as one of them flicked my clit, still humming from within as they always did, I saw stars. “Gods, Dion.”
“No, Nayana. Only one god. I’ve told you before.”
Yes, he was definitely coming back to himself. “Big ego—oh.” Another tendril had sneakily approached my core and dipped its slender tip into my entrance, purring like crazy. The effect was indescribable, and I cried out as the strand ventured deeper.
Dion was laughing against my skin. “Did you want to say something, tiny goddess?”
“I—” Again, I was silenced as his lips conquered my own. To call this a kiss would do the deed an injustice, because of what this truly was—a claiming. Each movement of his mouth, each stroke of his tongue, assured me he had no intention of ever letting me fade away, just like he’d vowed.
His magic was still working itself deeper into my core, while another inky construct circled my clit, driving me insane through stimulation. Both didn’t stop purring, and every vibration resonated through every inch of me, all at once.
Almost desperate, I clawed at Dion’s tunic, yearning for his skin under my fingers, but he wasn’t having my ambitions. That bastard.
Dion craved control on the best of days, and today—was one of the worst. His magic wound around my wrist gently but firmly and tugged my arm down next to my body. Other bands attacked my other wrist and ankles until I was completely immobilized by my huge fae male and his insane powers.
“Color?” he mumbled against my lips.
“Green,” I gasped out, realizing I hadn’t had a single bad memory resurfacing, not even now. My body was under too much attack from sensations from every direction.
Dion’s canines returned with a vengeance after my confirmation. He’d caught early on how sensitive I reacted to his savage bites, and he was using this knowledge to his full advantage.