Chapter 28
Orsen
She was touching me.
Rowan was actually touching me.
My dragon was in fucking heaven, bouncing up and down inside me like a kid in a fucking candy shop.
Mate! Mate’s hands are on us.
The human side of me was almost as excited that Rowan was so close. When she had first stepped into the clearing, her eyes had grown wide, and her breathing had hitched at the sight of me. My dragon was pretty damn intimidating, I could admit that. But seeing my size affect her was something else.
Rowan, despite her momentary pause, shook off her surprise and strode up to me confidently.
My wing had felt rather sore, and it wasn't my fault.
Nix had barreled into me while flying like an overexuberant golden retriever, knocking me into a bunch of trees.
My outstretched wing had been bent back painfully, and naturally, my clanmates heard my cursing through our bond.
Nix had insisted on waking up our mate to make sure nothing was permanently damaged, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether his trick had been on purpose, a way to get us closer.
Rowan had been exhausted, though. It was obvious at dinner that she had been fighting sleep, her eyes constantly shutting and then snapping open again.
She’d been working overtime to heal the horde and help as many of us as she could.
She was such a kind, self-sacrificing person.
In fact, Rowan was the ideal Alpha female, and it hurt my chest to think about how badly I’d fucked up meeting her again.
But I’d hardly been prepared to see her again, and apparently, I was an idiot when I was shocked.
How has she become even more amazing? I’d thought to myself, but of course, Greylen, who had been circling in the sky, could hear me. We could all hear each other in dragon form, just not as easily in human form.
I don't know, but she improved, and what the fuck did we do? … Well, we kind of became failures. Greylen’s voice drifted through my mind.
He wasn't wrong.
Still, it didn’t seem to matter all that much when Rowan had been inspecting my wing. I didn’t think it was bad. Sure enough, she’d agreed, but she’d roamed her fingers over the flesh, the warmth that was uniquely hers melting into me. It… did something to me.
Then bam.
One minute, I was enjoying the sensation of her hand on my wing, and the next, I was human. I hadn’t intended on shifting. It just happened—probably because I was so close to Rowan. She was enthralling, and she didn’t even realize it.
Pressed up against my mate, I couldn’t help but inhale deeply. Sweet and earthy, the scent of the herbs she worked with for hours on end clung to her. Even dressed in a T-shirt I was pretty sure belonged to Griffin and a pair of old jeans, her hair pulled into a messy bun, she was stunning.
Mesmerizing.
It hit me like a physical blow that this truly wasn’t Emmeline.
This was Rowan. She was snarkier, stronger, and, somehow, even more stubborn than she had been all those years ago.
She had a different life story, different ambitions.
Rowan had grown. It’d been six years, and she’d become a different woman, even if so much of her still radiated the same glow.
Sure, some things hadn’t changed, like her love of sour candy and her eyes…
But I needed to accept that Emmeline was gone.
She was never coming back. I could be sad at her loss and inexplicably excited about the woman in front of me at the same time.
And, oddly, it was this new person in front of me who made my cells hum in a way they never had.
I loved that snark as much as I might have wanted to deny it.
That fire in Rowan had been only a spark in Emmeline, and the blaze there now was engulfing.
“Rowan…” I muttered her name, physically unable to let her go. Last time, I’d kissed her without permission and pushed myself on her like a total brute, so overwhelmed, and—what I could now admit—terrified that I was dreaming. This time, I had to let her come to me.
If she didn’t want this, I would have to live with that. Still, if I had to spend the rest of my life proving my worth to Rowan, I would. Every damn day would be spent showing her the real me, the one I’d thought I lost when Emmeline was taken from me.
For an agonizingly long moment, we both stood there, staring at each other. The air around us was electrified, and I wanted nothing more than to lean down and touch my lips to hers, to taste her again.
Before, I’d been fueled by rage and a type of madness; I never wanted to push myself on her like that again.
“You called me…” She didn’t finish, though, and I found myself hanging on her every word like some lovestruck moron. That was the thing, though, wasn’t it? I was that moron, no matter what I might have said or believed before.
“What?” I furrowed my brow, instinctively leaning in.
Rowan’s lips parted. She took several deep breaths, her chest rising and falling, pressing her breasts against the thin fabric of her shirt, her nipples standing out in contrast to the cotton.
Her pupils dilated as I stared down at her, my fingers curled into her flesh, a desperate need to keep her close.
And then the sweet scent of her arousal hit me.
Fuuuck.
I shuddered, my head dropping until our foreheads touched.
I just breathed, unable to do more, my mind blank except for the constant haze of lust that swirled through me.
But shit, was I reading into this? Was I only seeing what I wanted to see?
I couldn’t make another mistake. I couldn’t scare her away after I’d finally gotten close to her.
Lifting onto her tiptoes, Rowan pushed against me and turned her head, a gentle twist to the side. Her breath fluttered over my lips, and I could sense the proximity, the way she inched closer, unsure but determined.
And then she kissed me.
A jet could have landed right next to us, armed forces spilling out to attack, and I would have noticed none of it.
All that existed in the universe was Rowan’s lips on mine.
The cool night rushed over us, and she pressed in closer to me, her small form flattening against my body.
There was no way she could miss how into this I was, but instead of sensing disgust or worry, that perfume of hers swelled higher, her arms coming around my neck as she deepened the kiss.
I ran my hands down her back, landing on her ass. Taking two handfuls, I squeezed, my cock jerking as I remembered just how damn good she felt. A growl, deep and possessive, rumbled out of me, and I realized how dangerously close I was to losing control.
Dammit. Hold it together, man. Not too fast.
Thankfully, I didn’t sense Grey or Nix in my thoughts.
In fact, I didn’t feel Greylen nearby at all.
He must’ve flown off, and that probably meant something, but I couldn’t bring myself to care when Rowan was this plastered to me, a blanket against the chill that, while unneeded, was extremely appreciated.
The kiss accelerated as I scooped Rowan up, holding her with her legs wrapped around my waist, carrying us to the cover of a nearby tree.
After I set her down, Rowan leaned back until she rested on her elbows, looking up at me, her eyes lidded.
It took everything not to tear off her fucking jeans and bury my cock in her pussy.
But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when I was so close to being too much for her again.
“You can tell me to stop. I won’t—”
“Do not stop.” Rowan shook her head once, her legs falling open. “I’ve just managed to get my damn courage, and you’re not taking this away from me.”
Yes, ma’am.
I smiled, and it didn’t take me more than a second to sense Nix closing in on us, his turbulent thoughts fluctuating between profound lust and justifiable apprehension.
I didn’t say anything, letting Rowan make that call.
Sure enough, her eyes flared as he approached, those sweatpants he’d pulled on tented at the crotch.
Rowan dropped her stare to his erection, and another wave of want emanated from her.
“I’m not trying to be too much here, but”—Nix sucked in a shaky breath, his eyes closing as he sniffed the air—“you smell so fucking good, princess, and I’ve been dying for more of you.”
Rowan was still breathing hard, but she bobbed her head, holding out her hand. “Get over here. I want you both. Now.”
Nix was clearly not worried, like I was, because he shot over to us in seconds, landing a feverish kiss on Rowan’s shoulder as his hands went for the hem of her shirt.
My dick twitched again, needy and aching.
I took myself in hand, stroking once before squeezing until it hurt.
This wasn’t about that. This was about Rowan, about making her feel incredible.
I helped Nix with her jeans, the two of us pulling them down her legs. And sweet fucking gods above, the sight of her laid out naked for us. Scars and all, Rowan was perfection, curvy and delicate at once, her body older than I remembered and all the better for it.
She reached for Nix’s pants, yanking them down his hips as he knelt beside her. As his erection popped free, I dipped down between Rowan’s legs, trailing kisses up her inner thigh as her scent intensified.
I could wear her like fucking cologne.
Fingers suddenly knotted in my hair, tugging at the roots as Rowan’s hips lifted and twitched. “Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods…”
I flicked my gaze up to hers, my mouth poised over her pussy. She already looked so gone. So damn beautiful.
I waited a moment, and then she was urging me on, pushing my head between her legs.
She didn’t need to tell me twice. In a flash, I had my tongue sweeping through her folds, drinking her in.
By the gods, she was sublime. I could see why Nix had been going on about it, remembering how fantastic our mate was.
“He likes how good you taste, sweetness. Just like I do.”
I wanted to growl at Nix for sharing my thoughts with Rowan, but he was right. Except, I didn’t like her taste; I was fucking ravenous for it. And I proved as much, feasting on my mate like the starved dragon I was. Going years without her was driving me slowly insane.
“And what about you?” Rowan eked out, her hips working as I dragged my tongue up and down, then swirled it around her entrance. “How do you taste—Ugh! Show me, Nix.”
Through her moans, Rowan had said something that went straight to Nix’s dick through the bond. He was on cloud fucking nine, and I peeked up to see him slide his cock into Rowan’s mouth. The sight nearly destroyed my resolve, reflexively thrusting, even though it was the ground touching me.
You can do this. It’s about Rowan. Just her.
I listened to our mate swallowing down Nix’s length as I ate her out, losing myself to the effort of making her squirm.
I wanted her to come for me. I wanted to taste her release for days.
Rowan fisted my hair tighter, then lifted her left leg, giving me even more access to her as her other hand suddenly bumped into my nose.
I pulled back a hair, and then quickly realized that Rowan was touching herself, rubbing her fingers over her clit to hurry herself toward that beautiful oblivion.
Hot as hell.
While swirling her fingers across her needy clit, Rowan rocked her hips against my face, helping me to fuck her with my tongue. She needed more, though, deserved more, so I slid two fingers into her pussy and pumped them in and out as I licked between the frenzied caresses of her clit.
“Goddamn, sweetness. Look how fucking beautiful you are, taking my cock while Orsen eats that delicious pussy. You’ve been gone for far too long.”
I hooked my fingers up into Rowan’s G-spot, and she cried out around Nix’s cock, the muffled sound making my furious shaft yell louder. I was more than content, however, getting to taste my mate like this. Making her clench around my fingers and smooth her slick over my tongue was utterly heavenly.
It didn’t take long for her to clamp down, fluttering as she came for me, her pussy drenched in slick.
Rowan rocked her hips hard, and I leaned back to get a good look at her riding my fingers while Nix claimed her mouth.
His thoughts were a mess as he got closer to release, and then he was roaring out, tangling his fingers in her hair as he finished down her throat.
Quietness seeped in as they both caught their breath. I leaned up, fighting the urge to stroke myself to completion. As the stars twinkled overhead, I was still just so damn glad she was back.
My Rowan, my mate.
We’d figure out what had happened, and we’d destroy the dragon who’d burned her, who nearly took her away from us forever. And I was really looking forward to that.
Rowan pushed onto her elbows again, smiling through the haze of release and exhaustion that clung to her.
“Well,” she sighed, her eyes struggling to stay open, “that was not how I thought this was going to go.”