Chapter 23
With his snout pointing over his own shoulder, Kier stared at the side of the witch’s face as she leant against his right flank.
Her eyes were white as she sightlessly stared forward, her fingers gently touching Selene’s temples. She’d been like this for hours, kneeling here in this healing alcove, dream walking.
She’s been... avoidant. For the remainder of the day, she’d hidden or fled from him.
The only way he’d been able to get close to her was now, while she was unaware that he lay behind her. He hoped the warmth he provided to her lower back was welcomed, that she felt his support even if it appeared unwanted.
I don’t know what I did wrong.
She’d returned his kiss. He’d scented her strong arousal, which had given him a clear indication he could continue as much as her clinging to him had.
He’d made her come with such a high-pitched, singing cry, it’d squeezed his heart and had made pre-cum crawl up his throbbing cock like he’d been moments from spending in his trousers.
Unable to help himself, he shuddered as hardness threatened to surge behind his protective slit at the memory of how she’d scented, tasted, felt, and the cute, breathy noises of need she’d made.
Horny. Kier had been very horny since then, his own desire not sated, and it lingered, twisting his mind and heart with need and confusion.
From her reaction to the comb... I thought perhaps she believed I was the one who didn’t desire her. He’d decided that she had every reason to be wary, and considering his prior actions, he would have to prove her wrong.
He lifted a paw to scratch absentmindedly at the side of his crown spikes. So where did I go wrong? All the signals she’d given him were correct until he’d reached for his trousers. He cupped his jaw. Did I go too fast?
Admittedly, he may have. But he’d just been so fucking excited, he couldn’t think beyond burying himself into the hot heaven she’d just strangled his fingers in with a crushing grip. He’d ached for it on such a profound level that he’d been choking on it.
Do I go slower next time? he wondered, trailing his gaze away at the intensity of his musings. Or is this a game witches play, like dragonesses?
One where they grunted, bit, and fought, yet their scent tantalised, full of arousal to lead a male on.
This was how his kind played. Dragonesses liked to be rough, refusing to submit since they were overly proud creatures until they were overpowered.
Or sometimes they truly liked to dominate a male.
Is this what she seeks? He brought his sight back, peering at her as though the answer was upon her beautiful face.
He waited for the disappointment. To sigh and grow bored because he couldn’t think of anything worse. He wanted soft and gentle beneath him, so he didn’t have to overpower and could simply fall within the waves of his lust.
Yet, the idea of a battle with Carwyn didn’t bore him.
It excited him. She would fight, and he would easily win, and then they’d be entangled.
He liked her adorable little glares; they stirred something ferocious in him, something aggressive that had blood rushing to his cock rather than his muscles.
And the idea of her dominating him, a thing he would never have allowed... Blasted, he knew he’d like that too – only because he’d let her. Especially if she did it with a devious, sultry smirk.
But she did smell of fear, which led him to believe his first assumptions were incorrect and he’d done something wrong.
Enough that Carwyn had come into this room and cast this spell earlier than ever... as if to avoid him.
That bruised his chest.
Even more so when he thought that perhaps she’d done it to wake Selene, so instead of just fleeing his presence within his home, she could remove herself entirely. She’d be able to leave, and he’d be forced to let her go before he’d even gotten a fair chance.
It left a sour taste in his mouth, one that lingered even when her fingers slipped away from his sister’s face and she sat back on her heels. Only to gasp and bounce forward after inadvertently pressing further into him.
She tipped her head to the side, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes before immediately getting up. She left him there by himself, when he’d been hoping he could stir her into talking with him, or perhaps lying down together like they’d done the previous night.
Kier rolled his head back in exasperation. Females! They’re difficult, no matter what species.
Time to play dirty.
Carwyn groaned when she exited Selene’s alcove after checking on her and found the dragon down the tunnel...
in human form. She cringed as she turned away while looking down to fish her gloves from the insides of her sleeves, where she’d tucked them for safekeeping.
Just as she donned them, dread chilled her when he was up the incline now... in dragon form.
Wait... how did he do that? She looked behind her, and he was still in the opposite direction in human form, except now he was stomping his way towards her. His glare was one of fierce annoyance below his black hair that curled over his brow to shade his ruby eyes.
She glanced the other way, and his dragon form was in motion too.
She was in the middle, and she didn’t know which one was real or an illusion. So rather than run, she muttered an incantation as she threw her hands up, and a small barrier dome formed around her. Carwyn refused to tremble and instead rolled her shoulders back confidently.
“I grow tired of this already,” both of him said, surrounding her with his two voices as they came closer. One growly and beastly, the other rough and handsome, both decadent.
His human hand slapped against the barrier, as did his paw, and both made a sound. Both also somehow made the surface of it ripple as if affected by their touch. Or was that just his illusion tampering with her sight?
She shrugged a shoulder as she lifted her head dismissively. “If I wish to be left alone, then so be it.”
“I don’t like being ignored in my own lair, Carwyn,” his dragon form snarled out, making her step away from it, and she wondered if that was the real Kier.
Then she watched on in horror as his claws began to sink through the barrier slowly, piercing it and gaining gradual access. Did Kier have enough power to overcome her own? Probably. Her gaze flicked to the human version of him that stood there motionless, his expression dark and displeased.
Her heart raced as she glanced between them, trying to determine which was an illusion and which was real. It was impossible to guess. Was it the one coming closer or the one who had gone as still as a handsome marble statue?
There wasn’t enough free-flowing air to make his hair swish, or would he have added in that tiny detail? Her head swivelled back and forth, and her feet shuffled around, gaining her space from one while shortening the distance to the other.
I’m stuck. I must guess.
She clenched her eyes, worried she was about to make the wrong decision, but she chose the side that frightened her less. The one she trusted more.
Carwyn brought her barrier down and bolted towards his dragon form. The one that – if she was wrong, and he was solid and real – wouldn’t flood her with emotions that didn’t belong to her.
Please don’t be an illusion. Please don’t be an– With her gloved hands out in front of her to protect herself from the potential of a living wall, she... went through it.
She’d thought the chance for escape would relieve her, but instead terror clutched her throat.
Oh gods. He’s human. If he touched her at all, she’d be forced to experience his inner heart.
Even though he could’ve caught up to her easily, he let her put space between them as she ran. When she glanced over her shoulder, he was walking – the overconfident cad – and she knew why.
Where was she going to go? What did she plan to do? Jump off the cliff edge to her death? Run up and down the tunnels from him until she collapsed from exhaustion? He’d catch her anyway, yet she couldn’t stop her feet.
The spacious entry area was just beyond her, which meant she was running out of an escape path.
When Carwyn stepped over the threshold, she stumbled as she entered a brightly lit forest. The stone walls disappeared as sky peeked out from between the canopy of lush green leaves and branches, casting dappled light against the earth.
Everything swayed as though a wind chased through the foliage, and the subtle, melodious sound of the forest in motion whispered around her. But she couldn’t feel that gust, nor the sun. Nor the closest tree she found herself trying to avoid while tripping her way through the illusion.
Birds chirped, bugs buzzed somewhere in the distance, and Carwyn didn’t know whether to marvel at the display of his ability or be horrified.
Where were the walls?
This illusion was vast and strong.
It was disorientating because it looked so damn real.
If she wasn’t careful, he could make her walk off the edge of the cliff to her own death, and she wouldn’t know until she started falling.
Already her stomach dropped at the thought, and she put her hands out in search of a solid wall to orientate herself when she didn’t know which direction her spinning had put her.
More frightening, she could no longer see him past the tree line, no matter how much she searched. His disappearance had her heart leaping into her throat.
The closer she got to the edge, the more she could see stone. It was obscured by the spell he was casting, like trying to peer through muddied water, but she was relieved that she’d found it.
A scream belted out of her when her hands fell through the wall, the tricksy bastard! A frustrated sob spilled out of her – because that was just mean – as she righted herself on straightened arms and scraped knees, then pushed back and sat down.
She blinked at the cave, the forest illusion gone now, and yet she couldn’t see him in the large and empty cavern.
Such power. No wonder he has that title.