2

"As much as I love it when you show up with food, dessert, and ask to be spoiled by your dragon as only I can give you, I'm worried what happened, shorty," Hudson said as we lay in his bed sharing a sundae… Which was mostly him dropping something on me and eating it off my skin.

Hell, he'd made my security go get a few cans of whipped cream. The man wasn't subtle when he was wound up.

I kinda loved that about him.

"Nothing bad," I promised and then told him. We'd eaten some of the food first, had sex, more food, and then shower sex. Now we were in towels—mostly—and having the dessert.

Sort of.

He gave me a look that he wasn't buying what I was telling him given whatever he'd sensed off of me.

"I swear that was it, beastie." I nodded when he let out a slow breath. "It was just the tension. People have a lot of hope riding on this. This has been an issue warlocks and witches have wanted an answer to for thousands of years. It could do a lot for their community. And—honestly, I hadn't wanted Neldor to be there, but he stepped up. Again."

"He's really good at that. Honestly, I'm jealous how well he handles that stuff and almost any sort of situation," Hudson admitted before taking too big of a bite. "I always worry I'm going to start trouble you'll have to clean up or make you look bad."

"First, you never make me look bad. Never." I made it clear in my eyes that I wasn't kidding. "You've overstepped speaking for me when we weren't together. That's different. And things got fucked because of your tunnel vision and Juan. We've moved past that. You've jumped in and had my back too. Second, I'm jealous of Neldor for that too. He's smooth."

"Yeah, he is." Hudson shook his head and sat up more. "Some of that is instinct. I don't mean this as a bad thing even if people always think of being a snake as bad, but he slithers through the muck well. Like he moves—"

"Like water. He's fluid."

"Yes. Yes," Hudson agreed. "It's like Connor."

That was a really good point. "I think it comes from always being on the outskirts a bit more. You might not have always been by your parents or off to the side with your aunt, but you were always the heir. Connor wasn't. Neldor wasn't ever going to be but had a lot to navigate as well." I shrugged. "That's how I always see it but yeah, I'm damn jealous how he does it as well."

"I'm glad he was there to help with this." He nodded when I froze in my bite. "Truly, shorty. A lot of this magical theory goes over my head. I mean I get it, but I don't. Lucca said the same. We don't have magic like you guys and like… We get the tie to nature more, but this is complicated shit. I'm glad Neldor was there to back you up. And it pisses me the fuck off!"

I opened my mouth to ask how he was glad for Neldor and pissed at him, but then I realized that wasn't it, River moving in his eyes. "What pisses you guys off?"

"That they expect so much of you!" he shouted before jumping out of bed. "I agree with Neldor and Julian. It's stupid to think this was a quick fix. You do a lot and fuck, no one can deny your miracles, Tams. You pull them out of your ass, but you still have fucking limits. I heard Sontar talking to you about the cleaning analogy.

"Even a rockhead like me got that. You can't just swipe paint remover over decades of paint layers and think all done. That's fucking stupid. And this happened way more than paint on walls. Yeah, it's like whoever said about the Grand Canyon. You can't think one poof and that's reversed. Or they're all over you for something you do and scared. It's fucking frustrating."

"Thanks, beastie," I whispered, touched he was so upset for me and how I was treated at times. It meant a lot to me.

And helped my sanity that I wasn't the only one who felt people were over the top. On either side, expecting too much of me or always shocked I could do anything right. Or even do anything new.

He chuffed a few times and grabbed the whipped cream can before joining me back on the bed. "What else is going on? That would rattle me. You handle the expectation of idiots better."

"I wish that was true," I chuckled, laying back against some pillows with the rest of the huge sundae all to myself while he undid my towel. Apparently, all he wanted was whipped cream-covered Tamsin now. "It wasn't all idiots there and it's the change always. Hell, I'm still waiting for people to freak out that I finished the thing with Neldor."

He stopped licking up the whipped cream off my hip. "Yeah, I was waiting for people to freak out or like demand you get engaged after there was proof you could do so much together magically."

"Right?" I sighed, taking another huge bite and watching my beastie slowly gobble me up. This was fun and interesting.

And honestly made it easier for me to talk about something so difficult.

"It was the history in that room," I whispered. I spread my legs as he moved lower, but then he smirked at me and only sprayed some on my thigh.

Dick.

I realized he was giving me time to get out more of the heavy stuff, so I took it. "I've lost so many times to his mom before. I mean, I know I probably shouldn't think of it like that, but I did. I do. And I feel petty with Campbell. Like I get it now and she's stalker-level psycho, but I still see and feel the hits of him picking doing magic with her and blowing off dates with me.

"I still feel the pain of him… Drifting. This is the puzzle all the great minds of his species could never figure out, and the savant has to be chomping at the bit to want to be a part of that." I sighed when Hudson gave me a look that what I said might be harsh. "I know, I know. I admit I'm being sensitive and petty. He didn't want his mom to be sick."

"No, I get you. It's a version of tunnel vision basically, and while you forgive him and trust him again, it's too much to stand there and watch it for longer than you have to and have faith all of that will turn out better this time."

"Yes! Yes," I gasped, sitting up more. I blinked at him when he stopped moving and looked up at me. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm feeling. Any one part of that and I could have faith. But it's like the trifecta of what has burned me and what broke us when it's Julain. The ultimate magical puzzle, his mom, and Campbell. I'm not strong enough to watch that potential pain."

"You don't have to be, shorty. I'm glad you left. Let the others deal with it. I'm here to take care of you instead." He took the bowl from me, raising an eyebrow when I pouted, and set it on the nightstand before dragging me to lie flat on the bed. Then he spread my legs into the splits, covered my pussy with whipped cream, and had his own treat.

A few times.

He licked, sucked, nibbled, and tongued all of me that he could.

And his fingers weren't idle during all of that. No, they were busy, and after my first orgasm, somehow he pulled out a small toy from somewhere I'd missed and a little vibrating egg with a flared base was pushed in my ass.

The guys were really, really ready for us to have anal sex.

Subtle.

One orgasm was Hudson finger fucking me, teasing with the toy, and sucking on my clit harder than I thought I'd like. I fucking loved it.

After that time, I teleported us so we were flipped—something that always startled him and he loved. I smirked down at him now that I was on top. I leaned over and licked his dick. "Is this all mine and Lucca's?"

"It's all yours, and Lucca can have passes when you think he deserves it, my queen," he panted.

Fuck, that was even hotter.

And I showed him exactly how much I liked it.

I kissed every inch of his dick to tease him before running my tongue up and down it. Then I sucked just on the head as hard as I could like he had on my clit. Hudson's eyes about rolled up in his head as I did that and stroked him. He warned me when he was about to finish, but I didn't move, swallowing it down.

"Fucking fuck, shorty," he groaned when he was done. "Yeah, totally all yours. You own it. It only gets hard for you. It won't come unless you tell it to. It only wants to be inside you. Whatever you want. Fuckkkkkk, that was good."

"I'm just getting started," I purred before I straddled his lap and lowered myself onto his cock. I moved one foot flat on the bed and kept my other knee on the mattress. Hudson got the idea and pushed up onto his elbows, giving me a heated kiss before sucking on my nipples. That made me go wild and ride him harder, faster.

The feeling of his large hand cupping my ass just made it better as he helped me move and keep balance. Not that I needed it, but it was us together and I loved it. We finished so strong that I felt it like an echo between us somehow.

I knew he had too from the intense look in his eyes.

He laid me face down on the bed and moved over me, not fucking me to ride me like normal but something different. Something that made it clear he wanted me deeper and would stand between me and anything that upset me or came for me. My strong dragon would always be my shield for whatever he could.

Even if we both knew I'd never let him risk being hurt for me and I'd always keep my barriers up. It was the metaphorical kind of shield because not all pain was physical.

Most of mine never was at least.

I drifted off after we finished that time, grumbling about my sundae but admitting sex with him was so much better and I liked it more. He gave my ass a light tap and called me a goof.

Or I might have dreamt that part.

I woke curled up against him and half on him, his arm wrapped around me and his face buried in my hair. He swore he liked that, but I couldn't have slept that way. I knew how easily my hair tickled my nose or one hair would get stuck in my lashes and make me feel like something bad was on my face.

But maybe if it wasn't your hair it was okay?

My stomach felt empty and I knew it wasn't really about being hungry but stress. I was thirsty though. The thing with Mary wasn't remotely all I'd done and it had been a lot of talking. I felt rundown.

Which was totally normal during finals.

I teleported out of Hudson's arms so I didn't wake him and went to the bathroom. Something felt off and I scanned the house. Darby was on campus, but his sister and her nanny were in the other wing. Lageos was probably in Faerie at my family's castle where Mom was. The dogs were quiet and settled and my guards outside were calm.

But someone was in the kitchen worried.

I threw on a robe and didn't bother going down the stairs when I realized who it was. I was scared something had gone wrong and teleported right down there. "What happened?"

He did a double take when he saw me and frowned. "What do you mean?"

I studied him and noticed that he was sitting with a bottle of scotch and a glass that he'd already refilled. "I didn't expect you and you're drinking in my kitchen at…" I glanced at the clock. "One in the morning."

He winced. "Nothing went wrong."

I read between the lines. "You're upset I left."

"No." He shook his head and met my gaze. "No."

Except he tossed back the rest of his drink.

"Talk to me, Julian," I whispered, not sure what else to do.

He gestured to the two boxes loaded with bags sitting on the table by him. "I got you fried chicken, pulled pork to make sandwiches, and ribs from that place you like. I skipped the fries because I didn't know what time you'd wake for late-night dinner." He snorted and reached for the bottle.

I teleported there and snagged the bottle away. "Thanks, but I care more about what's going on with you. Talk to me."

"Or you'll walk out?" he grumbled before jumping to his feet. He set the glass down harder than was needed and rubbed his hands over his head. "That wasn't fair."

"But it upset you?" It was probably more a question, but my tone made it pretty clear that I knew the answer.

"No, I want you to leave if you're uncomfortable or need to remove yourself from a situation," he whispered, turning and staring out to my backyard, the floodlights dancing off the now-opened pool and making for a pretty scene.

"Julian, please talk to me. I won't get upset."

He reached up and wiped his eyes, letting me know he was crying. "Do you still really not trust me? I've done so much… Can I never win your trust back? I don't know what else to do to show you that I'm fully yours, Tams. I feel like I—is this just something I can't ever do?" He turned to me and looked destroyed. "Why can't I make you see that you're my everything?"

I swallowed loudly and moved over to him. I reached up and cupped his cheek, glad when he didn't flinch away and instead kissed my palm. "There was too much history in that room. It wasn't my lack of trust for you. I stood with you when your mother was horrible to me again when we were first alerted about your cousins. I believed in you."

He closed his eyes and leaned in closer so our foreheads touched. "Can you explain it to me? I just looked up and you were gone. Lageos told me it was too much for you and you were just gone. My greatest fear is one day I'll look up and you'll just be gone. I know you've proven that you won't just run or bail but…"

He realized his hypocrisy in that moment.

He swallowed loudly and nodded, saying he heard it. "Fear isn't fair."

"No, it's not," I agreed. I pulled him to sit and then sat right next to him and started in on the food. I told him what Hudson made me realize about the trifecta and the hopes and assumptions of people in that room.

"That was fucking ridiculous," he agreed as he rubbed his chin. "I did think if it worked it would be something a bit more noticeable." He hurried on when I flinched. "I mean like a moment of clarity. I think I was comparing it to like—we said dementia for humans. They have clear moments or similar to Alzheimer's I think. That was where my head was."

"That's fair," I accepted with a shrug. "I don't really know what I expected. I'm not sure anyone besides my dad could really tell in the beginning that anything was different with me when I cleansed, and I did for much longer. He was walking me through it. I could tell him I felt better or what was going on."

"We can't get that from my mom, and it was like a quick dose," he muttered. "I fully agree and reminded people of that."

"Thanks." I moved on to another sandwich I'd built. "Will you tell me what else happened? It's not like I don't care or…" I wasn't sure what else to say or how to phrase it and not risk making this worse for him.

He shocked me when he jumped to his feet. "Campbell is such a fucking cunt. She said it was nothing and failed. We could see in her aura she was lying and I lost my temper. This was about more than her selfishness or dislike for you or—this could save many and she's going to be petty about it? I told White I wanted her off of it and gone. She's never going to change."

"What did she say?"

He winced. "I didn't really give her a chance to say anything. I silenced her and went off on her. My mum too because she said shite about you leaving." He shot me a glance that he thought he might get in trouble. "I didn't mean to."

"You tapped into my magic," I said, trying to hide a smirk. "I thought I felt something." I waited until he nodded. "What did you do?"

"I didn't even realize I did it at first," he sighed and started pacing. "I froze them all besides your da and silenced them. Then I went into a tirade about how Campbell is fucking scum next to you. Just fucking viral gunk of an obsessive one-track mind to infect others. You're stressed out about waking more children because they were protected when they were frozen.

"And you have nightmares a child you don't even know might get hurt because of the condition of Faerie, and still you're trying to save my mum who is horrible to you and even Campbell who did the unthinkable to sell you out. Something no one even dreamed about when you have so much on you. All you do is give and give and all they do is take.

"And they dare look down their nose at you? I get my mum is biased because I'm her son but fuck, have some fucking reality in there even before she got so sick. You're like super S tier above all of us, and she talks about you like shite I've tracked in the house. You saved our people by taking over the council and resetting it. For that alone, they should worship you."

I moved over to him and kissed him. He was so upset on my behalf and a bit buzzed whiney that it was fucking adorable.

I sank to my knees. "So you told Campbell I'm awesome and she's shite?"

His eyes flashed shock. "Aye. A lot. And I told my mum if she makes any more trouble for you that I won't visit her no matter what. I made a recording and a reminder for her to play it every morning."

It was sort of like 50 First Dates, but it was smart. I told him we should elaborate on that and have her watch something anytime she goes off a bit, her even saying something that she agreed to this healing and there were gaps in her memory. He agreed and promised to handle it.

"What else?" I asked as I rubbed his thighs.

"The warlock who actually wanted the help was useful," he said, probably not getting I was teasing a blow job as a reward for him being on my side and defending me.

Then again, this sort of was.

"What did he say?" I asked, genuinely curious now.

"He described it like an ice bath. He'd read humans take them for blood flow issues and alertness. There are studies it can help memory and people going through too much emotional stress. He was taking them when he realized something was wrong, and he described that rush of focus and being awake as the same."

Interesting.

"I wonder if they could do it twice in a day?" I muttered.

"White said the same. They will after the first week, but they're also going to do ice baths, yoga, meditation, and exercises in nature. We're going to put in a grove at the property. My mother was bitching that she doesn't want fae fruit at her house."

I blinked up at him in shock. "Who said it had to be fae fruit?"

"That was exactly what White said and for her to stop lying. It was all in her aura that she wanted to have access to fae fruit trees instead of my getting some from you or whatever." He looked ready to pull out his hair in frustration.

So instead, I gave him a blow job.

I smirked at him as I stood and went to go back to my food.

"Get your sexy ass back over here," he growled and snagged his arm around me. I swallowed a yelp and then my robe was gone before he sat me on the kitchen island. My naked ass slapped against the counter and echoed before he moved my leg over his shoulder and feasted on me.

He was more aggressive than normal and I fucking loved it. I fisted his hair and held him to me, putting a barrier over us so I could be loud how he liked me to be. I screamed out his name as I finished and told him to fuck me.

Instead, he smirked at me and ate me out again.

Then he flipped me over so I was lying face down on the counter and knelt behind me, burying his face in my pussy that way and massaging my ass.

"Please, please, Julian," I whimpered. "Fuck your sweet mate. Please, take it all out on me. Didn't you like your blow job?"

"Fuck, you can't fucking beg, Tams," he groaned and hurried to take off his sweater that was somehow still on. Then he gave me the fucking I loved best with quick jabs that just hit everything right inside of me.

I came screaming and begging for more.

And did he ever give it to me.

I was practically boneless when he finally finished with me. He leaned over and chuckled in my ear, thanking me for getting all of his stress out.

My response was basically a grunt.

"Next time I'm going to fuck your tight little ass, Tams. We can't hold out anymore. We talk about it all of the time and how much we want it," he told me as he teased my hole. "We're all going to be there to watch it after we first eat you out. I'm going to take your ass and they're going to have your pussy. All night of worshipping you."

I was about to nod, but then he said one more thing to push me over.

"And you're going to ride Neldor's face while we all kiss and touch you until you pass out."

Oh fuck. Just… Oh fuck!

I only had one question.

"When?"

Julian laughed so hard all the worry left him and I knew we were fine. He even joined Hudson and me in bed and the three of us had fun in the morning.