Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

He sank into the warm, fragrant water, the restorative salts Ara had added tingling against his skin. The aches and pains of the transformation, the lingering burn of the dragon fire, began to dissolve, leaving a pleasant languor in their wake. He closed his eyes, letting the soothing warmth seep into his bones.

Just beyond the bathing chamber, Ara and Turi spoke in hushed tones in his room. He didn’t want to think about what he’d done and how he’d reacted so violently. He did it to protect Turi. He was capable of primal rage, but he’d maintained enough control. No one had died. No one had been hurt, aside from Turi, and that was not by his hand.

The bath restored him, both physically and mentally. The dragon fury had receded, leaving a quiet ache in its place. He stepped out of the bath. Water clung to him like a silken shroud and he flapped his wings to dry himself off. Turi’s stitches did hold, she’d be pleased to know, although the wound was not happy with his treatment of it. He donned the soft, loose pants Ara had left out for him, glad he felt back to his “normal” self. He padded barefoot to his room, the silence of the fortress amplifying the soft beat of his heart.

Only Turi was there, sitting on the edge of his bed, her head bowed. She looked up as he entered, her eyes wide and luminous in the dimly lit room. The soot-stained clothes from earlier clashed with the pristine environment. He crossed the room, stopping before her, his gaze searching hers. “Are you alright?” he asked, his voice rough.

She nodded, a small, hesitant smile playing on her lips. “Better now that you’re back,” she whispered, her gaze dropping to his bare chest. A faint blush crept up her neck, staining her skin a delicate pink. He wanted to reach out, to touch her, to reassure her, but he hesitated. What did she think of him now that she’d seen this side of him?

“The Terians hurt you,” he said, using the only explanation he had for the sudden change from the male she knew to the dragon. He lifted a hand and gently traced the wound on her arm. It was a shallow wound. Ara had already cleaned and dressed it. The cut was covered in a yellow paste, which had dried. He recognized it as one of Ara’s pungent balms that sped healing. “I would have tended it for you.”

“You were in no condition to tend to anyone,” she said. “Besides, it’s not bad, and they didn’t intend to hurt me. It was an accident.”

“An accident that wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t thrown rocks in your direction.”

Turi shrugged. “I’m glad you didn’t hurt them. Knowing what I do, now, about my people, I understand how we devolved the way we did. It’s the Axis that did this to us.”

“Yes. From what I read in the first journal, your people were very civilized. Females were equal to males. There was a great deal of harmony and peace among them, even after they were put here on this planet.” He sat on the bed beside her. “I hope your people can return to that one day.”

Her shoulders dropped. “It feels impossible. The Axis is too powerful.”

He tilted her chin up. “Where is that defiant fire I saw facing down those Terian males? I’m not giving up hope that we can break free of the Axis. Neither should you.”

“I want you to be right.” Tears brightened her eyes. “But seeing those people fervently defend the Axis made me sick.”

“They don’t know what we know. One day, they will.”

“We’ll see.” Her hand went to his knee. “By the way, you make a beautiful dragon.”

He smiled. “You’re not afraid of me, then?”

“I could never be afraid of you,” she murmured. “You would never hurt me, no matter what form you were in.”

“That’s true. I would die first. But just so we’re clear…” He ran a finger down the line of her nose. “Nothing is as beautiful as you, Turi.”

Her face softened as her lips curved. He cupped her head and drew her toward him. He kissed her tenderly, thoroughly, allowing himself to get lost in her taste, her silken mouth. His tongue delved into her mouth, tasting her sweetness with a hunger that shook him. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer. Her fingers slid along his scalp with a delicious urgency. The scent of her arousal was a heady mix of musk and something uniquely Turi. It filled his senses, stoking the flames of his desire. He groaned, low and guttural, a primal expression of the need that pulsed through him.

He broke the kiss, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His eyes, dark and dilated, devoured her. His hands moved to her shoulders, tracing the delicate curve of her collarbone, then lower, cupping the fullness of her breasts. Her nipples hardened under his touch, pebbling against his palms. He leaned in and brushed his lips against the sensitive skin of her neck, nipping and sucking, leaving her trembling in his arms.

Turi arched into him. Her moans made him shudder with need. He slid his hands down her back, his fingers tracing the curve of her gold-freckled spine, the swell of her ass. He gripped her hips, pulling her flush against him, letting her feel the hard length of his cock straining against his pants.

“Ellion,” she whispered, her voice thick with desire. “Please…”

The plea was all he needed. He tore at his pants, shedding them with a desperate urgency, revealing his hard, throbbing cock. Turi’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of him, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. His hands slid under her soot-stained shirt. He pulled it up and over her head, then tossed it aside. He gazed in awe at the beauty of her, and marveled at the fact that she was his.

He lowered his head. His lips found hers once more and the kiss deepened. They grew more frantic, more desperate as hunger took over. His hands moved lower, sliding down her stomach, over the curve of her hips, to the soft, silken skin of her inner thighs.

He spread her legs for him and his hand cupped the wet heat of her cunt. She arched her hips to meet his touch and he accepted the invitation to slide a finger inside her. She gasped and he inserted another. That tight, welcoming heat would soon take his cock.

He met her gaze, needing to make their situation very clear. “You are mine,” he growled, pumping his fingers into her. “After we mate, there will be no other for you. Or for me. A Zaruxian mates for life.”

Her eyelids were heavy-lidded. She licked her upper lip and trembled as his thrusting fingers brought her pleasure. “I’m yours, Ellion. I’ve been yours since you brought me here and I will always be yours.”

“Ah, Turi,” His chest ached with the raw emotions crashing through him. “My one true mate.”

He withdrew his fingers and lowered his head, kissing a trail over her breasts, belly, hips, to the sweet heat of her sex. Her legs tightened, but he laid a hand on her thigh. “Open for me,” he commanded.

She looked unsure, but spread her thighs. This must not have been part of the sex lessons Terian females received, because she watched him with wide eyes as he kissed the precious bud that glistened pink and inviting between her naked pussy folds. Female Terians were hairless between their legs, unlike other species, but the gold freckles that dotted from their foreheads and down their backs, speckled their mounds. It was a beautiful view, from Ellion’s vantage—the gold markings beckoned him to taste the quivering flesh of her sex. The scent of her drove him to the edge of madness.

He lowered his head and slid his tongue over the slick skin and smiled as her eyes rolled back in her head. With innate knowledge of how to please his mate, Ellion delved into the pleasures of his female’s sex, teasing her, learning about her. He penetrated her with his fingers as he suckled her clit and drove her to an orgasm that made her rear up and cry out his name. His cock was so hard it throbbed painfully. When she reached for it, he took her hands and pinned them to the mattress. “No,” he grunted. “You cannot touch me now.”

Her skin was flushed. The gold marks glowed against her skin. “Then take me, Ellion. Make me yours.”

He could take no more. With a swift move, he covered her with his body and positioned himself at her entrance. Her eyes flew wide as she felt the blunt head of his cock nudging against her slick folds. She wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him on.

With a low growl, Ellion pushed forward, entering her in one long, smooth stroke. His cock stretched her cunt, filling her with a searing heat that made her cry out. The feeling was unlike anything he’d ever experienced—a raw, primal pleasure that pulsed through him with each thrust. Her fingers dug into his scales and he let out a deep, guttural sound that vibrated through his chest and into her core. He leaned down, his mouth finding hers once more, their tongues tangling in a desperate dance. The taste of her was intoxicating, a sweet nectar that fueled his desire.

The room was filled with the sounds of their lovemaking—the wet slap of flesh against flesh, the ragged panting of their breaths, the soft, needy moans that escaped their lips. Each thrust stoked the fire anew, their bodies moving together in a dance as old as time.

He set a punishing pace, driven by the dragon that always curled in him. He plunged into her depths, his cock stroking that sensitive spot inside her cunt that made her whimper and arch her back. His hips pistoned against her ass. The rhythmic slap of skin was a sensual counterpoint to the frantic beating of their hearts. He groaned, his voice thick and strained, as each thrust brought him closer to the edge.

Turi’s body responded to him with an abandon he hadn’t known she possessed. Her hips met his thrusts with equal fervor, her cunt clenching around his cock, milking him with every movement. The pleasure was a tidal wave, crashing over him in relentless, overwhelming surges. Her nails raked down his back, leaving faint scratches in their wake. The friction between their joined bodies was intense, a fiery heat that burned brighter with each passing moment.

“Ellion,” she moaned, her voice barely a whisper, her body trembling on the edge of release.

“Mine,” he growled, his voice raw and possessive. He leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear. “Come for me, Turi. Let me feel you shatter around my cock.”

His words were the final push she needed. With a cry, Turi came undone, her body convulsing around his cock as her cunt clenched around him. He knew his own end was near. The sensations spiraled up from his balls to his spine. He thrust harder, deeper, chasing his own release. The pressure within him built, a coil tightening, ready to spring. With a guttural roar, Ellion emptied himself into her, his seed hot and thick, filling her with a pulsing warmth. His body shuddered as the pleasure ripped through him, leaving him weak and spent.

He collapsed beside her, breath coming in ragged gasps. His heart pounded a wild rhythm against her chest. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her arousal, mingled with the musky tang of their shared release. His wings, still slightly extended, draped around them like a protective shroud, enclosing them in a cocoon of warmth and intimacy.

Turi’s arms tightened around him, her fingers tracing the thick ridges of muscles and jut of his wings on his back. Her own breath shuddered in and out. His body still thrummed with the lingering echoes of their passionate union. She pressed a kiss to his lips in a silent acknowledgment of the bond that had been forged between them. A bond that transcended species and defied the rules and restrictions of their oppressive world.

Eventually, Turi’s breathing deepened. The rhythmic rise and fall of her chest lulled Ellion into a state of drowsy contentment. She snuggled closer, her head resting against his shoulder and his fingers traced lazy patterns on her thigh. Sleep may have claimed her in a blanket of peace, but Ellion remained awake. His mind raced with the implications of what had just transpired.

He had mated with a Terian female. It was a transgression that would undoubtedly incur the wrath of the Axis, should they ever discover it. But even as the fear gnawed at him, a fierce protectiveness surged within him, a primal urge to shield Turi from the dangers that lay ahead.

He gazed down at her sleeping form, his heart aching with a love he hadn’t known he was capable of. Her face was serene and peaceful in sleep and so different from the fiercely determined expression he had seen in her earlier that day. He knew that their path would not be easy. They would face challenges and obstacles that would test their bond to its limits. But as he held her close, his wings wrapped around them like a protective embrace, he vowed to fight for her, to protect her, to defy the Axis and their cruel decrees.

He would break free from the Axis’ grasp to create a world where he and Turi could live together. He would carve out a future for them or die trying. He closed his eyes, his mind filled with images of a bright, sunlit world, a world where Turi’s laughter would echo through the halls of his fortress, or wherever they chose to live. And as sleep finally claimed him, he held onto that dream, a promise he made to himself, to Turi, and to the future they would create together.