20. Maven

It"sdifficult to ignore the fresh wave of intoxicating, destructive magic humming through my veins while Coach Gallagher begrudgingly awards us points for winning against the rival quintet.

Other matched quintets emerge one by one from Everbound Forest, most heavily injured and exhausted and some missing entirely. I"m aware that my blood-splattered appearance is earning some suspicious looks, just as I"m aware of how Silas subtly steps in the way to block me from their sight. He"s clearly put together that I don"t want other legacies to know how dangerous I am.

Finally, combat class is over, and everyone limps back to the castle. Some are carried or dragged by their quintet members. As they do, I spot the real Monica with her quintet out of the corner of my eye. She leans heavily on a fae girl with lavender hair and cries quietly.

Whatever happened, I"m just glad she"s alive.

I still need to track down Harlow and get answers, but that will have to wait until tomorrow after I"ve safely gotten Kenzie back.

As we step back into the vaulted stone hallways of the castle, Baelfire flags, pausing to brace himself against the wall like his head is spinning. Seeing him weak from the attack makes my fists clench. The puncture wounds all over his skin have healed, but he makes for a gruesome sight, with shredded, red-soaked clothes and blood all over. When a couple of legacies passing by take notice and approach, trying to talk to the overwhelmingly popular Decimus, my dragon shifter snarls at them, and they scamper away.

My dragon shifter.

I glance at Everett, who has been scowling since I mentioned leaving tonight, then at Silas, who quietly hisses at Baelfire to keep walking and not make us look vulnerable. Ever since I lost my temper and decided to stop fighting this, a sense of rightness has started seeping into my bones.

It"s incredibly fucking selfish of me, but they"re mine now.

Even Crypt, despite his bothersome absence. I"m starting to detest the fact that I don"t feel him stalking me from Limbo nearly all day long.

When Baelfire finally insists he"s okay, we return to our quintet apartment. Bael mutters that he needs a "long-ass fucking shower" and heads down the hall. Silas starts rummaging through random spell ingredients in the kitchen, and surprisingly, Everett follows him inside and checks the fridge.

He catches me observing him and grumbles, "You need to eat dinner, and I highly doubt your pet lizard can manage cooking tonight."

"There"s a dining hall," I point out.

"The one full of legacies who would try to kill you in a heartbeat? Yeah, that"s not happening."

I give him a deadpan look. "I just gave you all a front-row seat to the fact that I excel at homicide. Shocking as it may be, picking up food is well within my wheelhouse."

But when I turn away, a foot-thick sheet of ice crackles into existence, blocking the front door. Everett hasn"t even looked up from digging in the fridge.

"There you go. Accuracy. Now you should go and get that cut on your face cleaned."

I open my mouth, ready to tell him to?—

"Fuck off," Silas snaps before I can as he levels Everett with a surprisingly savage glare. "You shouldn"t have even followed us in here. Get out. Now."

"I can at least be allowed to make sure she"s fucking eating," the ice elemental grits out.

"Those who care about her will do that. So get. The hell. Out."

Everett"s jaw flexes, and he slams the fridge closed as he turns to face Silas, but it"s like someone opened the freezer instead because abruptly, my breath comes in white plumes in front of my face. For a moment, Silas and Everett go toe to toe, looking equally pissed off as icy flurries drift through the kitchen. Then Everett"s expression transforms into the same miserable, defeated one he was wearing earlier…when Silas chewed him out for getting aroused after tackling me.

I study the interaction until things click together. "You guys think Everett is somehow a danger to me. Why?"

Everett winces and turns toward the front door. "Forget it, Oakley."

He storms out, the ice block shattering at his fingertips before he slams the front door behind himself. Such a strong reaction…but then it"s slowly becoming clear that he"s putting up a facade where I"m concerned.

I"m going to make his facade shatter just like that ice.

Silas mutters something in fae about Everett being a selfish ass and turns to me. "Here, sangfluir."

"You can"t heal me, remember?"

"I know. But you can use your own magic now," he says carefully, studying me as if he"s worried I"ll react badly. "After you ended the others, you were able to use potent magic on that last rival. Perhaps you"re more a siphon than a caster because, to me, it seems as if you…fed."

By killing.

He doesn"t say that part out loud, but it"s just as true unspoken.

When I don"t deny it, he gently takes one of my gloved hands, presses the healing ingredients into it, and then places a kiss near my temple. I tilt my face up toward him. For a moment, he seems captivated by my eyes and the cut on my cheek. Then he steps away, giving me space to breathe after all that nearness and…touching.

"Heal yourself, ima sangfluir. I"ll return later."

"You"re leaving?"

"If you"re intent on leaving the wards tonight, I insist on crafting an extremely potent concealment potion to mask our scents and magic footprints. I"ll be back soon."

Placing one more feather-light kiss against my temple, Silas leaves. I hear the shower running down the hall as Baelfire washes away all the gore. Otherwise, it"s silent as I sit at the dining table and crush moonflower petals. Twisting the tiniest amount of necromancy into healing magic, I create something that will actually work on me.

By the time my face is healed, Baelfire reemerges from the hallway with nothing on except the leather collar and a black towel around his waist. His cuts have healed, leaving nothing but golden skin and endless muscles.

Very smooth, lickable muscles.

My face heats. He"s too damn attractive for his own good.

The sexy dragon shifter stops in front of me, and that"s when I manage to draw my attention away from his incredibly cut muscles and notice the strain on his face.

"Are you hurting?" I ask, frowning as I stand.

"I"m fucking dying."

"What—"

He steps closer, and—oh, gods. His erection is hard and huge, pressing against my stomach through the towel. Baelfire"s eyes are molten when I meet them, edged with that same animalistic obsession I saw in his dragon"s eyes earlier.

"You said the rescue mission is after midnight, right? That gives you a few hours to grind that gorgeous pussy of yours all over my face until I can"t breathe. Please."

Heat builds under my skin. As usual, there"s no sensation in the region of my heart, but I can feel my pulse picking up as I gaze up at him. He"s right—I have hours to kill.

And I want him, too. Badly. As if touching him now will erase the fact that I could have lost him today before I even let myself have him.

But…

When Baelfire sees my hesitation, he squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath as if to anchor himself. "Okay. Got it. I won"t ask again tonight. If you don"t want it?—"

"I told you, I want to enjoy touch," I remind him, feeling a flush crawl over my skin as I brush my fingers down his beautifully toned body.

Baelfire exhales sharply. "Thank gods. Then…can I wash you?"

Oh. Right. I"m splattered in blood. While I don"t mind, it"s probably not the best way to set the mood for Baelfire.

I start to pull my hand back. "I"ll go shower?—"

He catches my hand, shaking his head as a dazzling smile breaks over his face. "Hey, no getting self-conscious on me now. I"d fuck you six ways to Sunday right this second if you told me to cut to the chase, but I"m fucking dying to take care of my mate. Please, baby?"

Once again, my attention snags on the collar around his throat. Relying on the intoxicating instincts that seem to come so naturally around Baelfire, I reach up and tug on his collar until he"s at my eye level. His golden eyes widen.

"Fine. Wash me. And then I"ll decide whether I"ll still punish you for getting yourself hurt."

He swallows hard, so I feel it against the collar. "Fuck. Please punish me, baby. Holy shit, I want that so fucking bad?—"

I tug again more gently to stop him. "You can beg after you"ve washed me."

Without another word, Baelfire scoops me up and rushes to the massive bathroom connected to my room like his ass is on fire. Pausing to set me down gently, he reaches into the sizeable glassed-in shower. He turns on the spray, testing it until he decides it"s the right temperature.

I reach for the hem of my shirt, but his hand covers mine.

"Let me. I want to do everything for you right now."

That idea is oddly pleasing, but I raise my brow expectantly and wait.

"Please," he adds ardently, his face pleading.

"Good boy."

Baelfire visibly shivers, swallowing again as he gently strips off my bloodied gloves and my shirt before unlacing and removing my boots and socks. When he moves behind me to ease down my oversized pants and plain black panties, he moans.

"Do you have any idea how much I daydream about this perfect ass? Your body is so fucking mouthwatering. All it takes is you breathing near me, and I"m so hard I can"t even think."

Feeling impish and daring, I lean forward, reach back, and spread myself for him.

He swears viciously, and then I jolt when he drops to his knees, and his hot tongue drags through my pussy. Baelfire moans and presses in deeper, clearly forgetting about the shower filling up with steam in front of me. Before I can get too lost in how incredible it feels, I step away, moving into the warm spray.

After all, I really am gross from combat training. It"s borderline embarrassing how fast the water going down the drain turns dark with blood and dirt.

Baelfire joins me without bothering to remove his towel, and the next few minutes are…confusing. Because even though he"s gentle and soothing in all his touches as he covers his hands with soap to lather up my body…they"re still hands.

On me. Skin on skin.

That familiar prickling feeling starts to crawl down my neck.

He starts washing my hips and thighs, but I step away, shutting my eyes to breathe. "Wait. I just…I need a second to?—"

"You know you don"t have to explain anything," Baelfire murmurs, giving me the time I need to keep my thoughts from spiraling. "I fucking love touching you like this, Maven, but if it"s getting difficult for you, tell me and we"ll stop."

I arch a brow and look pointedly at the raging hard-on that"s barely concealed under his wet towel. Because of our height difference, it"s impossible to miss right in front of me.

"He"ll calm down once your addictive scent isn"t burning me alive from the inside out," he moans dramatically.

My lips twitch. I step closer to him, putting his hands back on my hips. "I don"t want to stop. I want you to wash me and then fuck me. But only after you"ve begged," I add, because I think I want that just as badly as he obviously does.

Baelfire"s breathing turns staccato. "You"ll let me actually…?"

"Not until you finish washing me. I want to be nice and clean before you try to fit all of that inside me."

"Oh, fuck."

After that, Baelfire washes me in an almost fevered state, his rasping breath and molten gaze working together with his large hands to make me wet as hell as he cleans me thoroughly.

When he shampoos my hair, his fingertips massage along my scalp. My mouth drops open, and I shut my eyes.

"Enjoying it, baby?" he asks, his voice thick.

No one has ever washed my hair for me before. Besides Lillian, and that was only when I was very young. But bathing out of a bucket was nowhere near this pleasant.

"It feels amazing."

"I"ll do this every fucking day for you if you want."

He"s done with my hair, so I tip my head back to glance up at him. "Right now, all I want is the sweet sound of your begging."

His eyes are pools of amber heat as he turns me to face him just outside the shower spray. Then he drops to his knees, buries his face between my breasts, and licks my scar there. That sends a jolt of both shock and need through me, and reflexively, I twist my fingers in his wet hair to wrench his head back.

He moans.

"You really do want to be punished, don"t you?" I breathe, tracing the wet collar around his throat with my fingertips. "You look so good on your knees like this. I just wish I"d put this collar on you myself. Only for when we"re alone, just for me to see, because we both know you"re my good little pet."

Not that there"s anything little about him.

Baelfire is panting now, and he reaches down to squeeze his hard cock through the towel still wrapped around his waist. "Oh, gods, yes. You have no idea how much I"d fucking love that."

"Good answer."

I lean down to sprinkle kisses on his face. He shuts his eyes and basks in it, not caring about the water dripping on his face. It"s fascinating, pressing my lips all over him like this. I"ve only kissed lips until now.

Finally, I straighten, and when he opens his golden eyes, there"s nothing short of worship in them.

Take it from me, Baelfire loves to watch a girl"s expression when he"s railing them.

Sierra"s nasty words crawl up from some bitter recess of my mind. But somehow, being here with Baelfire right now, in this intimate moment, I feel nothing but curiosity about how I can use that.

"So damn handsome," I sigh.

"So fucking gorgeous," he breathes, leaning in against my chest again. He places kisses against my nipples and starts to tease one of them with his deliciously warm tongue. I bite my lip at how good that feels but step back, amused when he lets out a low growl of protest.

"I know a way to punish you. Come on."

He eagerly follows me from the shower to the bed, both of us ignoring that we"re sopping wet as I tell him to take off the towel and lie down. He does, looking pleased when I can"t keep my eyes off his cock, because…fucking gods.

Am I really going to try and fit that thing inside of me?

Yes. Yes, I am.

"Are you gonna tease me until I explode again, baby? That"s still one of the fucking hottest things I"ve ever experienced, right after that shower."

I shake my head, smirking as I check the drawers of the room I"ve only half moved into. Finding a strip of cloth that will work perfectly, I return to the bed and straddle Baelfire"s chest. He perks up at the sight of the fabric.

"Oh, hell yes. Tie me up, Boo."

I roll my eyes because it seems that nickname won"t stay dead. "It"s a blindfold, actually. I was told you have a major thing for watching the faces of all your conquests. Hence why this makes for a better punishment."

He blinks, and then his temper flares hot and fast. "You"re not a godsdamned conquest, and please don"t fucking remind me what a man whore I was before I met you. Thinking about being with anyone else makes me physically sick now, Maven. Who the hell told you all that? Were they giving you shit? I swear I"m going to fucking?—"

I cover his mouth, shaking my head as my lips twitch. "You shifters. So emotional. But I really don"t fucking care about girls in your past anymore, Baelfire. You"re mine. I decided that, and for me, there"s no going back. Now lift your head."

He bites back whatever else he wants to say and lets me slip the blindfold behind his head, circling it around his eyes before tying it on one side.

This time when I straddle him, I move further up his chest until my pussy is much closer to his face. I hear his breathing hitch as he scents how turned on I am, and he grips my thighs, lifting his head.

But before he can lick me again, I grip the side of his collar and use it to press him back down into the pillow. "Bad dragon. You"ll only get what I decide to give you. Ask nicely first, and don"t you dare move your blindfold."

Baelfire is breathing hard in anticipation as his fingertips press into my thighs. He swallows hard. "Let me taste you. Please."

I reach down to slide my fingertips through my own wetness, biting my lip at how good it feels. "Since you asked nicely," I whisper, bringing my fingers to his lips.

Baelfire jolts and immediately cleans up my fingers, moaning as he does. "More," he pants.

I touch myself for another long moment, toying with my clit before plunging my fingers into my pussy. Baelfire"s fingers dig so hard into my thighs that I gasp. I can feel his hips buck behind me on the bed.

He groans. "Godsdamn, I can hear how wet you are. That"s so fucking hot, baby. Give me more. Fucking drown me, Maven. Fuck, I need you so bad. Need my mate."

Mate.Hearing him growl that word does things to me. I move to straddle his face, hot arousal pulsing between my thighs.

"Be a good boy and lick this pussy until I come on your face."

Baelfire moans against me, and the vibrations tickle before he begins licking and sucking so ravenously that I squeeze my own eyes shut, the burning heat of arousal dancing low in my stomach. The sounds of pleasure Bael makes as he feasts are absolutely filthy, and I can"t get enough. Finally, I refuse to wait any longer and move down his body, adjusting on my knees until I can rub the leaking head of his throbbing erection against my entrance.

He gasps my name brokenly, his hands fisting the sheets on either side of us. "Maven. Fuck, baby. Are you wet enough? I really don"t want to hurt you. Let me just?—"

"I"m not waiting anymore, Baelfire," I say breathlessly.

"Damn it, I…I need to see my mate when she takes me for the first time. Please let me see your face. Please."

The rough gravel of his voice is absolutely addictive. It"s even more addictive when he says please. I"ve decided that"s the sexiest sound—the sound of begging. I like it so much that I continue to tease him, doing my best to keep myself from moaning as I rub against his tip. By this point, I"m fucking soaked, and he"s leaking so much pre-cum that we"re a mess.

Baelfire is a mess, too. He"s groaning and begging so fervently now that I can hear a wild edge in his voice. He desperately wants to see me when he"s in me for the first time.

And even though I"m enjoying this…I want to give my shifter what he wants.

So, just as I sink the first inch of his impossibly thick, hard length inside of me, I push the blindfold off his eyes. My mouth drops open at the sensation of being stretched as I take more of him. Baelfire"s eyes turn into a blaze of hunger as he watches me sink almost halfway onto his cock.

"Fuck, yes. That"s it, baby. You can take it—take all of me." His eyes are hooded, and he grimaces with pleasure, sliding his hands back to squeeze my asscheeks. "Gods, you"re so fucking tight."

When I feel him hit something deep inside me that simultaneously slightly hurts and throbs with need, I moan and take a second to adjust. He continues praising me, massaging my ass as he gazes up at me like I hung the sky itself.

I glance over my shoulder at the full-length mirror in the corner of the room—which gives me a perfect view of his cock buried deep inside me. It"s so overwhelmingly erotic that I rock against him, and he swears again.

"Feels so fucking full," I manage, looking back down at him. "You"re such a good mate for me."

It"s my fault for using the m word.

Because the moment I utter it, Baelfire loses his mind. The next thing I know, he"s flipped me over and is pounding me into the mattress, snarling and moaning as he ruts me like he can"t stop himself. It"s so rough and desperate, the sensations all so much, that my orgasm slams into me before I ever feel it coming. I cry out, clinging desperately to him as I ride out the mind-numbing pleasure.

Baelfire thrusts into me harder and moans. "Fuck, Maven. Gods, I want to bite you so fucking bad."

"I like biting," I manage through breathless gasps. "Make it hurt."

Baelfire"s face buries into the side of my neck, and his tongue drags up the crook of my neck, his pace increasing. "No. No, baby, I want to bite you. Mark you. Claim you as my mate, because you"re fucking mine."

I"m...his.

That sends another wash of emotions through me, and I squeeze my legs tighter around him as he continues to fuck me like he"ll die if he doesn"t.

"Please," he whispers against my throat, his pace growing uneven. At first, I think he"s asking to mark me as his mate, and I wonder if it"s too soon to say yes. But then he chokes out, "Please, can I come?"

He"s...waiting for my permission?

Oh, I like that.

I nod and kiss him, biting his lower lip. "Come for me, Baelfire."

He shudders and groans like a dying man as he comes, burying his face against my neck. My mouth drops open again when I feel just how warm his release is inside of me—a dragon shifter thing that I failed to expect. He sucks and nips, leaving a couple of love bites on my neck as he finishes thrusting. When his orgasm leaves him winded, he slumps to one side and pulls me close to his chest.

I catch my breath as the lingering pleasure fades slowly from my system. After a few blissful moments, Baelfire gently turns my chin and kisses me sweetly, pulling back with a reverent, serious look.

"I was right. Your pussy is literally fucking magical."

I can"t stop the laugh that escapes. "Or it"s your cock that"s magical."

"Yeah, but I already knew that. That was never in question," he grins, kissing both my cheeks and down my neck. "But what you"ve got between your legs? That"s pure paradise, Mayflower."

"So, did we cross off anything on your list?"

I can feel him smile against my skin. "Why, Maven Oakley. Are you asking to know about my Ways to Fuck Maven Senseless list? Because I"ll absolutely fucking show it to you as long as I can eat your pretty pussy while you read it out loud so I can taste which ideas turn you on the most."

Oh, gods.

He starts nibbling and teasing my neck and clavicle, and I jolt in surprise when his fingers move between my legs, slipping through my pussy to push anything that has escaped back inside of me.

Is that something people do? It"s fucking hot. Maybe that"s another thing to ask Kenzie about.

But when Baelfire starts grinding gently against my side, my eyes pop back open, and I sit up, blinking down at his rigid cock.

"You already came."

"Harder than I"ve ever come in my entire fucking life," he sighs happily, his eyes sparkling as he sits up and kisses my jaw. "I"m so damn excited for round two. Need some water or something first? Or another shower?"

I abruptly remember a very brief conversation with Kenzie on my fourth day at Everbound. It was only so brief because I"d insisted she stop talking or I would shun her. She had been telling me that most legacies have very short refractory periods compared to humans—especially shifters. Which means that they usually spend hours, sometimes days, in bed thanks to their insane sex drives.

"Round two," I echo slowly.

Now that I"m not incredibly distracted, my stomach is turning, and my nerves tighten in apprehension. I"m still getting over the overwhelming orgasm, so I feel torn between two extremes and glance down when I realize I"m unconsciously scrubbing my arm hard enough to scratch the skin.

Baelfire notices, too, and catches my hand, pressing it to his lips. "Nope. No more."

"But I enjoyed all of that," I huff. "A lot. I want more. Ignore my stupid body. If we go again, I just need to be distracted?—"

He cups my jaw, his gaze like warm honey. "I"m not fucking you when the only way you can enjoy it is by not thinking about it. What we just did was perfect and the best fucking thing that"s ever happened to me, and we"re not going to push it any further today. Okay?"

I sigh, petulant despite myself. "Fine. Enjoy blue balls."

Baelfire throws his head back in a sharp laugh. "You"re so fucking cute. And not to ruin this moment by bringing up the elephant in the room, but…" He ducks his head and shoots me a surprisingly bashful look. "You...called me your mate."

Now, outside the heat of the moment, knowing I said that makes my neck heat. It just sounds so official and intimate.

I just shrug, pretending it"s nothing. "I thought it might turn you on."

His smile is blinding. "Fuck yes, it does. You have no idea."

Actually, I do, I almost say.

Because the idea of him being mine is a siren call, something I know I should tune out…but I"m not going to anymore. As I said, I"m done resisting. The gods tempted me too far, and now these legacies will get a front-row seat to my bleak ending.

But I"m going to give them my everything right up until the end. I"ll fight for them every fucking way I can.

Speaking of fighting…

"So, where exactly did you hide Pierce?"