Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

SIYANA

“I have my own deal for you, wench,” he growled out, spinning me in his arms and making my core clench as I felt his need for me pressing against my belly. “Since you seem to be a fan of those today.”

His light ribbing made me smirk. Asshole.

I watched his eyes flash over to the wisps of steam rising from the tub in the back corner, and silently he grabbed my icy flower, placing it down gently on the table before walking us over. I didn’t miss the way his lips peeled back ever-so-slightly as the steam wafted over us. Without a doubt, he wasn’t enjoying the warmth, but I was beginning to realize that he didn’t make a lot of decisions around what he wanted.

No, my king lived to give me what I wanted.

I turned to lay my hands on his chest, pushing up to tease his lips with my own, loving the growl that vibrated his chest against my own and had my nipples hardening.

“What’s your deal?” I asked before nipping at his bottom lip and looking up at him from beneath my lashes. “Better make it a good one if you want me to agree to it, dragon boy.”

We both knew I was bluffing. I’d agree to anything he wanted.

Never had my heart been so full that it felt like it would burst within my chest. Ever since watching him appear next to the dragon, I felt full to the brim. He’d been willing to give up such an integral part of himself, for me, claiming I was the other half of his heart.

I’d offer myself on a silver-fucking-platter for that.

His hands traveled over my body as I leaned in, capturing his lips fully. I teased him with my tongue as he began to peel my clothing off, each piece dropping to the floor with a soft swish. As I helped strip him in return, I was uncomfortably aware of the heat in my body–I felt as if I was on fire with the anticipation of what was to come. While nerves were still present within me at the thought of the bond, I was beginning to believe that there was no one else out there for either of us.

We had to be mates.

My eyes fluttered as he pulled back, forcing me to take a breath as our foreheads touched.

“The deal is that you let me show you what you mean to me right now, without a bond forcing us to choose each other. Let me take care of you, please,” he begged. “I’ve learned something since meeting you that has helped me make peace with what happened between my parents, even before the curse happened.”

My pulse sky-rocketed at the mention of them, knowing it was such a heavy topic for him—and the source of a lot of his burdens and trauma.

He brought my hands up, threading our fingers together and squeezing them tightly.

“I learned that a bond means nothing if you aren’t committed to the other half of your soul,” he whispered, bringing our joined hands to his lips before pressing a kiss to our knuckles. “I learned that the bond doesn’t do the work for you. You have to continue to choose that person every day that you’re lucky enough to have them.”

Butterflies erupted in my stomach as he pressed a tender kiss to my lips before whispering against them. “I’m choosing you, wench. Every day. I don’t care what the bond says at the end of this. I want you, forever.”

“Damnit,” I whispered as my eyes burned with the heat of tears. With a sniffle, they fell, rolling over my cheeks to my jaw. “I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in one day before.”

His answering chuckle rolled through me as he relinquished my hands and brought them up to cup my jaw. I stared into the eyes of a dragon and a man, wondering how I’d ever found him repulsive.

“I think I’m falling for you, dragon boy,” I admitted breathlessly as I brushed away the tears before they could hit his hands.

A smirk pulled the corner of his lips up before he answered, “I think I fell for you the second I had to tie you to me on that horse, wench. I just took awhile to come around to accepting it.”

My brow rose as our joint laughter filled the air, causing my tears to abate. I took a deep, shuddering breath, releasing it between pursed lips before I smiled and laughed. “You don’t say.”

Seconds passed and as silence descended, he tugged me toward the tub, helping me in, though he remained standing next to it. A moan fell from my lips at the instant relief the hot water gave my aching muscles, making me all but melt as I sank completely into the warmth. I hadn’t realized how exhausted I was after everything we’d been through. How many hours had it even been since we’d left the safety of our alcove? I hadn’t the slightest clue.

“Don’t offer the water what belongs to me,” Theo growled as his hand moved to my braid, slowly untangling the strands with deft fingers. “I thought you’d know by now that I won’t share any part of you—including the sounds that come from your mouth.”

Fuck me.

How he had me going from tears to desire roaring through my body in minutes was a magic all its own.

Soon enough, my long waves were released from their constraint and floating around me in the water as I struggled to find the words to respond. My toes curled as his hand sank into the hair at the base of my neck, tugging it back gently and forcing me to gaze up into his piercing blue eyes. “Tell me you understand what it means when you say you’re mine.”

His free hand dipped into the water with a lathered sponge, running it over the tips of my nipples. My body shivered of its own accord at the light, teasing feel of it.

“I understand,” I replied, my eyes rolled back as he changed the trajectory of the sponge, pushing it between my breasts and down my abdomen.

“I don’t think you do,” he said as I focused back on him, my lips parting in anticipation as his mouth drew closer. “But we have forever for me to show you what it means.”

While I truly loved the sentiment that he was choosing me, no matter what the bond told us at the end of this, I held back the doubt rolling around in my mind that he’d be able to make good on that. Could he have the will to deny what his dragon wanted—his true mate—if it wasn’t me?

No, now wasn’t the time to think about that. But the doubt still tickled in the back of my mind.

When he let go of my hair, I was panting and desperate for more, but he seemed to focus in, finding the task of cleaning me a top priority. By the time he’d scrubbed every inch of my skin, I felt as if I would erupt if he didn’t replace that sponge with his hands soon.

“Dip your head back into the water,” he instructed as my hands gripped the edge of the tub.

He had no idea how close I was to launching myself out of this tub and telling him I wasn’t waiting any longer. But this moment was about both of us, and I would be a fool to ignore the gentle reverence he was giving me as he cleaned my body.

By the time my hair was cleaned to his standards, my chest heaved as I pictured what I hoped was coming next. There was a slickness between my legs that even the water couldn’t wash away. He leaned over the tub, pressing his lips to my temple as I felt fingers grazing the inside of my thigh.

“You did so good, waiting as I prepped my next meal,” he praised, pressing two fingers down on my clit and rubbing in a torturously slow circle. My hips bucked in the water. “I find myself suddenly ravenous after such a long day.”

“Gods,” I breathed as my eyelids fluttered shut and my head fell to rest against the edge of the tub.

His pressure increased as he answered, “They aren’t here, but I am.”

Suddenly his hands slid to grab my waist, hoisting me out of the water as if I was as light as a feather before setting me on my feet. A towel was wrapped around me, slowly wiping off errant droplets as his hands traveled over my skin, his heat radiating at my back.

The towel dropped from around me, leaving nothing between our bodies as his cock bore down against my ass. Lips pressed against my neck as his fingers trailed over my arms, pebbling the skin in their wake as they traveled to my breasts.

I couldn’t take this at his pace anymore, needing to feel him inside of me. The weeks of frustration and desire had only been curbed by our time in the springs—not sated. After what we’d gone through today, I would settle for nothing less than taking him deep within me, claiming him as mine.

Turning abruptly, I found him wiping off the soot from his face with the damp towel. Thankfully he wasn’t covered in it like I had been, because I was not going to wait for him to take his own bath. My hands pushed at his chest, demanding, “Get on the bed, Theo. It’s my turn to get what I want.”

His eyes widened imperceptibly before dragging his bottom lip between his teeth and smirking. “Yes, my queen.”

I took in his wide back and toned ass as he turned, muscles flexing with each long stride he took to the bed. Once he turned and settled on the edge, leaning back on his hands, I took slow, measured steps toward him. His cock was long and thick, waiting for me as it strained toward the ceiling, begging for my touch.

“What is it that you want exactly?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow as he brought one hand around to stroke the base of his cock.

I stopped between his legs, knocking his hand out of the way. “To take what’s mine . You aren’t the only one with a possessive need.” I fisted his cock firmly, stroking up and down his length. “I want you to feel my body gripping your cock, claiming you as you spill inside of me.”

“Shit, wench,” he breathed out on a ragged breath. “Keep talking like that and you’re going to feel me spill into your hand.”

We couldn’t have that.

His pants and groans spurred me on, and I reveled in knowing that I was the only one to bring him pleasure. Pushing on his chest with my free hand, I demanded, “Lay back. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

While I knew just how much he loved to make me orgasm with his fingers and mouth, tonight wasn’t about leisurely learning, it was about claiming, and we’d both fought this for too long.

I released his cock long enough to crawl onto the bed and straddle his hips.

His head lifted up, eyes trained on the distance between my pussy and his cock as I lined him up. "Sia, are you sure you’re ready to take me?” he asked with a husky tone as his hands settled on my hips, squeezing. “I wasn't expecting to take you so quick?—"

Maybe I’d regret not having the hours of foreplay I knew he’d be more than happy to give me, but I was aching to be filled—now.

Cutting off his sentence, I lowered my hips down, pressing his tip into me before releasing my hold on him. While I knew how big he was from holding him in my hand, nothing prepared me for the feeling of him stretching me in this way.

"I'm fucking sure,” I answered as I forced myself lower, taking him inch by inch. Already, my body felt so tightly wound up from the anticipation that even the feel of just a few inches inside of me had me tensing up.

A groan fell from him as his head collapsed back onto the bed, eyes still trained on the union of our bodies. “You’re so damned wet for me, wench.”

A bite of pain laced through me as his tip buried itself in me and I worked to take in his shaft. My teeth ground together as my jaw tightened. I’d thought I could take him without preamble, but I instantly regretted it. It didn’t matter how slick I was with my own arousal.

I whimpered as his hand found one of my nipples, rolling and pinching just as his other brushed against my clit. Euphoria danced through me and a new rush of wetness coated me, letting me sink down another inch.

My teeth drug my bottom lip between them, biting down as I danced on the cusp of pleasure and pain.

“I don’t know if I can,” I whimpered, knowing there was still so much more.

“Do you want to know why I know you can take me all the way into your pussy, Sia?”

I wasn’t sure when I shut my eyes, but his question shocked them back open as I looked down at him. The heat that smoldered in his gaze made me gasp. He may be part human, but that gaze was fully animalistic—like he wanted to devour me.

“You can take my cock because you were fucking made for me,” he encouraged as his hips flexed up ever so slightly, making my eyes flutter. “I’m going to fit inside of you, but it’s going to push you to your limits, the same way we push each other outside of this bed.”

I rocked myself up and down his length slowly, trying to figure out how I'd manage it. I wanted to so damn badly.

“I know my wife doesn’t back down from a challenge,” he murmured, brushing his thumb back and forth against my clit at a speed that had me clenching around him.

His words left me craving more of his praise, and I began moving up and down a little faster, finding myself sinking onto him further as waves of my arousal continued to coat his cock.

“There you go,” he praised, making me moan and crave even more of it. “Look at you taking me deep inside. So fucking perfect.”

Waves of pleasure shot through me as I worked myself on him, feeling him hit a spot deep within me that had stars exploding behind my eyelids. “Oh,” I moaned as my head tilted back, “you feel so good, Theo.”

“Moan my name again and I won’t be able to let you take this at your pace anymore,” he warned, challenging that brat within me to do it again. I knew I was past the worst of the pain, that I could take whatever he could mete out.

“Theo,” I moaned as we locked eyes.

True to his word, he rocked up into me, in one swift thrust, burying himself deep. My mouth dropped open at the feeling of him, and for a moment, we didn't move or speak. The sounds of our pants filled the air as his hands snaked around to grip my ass firmly in his palms.

I found myself instantly craving more, spurring me to rise up before dropping myself back down onto him. A harsh cry slipped over my lips as his fingers dug in my flesh, encouraging me to do it again as he lifted me up.

“Shit,” he hissed as I rocked down onto him again, my walls clenching at the end. “Stop clenching around me like you want to squeeze the cum out of me.”

The picture his words painted in my mind had me grinning as I began to fuck him in earnest, panting out, “That’s exactly what I want.”

Now that the pain had subsided entirely, I let loose, loving the sound of our bodies slapping against each other as I rode him–hard. Never before had I felt so thoroughly filled and claimed. One of his hands left my ass, returning to lather attention on my clit, brushing against the swollen bud hard.

Sparks exploded within my core as his growl filled the room, and his hands were suddenly gripping my hips tightly. He took over, using his grip on me to slam me down, over and over as his hips bucked up.

Somehow he reached even deeper within me, and my head tilted back as my cries of pleasure echoed through the chamber. “Yes! I'm so close, Theo."

My words sounded like a plea, and they were. He delivered, slamming into me, hitting deeper inside of me in this position, and his hands gripped my hips even tighter. Increasing his pace, he left me no time to breathe as my climax built up to its precipice.

He grunted, his pace suddenly slowing, making my head fall back down to glare at him. But when I saw his eyes sparkling with the magic that warned of his dragon’s presence, I knew that we were at an impasse.

The bond was beginning to surge from within his dragon.

“I can’t hold it back any longer,” he admitted hoarsely, still hitting deep within me, making it hard to think about anything other than the pleasure rolling through me.

“So don’t,” I answered, lowering my chest to his and sealing our lips together. “Claim me.”

I pulled back to stare into his eyes as I continued to rock up and down on his cock. Deep fear reflected back at me, and my chest squeezed at how much he cared for me.

“Trust in us. I do.”

My words seemed to wipe away his hesitation as he lunged for my lips and tangled our tongues together.

“This is forever. No matter what, wench. Remember that.”

His words accompanied the weightless, floating sensation that seemed to coax my heart out of my body, just like I’d felt before in the springs. Tingling warmth coated me as I gave in, letting my essence branch out to meet his own that called to me. I felt like I was floating in the clouds, close enough to touch the moon that I knew was beaming down outside.

My climax welled within me, the moment, the sensation altogether too much but somehow still not enough. Bearing down, I cried out, ignoring the way our bodies began to glow from the inside out, our veins suddenly sparking with the same blue, magical ley line energy in this realm.

I shattered, calling out his name as he did mine. His hips stilled and I felt him release within me.

A tidal wave of energy released as something shifted within my chest. The bed shattered beneath us as the rest of the furniture within the room went flying into the walls, breaking on impact. I slammed my eyes shut as his arms wrapped around me tightly, rolling me to lay beneath him. I shouldn’t have been surprised at his attempt to shield me from danger. He’d proven time and again that he’d always protect me.

We were plunged into near darkness as the candles extinguished all at once, right before the walls themselves cracked, allowing in shimmering rays of moonlight.

As silence settled, I opened my eyes and gasped.

“Your eyes,” I breathed out, hands shaking as I lifted them to a face I didn’t recognize. “Your scales.”

The magic pulsating beneath our skin began to fade as he turned his lips to kiss the palm of my hand.

“They’re gone,” I said, running my hands along his smooth skin, missing the scales that I’d once used to mark him as my enemy. “The curse is broken.”

His lips crashed into mine. “And you’re my mate.”