Chapter Twenty-Six

Two days later, I stood in one of the arches that circled Shale”s bedroom and stared across the city. I was naked, but it was night and even if a dragon flew by, I felt confident I wouldn”t be seen before I could withdraw.

Shale stepped up behind me and wrapped his body around mine. I sighed as I leaned back into his embrace and laid my hands on his arms. Growling, he bent his head to nestle into my neck, and I felt the graze of his teeth. He had sipped from me a few times during sex but had been careful to only take a little. Barely anything. In return, his bite gave far more, sending me catapulting into rapture every time. It had gotten to the point where I craved it, and the feel of those teeth instantly hardened me.

The King chuckled when he saw my response. “I think you like me drinking from you as much as I enjoy your taste.”

“I think you”re right.” I looked up at him over my shoulder. “Thank you for being careful with me.”

“Of course.”

“Speaking of which, this is dangerous.”

“What is?”

“This.” I waved at the edge beyond the arch. “No railings? Really?”

He grinned. “What do I need with a railing?”

I snorted. “Yeah, I guess you”d be fine if you accidentally stepped off.”

“Are you worried about accidentally stepping off the edge?”

“Kinda.”

“Why? I will be here whenever you are. I won”t allow you to fall.”

“What if you”re in bed, and I”m over here enjoying the view, and—”

“You happen to jump over the side?” Shale lifted a brow.

“Yeah, all right. It just makes me nervous.”

“I like the feeling of being in the sky.”

“I get that.” I turned to look at him. “I enjoyed flying in Gunrel”s claws.”

Something shifted in Shale”s face.

Before I could ask him about it, the thunder of dragon wings echoed across the sky. One of the King”s guards was doing his nightly patrol around the castle.

Shale”s arms tightened around me and he pulled me away from the arch as he hissed in the direction of the patrolling dragon.

“Shale?” I asked.

He growled at me as he tossed me onto the bed. “Cover yourself!” Then he stalked to the edge of the tower and glared at the sky, watching his knight until he completed his rounds and landed. Only then did he come to bed.

By that time, I was under the blankets, staring at him in shock. There had been a lot of shocks during the three days we”d spent together. First, was the fact that he kept me there that long. Three days. Most of that time we spent fucking. Oh, we paused to see to our other needs, but then we”d go right back to the sex. The second shock was how much I enjoyed it. I”d had marathon sex before and it had left me aching, especially down there. There”s only so much rubbing and stretching that place can take. But sex with Shale always felt good, even afterward. I never pushed him away unless I was so tired that I started to fall asleep with him inside me. Then I called for a break. But other than that, I was fine. The third surprise was the way he treated me. After his warning about being incapable of love, I expected him to be, not exactly reserved but maybe less affected. He was affected. Very affected. Wild even. Primal. He often fucked with animal-like abandon. And then there were times when he behaved like this.

“What”s going on, Shale?” I asked when he got into bed. “You nearly attacked the servant who delivered our breakfast yesterday because they looked at me. And now this?”

Shale frowned from me to the sky and back. “I don”t know. I”m feeling strange. I think I”ve gotten possessive of you. My dragon must like you.”

“Your dragon? But your dragon was . . .”

“Mated, yes. We were mated. But his love was—” he cut himself off.

“Please, just tell me. What happened? How did you survive?”

Shale”s jaw hardened. His whole demeanor hardened. “That”s none of your concern.”

“Was it a spell? It was, right?”

His expression went slack.

“Do you think I”d judge you for using magic to survive? I would never judge anyone on what they do to survive. And magic is as commonplace as sunlight on Serai. It makes sense to me that you would use it.”

“I will not speak to you about this,” Shale said firmly.

“Shale.”

“Get out.” He got out of bed and crossed his arms.

“Are you serious?” I gaped at him.

“I was very clear with you about what this would be. Our relationship is about sex and fun. I want to feel good again. What I don”t want is to dig up my past with you. Pick over it and listen to you tell me why it”s acceptable.” His arms slashed down as he shouted, “Of course, it”s acceptable! It”s my life. My decision. And it is not for you to approve or disapprove of. You are my lover, that is all. I don”t want your insight into my pain. I don”t want to discuss any of it with you. But you won”t fucking let it go. So, just get out, Sebastian. I will find someone else who can bed me without forgetting their place.”

I stood up and faced off with him naked. No, Sir. I was not about to walk out now. Before this, yeah. But after three days of sex, Shale didn”t get to order me to leave like a whore.

“Fuck you, Shale!” I pointed at him.

“What?” He leaned forward aggressively.

“You heard me. Fuck you. You want a lover who knows their place? That”s a load of crap and you know it. You want me, that”s who you want. No one else is going to make you laugh so hard that you cry or suck your cock like they can never get enough of it. Another man or even a woman won”t stand up to you so they can lure you past your defenses. No one, Shale. Sure, you can find lots of people to bend over for you. They”ll line up. They”ll know their place. But it isn”t just sex that you need.”

His face went into spasm as I spoke. Then he said, “You think too highly of yourself, human.”

“Oh, you”re gonna bring my race into this now that I”ve knocked you off your high horse?” I lifted my brows. “Fuck you for that too. In here, I”m just Sebastian. Not a human or even a man. I”m yours, and you”re mine. Simple. I have no problem with your lack of love for me. I understand that. I”m willing to take what you can offer and be happy with it. I am happy. But when you behave oddly toward me, I have a right to know why. That”s why I asked about your past. I thought it was connected to us. And if it”s connected to us, it is perfectly understandable for me to want to know about it.” I crossed my arms and glared at him.

Shale”s hands clenched and released as he glared back. But after a minute or so of this, they relaxed, and he hung his head.

“Shale?” I whispered.

He turned away and sat down on the bed.

I waited.

“After my mate died, I knew I would follow her,” Shale said.

I sat down on the bed too, but on the other side of it, and I didn”t speak. He needed to get this out without me interrupting. Without even looking at me.

“She died in childbirth. Our son died with her,” he went on. “It”s unheard of. I knew it was because of me. My blood. The blood in our boy. It did something to her. To him. She bled out, and he just . . . he just looked at me, then closed his eyes, and never opened them again. I have never felt such grief. I couldn”t live. It wasn”t possible. I laid down over their graves and knew I”d never get up again. Close my eyes and never open them.”

I started to weep, but I did so silently. This wasn”t about me. I didn”t have the right to insert my grief into his.

“I don”t remember a lot after that. But I do recall feeling movement. Then I was in a stone room, on a stone table, and people were speaking above me. My mother was among them. She had taken me to our god”s temple. To the Priests of Ranu. And they took me into the heart of the temple, to an altar that was once used for blood sacrifices.”

I blinked, my tears drying up. Still, I didn”t speak. But only because I couldn”t. My throat had constricted.

“I was on the altar. I remember feeling my mother”s hand on my chest and seeing her face above mine. She gave me a choice. She said I could die there, and it would be honorable. I would be a sacrifice to Ranu and empower our people instead of falling slowly into a meaningless death.”

Holy. Fuck. His own mother was going to sacrifice him!

Shale turned to face me. He met my horrified stare to say, “Or I could live. I could sacrifice only my heart to Ranu. The love inside it. I could give him everything I felt for Erelis. All the years I had spent with her. Every drop of love I felt and all capability of loving. Ranu would take it and along with it would go the grief that would draw me into death.”

“Shale,” I whispered.

“The pain was so great that the thought of it ceasing was miraculous. I never considered what it would mean. I just wanted it to end.” He looked away. “Maybe I should have chosen death.”

“Fuck no!” I growled.

His stare shot back to me.

“You must always choose life,” I said. “Death is the end, Shale. You can”t do anything once you”re dead. But life—life gives you a chance. In life, there is hope.”

“Not my life, Sebastian.”

“No?” I lifted my brows. “Because I”ve seen you laugh, Shale. I”ve made you laugh. You may not have love in your heart, but it still beats. It still has desires. There is more to life than love, and you have all of that. You have adventures to look forward to. A kingdom to rule.” I smirked, then waved at myself to add, “A handsome lover in your bed who is obsessed with giving you head.” I blinked. “Huh. That rhymed.”

Shale let out a shocked laugh, then gaped at me. But he smiled as he did. “Even now, you can make me laugh, my little doll.”

I grimaced. “Little doll? Where the fuck did you get that?”

He grimaced back. “I”m trying to be sweet and give you a pet name. Your last name is Dahl. I went with it.”

My lips twitched.

“You”re teasing me,” he said.

“A little. Thank you for the nickname. It”s sweet. But maybe drop the ”little.””

Shale snorted. “You are little compared to me.”

“Yeah, all right. I”m still a guy. I don”t like being called little.”

“Ah. Very well, doll.”

“Now, you”ve dropped the ”my!” That was the best part!”

“You are the most aggravating man!”

I burst out laughing, and Shale laughed with me.

When our laughter subsided, he said softly, “I”m sorry for telling you to leave.”

“I”m sorry your mommy sacrificed your heart to Ranu.”

Shale snorted. “How the fuck are you making light of that?”

I shrugged. “It”s a gift.”

His expression went serious. “You are a gift, Sebastian. Thank you for . . .”

“Being brave and handsome and willing to put up with your crazy Dragon shit?”

The King chuckled again. “Yes, all that.” He reached for me. “Come here, my doll. I need you again.”

And so three days turned into four.