38. Adrianna

38

ADRIANNA

K ryll all but fled from the room, his blush almost crimson as he made his excuses and left. With my dad and sister beside me, I fell back into a deep slumber. It was calm, serene, and everything anyone could wish for. My usual torments of the night Nora was harmed turn into fleeting moments of joy, watching her spin in circles and run through the tall flowers in the meadow.

It's a different life—one we'll never get back, but that doesn't mean there isn't a chance for a similar, maybe even better one in the future.

That's my goal, my aim, my promise. To myself and to those I love.

Waking again, I find myself alone. When I try to move from the bed, it's much easier this time. With my feet planted firmly on the floor, I take in my attire. An off-white silk gown falls to my feet, spaghetti straps holding it in place. It's the softest thing I think I've ever worn, and it's for bed.

Where even am I?

Intrigue has its firm grip on me, and I inch toward the closed drapes standing between me and the outside world. Ghosting my fingers over the fabric, I pull them aside just enough to slip through, and the moment I do, my breath is stolen from my lips.

A large marble balcony stretches out before me, offering views for what feels like miles and miles, and what lies below is like nothing I've ever seen before. Clouds float around castle tops. The building's an array of colors. A mixture of pale pinks, purples, and blues. They're straight out of the fairytale books my father once spoke of. But the most awe-striking sight are the wide wings that glide through the air.

Dragons.

Not just one, or two, or ten, but hundreds.

Ferocious reds, mighty blues, haunting blacks, and every other color imaginable.

They're stunning, swooping past the balcony over and over again, but none of them are as beautiful as the one that brought me here.

Kryll.

How did I ever believe I knew him before I came here? It's impossible.

There are layers and layers to this man that I have yet to learn, and I can't deny the fact that I want to. I want to know every part of him.

He healed my sister. He healed my father. And in doing so, he's healed a part of me I thought would be broken forever. All without telling me. I think he tried, I'm sure he did, but every time he brought anything up relating to them, I shut him right back down.

"You're up."

I startle at Kryll's voice, peering over my shoulder to find the man in question, and a soft smile teases the corners of my lips.

"How does this place even exist? It's so beautiful," I murmur, looking back out over the world beneath us.

"Isn't it," he agrees, and I feel him step closer.

"This view leaves me breathless," I gush, unable to contain the awe it strikes in my bones.

"I couldn't agree more."

Turning to him, my cheeks heat when I realize he's not basking in our surroundings like I am.

No.

He's staring straight at me.

Clearing my throat, I wrap my arms around my waist. "You helped my father."

"I did."

"You helped my sister."

"I did."

My gaze locks on his. "Thank you. I don't know how I will ever be able to?—"

"Don't. Don't finish that sentence when we both know it was my honor," he breathes, stealing the oxygen from my lungs and the blood from my veins, letting it all run dry at my feet.

"You healed me," I state, lifting my arm, and he smiles.

"I did."

"How? How did you do any of this?" I ask, blinking at him in wonder, and he smiles nervously, scrubbing the back of his neck.

"My blood is rare. Rarer than rare." That's all he offers, like it explains so much, but it feels like it gives me nothing.

"Do the guys know?"

He nods. "Yes, but no one else. It's not safe for me," he admits, making my eyebrows furrow in concern.

"Why?"

Sweeping his tongue over his bottom lip, he looks out over the balcony before settling his gaze back on mine. "I'd be nothing but a tool for others to manipulate."

It is such a simple and vague sentence, but the weight of it lies heavy on my shoulders, as if it is my own secret to keep.

"I won't tell a soul," I promise, hand on my chest above where my heart is.

"I know you won't, Princess."

"How?" I cock a brow, surprised by his certainty, and he shrugs.

"Because my dragon trusts very few people, but none more than it trusts you."

"Me?" I breathe, pointing a finger at myself as his statement leaves me in awe.

He steps closer, cupping my cheek as my blood simmers with a heat that is the complete opposite of anger.

"I'm sorry I didn't get there in time to stop you being hurt at all." His brows furrow, rage and despair warring in his eyes as I gape at him.

"That's not an apology for you to make," I insist, but he shakes his head.

"It is."

"At least you don't regret letting me leave Cassian's room altogether," I muse, pressing my palms flat against his chest as he brings me in closer.

"Oh, I do, but I wouldn't change it. You're your own woman, and I respect that. If anyone understands the desire to be alone to think, it's me." His words send my pulse thundering in my ears.

I can't stop blinking at him, the air swirling with the heat that surrounds us.

"Do the others know we're here?"

"Yes."

"Are they mad?"

He gives me a pointed look, which is answer enough. "Don't ask silly questions, Princess."

"What are our chances of prolonging their wrath until tomorrow?" I have no idea what time it is now, but I'm desperate to cling to this moment. Just the two of us. It feels like I've waited forever for it.

"For you, anything."

"What if what I want is you?" My voice is barely more than a whisper, thick with my desire as I peer up at him.

"I'm already yours."

His lips descend on mine in the softest kiss that has ever existed, and I succumb to it, to him. His hold on my chin tightens as he shifts me into the perfect angle to offer him control. He can have it, all of it; I just need him.

As if sensing the need inside of me, he lifts me in the air, my feet dangling as he pins me to his chest, moving us without lifting his mouth from mine. I feel the drapes drag across my skin as the world goes dim, and it's just the two of us.

He lowers me to the bed gently, with more care than I want or deserve, but it's worth it when he releases my lips to look deep into my eyes. His hands trail under my nightdress, pressing against my thighs as I gasp, my muscles clenching beneath his touch.

"I want you, Addi."

"Are you sure?" I instantly regret asking when the panic of him changing his mind comes into my thoughts, but the way he nods settles the sudden rush of uncertainty.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Heat coils in my stomach, desperate to feel him in every way, eager to show how much he matters to me using my body since my words aren't doing it justice.

"Strip for me," I murmur, running my tongue over my bottom lip as he stands at the foot of the bed, slowly peeling his t-shirt off. The way he reaches over his head, grabbing the fabric from the back before taking it off in one swift move, has my thighs pressing together again.

He knows the effect he's having on me. I can sense it in his darkening gaze as he unbuttons his pants and strips down to just his boxers. I gasp at the outline of his cock through the black material before he discards those too.

"That's a goddamn weapon," I rasp, blinking at the sheer length of his dick as it juts toward me. "Oh, you like that, huh? Compliments are your thing," I muse with a grin, forcing my gaze from his thick length to meet his stare.

"We both know what I'd like more," he purrs. "But first, let me see you, Princess."

I shiver under his order, clambering to my feet on top of the bed as my gaze remains locked on his.

Hot and hooded.

Reaching for the spaghetti straps at my shoulders, I tug them down my arm, and the silk material pools at my feet a moment later. I'm bare. Not an inch of fabric between us, and I preen under his stare, hyper aware of the way his pupils dilate.

His eyes rake over me, setting my skin on fire as goosebumps rise in their wake, but before he can give me another order, I sink to my knees. I bounce with the motion before I crawl the remaining distance toward him.

"I'm going to have to test the thickness of your dick with my mouth before I let you anywhere near my needy cunt."

"Fuck, Princess," he croaks, the muscles in his forearms and thighs tensing with need as his hand wraps around his cock, edging the tip in my direction.

Up close, it only seems to grow. I reach out tentatively, engulfing his length with my hand, and I struggle to get my fingers and thumb to meet.

Holy shit.

He's going to split me in two.

I wrap my other hand around him too, and there's still so much dick on display that I might cry with delight.

"You've had a feel. Now mouth only, Addi."

I shiver, flexing my fingers around him once more before I do as he says. My palms don't go far, splaying across his thighs as my nails bite into his skin, and I run my tongue over the tip of his cock.

His muscles bunch even more as I tease him, looking up through my lashes at him to see his pupils completely blow. That immediately brings my teasing to a halt, and with my next breath, I feel the weight of him on my tongue as I take a real taste.

He groans—the only sound of encouragement I need to carry on—and I take him to the back of my throat, holding back an inch before I choke to death. Retracting, I pout, glaring at the offending appendage.

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"I'm going to need you to fuck my mouth with it. Otherwise, I'm never going to get more than the tip past my lips," I admit, earning a scoff of surprise, but he must sense the seriousness in my eyes as my gaze fixes on his.

"I can't, Addi. I need you to remember I've never fucking done this before, and I'm already skirting the edge now. The only place I want to come is in your cunt, not your mouth," he rasps, making my mouth dry with excitement.

"With the size of this thing, you can't tell me it doesn't have a double-loaded barrel," I retort, encasing my lips around his dick once again before he can tell me otherwise.

I work his cock, taking more and more with every pass, and his fingers quickly work their way into my hair, tugging at the loose strands.

"Fuck," he grinds out, his voice hoarser than ever, and when the tip of his cock reaches the back of my throat again, I gag, completely overwhelmed by the size of him, but the way he makes me swallow around him is enough to send him over the edge. "Fuck, Addi. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck," he chants, his hands curling tighter in my hair as he paints my throat with his release.

It takes a moment for his grasp to relent, and I take a deep breath the moment he does.

"Holy fuck," I breathe, my pussy pulsing in anticipation as he shakes his head.

"You missed a bit, Princess." He presses the pad of his thumb against my bottom lip, smearing the remnants of his release before easing it into my mouth for me to suck.

My eyes roll to the back of my head at the action, and when I can finally meet his stare again, his want only shines brighter. Looking down at his cock, I'm not surprised to find it just as hard as it was moments earlier, and I grin.

"What am I going to do with you, Addi?" he murmurs, shaking his head in disbelief at me.

"You're going to sit on the bed and let me ride you."

He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip as he searches his pants, retrieving a condom from his pocket a moment later. I stand on shaky legs and point for him to take his seat. He moves exactly where I guide him, with his back flush against the headboard and his legs spread.

Crawling into his lap, he plants his hand on my arm, halting me. "No. Not yet. I need to taste you, stretch you, feast?—"

I cut him off with a kiss before shaking my head. "Kryll, the only thing stretching me is your cock. I won't let you deny me the pleasure," I breathe, my entire body alight with the need and excitement coursing through my limbs. He has me wound tight and ready to detonate and he hasn't even touched me yet.

"Addi—" he starts to protest, frown lines forming between his eyes, but I press my finger to his lips, effectively cutting him off.

"I want you to rip me in two. I want you to take my breath away. I want to feel so full you make my eyes water." I punctuate each statement with a kiss, each one needier than the last, as I shuffle the rest of the way into his lap.

Taking the condom from his grasp, I enjoy slowly rolling it down his length, caressing his balls once I'm done before planting my hands on his shoulders.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks, grabbing my waist before I can line myself up with his cock.

"Are you sure?" I fire back, and he nods.

"I told you, I've never been more sure in my life."

"Then shut up, and please, let me die on your dick," I groan, blindly finding the tip of his cock with my core.

We fall silent, all the humor fading away, leaving the two of us open and bare with one another. Our breaths mingle between us, our eyes wide and searching as our fingers explore each other. My desire leaves me slick against the tip of his cock as I sink a little, our gasps barely audible over the ringing of my pulse in my ears.

A little farther.

Gasp.

A little more.

Breathless.

A little more.

I see stars.

A little more.

My body clings to him like my life depends on it.

He fills me up, and just as requested, my eyes water. I attempt to take a few deep breaths, which come out as little more than heated pants, before I flex my hips and grind against him.

"Fuck, Addi," he moans, fingers tightening around my waist before he leans forward and engulfs my nipple with his mouth.

I slam back down on him, harder this time, and our moans tangle in the air.

Again, and again, and again, we lose ourselves in each other, all while finding a piece of one another along the way.

As he rakes his teeth over my sensitive flesh, I cry out, my muscles coiling tightly around his cock before I detonate at his trigger.

My eyelids threaten to fall closed as I ride out the waves of electricity, but he calls my name sharply, springing them back open.

"You are mine now, Princess," he states, his voice distorted. Darker, huskier, deadlier.

I blink at him, my orgasm still rippling through my bones as his eyes shift before me. Yellow-framed slits replace his usual black orbs, making me gasp.

"Your voice."

He shakes his head, but his grip on me only tightens as he lifts me up and down on his cock, working his own release into my body before he collapses back against the headboard.

Gaping at him, I struggle to remain seated as his hold loosens and I slump against his chest. I tilt my head back, trying to meet his gaze, and watch as he blinks, the movement repeating a few times before he finally peers down at me with jet-black eyes again.

"What was that?" I whisper, and his chest rumbles.

"It was me, Princess. All of me, and no matter what life throws at us now, Adrianna, I'll be right at your side every step of the way."