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“Oh, is it like a trinket?”

“It has power, but it has the most power when it is part of the complete set. That set is used for a variety of purposes.”

“It’s used to open the gates to hell—or to adorn the crown that heralds the rise of the gods,” she says, spitting out a few leaves. “I know all about the seals. They’re a big part of the storyline.”

I am going to murder Equinox. I am going to murder him as surely as I have ever murdered anybody.

Melissa

Finally, he takes pity on me and hauls me out of the bushes. I am amazed at how easily he can handle me. It is truly as though I weigh absolutely nothing at all. In Ornix’s hands, I am a little creature. He does not untie me. He does not set me on my feet. He holds me in his arms and looks down at me as if I am in trouble.

I’m not actually sure he has ever looked at me in any way other than to insinuate I am in trouble. Does he smile? Does he know how to approve of my behavior? One day I might do something good and see what happens.

“The day is waning,” he growls. “I need to mate you again. I know you are sore. This will be the fourth time we have been together in less than a day, but it will imbue you with powers that will keep you safe in ways…”

“It will make me immortal.”

“No. It will make you immune to age. Immortality is something very different, and you would do well to remember it.”

I can see that the sun is setting. I have never seen it set on this world before. The game is kept at a perpetual midday, except for the nightmare zone, which is kept in permanent night. I suppose there’s the beach, which is always sunset. People don’t like that. They complain, say it’s out of date, say the game should have a proper day and night cycle the way pretty much all games do, but…

He grips my chin and turns my face back to him. “I don’t know where your mind is going, but I want to keep you with me. Don’t drift. Not now. This is the final mating.”

“I’m still tied up,” I whimper.

“That might add to the experience,” he drawls, his eyes raking over me hotly. “I like you in ropes. I might like you even more in chains. You are made to be confined, a wild little creature who is at her best when bonds are wrapped tightly around her.”

This is his version of foreplay, and it is intense. I feel every word in my belly as he sees me in ways I’ve never been seen before. I always knew I was a rebellious brat. The faculty at school made it clear that they didn’t appreciate the little things we got up to, but Tempest’s connections always protected me.

Now there is nothing to protect me. I am the captive lover of the monster I fought for years. I am his prisoner in every respect, and I love it. I can feel the hardness of his body against mine, the strength of his arms. He has punished me harshly, he has tied me up and left me, but there is something compelling about him that tells me he loves me. His discipline is his care.

I look up into his eyes, and I let his desire sink through me, finding me right in the core of my being. My inner walls are clenching, and I can feel the ache already. When he is inside me again, it will not be without pain.

The dragon lord lies me down on the forest floor and tenderly snugs the bindings tighter, not looser. He brings my knees up toward my chest, and he pulls my pants down, baring the curve of my punished ass.

“You have taken a lot of discipline,” he murmurs. “You have gotten into a great deal of trouble with me, haven’t you?” He smooths his palm over my ass in a gesture that makes the heat disperse and the ache settle deeper into my flesh.

I want him. I might be sore, and I might feel sorry for myself, but Ornix’s charisma and dominance are so compelling. I’ve never had anybody be what he has been, someone who cares what I do, and holds me accountable for it. He is truly my master.

That knowledge makes me feel soft and wet. I need him inside me. I want him to make me spread around his incredibly thick cock.

His hand keeps moving back and forth over my rear, down my thighs, and moves to snug the ropes tighter around my legs in a way that keeps my knees up to my chest. I am exposed only in part. In the strategic, wet, needy part he must claim.

I moan softly as he reaches out and touches the outer lips of my pussy, stroking them with quiet, sensual intensity. I am not in pain as I imagined I would be. I am sensitive, but I am already deeply aroused.

“There’s something different in you,” I say.

“I do not want to hurt you for the sake of hurting you. The only time I ever cause you pain will be when it is truly for your own good.”

He slides one finger inside me, testing my interior.

“You are more physically resilient than I imagined,” he says. “I thought you would be much more damaged, but you have taken every bit of punishment you earned. Look at this pretty wet pussy. Look at this delicious desire coating my finger.”

Ornix draws his finger out of me and holds it up to my lips, sliding it slowly into my mouth.

I taste myself. But not just myself. I taste him, too. We taste good together. My tongue wraps around his finger as I take every drop he just offered me, not a hint of resistance as he slowly draws it out between my lips.

“You make me far harder than anyone,” he growls. “You are an absolutely incredible mate, and I am relieved to have found you. You do not know how many years I have waited to feel this way, and to share myself the way I am sharing now, to breed one who is worthy, and matched.”