Page 9

May

The most delicious warmth envelopes me, and I instinctively wiggle closer to the firm body behind me. The murmured grumble of a deep voice says something inarticulate, bringing a smile to my lips. My grumpy, bossy king.

Wait. What?

Before I can fully wake, my crystal warms on my chest, and I plunge into a dream.

I lie on these same furs, but I’m naked, one arm thrown overhead as my back arches, my mouth wide in an O of pleasure. My other hand is buried in the long, black hair of the man between my thighs, my fingers digging into his scalp with every lick of his wicked tongue. My heels sink into the furs, lifting my hips, grinding my core against his mouth.

He chuckles, the deep sound vibrating through my sensitized flesh, and flattens his tongue over my clit in a firm flutter.

I scream, the orgasm hot and sharp, shaking through my entire body.

I awake. Sunlight paints the stretched leather of the tent in gold. I’m, fully clothed, gasping for breath as I tingle everywhere. Fuck! What a wet dream! I’ve never had one so vivid or powerful in my entire life.

Aldronn groans behind me, and his hand tightens on my thigh.

Oh, god. Part of that “firmness” behind me is his dick, thick and hard and pressing against my ass.

My eyes drift closed as another vision fills my mind: me, on my knees, swallowing his massive cock, my hands wrapped around the base. My tongue slides over the hard, round balls of his dick piercings as I take him deep in my throat, gagging on his length and loving it.

Aldronn’s hips snap forward, my name on his lips in a tortured moan.

I’m back in the tent, Aldronn’s body a vibrating line of tension thrumming against me. Fuck. He’s coming.

And it’s hot as sin.

He jolts awake, his arm banded around me, pulling me closer to his pumping hips. Then he jerks away with a muttered curse.

I sit up and turn toward him.

A scowl creases his brow, and he scrubs a hand across the top of his head.

Things go awkward as hell, and my body’s still buzzing from the power of my orgasm. I need to think.

I scramble for the tent opening. My ankle boots sit just inside beside Aldronn’s much larger pair. I pull them on and leap up to grab the cleaning cloth before trotting into the woods to use the bathroom. Once done, I wet the cloth in the creek, and magic shivers through the air as it returns to pristine brightness. Then I wash my face with the cool water, but it doesn’t help any. My mind still whirls.

Starfall crops grass about halfway across the field, having “mowed” a large area around the campsite, but her movements lack the rushed urgency of yesterday evening. She must have been really hungry.

I give her a wave, kind of hoping she’ll head over and keep me from needing to face Aldronn alone while my mind’s still spinning. But no such luck. In fact, she trots toward the far side of the field.

With a sigh, I head back to the camp. Aldronn tends the fire, fully dressed but not wearing his crown. He hands me a hot mug of peppermint tea. While I sip it, he starts cooking something that looks like oatmeal.

The tea is hot, and even without caffeine, the mint has enough zing in it to help wake up my brain.

My eyes flick toward the tent. What in the world happened in there? Did I enter his dreams? Is that part of my witch power?

What does he think happened? I grip my necklace and close my eyes, but no matter how hard I strain, I can’t hear anything. Stupid magic. Still erratic. It figures—I get a rad new power, and it’s as much of a hot mess as the rest of my life.

The longer he sits there stirring the oatmeal without saying anything, the more hyper I get, until I can’t hold it in any longer.

“What was that?” I fling a hand toward the tent.

His dark eyes snap to mine. “You experienced it, too?”

“The dream sex?” I huff. “Umm, yeah. Only it didn’t feel like a regular dream. It was too…”

“Too vivid? Too real?” He nods, his voice dropping to a deep growl. “I know what you taste like, little queen.”

“Back at ya, big guy.” God, even his come tasted good, like creamy caramel. It’s not fair. This guy has to have at least one flaw, besides being bossy, that is.

“So we both dreamed the same thing,” he says, easy as you please. “First, I licked you. Then you sucked me.”

My thighs clench, and all I can manage is a breathy, “Yep.”

“I’ve never done any such thing before, so it must have been you.” He ladles hot cereal into a bowl and hands it to me. “Good.”

“Why good?”

“I feel better knowing you initiated it.” He looks smug. “I like my women willing.”

The after echo sounds as loud as his regular voice, but his lips don’t move. “And begging for my cock.”

“Trust me, big guy. If we have sex, I’ll be willing.” I swirl the spoon through the oatmeal without scooping any up and bring it to my mouth to lick at the thin film. It’s nutty and savory instead of sweet but not bad.

Even better, Aldronn’s eyes lock onto my mouth, fascinated.

I give another lick and say, “But I’ll never beg.” Mr. Bossy Pants so doesn’t need the ego boost of that.

“We’ll see, little queen.” He smirks and brushes his long hair back from his face. “We’ll see.”

Riding today is even more uncomfortable than the day before. My body buzzes with a constant awareness of Aldronn, his thighs pressing against mine, the way I rock back into his chest, the firm grip of his hand splayed across my stomach, his fingers so long the tip of his pinkie grazes the top of my pubic bone.

It’s torture.

The only thing that makes it even a little bit bearable is feeling his erection bump against my ass. Dude’s got it as bad as me.

Silence doesn’t help, so I ask an endless string of questions about Alarria and how they live. The unicorns claimed the continent’s largest grass plain and live in herds that come together several times a year for various celebrations. “While our rulers confer, the warriors train during the day, sharing new techniques. At night, the young adults frolic and look for matches among the other herds.”

“And by frolic…” I ask in a knowing tone.

“Sex.” Starfall whinnies a laugh. “Lots and lots of sex. You have to try quite a few stallions to find a good one.”

I laugh with her.

“Are the orcs the same?” I ask.

“No,” Aldronn grunts.

“Don’t let him fool you.” Starfall tosses her head. “This one’s ridden plenty of fillies.”

He growls, his fingers digging into my stomach.

“So our king’s a bit of a player?” I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m not the super-jealous type, and I suppose it’s normal he’d have more experience since he’s older, but I can’t help wondering what “lots” means.

“Women throw themselves at him in every village,” the unicorn says. “It must be the crown, because it’s certainly not his charm.”

His voice smoothes into a wicked purr. “I’ll have you know I can be very charming.”

Heat pools low in my stomach. God, that voice! Totally panty melting. I can’t let him know it affects me. “So the scowls are only for me? Aren’t I the lucky girl?”

“The scowls are because you defy me,” he says.

“You mean because I’m not throwing myself at you with open arms and legs? Tough luck, dude. That’s not my thing.”

“It’s not all fun.”

“Oh, come on! I’m not stupid. Bedding a string of different women is every guy’s dream.”

“I will not lie to you, my bride. I’ve had several pleasurable encounters.” He clears his throat. “And quite a few I wish had never happened.”

I twist to look at him. “Then why did you sleep with them?”

“It’s my duty as king to find my queen and produce an heir. The Moon Goddess never hinted she’d bring me a moon bound bride, so I did what the royal family has done since arriving in Alarria. I did what was expected of me.” His eyes look hollow. It’s not an expression I’ve seen from him, and I don’t like it. “It was fun when I was younger, but lately…”

“What?”

“Must I say it?” Pain flickers over his face. “Can’t you read my mind instead?”

I grip my crystal and try, but nothing happens. I shake my head. Besides, he’s so closed up it’ll be good for him to speak some emotional truth out loud.

He lets out a held breath. “I have fleeting moments with women more interested in the crown than the man who wears it. It’s been…”

That haunted look is back. I can’t bear it, so I help him out. “Lonely. It sounds lonely.”

He nods.

I settle into my seat again, leaning back more comfortably. It seems Aldronn has a lot more layers than he lets on.

“By the goddess, I never thought to admit that to anyone. But I’m glad it was her.”

“I’m glad it was me, too,” I say.

He jolts, his thighs tensing into steel bands. “You heard that? I thought your magic wasn’t working.”

“It wasn’t.” I throw up my hands. “If you’ve got an instruction manual for how to use it, I’m totally down to read it.”

“Perhaps the dragons will have something,” Starfall says, dodging around a large rhododendron covered in hot-pink flowers.

“Dragons?” Excitement races through me. When I was little, Dad used to read me Chinese mythology made into children’s stories. I always liked that the dragons were good instead of “monsters to be slain” like European folktales made them out to be. “Dragons are real? Do they control rivers and oceans?”

“They are, but I haven’t heard of any fae dragons having power over water,” Aldronn says.

“They’re our historians,” the unicorn adds. “They collect and hoard all kinds of magical knowledge. If anyone knows how to use your magic, it’s them.”

“Oh.” I sit back. “I’d really hoped to meet some of the great water dragons.”

“The realms of Faerie are numerous, but they may not be all the magic that exists,” Aldronn says. “There could be other realms or magics we don’t know of.”

“You’re right.” I perk up. “I mean, if you’d asked me a couple of days ago, I’d have said Faerie was a myth, and here I am riding a talking unicorn with a fae orc! So maybe other magical places exist, too.” Earth has a lot of different magical belief systems. It’s comforting to think that all of them might be real.

And meeting any dragon, no matter the type, is seriously rad.

“Let’s go find some dragons!”

“We will,” Aldronn promises. “We’re heading to the Dular Mountains, where they make their home.”

We ride on, the two of them telling me more about this new world I find myself in. The longer we talk, the less stodgy Aldronn becomes.

My telepathy flares briefly to life, my crystal pulsing with warmth.

“I like this,” his voice echoes in my mind. It’s such a simple statement, but the feeling behind it takes my breath away. It’s full of a quiet joy that makes him feel awe—a contentment that’s clearly been missing from his life.

If I’m honest, it’s been missing from mine too.