Page 63 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord (Fated Mates of the Sarkarnii Warlords #2)
F ollowing a flurry of activity for most of the day, I finally settled on an outfit which I hope Dexx will like and which is suitable for an entire gathering of his clan. Helped by the ever present and reassuring Cestapal, we create something I’m sure he will like and I find comfortable.
We’re slowly getting through them with the serum and about half have had it. So far, there has been no sickness in those who have not shifted, so I’m hopeful it will be possible for the rest to take the serum in the next few days.
To say this has made Dexx’s warriors exuberant is putting it mildly.
Even those yet to have the cure are more than happy to put up with the flames of the others, despite their eyesight still not being able to deal with brighter lights.
Instead, they consistently tackle their fellow warriors to the ground, rolling around in great balls of Sarkarnii scales, wings, and tails, filling the air with growls and happy snarls.
It’s as if they are all young again, given a new lease on life. I’ve even seen Dexx grinning at some of the antics, rather than glowering like usual.
All of which means the atmosphere in the dining hall is supremely raucous, aided and abetted by the fact Driok, Darax, Dante, and Dalox are present with their entourages.
Entourages who are as encouraged by the mayhem Dexx’s warriors are engaged in as they are getting stuck into the vats of ale-wine Dexx has laid on.
I can see all of this ending in tears. But as long as it ends up with Dexx dancing for me then carrying me off into the night, all hell could be let loose afterwards.
And, with these Sarkarnii, it probably will.
Lydia sits next to me at one end of the dining hall, along with Kerra, who looks very interested in the proceedings she avoided, with Rosalie and Maggie next to her, where we are protected by a number of burly warriors. Her eyes are on stalks virtually.
“Are they always like this?” she asks, her voice barely audible.
“Yes and no. Sometimes they are asleep or eating,” I reply.
“Oh god,” she says and closes her eyes.
I give her hand a squeeze, probably more for my benefit than hers as nerves are really setting in as the noise ramps up and there is a roar from the crowd.
It’s followed by the most almighty fireball sent into the air and silence descends. It’s only for a brief moment before a loud thumping rhythm reverberates around the hall. The Sarkarnii are keeping a beat which is so loud I feel it in my chest.
Ahead of us, the warriors part, and I see Dexx at the other end of the hall, flanked by the warlords. Dalox leans into him and says something in his ear.
Dexx snarls at him as his hips snap from side to side in time with the beat. All the Sarkarnii are swaying, and it’s mesmerizing with the multi-colored scales flashing in the myriad of lights. Those who have yet to take the serum are in a darker area, but their scales still glint out at me.
“Has he shed?” Kerra whispers in my ear.
“Yesterday,” I reply.
It was an experience I will never forget, Dexx in the bathing pool, asking me to assist and with no ceremony at all, he had slipped free of his skin and was bare as ever before me, scales brighter than ever as he begged me to claim him with my bite.
I obliged, of course, and he wears the small mark I made on his shoulder with pride.
But now he is all serious again. His face is concentrated on me as the crowd around us draws back and he begins what looks like a slow, sweeping step towards me.
It’s as if he knows what he needs to do innately, without thinking, so he can concentrate entirely on me.
I get to my feet, drawn up by his movements, my hips swinging in time to the beat, mirroring his. I can’t help myself. I know Dexx can’t read my thoughts, but he doesn’t need to, not this time. I want his dance. I want to be the Sarkarnii version of a wife.
His claim is my claim. I love him with all my heart and soul.
The beat changes up. Dexx shifts his wings and performs a series of sinuous somersaults, each one landing with perfect timing to the thumping and swaying. His clan begins a low hum, almost a purr as Dexx gets closer, his tail swishing and his good eye flashing fire at me.
Then everything stops. All the noise, all the beats, all the humming. The entire place, the dining hall, the ship itself is as silent as the grave.
Dexx holds out his hand to me. Long onyx black claws unfurl. Something shoves me in the small of my back, most probably Kerra, and I stumble towards him, placing my hand in his, he pulls me hard against him and the beat starts again.
I’m whisked along as he moves from side to side, spinning, turning, showing me to his clan until he reaches the raised area where we first sat after he took me.
Dexx executes a long, low bow.
“My mate, my heartsfire, my little ember. You have accepted my claim, and I wish to give you everything I have, my shift, my bones, my jewels, and my clan.”
“I don’t need anything other than you,” I whisper, wishing I could make my voice louder but unable to because of the swell of emotion in my chest.
“Then you deserve everything we have even more,” Dexx announces, lifting me into his arms. “My mate,” he says to the assembled throng. “My heartsfire.”
The entire room erupts. Fireballs are shot into the air. I knew the Sarkarnii could make noise, but what a noise!
Dexx draws me to him.
“I need you, little mate,” he murmurs in my ear. “I need to be sheathed in you.”
I can feel the hardness in his pouch pressed against my abdomen, and it makes my core squeeze, and Dexx inhales deeply, pulling me to one side behind the stage where the sounds of carousing and cheering are lessened by a bulkhead.
His claws scrabble at my dress, and I pull at the waistband of his pants.
Pants which I’m sure he only put on for me and ones I want him out of five minutes ago.
His cock springs free, pulsing into my hand, and he lifts me up onto it, sheathing himself in one easy, swift movement.
“Scarlett,” he groans, his fangs scraping over the skin on my neck and the sensitive area where he put his claiming bite, making me drown him instantly and meaning he can thrust ever deeper.
The sounds of the party in our honor disappear as Dexx plunders my body, whispering filthy things in my ears, lifting me closer and closer to my climax…
until he tips me over with a deep moan before filling me to the absolute brim.
I fall against him, my cheek against his chest as the purr, that wonderful purr, rumbles through him and into me.
“I am the luckiest Sarkarnii in all the galaxies,” Dexx says, his lips on my ear, “because I belong to you.”
And it goes without saying I am the luckiest human in the universe because I have my Sarkarnii warlord.