Page 4

CHAPTER 4

CLAWDIA

B efore Charlie could stop me, I pulled off his fingers, rocked up on my knees, pressed his cock to my center, and sat down slowly, so as not to slosh water all over the floor. We moaned our relief.

The stretch of him filling me was a little more painful than usual, but that burn only made the pleasure brighter.

His head lolled back, and his eyes were half lidded as he cupped my breasts. But the bath and our position didn’t give me the leverage I needed to reach our climax. I needed more. I needed the passion and fireworks and roughness. Thrusts, not grinding.

Charlie must have felt the same, because he pushed me up to my feet and pulled my hand to turn me around. “Hands and knees, Clawdicat.”

I did as instructed, the cold air chilling my bum and back, which rose above the water, and backed into Charlie. He rubbed his hands over the globes of my bum, and I wiggled.

He spanked me, and I yelped and threw a look over my shoulder.

“What was that for? I thought you were rewarding me for saving your life.”

“I couldn’t help myself, sorry.” He smiled and distracted me from my ire as he rubbed his cock over the seam of my pussy before he plunged deep. My hands clenched, and my mouth and nose dipped under the water as I leaned into the pleasure.

Then his finger started rubbing at my arsehole, and I clenched around him.

“When we were on the dock…” he started as he pushed his finger in a little more with each thrust in my pussy. “I played with your arse.”

“You did.” I didn’t need the reminder of such an incredible moment when I was already on the brink of orgasm, but I couldn’t stop the flashes of memory.

“Did you like it?”

“You know I did.” I wiggled again, forcing his fingers deeper inside me, and he kneaded at my cheek as he added another finger and stretched me wider, still keeping up with the steady thrusts driving me wild.

“And if I were to do something more than play?”

I paused for a moment, turning to look at him over my shoulder again. “I—I trust you, Charlie. I know whatever we do, I’ll have fun, because that’s how you’ve always made me feel.”

He bit his lip and spanked me again. “Don’t be sweet when I’m trying to fuck your arse.”

I laughed. “Sorry.”

He added another finger, and I shuddered as the stretch burned in a tingling way that made me reach for my clit. As his fingers thrust inside me, my own fingers brushed my folds, and my eyes rolled back in my head as tingles started in my lower back. He spanked me again.

“Did I say you could do that?” he asked but did not try to move my hand.

“You aren’t the boss of me,” I replied breathlessly.

“No, but I can tell on you to Baelen.”

I moved my hand further back to grasp his balls, and he made a choked moan before he pulled out and spanked me again. “You’re playing with fire.”

I chuckled. “You are a dragon.”

He notched his cock, not at my pussy but at my ass. “You want to try?”

“Please.” My toes wiggling with my excitement. After all the teasing and leisurely fucking, I was desperate to know what he felt like there, how I’d feel, especially since I wanted to take all my men at once someday.

Just the thought of all three of them filling me made me salivate.

He stroked himself against me using the wetness from my pussy to lube his cock. “Please, Charlie. You’re such a tease.”

When he slowly pushed inside me, I shuddered. It was a tight squeeze, and I struggled to take him, the pleasure boarding on pain. “Are you all right?” He asked.

“I’m okay.” I licked my lips as my fantasies of group activities dissolved by the second.

“Okay isn’t good.” He reached underneath me to stroke my pussy in long, luxurious touches that wound me up even tighter. “Stop clenching for a second. Push out a little?—”

I breathed out as he slid inside me so deep I thought I’d gag on him.

It was a strange sensation, but it felt wicked and so good that I could have melted. The moans coming from me were low, groaning, and wild as he fucked me.

“Your ass is so tight, Clawdia. I won’t last long.” He groaned and continued to talk nonsense. “Feels so good. You’re taking me so well. Meant for me. Perfect. Fuck.”

Our breaths became more ragged and uneven as we chased our pleasure, and I gasped as my orgasm struck me like lightning. I buried my head in the water to hide my scream, and when I resurfaced, I felt reborn.

I was tender and winced as he pulled out, but I sat back on my legs and leaned against him once he’d settled himself behind me again. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek.

“That was incredible,” he sighed.

“Yeah.” It was all I could think to say, since half of my brain refused to function.

“What did you think of anal?” he asked as his fingertips trailed over my collarbone.

“It’s different, but so good.” I peeked up at him under my eyelashes and smiled. “I don’t think I could take Zaide there, though.”

He chuckled, and the vibrations shook me. “Maybe with lots of practice.”

The water was a lot colder than when we got in. The bubbles had disappeared, and a sleepy haze was coming over me, so I sat up, reached for soap, and cleaned up a little.

As I stood up to get a towel, Charlie spoke. “I just realized that I didn’t feel you.”

“You did more than feel me,” I replied easily and rubbed myself dry.

He gave me a look as he pulled the plug and also stood. “I mean, I couldn’t feel your pleasure like I normally can. You’re still blocking us?”

“I—I—” I wasn’t sure how to divert the question without looking like I was hiding something. “Was it bad? You weren’t pleased without feeling my pleasure?”

His mouth dropped open in shock, and he shook his head sharply. “No. God, no. Clawdicat, your arse is something else, and that was amazing.” He opened his mouth to continue but stopped and stared for a moment. Then his demeanor completely changed, and he laughed. “You know what? Maybe it’s a good thing. We should check our skills without getting swept up in the bond. I think I’ve still got it.”

“Nobody likes a gloater.” I raised my brow and used my towel to wipe him down.

“I thought that was a show-off.”

“Potayto, potahto.”

We found the bedroom and collapsed into bed. I yawned, suddenly exhausted, and wrapped myself into the thin gray blankets laid out on the wooden bed.

My damp hair was soaking the pillow underneath me, but I couldn’t bring myself to move or dry it. Zaide would have insisted. But Charlie and I were too tired to do anything but lie on the bed, each of us lost to our own thoughts in the postcoital bliss.

“Did you ever think we would end up like this?” I asked.

He let out a bark of laughter. “Did I think you would turn into a human and I’d fall head over tit in love with you? No. Not in a million years.”

“I suppose that is asking too much.” I chuckled. “I think I hoped we would end up together. Somehow. I wasn’t really looking at the details of how.”

“Did you envisage the soul pair and soul mate too? Or just me?” He wiggled his brows, and I nudged him as I laughed.

“They were a surprise. But a welcome one. I can’t imagine life without them now.”

He sighed happily and rubbed his stomach. “Me either.”

“Really?”

“Why does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know. I just think I would be resentful if I had to share you. Any of you. No matter how nice the other ladies were. Maybe I’m selfish.”

“You’re a cat. That’s to be expected.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know. But you don’t have to worry about me being resentful. If anything, I’m encroaching on their bonds with you. If I didn’t want you so much, you’d be a throuple and I’d be dating a witch of mommy’s suggestion.”

“You aren’t encroaching on anything. My heart was yours first.”

He lolled his side to the side to look at me, and with soft eyes, he whispered, “I love you too.”

My smile was so wide it hurt my cheeks. I rolled onto my side and pressed a kiss to his chest. “Finally decided to say it back?”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. He stroked my hair, moving a strand out of my eyes, and cupped my cheek. “I’ve got to keep you in some mystery.”

We were silent for a moment, and in that second, the fears and darkness I’d been pushing away closed in. A little voice whispered that I should enjoy this moment while it lasts. Soon, my secrets would poison everything I loved.

“Do you think you’ll always love me?” As soon as I said it, I knew it was a mistake, and I hurried to clarify so I didn’t sound completely crazy. I’m not sure how much I succeeded. “I’m sorry, I know you can’t see the future, and I don’t expect you to try, but if we ever lost our bond, like last time, or if I ever betrayed you or something terrible happened, would you still be with me? Would you still try?”

He frowned. “What’s got you asking this?”

“I’m just…” But I couldn’t give him an answer.

He took a moment to think, which only made me more anxious, before he whispered, “The future is unknown, Clawdia. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone in the years to come. But you’re the first person I’ve ever loved, first cat I ever loved too. I can’t imagine a world where I don’t love you. So, do some meditation like Zaide taught you, empty your brain of those negative thoughts, and get some sleep.”

I nuzzled into him, nodding, and took a deep breath.

They will forgive me. They love me. I just need to talk to Nisha, make a plan, and then explain the curse.

It will be all right … won’t it?

I arrived in the dreamscape, with a smile and a sigh of relief.

Usually, I dreaded seeing Nisha. Our sessions consisted of bad news, terrible visions and life altering revelations. But this time, I hoped she’d be able to give me some good news, something to ease the horrible anxiety squeezing my chest at the thought of my bonds’ disappointment and fear at the development of this power. Or curse.

With all the pain it had caused me so far, I was leaning toward a curse.

“Ah, you’re here. Good. Let’s start with our first lesson,” Nisha announced before I had time to turn and greet her.

“Lesson?” I watched her, confused, as she whirled around the cottage sitting room, pulling books from the shelf and littering the coffee table with them.

“Yes. We agreed we should start teaching you control over your visions so you don’t become overwhelmed with them.”

It wasn’t an unwelcome suggestion. I was overwhelmed and wanted to learn how to control the visions, but I was certain we hadn’t verbally discussed that yet. Perhaps she saw it in a vision?

I frowned. “When did we agree that?”

My question stopped her, and she tilted her head as she considered. “The last time we spoke?”

I shook my head slowly. “The last time we spoke, we were following Fafnir in visions of his past.”

“We didn’t talk about how to go forward with your developing powers?” She straightened, her brows drawn as she stared at me in confusion.

“No. I wanted to talk to you about that today. Did you see that?” She shook her head and then took a step back, lost her footing, and fell onto the sofa. She rubbed her head, and I rushed over, more alarmed than before. I perched on the edge of the coffee table in front of her and placed a hand on her knee.

“Are you all right?”

Only yesterday, she told me she was dying, and today, she’s forgetful and dizzy. What does this mean? Is she dying sooner? I’m not ready for her to leave me with this curse, and Baelen will never forgive either of us if she passes before he can reunite with her.

While her dark skin hadn’t paled, there was a shiny film on it I hadn’t immediately noticed, but when I checked her threads, I couldn’t see anything wrong with her. She seemed healthy. But I couldn’t relax. Nisha didn’t reply. She sat rubbing her head like she was playing with clay, completely unaware of my hand on her knee. Unaware of me entirely.

I know because when she finally lowered her hands and looked up, she startled to see me. “Clawdia!” she exclaimed. “How long have you been here?”

Fear struck my veins as though my blood had turned to ice cold water, and I tensed to stop myself from shivering as I replied, “Not long.”

She’s dying. And it’s happening fast.

Should I even be discussing visions with her if she’s so sick?