Page 30

EMBER

D rake had swept us away in a cloud of his shadows, and we appeared a moment later inside his palace throne room.

His assistant was standing by the throne.

The male’s eyes brightened upon sighting Drake.

“Your Majesty,” he said as he trotted up toward us.

The royals have resumed arguing in the Great Hall, and they cannot be consoled.

” He wrung his hands. “One of them nearly bit my head off at my intrusion! They are in desperate need of your attention.”

Drake sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned to me. “Apparently, I am needed,” he said. Concern shadowed his gaze. “You can go up…to my quarters. I’ll…,” he swallowed. “Join you in a moment.”

I felt my mouth dry of all moisture. My throat closed off, and no words could escape. All I could do was simply nod. Drake seemed to settle for that, for he flashed me a weak smile and walked off, following his assistant, who chattered anxiously.

I waited a moment, alone in the throne room and lost in my thoughts .

I agreed to mate Drake. There’s no backing out now.

I licked my lips, my pulse thrumming at my temples.

My inner wolf nudged at the confines of my mind, a reassuring gesture.

But it did little to calm my unsettled soul.

It was the only way the spell would work, so there was nothing else to do but agree.

I knew how completing a mating bond works.

Both parties had to be willing and could not be under any influence or coerced.

That’s why the mating bond didn't snap into place the night Drake, and I first made love.

I trudged out of the throne room on numb legs, my mind heavy, my thoughts fogged.

I dragged myself up the stairs and slipped down the long corridor to Drake’s chambers.

I passed the soldiers and guards that swept down the hall, female and male servants that hurried by to tend to their chores.

The world around me was mute as I became lost in my thoughts, my movements instinctual as I turned the door handle.

I stepped inside the room and closed the door behind me. Flicking on the lights, my gaze immediately snapped to the large king-sized bed in the center of the room. My chest tightened, making it difficult for my lungs to expand. I dragged in oxygen.

Okay, Ember, you can do this…

My hands shook, and I fisted them to staunch the trembling.

I was doing this for Melodina. Not for Drake.

Never for him. All I had to give him tonight was my body, not my mind, and certainly not my heart.

If I gave those to him, he’d just shred them like he’d done six years ago in the garden.

I slammed my eyelids shut and shook my head, banishing the memories of Rosalana being in his arms, her arrogant smirk as if she’d won him—which she had …

My claws sliced out as I thought of that female’s hands on my baby.

“I’ll kill that bitch,” I growled to myself.

I made my way toward the bed and sat on it, marveling at the plush downy sheets beneath me. I folded my feet underneath myself and looked at the door. All that was left to do now was wait.

Drake didn’t make me wait long. He couldn’t have been gone for any more than thirty minutes when the door to his bedroom creaked open. Drake stepped inside the room and closed the door behind himself.

His gave roved over my body, the amethyst of his eyes darkening as he drank me in.

I swallowed thickly, my heart fluttering inside my chest like a hummingbird’s wings. He stepped forward till his thighs hit the edge of the bed. I looked up at him. He reached out a hand to cup my cheek. My brows arched up as I felt his fingers tremble slightly.

He gave a crooked smile. “I guess I’m not so confident without the booze,” he said.

“You’re…,” I licked my lips, barely believing what I would say next. “Nervous?”

He cocked his head to the side, his dark waves falling over his brow. His smile turned sad. “Pathetic, huh?”

I shook my head. “I’m nervous, too.” I fiddled with my fingers. “I was a little tipsy myself.” I offered him a grin in return, hoping that would ease his spirits.

But why am I trying to comfort him ?

It was mind-boggling, but my inner wolf didn’t care. She rolled on her back and whimpered with delight.

Drake leaned over me and placed a hand on my shoulder, gently lowering me onto my back. He looked down at me, awe sweeping over his features.

I shrank into the mattress, my hands coming up over my chest. “What?”

He shook his head slowly. “Nothing…I’m just amazed at the fact that you’re as beautiful now as you were that first night I made love to you.”

I raised a brow. “Was I supposed to become ugly as I aged?” I teased.

Drake’s eyes snapped wide. “No, no.” he hurried to add. “That’s not what I?—”

I slapped his arm playfully. ‘I’m just teasing.”

A wicked grin stretched across his cheeks. “Shall I tease you back?”

Before I could utter another word, Drake lowered his head and licked up the column of my throat. A delicious shiver wracked my body. Then his teeth nipped at my ear softly before his tongue lapped away the hurt. My lips bucked of their own accord, a soft sigh escaping from my lips.

He chuckled, amused at how he’d affected me, but I was too aroused to care.

Drake sat back on his heels and pulled his tunic over his head, tossing it to the floor.

No alcoholic haze dulled my senses. I was able to see his body with clarity.

His solid pecs were well padded with muscle, grooves, and planes dipped across his abdomen finishing in a tempting ‘v’ that dipped into the low waistband of his leather pants .

My mouth watered with moisture as I watched the smooth play of muscles roping his biceps.

He curled his fingers underneath the hem of my sparkly black blouse.

I raised my arms, allowing him to tug it over my head.

That, too, ended up discarded on the floor.

The tube top had made wearing a bra with straps impractical, so I had forgone one.

Now my breasts were bare before Drake, my nipples thrusting upward under the cool air—as if they were straining to reach Drake.

My sex fluttered, and my folds became slick as the thought of his mouth on my breasts sprang to mind.

My teeth sank into my lower lip, and I squirmed underneath his slow perusal.

Please stop looking at me and just touch me! I wanted to shout the words to the ceiling.

Drake pressed a kiss to my throat again, then his lips trailed down lower, skimming over my collarbone and even further down still. Breathy pants of anticipation breezed from me as he placed open-mouthed kisses along my tingling skin.

Then his mouth found my nipple, and my world burst into a kaleidoscope of colors.

His tongue flicked over my nipple, sending electric jolts shooting down my spine. I buried my hand in his hair, fisting the strands; I pressed his head down, wanting him to take me. He placed his lips around my right nipple and sucked hard. My back bowed, a cry of pleasure cresting from my throat.

Then, his hand splayed across my abdomen, the warm heat of him seeping into me.

My lower belly tightened as his fingers massaged my tender flesh.

He released my breast with a wet pop before his mouth found my left nipple.

His hand drifted lower, slipping under my skirt.

He cupped my sex, and I whimpered, arching toward him as tiny waves of pleasure zapped through my core.

His fingers slipped between my folds, rolling the little nubbin of flesh at the apex of my thighs. I huffed in ragged pants.

He released my nipple and breathed, “Stars, you’re so beautiful. You’re perfect.”

Drake whispered several more things, sweet nothings, into my ear, but I was sucked under the tide of delirium that I scarcely heard him.

“K-keep…,” I breathed, my heart thrashing against my ribs. “Keep touching me there.”

“With pleasure,” Drake purred. His fingers worked, slipping inside the moist heat of me, sending me higher toward the peak of ecstasy.

And, oh, how I chased that high. I writhed under him, my hands raking through his hair, running down his back, and cupping his firm ass.

I ground myself against his hand, racing closer to the edge. My breaths came out in anxious mews.

“Please let me come, please,” I cried.

Stars, I was so close.

Then he withdrew his fingers and the high I was so close to cresting deflated. I almost cried.

“N-no.”

He planted a heated kiss on my lips, his tongue thrusting into my mouth, tangling with mine. “Hush, sweetheart, I’ll get you there,” he promised.

He moved away from me. I opened my eyelids to find him ripping himself out of his pants.

His proud length sprang free, and I groaned with appreciation.

I stretched my arms out to him, beckoning him to me.

He gave a soft smile and stretched over me again.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, toying with his hair—sifting through the soft strands.

His shaft lay across my abdomen, nestled between our bodies.

He angled his head and captured my lips in a passionate kiss, and I opened for him, drinking him in—taking my fill.

My tongue thrust out to twine along his as I moaned into his mouth.

He tasted of cinnamon musk with a hint of spice, earthy—divine.

I’d never tire of kissing him. I felt as if I could stay wrapped in his arms, in this bed, for time eternal.

Then, he slipped his hand down and adjusted himself.

I felt the proud crown of him press against my sex.

A guttural exhale whooshed from my lungs as he seated himself to the hilt in one fluid motion.

I threw my head back, delightful tingles streaming down my spine as I was filled with him.

So full it bordered on the edge of pain—a mingling of pleasure and hurt.

Drake bowed his head, his brow resting against my collarbone. “Stars damn,” he breathed, his voice thick with desire. “You’re so tight.”

I tugged my fingers into the smooth muscle of his back; my fingernails sank into his bronzed skin. “You feel so good.”

Drake pressed a gentle kiss to my collarbone in response. Then he moved.

I bucked my hips to meet him thrust for thrust as we rose together towards a glorious end.

In my mind’s eye, I saw the mating bond.

The cord burned a brilliant amber on my end, melding into a cool amethyst; it twisted and curved, fusing together—the bond closing.

It snapped into place with enough force to cause my spine to arch back.

A brilliant ring of crimson glimmered like tongues of flame right as an earth-shattering orgasm ripped through my body .

Holding onto Drake, I screamed my pleasure for the world, my walls tightening on his shaft.

Drake threw his head back and roared, his own release chasing mine straight down the cliff.

When I finally dropped back into gravity, and the world around me righted itself, I lay sprawled across the bed, Drake’s heavy body crushing me.

I was too sated with pleasure to mind. Sweat dampened our skin, the cool kiss of air a delicious reprieve.

After a long moment, Drake rolled off of me onto his side.

He reached out and drew me to him, tucking me against his chest. Our legs entwined together, his arm wrapped around my bare hip, my hands pressed onto his solid chest. I lifted my chin and peered up at him through half-lidded eyes.

Sleep called to me. Drake lowered his head to press a gentle kiss on my brow.

“Sleep,” he whispered to me.

And nestled in the warm, protective cocoon of his arms, I surrendered to sleep.