Page 22 of Galadon (Dragon’s Breath #8)
Rayna
She was finally starting to feel better. Except for a minor headache and some soreness in her legs, the worst of Rayna’s pain was gone. She could walk without being in agony and winded, and she needed fewer hours of rest. The only lingering problem was weakness. It annoyed her that her slayer strength hadn’t returned like she expected once the wounds healed. In fact, that had never happened before, but she originally assumed it was because of the severity and duration of her torture.
Now, Rayna had a sinking suspicion it had to do with the elixir stifling her hunting instincts. She recalled them mentioning something about that at the Taugud fortress. She couldn’t be upset with Galadon and his mother giving it to her because otherwise, she would have been forced to go out and hunt when she could hardly walk—or risk attacking her hosts. Considering she’d rather die than harm them, the elixir was the better option this one time. She wouldn’t be taking it again after it wore off, though.
With Galadon out doing one of his patrols, Rayna had been left to her own devices for the last hour. She’d wandered his lair, looking at his belongings. There weren’t many personal ones, but he had the odd trinket here and there he must have collected.
One was a snow globe with a Christmas scene that amused her. Others included a glass unicorn, a Rubik’s Cube, and an antique spoon. All random Earth things that must have grabbed his attention at some point since returning. He couldn’t touch any of them without melting them, but she supposed he could use gloves.
She found an impressive weapons collection for someone who preferred to live in dragon form more than human. Then, there was her favorite shelf that held books. He only had about a dozen since it must have been difficult to obtain ones that didn’t singe at his touch, but there were several on dragon history, another on warcraft, and the rest were fables. Rayna couldn’t read the language, but she enjoyed looking at the pictures painted alongside them. They were all beautiful work.
That was how Galadon found her when he returned. She was in his sitting chair with her legs over one of the arms, engrossed in a depiction of a small dragon trying to fly. How she wished she could learn to read the language.
The lone shifter stood at the entrance with a strange look on his face she couldn’t decipher.
“What?” she asked.
“You just look…” He shook his head. “Relaxed.”
There was a wrapped package in his hand. He went to his wardrobe and set it inside, closing the doors. Rayna wondered what it was, but it wasn’t her business. They weren’t like that yet, and who knew if they ever would be? Galadon had been especially kind and caring these last few days, but was it out of a sense of obligation? Guilt?
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
She sighed and closed the book. “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“It would break my vow to you,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ears. He’d never really cared about her thoughts or feelings before.
Galadon came closer to her and kneeled, expression unreadable. “You’re still abiding by the vow? After everything?”
“I take it seriously.” And maybe it protected her a little from the hurt he could continue to cause while she was constantly in his presence. “In another day or two, I should be better and hopefully have clothes again. I need to get Onyx from the Taugud fortress. He’s probably worried sick about me, and I miss him. Then I’ll be out of your way.”
His jaw hardened. “What if I don’t want you to leave?”
He couldn’t be serious. That was literally the last thing she expected him to say.
“You’ve always made it clear that I…” she began.
“Not anymore,” he interrupted, setting a hand on her knee that sent heat shooting through her. “You said the words that tied you to me, and now I consider you mine.”
Rayna sat up straighter, anger surging through her veins. “I’m not an object like this ...” She lifted the book as an example before setting it on the side table. “I don’t regret saying I love you, but that doesn’t give you the right to claim me when you haven’t returned those feelings and probably never will.”
Galadon growled, grabbed her, and lifted her to her feet. “I can’t say for certain what I feel, but I know I don’t want you far from me ever again.”
She shook from shock and her proximity to him. He’d moved her so fast, yet as gently as possible. The look in his eyes was pure possessiveness. How was she supposed to handle it? The shifter could rip her heart out if he wanted, but nothing about his behavior these last days was like before. Could she trust him?
“You want me to stay here permanently?” she asked, attempting to read his intentions in his gaze. His arms were still wrapped around her, making it hard to think. Now that Rayna had recovered, her body fiercely responded to his touch.
“Yes,” he said, pressing against her so tightly she could feel his hard erection.
Despite herself, she grew wet between her thighs.
Rayna licked her lips. “I don’t understand.”
“You know that part of the vow you made where you promised not to seduce me?” he asked.
She nodded, nervous about where this was headed. “Yes.”
“That doesn’t apply in the reverse.”
He backed her up until she was against the wall and grabbed the hem of the tunic she wore. “Can I take this off?”
His gaze was fiery hot, and his touch fogged her mind of everything except wanting more of him. A part of Rayna knew she should refuse him, but the other part desperately wanted to let this play out. His body called to hers in a way she couldn’t deny. “Yes.”
“Good.”
A feral grin spread across his lips as he pulled it over her head, leaving her completely nude as he threw it to the floor. Her nipples hardened from the rush of air. In the next moment, he pressed tightly against her and captured her mouth. The kiss he gave her was so hot she lost all sense or reason. As he continued his assault on her senses, he lifted her arms above her head and curled her fingers around a protruding hook that used to have a jacket hanging from it moments before. She had no idea where it went now.
He pulled back a few inches from her. “Since you are still covered by the vow, you can’t touch me, but I can touch you anywhere I want. Correct?”
Rayna gripped the hook like a lifeline, suddenly more turned on than she’d ever been as she stood naked and helpless before him. He watched her carefully. While the lone shifter was supremely dominant, he was insisting on her full consent. That turned her on so much she could feel herself getting wetter by the moment. She had no doubt he could smell what he was doing to her.
“Yes. You get to do whatever you want to me,” she said, breathlessly.
Galadon grabbed her hip with one hand and cupped her face with the other. “Good, slayer. Because I’m about to do things to you that I’ve imagined for months, hating myself for it, and yet nothing will stop me now. Damn the consequences. You’re mine. By the time I’m finished with you, there will be no question about you staying right here where I can get my hands on you whenever I want.”
Rayna’s breath hitched. She couldn’t deny that every word he spoke made her ache and yearn for him even more. Unlike their first time together, he had just declared that he wanted her long-term. This wasn’t going to be another isolated event. Nothing in his voice or features indicated anything other than a desire to make her his forever, and despite herself, she couldn’t resist him.
“Please,” she breathed.
He lifted his brow. “Please, what? Touch you?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He let go of her face to caress her breast, smiling at her moan. Then he pinched her nipple just hard enough to send sensations of pleasure and pain running through her. This wasn’t like being hurt by the Kandoran. She trusted Galadon and enjoyed the sliver of discomfort he caused.
“Mmmm,” she moaned.
“So responsive.” His breath was hot on her skin when he spoke next, “Remember, no matter what happens, you keep your hands to yourself. Understand?”
Galadon moved his hand from her hip and slipped it between her legs. Rayna spread them wider to make it easier for him. He rubbed his fingers through her slick warmth back and forth. “Do you understand?”
It was so hard to speak with him touching her like that. “Yes.”
He kissed her lips once more as she held onto the hook, helpless to desire and unwilling to fight the feelings running through her. This was better than she dared imagine. He wanted her without reservation, and the way he looked at her hinted at deeper emotions. Somehow, he’d changed. Though she’d thought she could hold out against him longer, she’d been wrong. He knew exactly how to play her mind and body now that he wasn’t fighting his feelings for her anymore.
Galadon trailed kisses along her neck, stopping to nip her skin occasionally. All she could do was arch into him. His hands continued to work between her legs, rubbing her clit and building her higher and higher. She cried out when his mouth covered one of her nipples and sucked hard, then he moved on to the other, doing the same to it. Rayna whimpered when he stopped, but then he moved down further, worshiping each ragged scar, new and old.
It touched something deep within her that he put so much tenderness into his touches. It lasted only a couple of minutes before he grabbed her legs and set her knees over his shoulders, leaving her most vulnerable place open to his mouth. Galadon gripped her hips and set her at an angle that allowed his tongue to do the naughtiest things she’d ever felt, delving deep inside her and then swirling over her clit. This man—dragon—knew exactly what he wanted and could assault her senses just as precisely as he would take on an enemy. Of course, technically, she was supposed to be his enemy, but she’d already surrendered.
The way his mouth burrowed into her depths had her trembling in ecstasy as he sucked, nipped, and licked. Rayna held out as long as she could, wanting to enjoy every moment of pleasure, but the sight of his tongue and mouth between her legs, while he kneaded her ass was too much. Their entwined magic had begun swirling around them like a dance upon their skin, heightening everything she felt. As he sucked hard on her clit, it concentrated there, igniting a spark within her.
“Galadon,” she screamed as she came so hard, she barely kept a grip on the hook.
He milked her for all she was worth until she was left shaking.
In the blink of an eye, he had her down on a rug that hadn’t been there until recently. Galadon placed her on her hands and knees, vulnerable in another way now, as he knelt behind her.
“Here is how far my denial of you went,” he said, running his hands over her back and then down and around to her breasts as he pressed closer. “I bought this rug months ago when I hadn’t seen you for a while because I pictured you on it, naked just like this, waiting for me to fuck you so hard you wouldn’t be able to get up afterward. Then I stored it in one of the other tunnels, only bringing it out yesterday.”
Rayna glanced back at him and his raging hard cock that she knew would fill her so fully it would almost be too much. He’d missed and wanted her more than he’d cared to admit. She was so ready to feel him inside her again and didn’t want to wait another minute.
“Just fuck me already, Galadon.”
He didn’t hesitate and pushed deep inside her until their bodies were locked. Then he fisted her hair and pulled her head up so her back arched, slowly pulling in and out of her. “Like this?”
Rayna had never been more turned on by his brute force. “Yes, but you better give it to me hard, dragon.”
“Not a problem, slayer.” He gripped her hip with his other hand, holding her in place, and set a punishing pace. He pounded into her so forcefully it took her breath away.
Friction grew between them, and magic danced in swirling colors. She didn’t know how or why, but it only added to the pleasure. Every inch of her skin came alive at his nearness. When he exploded into her, filling her with his hot seed, she screamed with her own orgasm.
Galadon pulled her up until her back pressed against his chest, with him partially still inside her. He ran tiny, sweet kisses along her neck while his arms held her tightly. It was sweet and yet another sign of his possessiveness of her.
“I could do this every day with you and never get tired of it,” he said, voice gruff.
Rayna twisted in his arms so she could see his eyes. “I could say the same thing.”
The look on this face showed a level of content she’d never seen on him before.
“Good.” He pressed his lips to hers, and this time it was so slow and tender she almost wanted to cry because she didn’t think him capable of such a thing. It caused her chest to tighten, knowing she was falling even harder for him with every sweet and touching thing he did.
She started to pull away. “I love you, Galadon, but I…”
His arms tightened around her. “And I thank Zorya for that, najeema. Do not think I’m not grateful for the gift of your heart.”
Rayna tried not to be disappointed that he hadn’t said it back since he had called her his bright star again. He’d made so much progress in recent days that she couldn’t expect everything at once. Someday, maybe, he’d figure out his feelings and then tell her. She reminded herself to be patient.
“When do I get to touch you?” she asked, dying to put her hands on his hard, muscular body.
His eyes turned heated with those wild flames of his. “Anytime you want, slayer. You earned it, so you can consider yourself free of the vow.”
Relief filled her, along with a plan to worship his body the way he’d done hers. Two could play at this game. She’d infiltrate his heart one kiss and touch at a time until he forgot how he’d ever resisted her. Rayna wanted to conquer him just as much as he did her.
Galadon didn’t fight her when she twisted around and pushed him down onto his back, climbing on top of him. “So glad you said that, shifter, because I have some things I’ve dreamed of doing to you.”
He gripped her hips where she straddled him, cock growing hard where it rested by her thigh. “I’d expect nothing less.”
Rayna gripped his length in her fist. “Good. Because when I’m finished, you’ll forget you ever fucked anyone else.”
“Already forgotten,” he said with a feral grin.
She felt powerful in that moment in a way that had nothing to do with muscle strength. To reward him, she edged backward until she could sink down on him with her lips, working him with her tongue and mouth, taunting and teasing, but never giving him release. It wasn’t long before he was the one begging for mercy.