Page 2 of Heart of Fire (Royal Ice Dragons #3)

HANNA

As everyone else was getting ready to sleep, I went to sit on the porch steps, looking up at the broad span of sparkling stars, at the purple and green light that fell across the horizon and reflected from the distant snowy mountains. The skyline here was so beautiful it made my heart ache.

When the door opened behind me, I expected Kaelan to step out onto the porch, perhaps with some stern words about how I needed rest and safety—and possibly his dick. And of course, I would have words back.

I twisted, preparing to lob an insult his way.

But it was Thorne closing the door softly behind him. “Not Kaelan,” he said, as if he’d read my readiness for a fight.

“He let you come instead?” I asked lightly.

He frowned, as if the assumption Kaelan let him do anything had injured his pride, but he still came and sat down beside me on the steps. I wrapped my arms around my knees, shivering, but I felt warmer when his big shoulder brushed mine.

“Did you come to tell me that I shouldn’t worry about Dare?”

“No.” He paused for so long that I finally looked over at him. I studied the high planes of his cheekbones, the hard jaw, the softness of his pink lips. His face betrayed no emotion, as always, before he admitted, “I’m worried about him too.”

I’d expected nothing but more attempts to sweep my worries away, and his answer surprised me and softened me at the same time. Something that had been tight loosened in my chest. I wasn’t alone in my worry.

“Thorne,” I say softly. “Look at me.”

He did, his dark eyes meeting mine evenly.

“Why are you worried?” I said softly. “I thought he always comes back.”

“Yes, he always does. Even if he doesn’t always want to.”

I wanted to ask more about that, but Thorne went on, “But there’s never been a more dangerous time. Edric knows Kaelan isn’t under his control, that Kaelan is aware of his plotting—there’s no possibility Kaelan will bow, no reason for Edric to be merciful.”

“So Edric will have to kill us all.”

Thorne nodded. “And Kaelan is right. While you are the most important target…taking down any one of us would punish him. Maybe we would be even more dangerous. But Edric might expect us to make stupid mistakes seeking vengeance.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

His lips quirked. “Are you ready to go to war with us, Princess?”

“Always.”

He took my hand and pressed his lips to the inside of my wrist. “That’s why you’re our queen.”

As butterflies swirled in my chest, I found myself smiling at him. Somehow, it felt like nothing could go wrong when I was close to Thorne. His presence was steadying. “Let’s go for a walk.”

He nodded and rose to his feet, holding his hand out to me.

I let him help me up, and then kept his hand in mine, interlacing our fingers. He glanced at me, tensing, and I looked up at him curiously. It was such a strong reaction. Did the Ice Fae have some kind of moral objection to holding hands? They certainly weren’t warm and fuzzy people. “Is this all right?”

He squeezed my fingers in his. “Yes.”

He said the word offhandedly, as if he didn’t know why I had asked, and I hid my smile. Thorne was so big and dangerous; to see him act boyish and shy with me in any way was so endearing I could barely stand it.

Even though this was the same man who had, along with Kaelan, fucked me six ways from Solstice the night before.

The two of us ambled around the small hold, staying within the wards. The peaceful night stretched away from us in every direction, the fields vast and open.

Magic had melted the ice away in select fields and gardens, allowing carefully-coaxed crops to grow. The chickens had retired to their coop for the night, so our calves were safe.

The two of us paused behind the barn, and Thorne turned to face me. “I have a gift for you.”

“I know.” I smiled up at him.

“Is there anything you don’t know, smartass?” he demanded, but then he leaned over and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. His hand was still in mine, and I ran my thumb tenderly over his calloused knuckles as the two of us shared sweet, slow kisses.

“Not much,” I whispered against his lips. “Except for how this all ends.”

“With you on a throne, safe and well.” He sounded so confident, as if he saw the future. I wished I felt as sure. “Kaelan and Dare and I will stop at nothing to make sure you’re safe. And that you’re seen…for who you are. Our queen.”

“I know that too,” I whispered. “But that scares me.”

“Why?”

“I’d rather be back on the Isle and never know you and how much you love me…rather than lose you.”

“You won’t lose us.”

“You can’t make that promise.”

“Hanna, I waited for you for five years when you didn’t even know I existed. I can promise you, I have earned this happy ending…and I’m going to have it with you.”

Something inside me melted.

But he was already starting to say more, returning to battle plans. He was never one to let the moment linger, and I cut him off by bobbing up onto my toes and pressing another kiss to his lips.

Whatever he’d been about to say was lost as his arms circle my waist, and my back pressed the hard wood of the barn wall behind me as he kissed me deeply. I put my leg up around his waist, holding him against me, wanting more of him.

“Wait,” he whispered. “I need to give this to you. Finally.”

He pulled the cuff out of his pocket.

“Finally,” I murmured back to him, feeling my eyes spark with humor and seeing the answering spark in his gaze.

“Are you going to make this as difficult as possible?”

“Yes.”

He caught my hand and slipped the cuff around my wrist. There were small, faint runes, shimmering like they were engraved with diamonds. His hand was still around my wrist as he touched one with his thumb.

“Spells.” He was watching my face carefully.

“I’m surprised you didn’t employ any of them while we were on the run from Kaelan. Is one of them supposed to de-brat me?”

“You know I don’t think you have a bratty bone in your body,” he said “And anyway, I think Kaelan has elaborate plans for pretending that you’re a brat and attempting to fix you. I can’t ruin that with a spell.”

“I can’t wait,” I said, genuinely unable to resist the smile that spread across my face.

“I would’ve given this to you then if I’d thought any of the spells would’ve helped,” he said. “They’re small spells. This one will raise ordinal directions around you, like a living compass.”

“Why’s that?”

“Remember the time you were supposed to be leading Kaelan and you got lost?”

I would never forget it. It was a time that came back to me often at three o’clock in the morning when my mind felt compelled to revisit various embarrassments from across my life. It was always fertile territory. “In my defense, I was slightly drunk.”

“Speaking of which.” He touched the next charm. “This is a hangover cure.”

“Because of the time I threw up on Kaelan?” That had come later that same night when I was more than slightly drunk.

“No,” he said, grinning. “But that moment made me so happy, I had to track down this spell to give to you as a reward.”

He went on, naming the spells, intent on each small gift, but I could barely listen. I was just staring at his face.

More seriously, he added, “You gave up your power once for the sake of those you love. But I hope you never do that again, Hanna. And if someone ever takes it from you again…use this spell. It will destroy all the spells in the room. No more vows. No more bonds.”

I loved the way he loved me.

He noticed I’d stopped listening, lost in appreciating him, and glanced up at me. “What is it?”

I didn’t want him to think I didn’t appreciate the gift. It was so touching that he had spent all these years thinking of me constantly, and the cuff was evidence of just that.

“You cared about me before I even knew you existed.”

“It feels like I loved you before I even existed.” His gaze was steady. “And that’s why I can promise you, we are going to find our way through this. I was formed by the gods to love you, Hanna…and I’ve barely begun.”

“How is it the man who doesn’t speak much is the one who knows all the right words to say?” I murmured.

“It’s because I don’t talk much,” he returned. “I listen to Dare and Kaelan say all the wrong ones.”

I laughed, and then the two of us were kissing again.

As Thorne and I kept trading kisses, I gripped him through his pants and felt how hard he was against my palm. When I squeezed him, he smiled against my lips.

His hands roamed my body, tracing the curves of my hips and the softness of my thighs, sending shivers down my spine.

I reached for his belt buckle and undid it. We’d had the sweetest moments with Kaelan, but I wanted a moment that was just Thorne, all Thorne.

Which was why I sank to my knees in the grass.

“Hanna…” he murmured, resting his big hand lightly on top of my head. “You don’t have to. I want to please you too…”

“This does please me,” I said, and the answering spark of heat in his gaze was exactly why. Thorne was so good to me. I liked to show him how much he meant to me. I smiled up at him. “I want to suck your cock until you scream. Is that all right with you, Thorne?”

“I can live with it.” His eyes smoldered down at me, his breathing turning shallow as I drew his enormous cock from his trousers.

I nuzzled my cheek against it as I looked up at him, enjoying the way he was watching me and the sudden tension in his body.

Then I ran my tongue around his tip, my hand still resting on my knees so that his cock bobbed freely as I teased him with the tip of my tongue. Hungrily, I pushed his trousers down lower so I could reach him fully. He let out a groan when I finally gripped his cock and ran my tongue around the skin at the head of his shaft, then down until I reached his balls. I lapped at his balls, then ran my tongue back up.

When I looked up, he was watching me as if I were his goddess. So, I kept playing with him that way until I finally enveloped him in my mouth.

“You are too fucking good for all of us, you know that?” he muttered.

I smile around his cock, quite confident that my quirks were never more charming to these men than when they were in my mouth.

“I know,” I said, the words garbled.

His fingers teased through my hair. I liked the feeling of him stroking my scalp and the tender way he brushed my hair back.

Lost in the ecstasy of pleasuring Thorne, I took more of him into my mouth, relishing the taste of his pre-cum on my tongue. I bobbed my head up and down his shaft, keeping eye contact as he groaned in pleasure. I sucked him harder, feeling every pulse and throb against the roof of my mouth.

I heard him gasp for air, his fingers tightening in my hair, and loved the desperate sound of it. His hips began to thrust forward just a little, begging for more as I took him deeper down my throat. I closed my eyes and relaxed my jaw, taking even more of him inside me as he growled low in his chest.

I loved how he trembled under my touch; he was so powerful that to have this power over him felt magical. Pulling back slightly, I let my tongue swirl around the ridge before sliding back up to tease at the slit at the top. His hips jerked forward again, seeking more of me. My heart pounded in sync with his as I looked up at him from between his legs.

He gazed back at me with such lustful intensity that I pressed my other hand between my thighs, feeling overcome by desire while I pleased him.

I moaned around him, feeling his length push past my lips to brush against the back of my throat. The taste of him, salty and musky, danced on my tongue as I started bobbing up and down in a rhythm. His hands fisted in my hair and held me there, guiding my movements as I took more of him deeper into the back of my throat.

His hips buckled under the force of it, driving himself further into my eager mouth. My tongue swirled around the tip while I pulsed his balls in my hand. He groaned long and low against the sky as he came undone in a sudden burst. I swallowed him down, taking joy in seeing him come undone for me.

When he finally pulled out with a sigh that shuddered through him, I pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his still-hard cock. He took my hands in his and drew me to my feet.

“You are the best thing that ever happened to me,” he murmured.

I smiled, feeling both giddy and satisfied as I looked up at Thorne. He was so fierce and unyielding, yet tender and gentle with me. “You’re biased tonight.”

He pulled me to my feet, our bodies pressed close. His hands traced the curves of my hips as he kissed my temple.

“I am biased always ,” he murmured against my ear before he peppered kisses down my neck and collarbone, stopping at the neckline of my dress. “I want to feel all of you.”

His hands slipped underneath the fabric, teasingly tracing the lace of my bra before yanking it down to reveal one breast. Groaning softly, he cupped it in his large hand and rubbed his thumb over the hardened nipple while pressing soft kisses along the exposed skin. A shiver ran through me as he slid one hand down to cup my ass, pulling me against him intimately.

“You taste so good,” he murmured into my ear again, nipping gently at it before capturing my lips in a deep kiss. His lips were soft, his tongue sweeping inside my mouth as my lips parted.

He pushed me back against the tree trunk behind us, lifting me up effortlessly until I wrapped my thighs around him; his strong arm held me tightly against his chest while his other hand continued to explore every inch of newly exposed skin.

His teeth scraped lightly across my collarbone as he lined his cock up with my slick entrance; my back arched with need as he slowly pushed inside me, filling me completely.

“Oh gods, Thorne.”

His cock hit all the right spots, sending waves of pleasure coursing through me. Our mouths crashed together again.

“I need you,” he growled into my ear.

“I need you too,” I breathed, my hands gripping his shoulders. Each thrust was punctuated with this rock of his hips that seemed to touch a secret, explosive nerve inside, sending tension rippling through every limb.

As our bodies moved together in perfect harmony, his shoulders tensed. His breath hitched in his throat, and I knew he was close to coming again.

“I’m going to—” he grunted, before slamming into me one last time and groaning into my neck as he exploded. His cock twitched inside me, filling me with his warm cum as he shuddered against me.

I clung to him, feeling the waves of pleasure wash over us both. As he slowed his pace and rested his forehead against mine, I smiled. This was what I’d been longing for.

“I love you,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. He’d said those words to me when I couldn’t say them back; he loved me before I even knew he existed. I wanted to say the words a million times to him until he knew my love was as powerful and fierce as his.

He looked down at me, his gaze tender in that face that was usually so hard and expressionless. “I love you too.”

The world beyond the two of us felt far away.

Until Finnias meowed, making me jump as his fur rubbed against my legs. His tail swirled around my calf as he looked up at us curiously.

“That is definitely Kaelan’s cat,” Thorne muttered, and I burst into laughter.

“Shall we go find our impossible third?”

But somehow, when I said those words, Dare came to mind, as if we should be reaching out for him too.