Page 14

Chapter 14

M ari was slow to wake. She felt sluggish and empty, but at least she was warm. So warm.

She reached out with her senses instinctively, searching for the comforting presences of her men. Five. All close. All intact. All hers.

A soft sigh escaped her dry lips.

“I think she’s waking up,” came a voice from far, far away. She knew she should recognize the source, but it took her a while to get her brain online to manage it.

Rio. Tucked in tight against her back. His skin on hers. Warm and beautiful and alive.

She stirred, trying to burrow in closer to him.

A delicate touch on her face. Magic that tasted like candy flowed into her. Comforting. Soft.

Dante. His hands on her, feeling like light and love. “Come on, sweetheart. Open your eyes.”

She wasn’t sure she could. She was so tired. She wanted to sleep for a year.

A clawed hand turned her head. Strength. Resolve. And so much love it hurt her heart.

Cisco. She could face waking up if he was there. He’d never let her fall.

She tried to blink her eyes open, but they felt so heavy.

“You can do it. Come back to us,” Cisco’s voice rumbled through her, tight with concern. The near-panic he felt soaked into her skin.

That he was so worried brought her the rest of the way awake with a start. She stared up into his eyes, expecting the building around them to be on fire based on his turmoil. But they were in the grove. On Dohal’s bed.

“Dohal,” she croaked with a voice that was beyond broken.

“I’m here, bavi,” her dragon said softly. “Don’t move yet.”

Cisco inched over so she could see her dragon. Dohal rested one large hand on her hip. His healing magic flowed into her.

The fact that both he and Dante were pushing their power into her at full force and didn’t seem to be making a dent in whatever this was should have been concerning, but she couldn’t make herself care about that just now. They were alive. They had survived. She didn’t remember what exactly, but she knew it had been awful.

The last one. Where was he? She reached out for him with her senses. Her magic felt strange. Ethereal.

There. He was nearby. Not on the bed with her where he belonged, but close. Endless darkness and blue fire. The smell of brimstone. Cold, unrelenting fear. Ashdei.

“I’m here,” Ashdei said in his deep voice that reminded her of whispers in dark places. I can’t come closer to you right now. I’m still too volatile, he said into her mind.

Because of what had happened to her. Seeing her fall had broken something in him. She could sense that. He felt fragile. Brittle. She ached to soothe him with her touch, but understood why he kept his distance. He was afraid to hurt her.

He was close enough for what she needed, even if not as close as she craved. The goddess came forward, filling her with the righteous power she needed and didn’t understand—golden and burnished. She drew on all of them at once, banishing the lethargy that had consumed her with cleansing fire. Her magic came awake with a peal of thunder that vibrated through the grove.

She stirred on the bed between Rio and Dante, suddenly restless. Dante curled his fingers in her hair. Rio nuzzled into the back of her neck. Cisco bent down to her, claiming her mouth in an achingly sweet kiss.

She rested amongst the three of them as they showered her with gentle affection, her magic gradually regulating until she started to feel normal again. Once she was stable, they all moved aside so Dohal could lift her into his arms.

He cradled her in his lap in the center of the expansive bed of lush greenery. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

She turned her face into the crook of his neck, breathing him in. “You were just going to let him kill you.”

“To spare you. Yes. And I would do it again a thousand times.”

Her heart broke all over again with his confirmation, though she’d felt his intention clear as day at the time. “You said I was enough for you to live for, but you lied.”

He tsked gently. “I told you already, I will defend you with my life. Nothing about that has changed.”

She pulled away to look up at him. “What else?”

“What?” His expression was perplexed as he gazed down at her.

“You would defend me with your life, but there was something else you would protect too.” She’d been waiting for the right time to tell him, but after that close call, she realized that no time would ever be more right. She needed him to understand what they were all fighting for, and why none of them could give up.

He blinked. “Your offspring.”

She took his hand and rested it on her belly. “If you die, who will protect them?”

The probing touch of his magic warmed her abdomen. Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead to hers.

Oh, bavi, he whispered into her mind. You should have told me.

“When?” He asked out loud.

“The first night you brought me here.” She touched his face. “I said I would choose when, and I did. When I claimed you as mine. I knew I had to give you what you wanted most because you’d given me so much.”

Dante scooted up next to them, pausing to see if Dohal was going to object along the way, but he didn’t. “We’re having dragon babies?”

Mari reached to pull him into a hug. “We are. Though I’m not a hundred percent on the logistics. There aren’t a lot of books on the subject.”

When it seemed like Dohal wasn’t going lash out, Rio moved closer too, settling on her other side. “Babies plural? No wonder you’ve been so tired.”

Dohal rumbled, but there was no anger in the sound, only contentment. “You’ll carry them for about six months, then birth the clutch. After that I will tend the eggs, another six months. Then they will hatch.” His hand moved over her belly in a circle as he listened for something. “Three.”

Mari’s eyes shot wide. “Three?”

“Not an army perhaps, but an auspicious number.” He placed his chin on her head and crooned to her.

If he was going to keep being this adorable, she was going to start crying. She snuggled into him, pulling Dante and Rio closer too.

“So, that means we need to settle this soon.” Cisco stood at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed, and his face resigned. “Because my kids aren’t coming into a world this fucking dangerous for them. No way. Ideas?”

“We need to close the circle,” Ashdei said from his post near the entry.

Cisco growled. “Somehow it’s always about you sticking your dick in her, isn’t it?”

“He’s right, Cisco,” Mari said as gently as she could. “I managed to surprise the Old One this time, but I could tell I wasn’t a match for him like this. If one of us was more powerful, it might be enough.”

The gargoyle’s wings flared. “I still think he’s trying to trick you into boosting his power.”

“I honestly don’t care at this point,” she said with a sigh. “If it makes him strong enough to take the Old One out, that’s fine with me.”

“It will make both of us stronger, as I’ve said.” Ashdei glared as though he couldn’t understand why they didn’t trust him.

He was certainly hiding something. She’d known that all along, but she didn’t think whatever it was posed a danger to her. He wanted her safe. That had come through loud and clear when she’d told them the secret she’d been keeping. He was as feral about protecting the dragons she carried as any of them.

“He feels as protective of me as you do right now, Cisco. He would tear this city apart to keep me safe.”

Ashdei bared his teeth. “I’m still considering bringing this entire realm crashing down around us after what happened earlier.” His anger seethed through the grove.

Cisco appraised the demon slowly, his lips turned down in a frown. “That does sound like we’re in agreement.”

Mari touched Rio’s shoulder. “Can you move to the other side for me?”

He nodded and then dipped his head to kiss her softly before moving to the other side of Dante. As if he knew what she was planning, he held his hand out for Cisco. Their gargoyle would refuse him nothing and eased onto the bed to rest on his far side.

Mari met the fiery blue eyes and opened herself up to him so that she could feel his uncertainty. She patted the bed next to her. “Come here.”

Ashdei looked reluctant, but after an internal battle that she waited through in silence, he did as she commanded. He sat at the edge, within reach of her, but carefully not touching her. When she moved to take his hand, he gasped. His magic snapped into to her like a static discharge the instant their skin came into contact.

“I know why you’ve been avoiding touching me,” she said in a low voice. “You feel like you’re unstable.” She pulled him closer and rested his hand on her thigh.

His magic poured into her like liquid fire, filling the void that had taken up residence after the encounter with the Old One. She immediately felt so much better. Ashdei stared at his hand in horror, but she knew he could never burn her. She covered his hand with hers and then slowly slid it up his arm and shoulder until her fingers brushed over his jaw. He leaned into her palm, his eyes falling closed briefly.

“Your magic can’t hurt me.”

She watched him as he considered her words and then came to the decision to trust her. Satisfaction raced through her when he settled into her touch. She enjoyed the heat of his skin against her fingers as she pulled him closer, until his forehead rested on hers.

Every bit of contact that increased between them made her feel better, more whole. And not just in terms of recovery from the discharge. Something deeper in her knew that, in order to be complete, she had to possess him, the same way she had the others.

“What you need to regain control is me, not staying away. Can you feel that now?”

He nodded slowly against her.

Under her, Dohal didn’t move a muscle. His hand covered her belly protectively, but he hadn’t so much as lifted a finger, even though Ashdei was a raging inferno next to her. That trust made her heart race, made her feel powerful and bold.

She lifted her chin to brush Ashdei’s lips with a kiss. The heat should have been enough to scorch her, but it rushed through her in a searing blaze, branding every inch of her along the way.

Once she was filled with the blistering fire of his magic and felt like she could burn the world to cinders, he relaxed in her grip.

“See, that’s all you needed,” she said in a voice that rustled like flame.

The goddess was smug within. She understood now that the circle did indeed have to be closed, and she knew how to do it. “I’ll take the day to rest, and we’ll finish this tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Ashdei said, his hand smoothing over her thigh.

“One of us should be there with you,” Cisco grumbled.

She turned to look at her gargoyle. “It needs to be just the two of us when I claim him, as it was for all of you.” She smiled as gently as she could, because she knew trusting was the hardest for him. “Each of you has a piece of me that none of the others has, and the only way I can figure that out is if we’re alone and I can focus on him.”

Pain overtook Cisco’s handsome face.

Rio touched him softly, on his jaw and then his cheek. “He’d rip out his heart for her. I felt it when she fell. From all of us, but from him especially.”

“You trust him?” Cisco sounded incredulous.

“No. I trust Mari. Nothing has happened to make me change my mind about that.”

The conversation had given her an idea of how she could convince the stubborn gargoyle, by letting him feel what she did. “Cisco, come here.”

He hesitated for only a moment before he started moving closer while giving Ashdei a hateful look. She directed him to settle between her knees, though he looked uncomfortable with being so close to the demon.

Mari guided Cisco’s hands to her thighs and held them there. She met Ashdei’s gaze. “Touch me.”

The blue fire in his eyes blazed brighter. Without a word he slid his hand down her body and between her legs, his fingers parting her delicately.

“Kiss me again,” she said breathlessly, as she rolled her hips to entice him.

Ashdei leaned closer to capture her mouth, ignoring Cisco’s warning snarl. She tightened her hands around Cisco’s to hold him in place. Ashdei slipped his fingers up to stroke her clit, making her moan into his mouth as her magic soared.

He smiled against her lips. “Do you want me to stop?”

“You’d better not,” she warned.

Ashdei rumbled with appreciation and eased his hand slowly southward. She arched her back in anticipation and cried out when his fingers breached her. Her magic simmered. Even just that much of him felt so fucking good. She needed more.

Mari lifted her hips to take him deeper. She craved him so badly that she tightened around him.

Ashdei moved in a slow and sensual rhythm, his fingers curling when he plunged into her, making her gasp.

“We’ve got you sweetheart,” Dante whispered in her ear.

Rio reached from the other side of Dante to place a hand on her, caressing her stomach and hip.

Cisco clutched her thighs when they trembled, his hesitance melting away in the heat of her rising pleasure.

Dohal curled his arm around her and nuzzled the top of her head as her power swelled. “Keep the magic for yourself.”

With her desire spiraling so high and all of their hands on her, she felt unbearably sexy. Moaning, she locked eyes with Cisco. He pushed her thighs wide, spreading her open under him and giving the others better access.

“Give her more,” Cisco ordered, his voice low and commanding.

Dohal slipped his thicker fingers inside her alongside Ashdei’s. The decadence of the stretch made her groan. She couldn’t move with the way Cisco held her, and the friction swiftly became overwhelming as they worked her in tandem.

Rio slid his hand down to rub her clit. Exposed and desperate, she gripped Cisco’s hands and whimpered wordlessly.

“More,” Cisco growled.

Dante leaned to take one nipple into his mouth. Sparks of sensation tingled along her nerves, making her clench around the fingers filling her. She cried out in ecstasy when Rio tugged the piercing in her clit.

Every muscle in her body tensed for one perfect moment before the climax roared through her. She held on to her magic by her fingernails when it wanted to burst free. Her voice shook the trees of the grove.

Cisco stroked her thighs gently as the shuddering orgasm drew out. His body language had relaxed significantly, and she knew that though he still might not like the situation, he had finally accepted that Ashdei might be one of them.

Ashdei withdrew first, making her sigh as the last of the aftershocks shivered through her. She still needed him so badly that the sudden lack of him hurt like a wound. She turned toward him before he could back away entirely, her hand slipping into his hair to hold him close.

“You’re all mine tomorrow,” she said before dragging him into a kiss.

He nodded when she released him. “Nothing could keep me from that appointment. Believe me.” He smiled. “Rest now.”

Her eyelids felt so heavy that she couldn’t argue with that order, though she wanted to.

Dohal eased from her and repositioned so that he curled up protectively around her, his arm making a pillow for her and his wing stretched out under her. “You’re all welcome to stay here for the night, but if you disturb her sleep, I’ll kill you.”

He didn’t sound like he was joking, but Mari giggled sleepily anyway.

Ashdei crouched against a tree near the entry, his blue-fire eyes focused on her. Dante arranged himself on the opposite side of her from Dohal, his hand resting on her hip so that his healing magic trickled into her. Even though she’d hoarded all that magic for herself, she still felt drained.

Elsewhere in the grove, she heard Rio and Cisco talking quietly in Spanish, but she couldn’t see them from her position and couldn’t make out the words.

And then Dohal’s large wing spread over top of her, blocking out all light and sound, so that all she could feel was the heat of his body and all she could hear was the steady beat of his heart, and she fell asleep in seconds.