Page 23
Story: Mates and Other Obstacles to Accidentally Saving the World (The Cake Chaos Chronicles #1)
Chapter 23
Evie
I don’t think I had ever been happier than when I watched Abner fall face first into a very questionable moat. It made up for the following days of peppered questions from Maggie, Noora, Fallon, but especially Ruby. My favorite flowers, my favorite fabric, my favorite color, my second favorite color. We already had the party for our return. Surely one was enough. They were constantly pulling me away from my conversations with Ward to ask yet another stupid question. I just wanted to figure out how I was supposed to move my collections carefully into Ward’s keep and how much of a room we were going to have left to actually sleep together. Not that I was very far from on top of him when we were in bed.
As lovely as that was, it was still a touch uncomfortable. I hadn’t told him that if I ingested the last relic, I would become a Goddess. It seemed like a thing a mate should know. Not that I would do it, but that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve my secret. I would get to it. I promised myself I would.
At dinner, I saw a feral delight come into my sister’s eye as she walked into the dining hall. Her preoccupation with something made her withdrawn lately but she wouldn’t tell me what it was even when I caught her glooming about the keep. We managed one “real talk” about what happened with Abner, and she shut down again. Her trying to throat punch my ex at a royal celebration went a long way in my book, but we would never truly be sisters again without her opening up.
Could I avoid her and find Ward? The hall wasn’t that large, and he was nowhere in sight. I turned left, and Fallon stood by the fire, an equally terrifying look in her eye. I felt a reenactment of my illicit birthday coming on. Not that I minded too much about how that night turned out. I looked for Ward again.
Then Ruby walked in with Emrys, the other bartender. Weren’t they supposed to be in the bar, barring things? There was only so much room in the dining hall to hide in, so I did the next best thing and took a seat at the head of the table where I hoped I looked queenly enough for people not to bother me.
My sister plunked down next to me, anyway. “So about cake…”
Now that was a topic to get behind. “Tell me you didn’t convince Fallon to try another sugar-free cake? I told you chocolate, chocolate fudge is the only acceptable cake for anyone to eat.”
“We can worry about cake later,” Fallon said as she sat down, too. “Her birthday is still an entire year away.” Fallon elbowed Mags in the ribs rather hard.
“How do you feel about lake side bowers?” Ruby asked as she joined the table.
These random topics were stressing me the hell out. I shoveled food in my face, hoping that would be the hint to leave me in peace, but the girls started talking amongst themselves about flowers I would like without my participation. I was about to go full dragon on those boneheads when Ward leaned over and plucked the spoon I’d been using right out of my mouth.
“You’re not eating here,” he told me, tossing away the bent spoon. In one graceful move, he scooped me out of my seat and into his arms. “I have a surprise for you.”
“E hates surprises,” Fallon pointed out.
I did, but not from Ward.
“I would do nothing she didn’t beg for,” he said and winked at all the ladies.
“Take me anywhere but next to these harassers and you can surprise me all you want.” I buried my face in his massive shoulder and let him carry me out of the keep, out into the woods, over the hills to the den where he first brought me. This time I appreciated the scenery a lot more. Heather and gorse bush peppered with weathered rocks might not have looked like a dreamy location to some, but I was quite nostalgic by the time Ward set me down.
A cheery campfire burned with a pot bubbling above it, two cute camp chairs and our bed rolls from our travels set off to the side. A few cushions before a fallen log appeared more comfortable than when we were on the road. I didn’t realize it was exactly what I wanted after all the hustle and bustle of the keep until I got there and smelled the stew in the pot. When I peeked inside, I found the same rishi mushrooms, deep-purple berries and beggar’s button root we’d had for our first meal on the quest together. My mouth watered for the food, but also for all the emotions this crowded into the back of my throat. We came so far. Together.
“You’ve been looking a little stressed with the flock of harpies surrounding you day and night.” Ward held up his hands and amended, “Lovely harpies, of course.”
I smiled. They had been a lot lately, and I missed the simplicity of us being on the road, aiming for a tangible goal. Figuring out the rest of our lives proved much harder than a quest.
“This is amazing, Ward. Thank you.” As I said it, I knew it was true. Ward hadn’t brought me out here to trick me or let me down easy. I wasn’t about to confess my love and have him throw it in my face. He noticed my stress and did something nice for me.
“Come. Let me feed you, mate.” The amber in his eyes didn’t scare me, it just made me hungry for something other than food.
Ward didn’t disappoint as he cooked us a big bowl of stew. The other camp chair stood empty when he pulled me onto his lap and slipped tender meat between my lips. The added luxury only made the curl of my tongue around his fingers that much more enjoyable. Ward thought so, too, because the evidence of his growing excitement pressed into my ass. His scent of mead and honey woke my dragon, urging me to get on with the good part of this meal. This was so perfect, I couldn’t remember any of the fears I had around him biting me.
When Ward brought out the cake, I knew I had to put on the brakes before I lost all sense.
“Is that…”
“Yes.” His voice sounded a smoother chocolate than anything in his hands.
Okay, I really had to get off his lap. I took myself to the opposite camp chair and faced him.
I grabbed his hand. I dropped it. What was I doing? I wasn’t telling him his mom had died. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. That should have killed the mood, but Ward still looked at me like I hung the moon. I really didn’t want to see it replaced by disappointment. “I got offered a Goddess position. At the shrine, that is. Not today.”
His face grew more serious, pulling down the scar across his eyebrow. “And you didn’t take it?”
I jiggled my foot in the dirt. “I was afraid it would take me away from you and from myself. As it turns out, I didn’t want to leave us after all.”
“Thank you for telling me.” He pushed his hair out of his eyes, and I wanted to run my hands through it. “Well, if a Goddess can’t entice you from my side, I’m satisfied with that. Mark or no mark.”
That was it? No recrimination? No questions about how I could have bettered myself and missed an opportunity?
I cleared my throat. “Thanks for trusting me while I worked out how to tell you.” Why was I still keeping this man at arm’s length?
“Now, do we get to dig into the cake?” He held up a glistening plateful and drool filled my mouth.
Begging for his mark crowded my mouth. I opened and closed it, willing the words to come out. Frustration had me tackling him for the cake and he held it above his head. I didn’t know why he thought that would deter me from climbing him like a tree, but once I was there, pressed against him, there were better things to do than cake—like kissing.
I would never tire of Ward’s luscious mouth dancing with mine. It also lowered his arm so I could snatch a piece of cake and bring it to his mouth. I confirmed his tongue felt amazing against my fingers as his big hand squeezed my ass closer. I fed him another bit of cake as he walked us over to the bed of cushions by the fire, rubbing my whole body delightfully against him. A sinister plan started forming. I was determined it wouldn’t be just him giving me a thousand orgasms this time. I wanted to taste him, too—starting with his thick neck.
Ward rumbled his approval as I kissed and licked up his neck, testing my teeth against his skin. He froze every time I almost bit him. His roaming exploration of my body gave me every kind of confidence I wouldn’t freak out and make this terrible. I could let go with him and he was solid enough to handle even my dragon. I kissed his ear, his scar, down the bump of his nose, getting lost in the texture of him and his enormous body. Every one of his amazing muscles was at my service and I touched each one, velvet under my fingers as he pulled my clothes off. I dipped into my magic to tear his away too, and surprisingly it worked. His hard, naked body spread out before me like a feast.
“Godds, you’re so good at that already,” he said.
My lower half clenched. Only because he taught me. His praise was such a visceral reaction every time.
“I… I don’t know what to say, Ward.”
“You don’t have to say anything, viper. I just like telling you how amazing you are. Come here and let me show you, too.”
He lifted me higher effortlessly, and I forgot I was supposed to be focusing on him as his kiss rattled my brain. I tore away to regain some balance, and he cupped my breasts. Leaning back, I grabbed hold of his cock, finding it slick enough to run my hand down.
“Just like that, viper.”
His moans boosted my confidence and made me want to unravel him further. His fingers pulled my nipples, and it slung my head back. I push my breasts further into those giant mitts, begging with my chest. I worked my hand until he pried it off with a huff of laughter.
“You're a bit too good at that.”
I smiled. That was definitely something I had never heard before.
He shifted his hips to line us up. But instead of the rough thrust I thought I was going to get, he slid me down slowly, letting me experience every ridge and edge. I lifted up again to start that unstoppable motion, loving how he filled me to the brim.
"Eyes on me, love."
I watched our joining for a while, allowing it to turn me on more than it should have. It felt naughty to look. Technically, I was obeying even if I got the sense he meant it was his eyes I was supposed to be watching. He lifted my chin with a gentle finger.
“That, mate, is how I knew you were mine. When you looked at me just like that, there wasn’t a chance in the realms above or below I would let you go. I will guard your life, your trust, with everything I have.”
“And I could never be afraid of you because of that, love.” I wanted to make a joke because the depth of my emotion sat uncomfortably in my chest, but I let the feelings swirl round with the heat and sensation his dick stroked into me. There was only one thing to do with all that discomfort—tip us both over the deep end with my scariest move yet.
I leaned in to whisper in the shell of his ear. “Let me bite you.”
That spasmed him hard inside me.
“Viper. Don’t play with me like that when I’m balls deep inside you.”
I nibbled on his neck and his sucking breath told me everything I needed to know. He wanted this as badly as I did, and he was being too much of an honorable champion to take it.
“If you don’t tell me how, I will end up hurting you like the monster I am.”
That set his eyes to glowing amber. “Your dragon knows by instinct. She will?—”
I do. I reared back and struck deep with more than my human teeth. The taste of his skin, honey on my tongue. My dragon left her mark on half his body, like the giant beast took him in her jaws and plunged its teeth into my bear. It didn’t seem like it hurt. In fact, Ward’s seed poured into me as he helplessly continued to pump through his orgasm. My soul filled up with light. Better than hanging with Veretis.
When sanity came back into his eyes, a low growl filled the campsite. His bear made his presence known in the bond. Ward pinned me to the cushion. Chest heaving like he couldn’t wait anymore.
“Oh, little viper. You’re in trouble now.”
My mouth formed an ‘o’ because when he rose to bite me back, his cock slid home, jolting pleasure straight into my spine. His bear encompassed my shoulder, chest, and neck. I was right. It didn’t hurt. Pure love poured into my body until both our monsters had marked each other.
The bond bound every part of us together until we were both climaxing again in a haze of light and love. I clung to Ward as we fell back into the nest, working to catch our breath.
“Better than a wedding,” I mumbled.
I lay half asleep when something rumbled through me. The bond breathed as it never had before and it swept me up in its jaws.
“Ward?” I squeaked.
“Yes, love?” He refrained from touching me. The call of the bond was already so strong it overwhelmed me at the slightest brush of the cushions. Godds, just looking at him devastated me. His lickable muscles were irresistible. I was on fire inside and out with the greatest need I had ever experienced. I’m pretty sure Ward’s elbow would get me off at that point.
“Why do I feel like I need to crawl inside you?”
He grinned his smug bear smile. “That’s the fully completed bond, wanting me to paint you with my release and for you to douse my face with yours as many times as physically possible.”
I squirmed in place, hand going between my thighs. “Why did you keep this slut magic from me? We could have been doing this the whole quest? Is this some bear thing?”
He removed my hand, drawing my fingers into his warm mouth so he might taste me. I had never seen anything hotter in my life, and that was before he licked them clean. He said, “The benefits of being a shifter. Veretis blesses us when we seal a bond. And I tried to tell you.”
I shuddered. Ward’s pupils blew as wide as mine felt. “Less ‘I told you so’s’, more kisses.”
It wrapped itself around us—lightning streaking up my body. I kept eye contact with Ward this time and let him in. I was so wet it was effortless. The magic compounded his cock, stroking up and down my g-spot. My head dipped down, because I felt the edges of an orgasm already striking. I tried to keep eye contact, I really did, his eyes were some kind of beautiful, but I think my eyes were rolling back as he took my breast in hand, his hips lifting me off the cushions, his cock hitting the back of my brain. Then he stopped completely, and just as my toes started curling, he started again so fast I short-circuited. He was coming and the sound of his strangled desperation snapped against every nerve, pushing me over the edge. Ward elicited an orgasm so intense, it crested over my consciousness and crashed through every cell of my body.
"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes!" I chanted in euphoric bliss, like I could summon demons.
I rocketed off into the sky, not shy about screaming around his absolutely stunning cock. He kept fucking through it with powerful strokes that milked my orgasm for a lifetime. I would die with him, firing every nerve ending I had into infinity. My orgasm finally released me from its jaws and I fell, a boneless mess, across his lap.
“Another.” Ward squeezed my breasts like he could just command another climax out of me.
“One second.” I panted, trying to click my nervous system online again.
“That’s it from the woman who saved the realms and shifted into the most powerful creature the Harrowlands has seen in a millennium?” he taunted.
His confidence in me remained awe-inspiring, even if it was to wring more orgasms out of me.
I rolled off his lap, just to get some sensation back into my legs. Ward played with my hair until he arranged it across the cushions to his liking and slid his slick dick between my breasts. The fire of the bond told me this was a great idea. I panted over something I had never once in my life thought I would try.
I cupped my breasts to cover his cock completely. I didn’t think him pumping up to touch my mouth would be sexy, but my body was soon on molten again. Ward’s questing fingers didn’t hurt. We brought each other to the brink again, and I lunged forward to eat up all of his delicious honeyed seed before he twisted his wrist into another back-arching orgy of sensation.
“I surrender!” I yelled as I flopped down, a heaving heap.
Ward smirked, getting up to throw another log on the fire before coming to crash next to me. The magic in his hands slowly wiped off our sticky mess.
“This was definitely better than the wedding those harpies had planned,” he said sleepily.
I shot bolt upright. “Wedding?!”
He nodded. “Yep. If I couldn’t finish the mate bond, I was going to try a human ceremony, but it got away from me a bit once your sister and friends found out.”
No wonder they had been up my ass for weeks.
“Now I don’t have to bring you back to the keep to get ready.” He wiped his hands of the magic, sitting up to grab some more food.
I turned to him, copying the look I saw in my friend’s eyes this whole month. “I have a much better idea. Let’s go flying.”
* * *
Reach forward slightly and beat your wings down. Again.
Thankfully, Ward spoke in my mind, because the rushing air made it impossible to talk.
I thought you said you didn’t know any dragon stuff? I prompted.
Ward gripped my spikes tighter. I wasn’t sure if I should tell him that felt fantastic in an inappropriate way. I don’t, but I am good at finding ancient manuals. Including those about hatching and hatchlings.
He did that for me? I should have taken that as a given, but it still touched me. I fumbled in the sky as I lost my concentration.
Ward held on with a death grip. Focus, Evie. Unless you want your grand entrance to be landing on your face, he warned.
I did not. My dragon rider and I would teach my girl crew a lesson about meddling in our personal life. Never mind that Ward asked them to. Maggie and Fallon knew me well enough that they should have put a stop to that nonsense immediately.
I can see the clearing. Charge up, Ward commanded.
I pulled at my magic and illuminated myself and the surrounding clouds, only faltering slightly in the wind. I had to get better at flying eventually, right?
Promise me, I started. If I lose you ? —
I will float harmlessly to the ground. Yes. Yes. I have the structure of the spell ready. Let’s go fuck up a wedding!
I beat my wings upward and then screamed into a dive as Ward shrieked a war cry that sent tingles up my spine. I weaved side to side and hoped that it looked like I was trying a daring maneuver rather than the out-of-control fall it actually was.
The clearing filled with fancily dressed guests who promptly started screaming when they spotted us. They looked amusing at this height.
Like snacks, my dragon supplied. I didn’t want to examine that too closely or encourage her.
A flower-strewn aisle marked the path to a large, elaborate pavilion. I used it as my guide to stream a righteous beam of light along the way, up to the empty pavilion, burning every flower to a cinder and bursting the structure into white flames.
I spotted Maggie yelling at me from behind Noth, her face scrunched up like a lemon. Fallon calmly stepped back from the burning structure. I plopped in a sprawl of limbs on top of the wreckage, tossing a beam of light into the sky with a roar.
Ward stood on my back, his hair ruffling in the wind. “My mate and I have married. You may all go home now.”
Noth laughed, and Declan clapped from the sidelines. In fact, all of our adopted brood hooted and hollered from the fringes of the group. Only Maggie, Ruby, and Emrys truly appeared put out. But we had a lifetime to make it up to them. Maybe I would try marrying off Maggie next and see how she liked it.
Ward helped me shoot a magic shower of fizzling stars over the crowd who ooh-ed and ahh-ed despite the destruction.
“Let’s eat!” Fallon called.
That was our signal to launch into the sky, beat everyone to the food, and begin the rest of our mated lives together.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.