Page 47 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

“Oh! What’s shining down there?” I ask, noticing lots of lights reflecting from the bottom of the pond.

“It’s a wishing fountain. Here.” He holds out a small gold coin to me.

“So I make a wish and throw it in?” I ask as he pulls out a coin for himself.

“Yep.”

“Hmm…” I tap my finger on my lips and watch him out of the corner of my eye as I move closer to the waterfall. “What to wish for…”

“Do you already have everything you want?” he asks, suddenly sounding very serious.

“Not yet,” I tell him as I flick the coin into the waterfall and watch it disappear. I close my eyes and wish that all four of my knights and I can live happily ever after.

When I open my eyes, Ranger is staring down at his own coin, a serious look on his face. He glances over at me and his eyes go wide.

“Elora… listen to me carefully,” he says, staring over my shoulder in fear. “I need you to very slowly walk towards me. No sudden moves and do not turn around. ”

My entire body grows tense wondering what the hell could be behind me.

I fight every instinct I have to run or turn around, and instead I follow his orders, walking slowly towards his outstretched arm.

His other hand is on the pommel of his sword, and the second I’m close enough, he grabs my hand and pulls me behind him at the same time he pulls out his sword and swings it where I had just been standing.

I try not to scream as I finally get a look at what he’s fighting. At first it resembles an ogre, but it’s much smaller and scarier. It’s all black with large fangs and claws.

Ranger manages to slash it across its chest and it staggers back with a snarl, then turns and runs into the trees.

He stays on guard, sword at the ready as he listens for a minute, before deciding it’s not coming back.

Spinning back to me, he looks me over as he sheaths his sword, then grabs my elbows as he asks, “Are you okay? Did it touch you?” He turns me around to inspect my back.

“N-no. I’m just a little shaken.”

“Of course you are.” He scoops me up into his arms and quickly marches back through the garden the way we came. “That was a nightstalker. Very rare. And almost never found this close to a village.”

He stares ahead with a look of determination. “Ranger, are you okay?”

He frowns down at me. “Me?”

“Yeah, you’re kind of freaking me out. ”

We step off the garden path and into the edge of the town square where he stops and sets me on my feet. His hands come up to cup my cheeks as he eyes bounce between mine.

“I was terrified it was going to harm you. I feel like I keep failing you.”

“What are you talking about? You just saved me, and I don’t even have a scratch on me.”

He releases a small breath and nods. “You’re right. You’re okay, but it’s because you listened to me. I know how they hunt. If you had turned around or moved too quickly, it would have pounced on you.”

“I’m glad I listened to you then.”

His thumbs stroke my cheeks and he smiles gently. “Me too. You’re getting much better at it.”

“Hey! I can be a good girl if I want to be,” I say in mock anger.

“Do you want to? Be my good girl, that is?” He licks his lower lip, and my mouth suddenly goes dry as I lose the ability to speak. “You know, my plans for apologizing keep getting interrupted. I brought you out here tonight to explain what I said in Shadowcross.”

“Oh?”

“You’re too good for me, Elora. I don’t think I deserve you. I put up walls and told myself it was because of my job, that I didn’t care, but it was all lies I was telling myself because I knew I wasn’t worthy. ”

“Why would you think that?” I ask in confusion, feeling sad for him.

“Our mother died giving birth to Arrow. I always blamed myself for it, thinking I could have done more for her.”

“Oh, Ranger,” I sigh. “How old were you?”

“Six.”

“Six? You know there was nothing you could have done, right?”

“I’m starting to. Arrow’s helped me come to terms with a lot of feelings I had about it.”

“So you no longer think you don’t deserve to be with me?”

“Oh, I’ll always think I don’t deserve you. But the difference is, now I don’t care.”

I take a slow breath, praying he’s saying what I think he is.

“What do you want, Ranger?” I ask, moving closer to him, my hands resting on his chest, begging him to tell me the truth for once.

“I want to be able to hold your hand whenever you’re near me. I want to sleep beside you and hold your body against mine. I want to kiss your lips and taste your skin. I want to spank your ass when you’re naughty and call you my good girl.”

I suck in a sharp breath as his lip curls in satisfaction. “I want to be your dom, and claim you as mine.”

My eyes widen in surprise. I did not expect him to say that. “You want to be my dom? Do you understand what that means? ”

“I remember what you told me. It’s my job to take care of you. To set boundaries for you. To punish you when you’re out of line, in a way we’ll both enjoy, but will help remind you that everything I do is to take care of you.”

Was this real life? Was this perfect man really offering to take care of me?

“You know… in my old world, some doms are just like that in the bedroom, not in the rest of their relationship,” I tell him, giving him the option.

He shakes his head. “No. You need me to be in charge all the time. You didn’t grow up here, and it’s vital to your safety and well-being that you let me take care of you. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

I stare at him in disbelief. This is everything I ever wanted. Not him being my dom, but having Ranger want me and want to take care of me. I realize you can’t necessarily put men in categories. They’re complex, just like women are. Trying to put him in a box doesn’t allow him to truly be himself.

“I don’t want to call you my dom.” A look of hurt flashes across his face, so I rush to explain. “That was just a term I used when I didn’t know any better. I just want you to be Ranger. If that includes rules and boundaries and spankings… so be it. But I’d still want you even if it didn’t.”

He pulls my body flush with his as a grin covers his face. “I don’t know what I did right to have the affections of someone as wonderful as you. ”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I say, suddenly feeling a little shy.

“Let me get one thing out of the way. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lied and called you a job and said I didn’t care, because I do. A lot. I promise to be honest with you from now on.”

“And no more hiding from your feelings?” I ask.

“No more hiding. Now… do you accept my apology, baby?”

Hell's bells, there’s that word again. Baby . He hasn’t called me that in ages.

“Yes,” I whisper, my eyes bouncing to his lips.

He dips down and I close my eyes, but instead of kissing me, he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me up.

“Oh!” My eyes fly open as my arms and legs wrap around him.

He grins at me. “Much better. Now you’re just the right height.”

“Are you saying I’m too short?” I narrow my eyes at him.

“No, but when I hold you I can do this.” He takes a few steps into the treeline and presses my back against a tree. It causes his body to press into mine, and I feel a firm bulge right against my center.

“Oh!”

He gives me a devilish grin as he slowly rolls his hips, creating friction right where I need it. I dig my fingers into the hair at the back of his neck and he leans down and finally kisses me.

I swear it feels as if fireworks are going off in my chest. My entire body lights up as I kiss the last of my four knights .

He moans as if he’s enjoying it as much as I am, and that just sets me on fire even more. I try to press back against him, seeking more.

The way his tongue dominates mine makes me melt against him in ecstasy. He brings a hand up to squeeze my breast, over my dress, and I whimper, feeling so close to my release.

Somehow he manages to find my nipple through the fabric, and when he pinches it and whispers, “Come for me, baby,” I do exactly as he instructs. He silences my scream of pleasure with his mouth as he grinds into me even harder.

I cling to him as my body rides wave after wave of pleasure. He moves to kiss down my neck as I try to catch my breath.

If my orgasm was that powerful when he only touched me over my clothes… what would it feel like to be truly fucked by him?