Page 38

Chapter Nine

H allie woke a little later to the sensation of a warm, flesh-and-blood body beneath her cheek. She opened her eyes and glanced around in surprise. The chamber was awash in a warm glow from sconces like the others in the temple.

She looked at Kol’s sleeping face for the first time without darkness or invisibility between them.

His fine features were startling. She didn’t usually go for pretty boys, preferring …

well, large and swarthy , if she had to put a name to it.

But she decided he was a far cry from unappealing, and he did have the large part down, even when he wasn’t in his dragon form.

His black eyebrows twitched in his sleep, perhaps from a dream of her. His skin was very fair, almost translucent, but his hair was jet black and, at the moment, sticking out in every direction.

Full, pink lips parted when she grazed her fingertips over them.

This was the mouth that had started it all—its wide bow shape was very kissable.

She traced the line of his jaw, down over his neck and shoulder, across the hairless, angular planes of chest and abs.

Strange—she’d had the sense of a kind of velveteen texture over his scales when he was in his dragon form, and she could feel the same thing now, but couldn’t see it.

Whatever it was, it tingled like down against her palm when she moved her hand lower.

She paused at the swath of black fabric covering the rising erection that rested beneath his navel.

Hallie gently tugged the sheet off, baring him to her entirely from head to hips.

God, he was as magnificent like this as he was shifted.

His cock jumped under her light touch, fully awake and aroused even while Kol still slept.

The sight of him caused a pleasant, aching heat to grow between her thighs.

Experimentally, she clenched her vaginal muscles tight, testing for pain, but there was nothing aside from a comfortable soreness.

She raised up slowly and quietly, straddled his hips, and lowered herself down the thick length of him, savoring the pleasant friction of that first stroke.

With the third stroke he finally roused enough to push back, though it may have just been a reflex. His brow creased in confusion and his hands slid up to her thighs.

“Hmm, you just take what pleases you, don’t you?” he murmured, finally opening his eyes.

“I have this little mark that says I can, at least from you,” she said.

“You could never take from me, Hallie. All I am, I give you freely.” He shoved his cock harder into her for emphasis, then sat up, wrapping his arms around her.

Eyes as dark as night gazed into hers while she took him in. Did he even have pupils? She leaned closer and saw that yes, there was the barest hint of variegation in his irises, but it nearly disappeared when his pupils widened in response to the clench of her pussy around him.

He slid his hands down her back to grip her ass, and she shifted to wrap her legs around his hips.

In movements that mimicked his waterborne fucking before they slept, he tilted her, laying her flat on the bed.

The angle let him sink deeper and she sighed in pleasure at the way even his human cock could reach all the best parts of her just fine.

But she was an adventurous spirit; she had to know how it felt to fuck a dragon.

This time she came only with the deep strokes of his cock rubbing against her slick walls and the whispers of endearment in her ear.

Dirty endearments like, “I loved the way your sweet pussy tasted when you came on my tongue. I love the taste of your Nirvana when you give it to me. It tastes like power. It feeds me.”

The pulse of his orgasm, hot inside her, sent her beyond the edge and farther.

Her sensibilities kicked in when the pleasure subsided and she pulled away abruptly, that cold, “Oh, shit” feeling sinking into her.

She’d let him come inside her. Could dragons and humans even crossbreed?

She shifted and sat at the edge of the bed, dipped her fingers between her thighs, and brought back cream-covered fingertips.

The heady scent of the two of their juices mixed made her a little dizzy and undeniable lust welled up in her again, but she’d already been a fool once.

This she needed to know, and now. More like yesterday , she thought, but she’d been too overcome with the powerful pull of lust to think straight.

“Kol,” she said in a quavering voice.

“What is it?” he said, immediately by her side with a comforting hand at her back.

“Can … you get me pregnant?”

She stared straight at him, watched concern mix with confusion and a kind of pleased curiosity. “If you want me to, I will, but it isn’t possible in the temple.”

She shook her head, confused. “No, I mean dragons and humans . Can we … you know … have babies? Christ, I can’t believe I was so stupid not to even ask before. I brought condoms, but nobody’s done any screwing during this trip besides Erika and Eben. I haven’t been on the pill in months.”

His brows drew together. “You don’t want to get pregnant?”

“Will you just answer the goddamn question?”

“Yes! That’s what we do. It’s the whole point of the ritual, to find suitable mates for the purpose of, well, mating . But …” His face relaxed and he lowered his head and sighed. “This is about the man who chased you. The baby you weren’t prepared to have … or to lose.”

Hallie couldn’t respond, her throat already too knotted up with frustration and incomprehension.

“Hallie, there is no such thing as an unwanted, unexpected dragon child. We breed when we are ready.” He touched the black emblem etched above her heart.

“Your mark ensures that even if I wanted it, if you weren’t ready, it wouldn’t happen.

And even if we both wanted it right now, it isn’t possible for a dragon child to be conceived within the temple.

It prevents inbreeding in the last days before we sleep. ”

“Why us, though?”

Kol sighed. “It’s a long story. Centuries-long, really.

We have been hunted by a devious enemy for eons.

Our numbers dwindled as the enemy gained power, so we had to take steps to ensure our race survived.

Hence the ritual. Our forebears were too close by blood to breed with each other, and humans were the only race on Earth the Mother of Dragons would allow us to breed with. ”

Hallie stood and walked away, needing a second to process the information. She slipped back into the warmth of the pool and dipped her head underwater.

She could have everything with him. More than that, she could have her life back. And a child someday, too. His child, but only if she was ready. Lungs hungry for air, she breached the surface again and inhaled.

Kol crouched at the edge, watching. “It’s a lot to digest in a few hours, I know, but this is only the beginning, Hallie. It is my only dream in life to make you happy. And only you.”

He slipped into the water and pulled her into his arms.

“Good,” she said and let him kiss her.

While they embraced, a slew of excited, chattering voices washed into the room and they turned. The entire crowd of their friends traipsed in through the doors and began diving into the other end of the pool.

“What the hell?” Hallie said, irritated at their interruption.

Camille swam up to them, eyes wide and mouth open in an excited smile. “Wow, Hallie. He’s pretty. Not as pretty as Roka, but he looks right for you.”

“What are you guys doing?” Hallie asked.

“Roka said the best place to bathe was in here, and since the phase was over and the doors unlocked, we just came right in. Gotta get ready for Kris’s big performance. He’s so, so excited. We just wanted to wash a bit of grime off first. It’s gonna get very, very dirty in there. I can’t wait!”

Kol chuckled when Camille swam away and was promptly lifted up and kissed soundly by a large, white-haired man who Hallie assumed must be Roka.

Roka passed her into Eben’s arms, who then diligently and carefully began rinsing her from head to toe.

After a moment, it looked less like washing and more like fondling.

“Don’t be mad,” Kol said. “They’re excited. The next phase will be a sight to see, and we all have to be there.”

A throat cleared from the edge of the pool and Hallie looked up. Corey gave her a tentative wave. “Hey,” he said with a sideways smile, then his brow quickly furrowed in concern. “You all right? I admit I heard … sounds that worried me.” His eyes shifted uncertainly to Kol.

Her face relaxed, pleased that he’d thought to ask. “Yes, I’m better than all right. Corey, this is Kol.”

Corey reached down and shook Kol’s hand amiably.

“I’ve decided to take him home with me after we’re done here,” she added.

Corey’s eyebrows raised. “Oh? I didn’t think you had a home, being on the run and all.”

Hallie stared at him, open-mouthed.

He grinned. “You think we didn’t all know from the beginning? Erika still insisted you were right for the team. even though you were outright lying to us. That woman has the strangest instincts, but I’ve known her a long time and learned not to second-guess her.”

“Even about all this stupid dragon stuff ?” Hallie asked pointedly.

He shrugged. “I’m still on the fence about it. Too much indiscriminate sex, as far as I’m concerned. And I’m still not sure where the hell I fit in, considering all of you have paired up.”

“There are only two dragons unaccounted for,” Kol interjected. “Issa just left with Kris, and I don’t see her mark on anyone. She’s probably preparing him for the next phase.”

“Who’s the other one?” Hallie asked.

Kol stared at them both like they were imbeciles. “The other one is the Queen.”