Page 21 of Storm of Flames (Bound By Dragons #4)

Chapter 21

Fara

S itting on a velvet blanket in the shade of a willowface palm, Fara lifted the goblet and finished her wine. “There isn’t enough of this to wash away last night’s events.”

Teague walked behind her, on his way to fetch the platter of fresh island fruits, and dropped a kiss on the crown of her head. Tingling spread from her scalp down her body. It was amazing what this male could do with such a small gesture. The maddening bond awakened when he’d painted her in runes shivered through her and everything else fell by the wayside—all her trepidation, the ridiculous nature of this relationship, the fact that he was Unseelie. She was his. He was hers. It was that simple, and the bond was stronger than anything she’d felt toward another person in her entire life.

“Not sure you’ve thought this far since you’re a male, but how exactly do you plan to get us home? You haven’t changed your mind? It is very cold there most months. I’ve seen bears. Wolves. And of course, the dragons can be deadly if you don’t watch your manners. But you are coming to live with me at Dragon Tail Peak, yes? ”

He sat beside her, eyes glittering with amusement though she was being quite serious. “If they’ll have me,” he said.

“You heard Commander Marius. He’ll talk the others into it. You’ve single-handedly wiped out the entire pirate population.”

“They will respawn.”

“Yes, yes, but it will take a while, and I bet your sea monster friends won’t mind taking a few more down now and then.”

“That magic has faded now,” Teague said, “but I will try to hope as you do.”

“My friend Tahlia taught me to be optimistic.”

“A rider can’t be that naive, can she?”

“Only with great willpower.” Fara smiled and bit into a pink and pale yellow fruit the locals called hfnaptra . Juice burst in her mouth and a subtly sweet taste rose from the soft texture. She moaned and took another bite before she realized he was staring at her, his lips parted and his eyes on fire.

“I’ll have to bring one of those to bed with us,” he said.

She laughed. “Please do.”

He bit his thumb and blood beaded like a tiny jewel on his gray skin. “Do you trust me?”

“Unfortunately, I do.”

“It’s the Seer’s Heart bond. Hold out your hand.”

“More runes? Who are we casting an illusion over now? A roaming wolf? A bear? I confess I was hoping for a pleasantly boring day, Teague.”

He settled himself on top of her and she leaned back, savoring the feel of her true mate all around her. His thigh pushed its way between her legs and he pressed himself against her. She ran her fingers over his hair—he’d braided only part of his thick tresses.

“You left some for me to enjoy,” she whispered into his neck.

His throat bobbed and his cock twitched against her center, making her lips part as heat washed through her. His big, masculine body appeared quite primed and ready.

“You did seem to like twisting my hair between your lovely fingers,” he said quietly as he dusted sand from her temple.

She indulged herself and looped a blue-black tendril over her knuckles. “Like silk.”

“I’ll brag about that to my friends when we visit. I’m sure they’ll be very impressed.”

Fara pinched his arm. Drawing her dress’s neckline down, he kissed his way over one breast and then the other. Delight echoed over her skin. Under the attention of his forked tongue, her nipples hardened. He slid his hand low, under the dress she’d bought at the market they’d found two small islands over. His hot hand gave her a wonderful chill as he kissed her mouth again. His tasting of her grew rougher until he was sucking on her lips and tongue like he was pulling honey from a comb. His low purrs sent thrills along her body and she wriggled against him. The friction sent a deep throb of sensation through her and she gasped.

His hand went higher up her bare leg until the tips of his claws found the convenient slit between the legs of her undershorts. Quivering, she looked up at him.

“But your claws…”

He grinned and kissed her nose. “Don’t worry, my heart. I know what I’m doing and your pleasure is my top priority. I would never hurt you. It would be worse than injuring myself because of our bond and because I simply adore you.”

Sighing, she let her head fall back and tried to relax. His finger curled and his knuckles kneaded her warmth until she was desperate for more.

“Can we?”

He licked the lobe of her ear as he worked his way farther inside her body. “Can we what?”

“Oh, you know what. Stop teasing me.”

His knuckles and the tongue at her ear had her trembling on the very edge of release.

“But teasing is my favorite part.”

She glared at him even as she shook. “I bet claiming me in full will feel even better.”

Eyes shining like the sun on a sword, he pulled off his clothing in harried movements. He climbed on top of her in full, only a fraction of his weight on his elbows. His cock pressed against her center and she ground her hips against him. Her tension unwound and pleasure ricocheted around every inch of her body.

“Gods, yes…”

He moved slowly, letting her enjoy every last bit of her climax. Then he put her arms around the back of his neck, rucked her dress up fully, ripped her drawers away, and set himself against her entrance.

“There is more teasing I plan to do to you, but since you have awoken the more feral side of this Unseelie, I must claim you now in body.”

Easing his way with gentle pushes, he kept his eyes on hers. “Tell me how you’re feeling.”

Her face felt flushed and her body was molten. She gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into the lines and curves of him. For an answer, she rolled her hips encouragingly.

“How do you think?”

His eyes fluttered and he groaned, entering her fully. “You’re exactly right for me.”

The fullness of him sent tremors down her legs and through her core. She was already close to climaxing again.

“How…” She could barely speak as he went in to the hilt. “Teague…” The desire humming through her was insistent and pounding like her pulse. Longing to experience every bit of this that she could, she reached through the bunches of fabric and her leg to feel the spot where his body met hers. His stones were hot and she heard herself growl.

“I guess I’m a bit feral for you, too,” she said. She bit his shoulder. From the stories she’d read, she knew Unseelie were rougher in their mating.

His hand went to her throat and he placed his forefinger claw against her pulse point. He was shaking now too and only shifting slightly inside her. Gods, he was so large. It felt amazing. And they both held one another in a dangerous way, a way in which each was in some way so vulnerable. A rush of knowledge ran across her mind. Trust. That was this feeling.

“Still all right?” he asked, his voice husky.

The bond beat like a third heart between them—hot, tingling, powerful.

“Yes. Claim me, Teague. You are my heart as well.”

He pulled back and she gasped. Then he drove forward again and again, starting slowly and building to a chaotic pace. His jaw was loose and his eyes were like that of a wild animal. She clung to him and matched his fervor. A knot of pleasure grew heavier deep inside her and then she was soaring, splintering, shimmering in a haze of absolute completion. Not only was there pleasure in her body—her soul was renewed and anchored. She felt safer than ever. More right than ever.

Teague halted and shook, his warmth releasing inside her and his lips on her forehead, his claw still at her throat as his hips shuddered between her thighs.

“I love you so much, Fara of the Shrouded Mountains, Healer of Dragon Tail Peak.”

He held her close and she cuddled into his big arms. The sun poured its golden rays over them and she smiled into his strange Unseelie skin. His hands found hers and cupped them gently at her stomach.

“I love you, too, Teague of the Night Realm and Captain of Nothing.”

He laughed into her hair and kissed her ear, her neck, and the crown of her head. “I will never deserve you, but I would like to try.”

“You better or my dragon-rider friends will annihilate you.”

He pretended to shudder in fear, chuckling.

“Now, you still haven’t answered my question,” she said. “How are we getting back? Not sure you remember, but we said farewell to all of my dragon-riding friends this morning.”

The corner of his lips lifted and a dimple showed in his left cheek. “I have one last Unseelie trick to show you.” He stood and held out his hand. “Come. I can’t perform this magic under this tree cover.”

She looked up at the palm’s branches. They were easily eight feet high. “I?—”

He tugged her farther onto the beach’s powdery, golden sand. Releasing her, he stepped backward from her ten paces until the surf lapped at his bare feet.

He smiled, showing his Unseelie fangs in full glory, and then he burst into a plume of glittering black and plum-colored magic.

Teague was gone, and in his place, was an eagle roughly the size of Ragewing.

Her hands fisted. She fought the urge to run. His feathers were a deep and lustrous brown and his curved beak held a golden hue that changed as he tilted his head to look at her with one massive, black eye.

“You’re a shapeshifter. Of course, you are.” She felt like she was dreaming. Or having a nightmare, maybe. This wasn’t real. “All Unseelie have an animal form. At least, that’s what I was taught. But hearing it from one’s tutor doesn’t do this justice. You’re magnificent.”

She ran to him and he lowered his wing. Taking the cue, she clambered onto his back.

“I’m no dragon rider. I don’t know if I can handle this.”

He shook his feathered head as if to say yes, you can, silly. And then he took off.

This was magic. Love, belonging, someone to watch over her forever, and mysteries that would unfold during their life together.

Bonus Scene

(A lot of y’all have emailed or DMd me asking for this, so here you go! This is Marius and Tahlia’s first love scene which happened after Bound by Dragons and before Kingdom of Spirits on the night of the feast)

Tahlia

Tahlia’s stomach flipped pleasantly as she and Marius hurried into the second tack room in the dragons’ cave system. Starlight poured from the three small windows at the top of the far wall. Rows of saddles, reins, and replacement pieces sat neatly labeled. A large cot had been pushed against the right side of the room, a spot for those too tired to return to their lodgings after a mission or for a rider or squire keeping watch on a sick or injured dragon. The coverlet was a thick white wool. Releasing Marius’s hand, she went to smooth the bedding, wondering if the structure was enough for what she was hoping was about to happen. They had both had some ale. And maybe a little wine. But they were perfectly capable of enjoying one another. Tahlia’s face flushed and her pulse skipped with excitement.

Marius had put his life on the line for her. For her. He’d stood up to the commander and that horrifying Green Terror because he believed in the dream she’d been dreaming as long as she could remember. Even though they were tipsy and being a little wild, a voice inside her heart said this was only their beginning.

Tahlia turned to face Marius, and she leaned backward on the cot. She knew she was staring, but anyone would be. Not only was he the bravest, most upstanding person she’d ever met, this Fae male was a study in sharp angles and cuts like he was carved of stone. His hair draped over his shoulders and she longed to run her fingers through the silky length of it. His scent of cloves and coming rain mingled with the leather and rock of the room. With a look that promised wicked pleasure, he took his whip from his belt and unfurled it as he stalked closer.

“Take off your clothes,” he said, his voice a growl. “Now.”

Sensual shivers carried across her chest and pebbled her nipples. For a second, his gaze softened and he tilted his head. She smiled, understanding the unspoken question. He was asking if this playacting was what she wanted. Tahlia felt safe with him; he’d proven his dedication to her well-being.

“Yes, I love it. Carry on, Captain.”

A quick grin stretched over his very kissable mouth and then his face resumed its commanding arrangement of narrowed eyes, furrowed brow, and a slightly bared set of Fae fangs.

She giggled, low and quiet, despite his ferocity, and crawled onto the cot. Up on her knees, she unbuckled her belt, slowly pulled off her tunic and the wrap she sometimes wore over her breasts for training, and then threw all of that onto the tack room floor.

“Faster,” he growled. He cracked the whip again.

A prickling sensation suffused every inch of her skin. She wanted those skilled and dangerous hands on her now, but her damned boots wouldn’t come untied. Probably because she was trembling with giddiness and a little tipsy from the celebration.

He dropped to his knees, tucked his whip into his belt, and began working on her laces. His brow bunched and he didn’t look up; his entire focus was on her boots. After jerking the boots free and tossing them over his shoulder, he rolled her woolen stockings down with gentle motions despite his rough act. With a few quick movements, he tugged her trousers off. She loved every second of the brusque treatment. It was tantalizing, having the stern captain so determined in his desire for her.

He rose and flicked his whip out, and the snap of leather over her head had her gasping with delight. Such a rush.

“Lie down,” he commanded. “Spread your legs.”

She bit her lip. “Yes, sir.”

Still fully dressed, he climbs onto the bed. Using the whip’s handle and his free hand, he spread her knees wider. Bending low, he purred against the tender crease where her right leg met her body.

“You smell divine,” he whispered.

Pleasure raced through Tahlia’s veins like some new magic. He reached his arms under her legs and encircled her thighs. His biceps pressed into her flesh, his muscles straining as he tugged her closer. He began licking his way from the crease of her leg to her hot center. His gaze flicked upward. His eyes were the steel of a sword.

“You must be still, Tahlia.”

Her name on his tongue was another spell newly born into the world. She would do almost anything to hear it again.

“Marius, I can’t possibly…”

He cocked his head. “It’s an order.”

Desire pulsed down her body in a slow rhythm of heartbeats. Her body wanted more. She wanted more.

A grin lifted the edge of his mouth and he lowered his head to resume the decadent torture. He licked—long, slow strokes, quick flashes of his tongue’s tip, and delving thrusts of the full length of his tongue inside her folds. She trembled from head to toe. The weight of a building climax hummed inside her, but he wouldn’t give her the pressure right where she needed it so badly.

“Please, Marius.”

She tried to buck her hips, but his arms were vices on her thighs.

“Be still, female. Not yet,” he whispered against the curls covering the warmth between her legs. “I will not be rushed. I’m taking my fill of you first. You cannot limit my feasting.”

The rising pleasure pressed on her, urging her to move, to find friction, but Marius only teased her again and again, his tongue brushing the secret places just next to the very spot that pulsed with need. Another warm intrusion found her slick entrance. He slid what felt like two of his large fingers into her and curled his knuckles. She turned to moan into the pillow, her body trying to crest over that nearing edge of completion. Finally, his tongue found her center and dragged wet heat over the top. Desire exploded in her core. She called out his name and gripped handfuls of his Fae-white hair. Her hips bucked uncontrollably as waves of pleasure shattered into a chaotic flurry of mind-bending sensation. He continued to stroke her with finger and tongue as she rode out the crescendo. The peak subsided finally and she blinked up to see him undressing. His molten gaze burned her in the best way.

Gods, he was just too lovely. Every inch of his body had been honed by training and battle. The scars along his pectorals only served to thrill her more because she knew he won the fights that gave them the marks. He was the Scourge of the Shrouded Mountains and he was between her legs. His black and gold inkings highlighted the musculature of his neck, shoulders, chest, and flat abdomen—all the way to his slim waist. He removed his trousers and his cock stood proud, the tip glistening and ready.

“Turn over. On your stomach. Now.”

Tahlia thought it would be impossible to feel even more aroused than she had been moments ago, but she was wrong. The moment he was behind her with his weight lightly pressed against her back, his cock rubbing between the sides of her arse like it was made to be there, and his hot breath dusting over the nape of her neck, she knew she’d been wrong. She swallowed, unable to utter a word as he poised himself to thrust into her properly.

“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he said, his voice low and quiet.

She shook her head and swallowed again as his hand raised her hip so he was better angled. “Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

He pushed inside her body slowly, his movements careful despite his playacting at being completely domineering.

“Are you all right?” he whispered against her shoulder. He kissed her there, his lips sticking slightly to her damp skin.

“Yes. Take what is yours tonight, Captain Marius.”

He nipped her flesh lightly and drove hard inside. Pleasure jolted up her spine and reverberated through her entire body. With three more strong thrusts and insistent growls, he released within. Heat poured through her as her inner muscles quaked and squeezed his cock, her pleasure flying even higher than it had earlier.

“Fuck, Tahlia. You’re…”

He shuddered and pushed once more, his huge body quivering and his breath hot on her back and in her hair. The scent of him was everywhere and she was certain this was the best feeling in the world.

They collapsed together. Holding her tightly, he murmured sweet little phrases into her ear.

“This might be even better than riding a dragon,” she whispered, feeling like a dessert pudding melting on a plate.

He chuckled and kissed her gently. “Riding the captain, you mean?”

She huffed a laugh as he rolled her over and kissed her temple. “Yes, but I’d like to make sure I’m the only one permitted to do this job.”

He cradled her in his arms, and she took joy in the feel of his heart beating in time with hers.

“I’d like that too.”

She kissed him and he kissed her back. An exciting promise bloomed in that embrace. If she had to guess, they were going to be together like this for a long, long time.

Readers,

Thank you all so very much for making the Bound by Dragons series a delight to write and publish. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

For updates on a special edition omnibus with brand new art and all the extras, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://www.alishaklapheke.com/free-prequel-1 .

And if you love the cozy vibes in this series and the spice level, check out my pen name, Lila Appleton, and her Leafshire Cove Monsters series of standalones. Book One is When the Weaver Met the Gargoyle .

Thanks again!

Alisha

A shire-esque party forces a straight-laced human weaver and a brooding gargoyle guard together in the most delightfully tension-filled ways.

I have one talent, and it’s not relationships. It’s weaving. But I have one chance to keep my cozy little life in the magical Leafshire Cove and it’s going to require a partner.

I swore off romance—my last relationship was a humiliating disaster. But to enter the mayor’s tapestry contest, and win the contract attached, I need a date, thanks to a ridiculous ancient faerie spell requiring attendants to bring a potential partner.

When my frenemy suggests the new watchtower guard, a growly gargoyle named Romulus who never speaks and hides inside a massive cloak, I think she’s finally lost her mind. But said frenemy refuses to back down, and suddenly, the gargoyle and I are forced into a temporary match.

Romulus is employed by the mayor so he has no choice but to go. Because of a past issue with his stone magic, he’s dead set on remaining single, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

Until we share the wrong pot of tea…

Magic and cozy mayhem combine in this spicy standalone fantasy romance. All the books in the Leafshire Cove series are short and sweet, with a happily ever after for their human/monster couples.

"When the Weaver Met the Gargoyle is everything I want in a cozy fantasy romance. Every page is like a warm mug of cider but with the most delicious serving of spice. This is the kind of book to savor and soothe your soul with!"

~ Tessonja Odette author of A Rivalry of Hearts