Page 22

We went to the castle. Of course. Where else would the King go? I was still wrapping my mind around all of it, and then Kas had cut my sightseeing short with his libido. So when we came to a stop before the enormous, soaring structure that my lover called home, I was feeling a little lightheaded. When I thought about my little craftsman in comparison, the swooning got worse. I was turning into a damn southern belle.

It didn't help that an army of armored warriors shouted out a welcome when Kaspian exited the carriage. He lifted a hand and waved to them before reaching in to help me out. I gripped the edges of my cloak from the inside to keep it shut and stared at the strange people who stared at me. It was like being on a film set. Except that everything was real. Those wings were real. Those glittering eyes. That fucking sword Sir Vadron wore. Dragons. They were Dragons. Why the fuck did they need swords?

With a hand on my back, Kaspian led me up a length of white stone steps that seemed to go on for miles. When we reached the top, a pair of doors three times my height swung open. At first, I thought they were magical and opened on their own. I was so overwhelmed by their size and the detailed carvings on them that I didn't notice the uniformed men holding them open for us until I was passing one.

We entered a long hall with a high ceiling. Not a hallway. It was too big for that. This was a hall that also happened to be a passage through the castle. Craning my neck, I admired the moldings of birds and flowers near the top of the walls. They even went across the ceiling. “Damn.”

“What are you doing?” Kaspian's lips twitched, but his stare was soft.

“Looking at your ceilings.” I nodded up. “You like birds, huh?”

Kas glanced up, then did a double-take. “You know, I've never noticed the birds on the ceiling. Huh. They're lovely.” He looked back at me. “And the white hawk is our kingdom's symbol. That's why it's featured everywhere.”

“Oh. Your symbol. Right. Because you'd want something really fierce to represent a Dragon kingdom. Well done.”

One of the knights marching behind us—Sir Vadron was in front of us with another guy and the rest were behind—chuckled under his breath.

“When you're as powerful as we are, you don't have to choose something fearsome to warn your enemies.” Kas leaned in and smirked at me. “They already know not to fuck with us.”

I burst out laughing. “Yeah, all right. I feel ya.”

Kas shook his head. “You just used English.”

“Did I? I can't tell.”

“It's all right. It can be our secret language.”

“Oh, that could be helpful. Especially when I want to say something naughty to you in public.” I winked at him.

“Precisely what I—” Kas stumbled.

“Kas!” I steadied him as his soldiers closed in around us.

Kaspian's nostrils flared and he snarled at his knights.

They jumped back.

“Clear the way!” Sir Vadron shouted and started running. “Move!”

Kaspian snapped his teeth at the men behind us.

“Kas, what the fuck?” I grabbed his hand.

A rumbling snarl rolled out of Kaspian's mouth, past his bared teeth. His stare locked on the knights. They kept backing away, pushing other people back with them, arms out and stares locked on their king.

“Kaspian!” I grabbed his chin and jerked his head to face me.

He flinched, then focused on me. “Mate!”

Before I could respond, Kas picked me up as if I were a child and tossed me over his shoulder.

“What the actual fuck are you doing?” I shouted.

But Kas wasn't listening to me. He was too busy barreling down the hall, past doors that slammed shut before we reached them. I could still hear Vadron shouting at people to get back and clear the way. Kaspian followed the knight. At least, I think he did. I kept hearing Vadron, but all I saw was the floor. It went from stone to steps to wood.

Suddenly, we were in an enclosed space. I couldn't hear Vadron anymore. And we started to move. Upward. I lifted my head and gaped at a panel of buttons in front of me.

“Is this an elevator? You have elevators here? Seriously?”

Kas growled at me.

“Kaspian! What the fuck is wrong with you? Put me down!”

“Be still!”

“Unbelievable,” I muttered. “I'm a grown-ass man and he's got me over one shoulder like a captive princess.”

The elevator stopped, and Kas was out before the doors had opened all the way. From what I could see, we entered an empty room.

“Your Majesty!” two men said in unison.

He growled at them.

“Ah. We understand, Sire. We're not after your mate.” The men slid to one side. “He belongs to you. We know this.”

Kaspian turned with their movements, keeping them in sight until they got into the elevator. Only when the door had slid shut did he go to the only other door in the room. He opened it and strode inside, his hand straying to my ass.

“This isn't a turn-on,” I grumbled. “Your big bony shoulder is bruising my belly. Motherfucker. I am not happy with you. You've ruined my first experience of your city.”

Kaspian instantly put me down.

“Shit, that was all I had to say?”

He didn't answer me. Instead, he yanked open the cloak to inspect my stomach.

So, it wasn't the fact that he was ruining my arrival on a new planet. It was the chance that he had hurt me. I wasn't sure if I should be pleased or annoyed.

“Hey.” I grabbed his hands. “Kas, what's going on?”

“I can't explain right now.” He grabbed my hand and yanked me through a lavish living room big enough to put both of my houses in. It could house my houses. So big that it had to be an open-concept, it had areas defined by furniture and columns. But I only got a glimpse of it before we were rushing down a corridor, past more rooms. Finally, we reached our destination.

Kaspian barreled into the bedroom, striding over a white marble floor, then thick rugs. Past a fireplace and sitting area, a dining table, and a pair of open doors that led onto a balcony. Everything had been carved or gilded or painted. Nothing common to be found. Except maybe the plants that grew in enormous pots on the balcony. No, I take that back. Even they looked exotic. Spaghetti Factory had nothing on this bedroom.

“Your Majesty, I've been so worried. I rushed here when I heard that you . . .”

The voice trailed off as I spun toward it. It had come from the bed. I made a choking sound when I located its owner.

Buck-ass naked and sprawled across dark blue, silky blankets, a big man gaped back at me. A big man with bird wings. And a huge dick. And a rockin' body. And a face that would give Henry Cavill an inferiority complex.

The man looked like a cross between an angel and a demon. With those white wings, he could have easily flown to heaven, but that body was made for sin. He wasn't as big as Kas, or as beautiful, but that didn't matter to my lizard brain that sent violent instincts surging through me. This man was a threat, and I was gonna fucking eliminate him.

With a snarl, I launched myself at the naked, unarmed man. He yipped and tumbled backward, feathers going everywhere. I couldn't see for the feathers. They batted my face, pissing me off even more. Before I could bash my way through them, a large hand grabbed my upper arm and yanked me off the bed.

“Cease!” Kaspian snapped. “He is my ex-consort.”

“Ex?” The man came around the massive, round bed—did I mention the bed was in the center of the room and circular?—and gaped at Kas.

Simultaneously, I narrowed my eyes at Kas and growled, “You fucking cheater!”

“Cheater?” Kaspian growled back. “You're my mate. I would never cheat on you.”

“Mate?” the other man whispered, his wings drooping. “I understand, Your Majesty.” He gathered his clothes.

“I don't mean me. I mean him!” I pointed at the angel. “You cheated on him . And once a cheater, always a cheater.”

“What does that mean?!”

“I think it's pretty damn self-explanatory! I can't fucking trust you.”

The angel got dressed, trying his best to ignore us. Actually, as soon as he had his pants on, he was the most dressed man in the room. Kas and I only had cloaks on, and those things were flapping open amid our anger.

“I didn't cheat! He was my consort. A consort is the recognized lover of a king, but all consorts know they will be excused when the King finds his mate. I could not have stopped bonding with you if I had tried.”

I grimaced. “Right. Blame it on magic.”

“It was the magic!”

“I'm so sorry to have caused trouble between you and your mate, Your Majesty,” the angel said. “Please, King's Mate, don't blame the King. I don't know why you don't understand this, but I do. I knew this day would come. King Kaspian is a good and honorable man. He would never cheat anyone out of anything.”

I gaped at the guy. “You're standing up for him?”

Kas waved at the man. “Because he knows that it's not my fault. I didn't choose to mate you. The magic drew us together.”

“You didn't choose . . .” I backed away from him. “Huh. I hadn't thought of that.”

“What the fuck is it now?!”

“You know what, asshole?! Give me a fucking second to process all of this! I just got torn out of bed, tossed into a secret government facility, tortured, watched you get tortured, watch you go dragon and kill everyone, then got flown through A FUCKING HOLE IN SPACE and wound up in another world!”

“I'll just leave now.” The angel crept out of the room.

I went on, ignoring him, “I'm adjusting! Trying to figure this shit out! And now I'm figuring that you didn't want to bond with me. This was forced on you.”

“It wasn't forced on me.” Kas tossed his hands up in the air, flapping a bit of cloak into his face as he did. He growled and yanked the thing off to toss it away. “I've been searching for you for centuries, Demetrius! You! No, I didn't choose you. I didn't know who you were. That's the whole fucking point! The magic knows more than I do. It sensed that you would be perfect for me, and I for you. It led me to another world—that's how certain the magic was. And Ensarena, the Dragon Goddess, tore a rift between our worlds to bring us together! How the fuck can you get upset about that? It's the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me!”

“Oh.” I took off my cloak and sat on the bed.

“OH?!” Kaspian flapped his arms about as if he was about to take flight.

“Still fucking processing!” I shot back to my feet. “And what was all that shit? Huh? What was with tossing me over your shoulder like a slab of beef? Don't you know how embarrassing it was for me to be carted through your castle like that? That's the first impression I made on your staff. Fucking bunk, man! A bunch of bullshit. And not a word from you to explain it. Then we get to your bedroom and an angel is waiting for you. A fucking angel!”

Kaspian's face twitched throughout my tirade, his tense body slowly relaxing and then going limp. Well, not entirely limp, but sort of drooping. “He's not an angel.”

“What is he?”

“He's an Okon. And I'm allowed to have lovers before you, Mate.” Kaspian's bottom lip stuck out.

Couldn't be helped—I snorted a laugh. “Look at us. Naked and arguing over stupid shit. I guess we're in a real relationship.”

Kas grinned. “So, we can fuck now?”

I made a startled sound and shook my head. “Well, you sure got over it fast. And yes, I'm all for having sex. But first, tell me what happened down there.” I glanced at the balcony. Yes, another balcony. “And how far down is down there?”

“The royal apartments are at the top of the main keep. Twenty-four floors up.”

“Only twenty-four?” I smirked. “Why not got for twenty-five?”

He lifted his brows.

“Sorry. I'm sure that's impressive for a castle.”

Kas shrugged. “There are taller, but mine is wider.”

“More about girth than length, eh?”

He chuckled. “Are we still discussing castles?”

“No.” I went serious. “We're discussing what all that growling and snarling and running knights was about.”

“It's the mating, of course. I told you we had not completed it.”

“Uh, you didn't tell me that, and I thought we were already mated?”

“We are. But there is a period when the mating magic affects a Dragon. It begins at the first release of essence and can last several days, sometimes even weeks.”

“How does it affect you?”

“You saw how it affects me.” He waved at his erection. “I need a sexual release. The magic compels me to claim you with more of my essence.”

“More of it?” I lifted my brows. Then I remembered how it felt. And how it didn't feel. “That stuff just sinks in, doesn't it?”

“Yes. As I said.” He rolled his eyes. “It penetrates through flesh, bone, and blood until it reaches your essence and bonds to your soul.”

“My soul?” My jaw fell.

“Yes, your soul lives in your body.”

“I know where my soul is.” I grimaced. “And don't roll your eyes at me.”

Kas rolled his eyes again.

“I just told you not to do that!” I pointed at him.

“Can we move past this? I need you!” He motioned at his cock with the flat of his hand. “You don't know how much strength it takes to hold back.”

“Oh, for fuck's sake!” I went to him and got on my knees. A glance up made me grin. Kaspian's mouth hung open and his stare was hopeful. I nuzzled his cock. “Better?”

“You'd best not tease me, Mate,” Kas growled and grabbed a handful of my hair.

“And you'd best not yank my head onto your cock while I suck you off.” I pointed at him. Then I grabbed the base of his girthy (he valued girth) dick. “I don't like that shit.” I paused, then muttered, “Not right off the bat.”

“What do bats have to do with this?”

Instead of explaining, I sucked his weeping tip into my mouth. There was that flavor again. So delicious. Was this what Kaspian's soul tasted like? Holy shit, was I tasting a soul? I had to be. It was his essence. The essence of Kas. Like in The Dark Crystal . Gelfling essence. Ugh. That wasn't a good visual. Recalibrating! Recalibrating!

It wasn't difficult to refocus on what I was doing. Not with that hard cock in my mouth. And Kas gripping my scalp. He moaned and jerked his hips forward. I choked and drew back. Or tried to. He kept a death-grip on my hair. As if my withdrawal triggered it, Kas went savage again. That hand flattened and his free hand went to my head so that he held me between his palms. Then he started face-fucking me.

I should have tried to stop him. I had specifically told him I wasn't into this. But I had added that caveat. And, more importantly, I was enjoying it. Thick flesh slammed in and out of my mouth, hitting the back of my throat while I tightened my lips around him. I gripped his base more firmly and pressed my free hand against Kaspian's pelvis. Then I shifted it to grab his hip. Pulled. Choked. Shuddered in pleasure. My cock exploded, shooting cum onto his foot. Kas cried out, churned his dick in my mouth, and followed me to heaven.

I groaned as the sweet stuff sent my tastebuds on an adventure. Then I swallowed. And savored some more. And swallowed. Finally, Kas jerked out of my mouth, gripped himself by the base, and came on my face. I closed my eyes and turned my head side-to-side, coating my skin in his essence. Take that, Olay, you animal-testing assholes! Kaspian's essence was way better at fighting fine lines and wrinkles. I grinned at the thought.

Then the flow stopped.

I opened my eyes to find Kas staring at me with a strange, bemused expression. “Feeling better now?”

“Yes,” he said. “ Now get on the bed.”