Page 63 of Wrath of the Dragons (Fear the Flames #2)

My blood pumps through me so fiercely that I hardly hear her gasp. Her brown eyes stare at me as if I’m not real. It’s clear her first reaction is disbelief, which isn’t surprising. She’s spent a lifetime feeling unloved, but I’ll remind her every day if needed.

Even if I do nothing else right in my life, I’ll love her like she deserves.

“And—And I’m not worth it, Elowen.” A lump forms in my throat but I fight past it.

“I’m not even worthy of you. I spent my life walking in the darkness, loving nothing, not even believing myself capable, but then you came along.

This ember of hope, of light. I was damned before I even realized it and have been in agony for months, loving you in silence.

If that scares you then you’ll have to find a way to live with it because I’m selfish to my core and will never be able to let you go.

I would sooner forsake this world and reduce it to ash than ever live a day without you. ”

“You…” She steps forward, and her hands return to grip my shirt right over my heart. “You love me.”

“My feelings have never had any stipulations. Even if you don’t feel the same, or feel even half of what I do, I’ll never stop.” I’ll accept anything from her, even crumbs. I’d rather starve for the rest of my life than be without her.

“You love me,” she repeats in a daze, staring up at me with wide eyes.

“The only time I let myself feel anything is when I’m with you. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that I’m incapable of love because you’re living proof that something beats within my chest, and it beats for you.”

I feel like I can’t breathe. I place my hands on her hips, reassuring myself that she’s truly here.

In my arms. Sometimes I feel like I’ll wake up, all of this will be a dream, and I’ll have to go back to searching for her.

I’ve never considered myself to be a kind man.

I don’t concern myself over the feelings of others…

but Elowen is the exception to all my rules.

When I’m with her, I feel like a different person. A better person.

I lightly drag my knuckles down her cheek, savoring the feel of her while keeping a tight hold on the silk she’s wearing, terrified she’ll slip away.

I’ve never done this, never felt this. I have no fucking idea what I’m doing.

“There is nothing that I want more than you. There is not a single thing I wouldn’t do for you.

There is nothing that I love more than you. ”

“What if I change over time?” She licks her lips. “What if you wake up one day and resent me because I’m no longer the person I was when you made that decision?”

“If you change then I’ll spend the rest of my life finding new reasons to love you.”

She nods and tightens her hands on my shirt. “I love you, Cayden.”

I suck in a breath like she punched me in the gut—because that’s what it feels like. “Don’t say that if you don’t mean it.”

“I do.”

I shake my head. “Elowen, I’m not right in the head. You can’t say something like that lightly. All it does is feed my addiction.”

“I love you, Cayden Veles.”

“I don’t deserve it.”

“You don’t have to be a perfect person to be loved.

You have my heart, and you guard it as fiercely as you guard my body.

I will never love anyone as I love you.” Her hands weave through my hair and she yanks me down to slam our lips together.

I tighten my hold on her hips and set her on the railing, stepping between her legs as she wraps them around me.

She kisses me with a passion that sets my skin on fire.

I run my hands along her body, doing anything to bring her closer.

This isn’t real.

I must be dreaming.

“I love you,” she murmurs against my lips, and I hang on to every syllable. “Even when our souls are forgotten wisps in the wind and the world ceases to exist, I’ll love you. Amito evidani.”

“Amito evidani, mia sirantia.”

“You are so easy to love, Cayden Veles, and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you believe that.”

“Then I’ll take it upon myself to ensure you have a very long one.”

She softly smiles up at me as the sea air dances through her curls and if I could live in this moment forever, I would.

I kiss her again and keep her pressed against me as I part her lips.

She loves me. It sounds too good to be true, and I hate that suspicion rears its ugly head.

I shove it down, forcing myself to trust her in this unknown land we’re navigating together, and deepen the kiss while lifting her off the railing.

She hums against my lips and slides her fingers through my hair.

My steps falter when she shifts her hips against mine as I walk.

I press her back into the wall of the dark corridor, and grind into her, unable to make it back to the cabin without giving her a hint of what she wants.

I cover her mouth when her lips part against mine as she moans.

“Those are all for me, angel.” She nods, her eyes rolling back in her head when I repeat my movements.

She has no idea how much worse I’m going to become now that I know she loves me.

She’s never getting away from me. Another soft moan escapes her lips, and I chuckle against her neck, sucking on the sweet spot just below her jaw to torture her a bit more.

She arches off the wall, pressing her breasts into me, and I bite her to stifle a groan.

Her hands roam over my shoulders as I walk us up the staircase and into our cabin, locking the door behind me. “You’re always so needy for me, beautiful.”

“So give me what I want,” she answers as I set her on the desk beside the door and sit in the chair.

“Patience is a virtue.”

“When have I ever given you the impression that I’m virtuous?”

I hook my finger into the neckline of her slip before bringing my other hand forward and ripping the garment down the center.

I lick my lips while taking in the sight of her heaving breasts and open legs and lean forward to kiss her chest. She arches into my mouth as I kiss down her soft flesh and take one nipple into my mouth while using my fingers to play with the other.

Any piece of furniture is an altar with her on it.

I push her panties to the side and slide two fingers into her dripping center.

She moans my name like it’s the answer to anything she’ll ever need as I begin slowly pumping my fingers.

Every time I touch her, the unrestrained urge to make her feel so good she forgets any others that came before me strengthens.

I want to be the only man in her mind. The only name to grace her tongue.

I press the signet ring she gifted me to her clit, and she throws her head back against the wall in answer.

Something primal rises within me knowing our sigil is pressing into the most intimate part of her.

I always take my time with her, wanting to savor every moment and each moan, knowing I could spend hours between her thighs.

Her legs slip off the arms of the chair when I swirl my fingers, and she looks down at me with pleading eyes when I slide my fingers out of her and suck them clean.

“Why’d you stop?” she pants, one of her curls swaying in front of her lips.

But I don’t answer as I reach for what’s left of her night slip, ripping it down the back, and use the scraps that fall down her arms to tie her feet to the chair. Her eyes widen and throat bobs as she swallows.

“Is this okay?”

She nods slowly. “I think so.”

“If anything changes, tell me.” I slide my fingers inside her again and curl them. A desperate moan falls from her lips, and she widens her thighs. “You trust me to take care of you?” She nods. “You’re making such a mess for me, my love.”

I’m painfully hard, which isn’t out of the ordinary when I’m around Elowen, even when she isn’t doing anything sultry, but seeing her sprawled out before me makes me ravenous.

The need to claim her, possess her, pounds through me.

It’s always lived like an insatiable beast under my skin, but it worsened after the ritual.

I press my tongue to her clit, sucking it into my mouth as she fists my hair and her thighs shake.

She’s mine, the darkness within me whispers, and I lock my arm around her back and drag her closer as a knock pounds against the door.

I ignore it, keeping my head between Elowen’s legs, not caring about anything beyond her—which also isn’t uncommon.

The taste of her is like a drug that renders me mindless.

She tries to break away, but I don’t let her, and she presses her lips together to smother a whimper as her shaking increases.

The knock pounds again, and I pull away from her just enough to state in a rough voice, “Unless you have a death wish, I suggest walking away from the door.” I press my ring into her clit again, and she slaps a hand over her mouth as I move it in quick circles.

She pleads with her eyes, and I know she’s seconds away from finishing.

The familiar blush creeps along her breasts and curls around her neck.

“Do you like it when I use our sigil to make you come?” I murmur, low enough for only her to hear. “Does it remind you who you belong to?”

“Z-zario is on the horizon. We’ll begin searching for an uninhabited place to dock,” someone rushes out beyond the door before sprinting down the hall.

Like I give a fuck.

I yank her farther off the desk and lick her like a man drugged by her taste until she’s choking breathlessly and shatters completely.

I don’t stop as she covers her mouth to scream my name, riding the waves of pleasure until she’s limp, not yet willing to let go and wanting every last drop for myself.

I lick my fingers clean again and lift the glistening ring to her lips. “Kiss it.”