Ancient Warrior, page 19
Harlow wanted to ask her twin if she planned on volunteering for that role, but the energy rolling off Brielle right now was too chaotic and aggressive as she started stripping.
“Come on,” Harlow said, grabbing Aodh’s hand as her sister shifted to her tiger and flopped down in front of the still crackling fireplace.
Axel had started stripping too, was no doubt about to shift, and Harlow simply needed to be alone with Aodh. Tonight had been far more fruitful than she’d imagined. That spell Dallas had given them had really come through.
As Aodh shut the door to the little bedroom behind them, she turned, and found herself quickly pinned to the nearby mattress.
“What are you doing?” she murmured against his mouth, or tried to, even though she had a pretty good idea what he was doing. And approved.
Oh, how she approved.
“I think that’s obvious,” he growled.
“We can’t do anything, we’re on a mission.” But she was already pulling her shirt off. Because self-control? She had none when it came to him.
He snickered as he tugged his own shirt off. “Really didn’t even have to convince you, did I?”
“I’m just saying for the record,” she whispered, “that this is totally unprofessional.”
“Good thing we’re not getting paid, then. And I’ll be unprofessional all day long if I get to eat your pussy,” he continued as he practically ripped her shoes and pants off.
Heat engulfed her at his words and she had to remind herself to try to be quiet as he buried his face between her legs like a male starving.
She hissed in a breath but managed to keep her mouth shut as she arched off the bed. He teased her with abandon, and every time he let out a low growl, it reverberated through her, adding to her pleasure.
She clutched onto his head tightly as he pleasured her, focusing on her clit with the most perfect amount of pressure. It didn’t matter that years had passed, he’d remembered everything she liked. And she knew it wasn’t going to take her long to come, but she wanted him inside her first.
Hell, she was desperate for it.
For all of him. “I want to mate you,” she rasped out as he sucked on her clit. The words just popped out fully formed before she could think about them.
He froze, looked up her body as she stared down at him. “Now?”
“No. Yes. I mean…obviously I want to now, but I know we can’t. When we get home though…you’re mine forever, dragon.” Once they mated each other, it would send them into a frenzy and all they would want to do was hole up and screw for weeks. So that had to wait.
In response, he sat up, then shoved his pants all the way off, inch by slow inch, revealing the hard planes of his hips…his gorgeous cock.
Her gaze traveled lower, over his thick, muscular thighs, then riiiiight back up to what was directly between his legs. Call her shallow—she’d missed all of him, especially this part. Probably more than was healthy. But whatever.
His dick was beautiful, and if she’d been a poet, she would write an ode—or a sonnet?—to it.
Her inner walls tightened as he climbed up the bed, over her, caging her in against the little mattress they very well might break. The dark smoke of his mating manifestation filled the room, surrounding them, wrapping around them like a living creature.
And his scent was delicious, making her light-headed as he brushed his mouth over hers. “I don’t want to wait. We mate tonight.”
“Aodh—”
“No.” He grabbed her wrists, held them above her head, pinning her in place.
If she’d wanted to fight him, she could have, but she savored this sensation of him holding her down. Something about it grounded her, made her feel secure. “If we mate now—”
“Then whatever the future brings, we’re together. Forever.”
“If something happens to me, then—”
“We go together. I’m not living in a world without you, Harlow. I already lived in a cold prison where I thought you left me behind. That was bad enough. I won’t live in a world where I know you’re gone. I can’t.”
“But you’ve barely been out of that prison.” And she was terrified that if something happened to her, it would kill him too. Because that was how dragons mated—literally for life. When a mated dragon died, so did his mate. And vice versa. As far as she knew, they were the only shifter that mated that way. “This wouldn’t be fair to you.” And she loved him too much to shackle him like that.
“You could never shackle me,” he growled.
Oh, had she said that aloud?
He loosened his grip on one of her wrists, cupped one cheek gently. “If you die tomorrow, or a hundred years from now, I don’t want to be left behind. But if you’re having doubts—”
“No!” she shouted, then winced. “Never,” she whispered. “I just hate the thought of something happening to you because of me. I want every damn person, human and supernatural alike, to know you belong to me. I want my scent and bite mark on you.” Heat flooded her, her canines already straining at the thought of getting to claim him. She was a very, very possessive tiger.
“If it happens, it happens. You and me, this thing has been burning bright from the moment we met. I don’t want to wait until after this mission.”
“I don’t either.” Though she knew it’d be a hell of a lot harder to leave tomorrow when all she wanted to do was mate until they couldn’t walk, she would.
“Good. We’re stronger together anyway.”
Hell yeah, they were. She grabbed the back of his neck, started to yank him to her, but he was faster, crushing his mouth over hers in a sure claiming.
His mating manifestation was all around them now. It was the only thing she saw other than him, as if it was cocooning them, protecting them from the rest of the world.
She arched her back, her breasts brushing against his chest, her already hard nipples pebbling even tighter at the friction. All her muscles were pulled taut as she wrapped her legs around him, squeezed tight.
She used to fantasize about what he would feel like naked against her, skin to skin. Before they’d gotten together, and then even after, she’d dream about him, count down until she got him inside her again. It had been her greatest, and only, obsession.
“I need you in me,” she whispered, trying to be quiet as she arched her hips up to meet his. But energy was building inside her, a desperate hunger only he could quench. She felt as if her entire body was engulfed in heat as a low buzz of raw energy hummed through her.
He reached between their bodies, sliding a finger inside her, then two, curling them against her as he withdrew, then pushed back in.
She sucked in a breath, her heart a wild beat in her chest as he continued slowly teasing her.
She clutched onto his ass, gripped hard. “I don’t want your fingers.”
“Shh,” he murmured, brushing his mouth over hers as he withdrew his fingers.
She bit his bottom lip. “I’ll shout the house down if you don’t get inside me right now.” She was also a very impatient tiger.
He smiled against her mouth, nipped her back. “I’ve missed every single thing about you,” he growled as he thrust fully inside her. “Especially your impatience.”
She gasped at the way he stretched her, even though it hadn’t been that long ago that they’d done this. But the sensation of his thick erection pushing inside her, knowing where this was leading other than orgasm, was everything.
She dug her fingers into his back, unable to stop the tight, possessive grip as he pulled back, slammed into her again.
As he flicked his tongue against hers, the gentle teasing at odds with the hard pattern of their hips, she felt her canines start to lengthen and tore her mouth from his, buried her face against his neck.
A sense of rightness punched through her as she scraped her teeth against his neck.
And his answering groan sent streams of pleasure ribboning through her as he stretched her, claimed her.
When he reached between their bodies again, this time teasing her clit, she bucked against him, ignoring the way the bed creaked. They definitely weren’t being as quiet as she’d hoped, but there was no way around that now.
Blood rushed in her ears as her orgasm started to build, shoving up to the surface as her inner walls started clenching around his erection, tighter and tighter.
“Come for me,” he growled as he tweaked her clit, the pressure against the sensitive bundle of nerves enough to send her over the edge.
As her climax surged through her, she scored the side of his neck, breaking his skin and sinking deep.
“Harlow!” he cried, and she felt him give in to his own pleasure and start coming inside her.
As he did he pulled back suddenly, and while she wanted to grab him, bite him again, he did the same to her, burying his own face against her neck.
When she felt his teeth pierce her skin, her entire body jerked with the pleasure and another orgasm slid through her, this one smaller, chasing that first one until she collapsed against the sheets. A sense of peace rolled through her, like nothing she’d ever experienced.
“I love you so much,” she whispered, cupping his face with her hands. It was as if she’d broken apart, only to be put back together, newly whole. “And I’m glad we didn’t wait to mate.”
“I love you too—and I’m not done.”
She snorted out a laugh, then froze when he stared at her. “What?”
He reached up, ran his thumb gently over the sensitive area he’d just bitten on her neck. She could already feel her skin healing, but something else was happening, as a tingle of awareness spread through her. “It’s me,” he whispered. “It’s like a tattoo of me on your body, in dragon form. I mean, it’s exactly like me, right down to the way my tail curves when I’m flying.” There was a note of awe in his voice.
She sat up, shoving at the tangle of sheets, and paused, her eyes widening as she saw the little tiger symbol on his neck where she’d bitten him.
The bite marks were already healing as well, but there was a tattoo-like symbol of a Siberian tiger that looked just like her, the little tail swishing midair. “You have one too.” She reverently touched the mark, her heart expanding as the mating bond slid so fully into place she wanted to burst from joy at the pleasure of it.
“What is it?”
“It happens with tigers.” She was still whispering as she rubbed her thumb back and forth over the symbol on his neck. “When a tiger mates with their fated mate, a tattoo-like symbol appears on their bodies. It can be anything, from a symbol of their mate, or in our case, a very clear representation of the other. My parents have them too.” Though theirs were on their inner wrists.
“I’ve never heard of that before.”
She kissed the mark, the warmth of pleasure inside her expanding. “I know it can happen with wolves too, but I don’t know about other shifters. Aurora and King have the same thing, though theirs didn’t appear until weeks after their mating. She freaked out the first time and, oh my goddess, I don’t know why I’m talking about them.”
He laughed lightly, sliding off the bed and pulling a small mirror off the wall and bringing it to her.
Because he clearly understood her. As he held it up, she tilted her head, looked at the small symbol of Aodh, a fierce, detailed midnight-dark dragon against her neck right where he’d bitten her. She swore his amber-orange eyes practically glowed at her.
Eyes wide, she gently touched her neck, traced her finger over the mark and saw he was doing the same to his.
“I like that I’ve got you on me.” Pleasure filled Aodh’s voice as he put the mirror back, joined her on the bed again. “And now…” He grabbed her hips, flipped her onto her knees. “I’m going to show you exactly how much I like it.”
A shiver rolled through her at the hunger in his voice and she spread her legs, ready for him to take her again, to keep claiming her until they had to face reality in the morning.
Until that time, she was going to enjoy every single moment of this night with her mate.
Her fated mate, the male she’d been destined to find. No matter what happened, no one could ever take this from them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Harlow blinked in surprise as her twin quietly stepped out of Vita’s bedroom, looking pleased with herself—and only wearing a silky pink robe far too small for her tall, lean frame. It was clearly owned by the petite fae. Her sister would never buy something so frilly, and besides, she’d have never packed something like that for a mission anyway.
Harlow blinked again as she moved into the hallway from the guest room. “Really? You’re hooking up with someone now?” she whispered, beyond shocked.
Brielle shrugged. “Didn’t expect to meet my mate on this mission, but…” She lifted a shoulder and stepped past Harlow as if she hadn’t just dropped a grenade. Then she paused, turned to her sister and pulled her into a hard grip. “Congrats,” she murmured, hugging Harlow tight.
Tears sprung to Harlow’s eyes, but she brushed them away. “Oh yeah.” She hadn’t forgotten about her own mating, but her sister’s declaration of meeting her mate had thrown her. Brielle had to be kidding, right? Her and Vita?
“Oh yeah?” Brielle snorted. “I can smell the mating bond and…you’re fated mates.” Brielle’s eyes teared up too as she touched Harlow’s neck gently. Then she turned, headed back down the hallway. “Come on, I’m about to make my future mate breakfast and you can help me.”
“Wait, you’re serious?” she shouted, far too loudly, as she hurried after her sister into the kitchen. Brielle had just met Vita.
“Pretty sure you don’t need me to repeat myself,” Brielle murmured as she started filling a pot with water.
“What are you doing?” Harlow stared at her sister.
“Are you having issues comprehending this morning?” Brielle lifted an eyebrow. “Has the mating bond made you loopy?” she said on a laugh. “I’m clearly making tea. Vita said she likes it for breakfast.”
Harlow covered her face for a long moment. “I just… She’s your mate? She’s so small!” And fae. Far too delicate and fragile. The thought of having a fragile mate made her want to break out in hives.
Brielle stilled, setting the pot down as she turned to Harlow. Her tiger was in her eyes. “And?”
“Oh sweet goddess, I’m not insulting her,” she hissed out as quietly as possible. “She’s stunning, obviously, I just…she’s delicate, that’s all. And you guys just met!” And Vita was very feminine, the opposite of her sister.
Brielle stalked forward, not looking any less deadly in the ridiculous robe. “Good thing I was born with teeth and claws. I’ll destroy anyone who messes with her.”
Holy. Sheeeet. “She’s really your mate?”
“Yep. She came out last night to get something and we started talking. It took like five minutes but my tiger recognized what she was to me. And I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Harlow whispered again, not wanting to wake anyone—where the hell was Axel anyway? Aodh was in the shower, but she didn’t want Vita to hear them talking about her. She ignored that voice of worry in her head that wanted to ask a bunch of questions—like, how would this work since Vita lived in a different realm and was fae? Her sister had always supported her, and she was going to bite back any questions because she was certain her twin had already thought of them.
The tension in her twin’s shoulders loosened slightly and her expression shifted. She looked almost stunned. “I…still can’t believe it. I feel like I’ve been hit with a dragon’s tail right across the face.”
“Kinda like how I felt when I met Aodh.” So yeah, she got it. But still. This was…unexpected.
“Mom and Dad are going to be so happy that the two of us are mated—well, I will be soon.” And Brielle seemed annoyed by the wait. “I’m going to need to court her properly after this.”
Despite the shit of everything going on, Harlow let out a laugh and pulled her twin into a tight hug. Now they had even more of a reason to see this through. As she stepped back, the rear door opened and Axel strode in, shirtless, his pants hanging low.
“Snowed like crazy last night. Few inches at least. Pretty sure I flashed some of Vita’s neighbors so we should probably roll out soon.” He winced slightly. Then he stared at Harlow, inhaled deeply. “Congrats,” he murmured, rushing forward, pulling her into a hug. He gripped her even harder as he continued. “Two of my favorite people in the world. I’m so glad you took that leap of faith.” When he stepped back his eyes were slightly wet, but he quickly turned away, wiped at them before he cleared his throat.
“Thanks,” Harlow murmured, then paused. Wait until he heard about Brielle. “You hear that?”
They all paused, and Harlow’s heart rate kicked up even as Brielle said, “Hoofbeats. A lot of them.”
Then a bell sounded from somewhere fairly close, the gong heavy, ringing over and over. She’d seen a big bell in the center of town when they arrived so that had to be it.
Vita and Aodh came out at simultaneously, no doubt having heard the same thing. Aodh only had on pants, but Vita was dressed in a tunic and leggings, and was carrying fur-covered boots.
Her cheeks flushed pink when she glanced at Brielle, but then she looked between the rest of them. Or at their shoulders; she didn’t make eye contact. “Everyone stay inside. I need to see what’s happening.”
Brielle stepped forward. “We’re not letting you—”
“I’m not asking.” Vita shook her head impatiently as she slipped on one of her boots. “That bell means something is happening, that we have riders coming in from another town. I need to go out with the rest of my neighbors or they’ll wonder what’s wrong.”
“I think one of your neighbors might have seen me naked,” Axel said. “Not in lion form, but when I was coming out of the forest. I hadn’t fully put on my pants yet.”
“It’s fine, regardless. I know my aunt worries but I have good neighbors. And I’ve helped a lot of people in this town with my visions. She and my family denied what I am, but my neighbors have been more open. One of them…is a half-shifter. And I know for a fact that other half-shifters live in this town. No one would turn you in, and honestly, I don’t know if there would be anyone to turn you in to anyway. The royal guard isn’t what it used to be and this conversation is over. Over,” she repeated. Then she lifted up on tiptoe, kissed Brielle briefly, then hurried out the front door.
