Bound to the Dragon King (9 page)

“You can tell me what’s bothering you, Ash.”

He hesitates for a moment before saying, “I just wish I had been there for you.”

“What? When?”

“The whole time. When your father used to torment you. When your mother died. When you had to move above ground to escape it all and didn’t have anywhere to go in a world you didn’t understand.”

“You were there,” I tell him emphatically, scooting closer to him.

“No I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you really were. I never would have made it without you.”

“If I was really there, you wouldn’t have had to risk life and limb smuggling magical goods to the human world to feed yourself,” he replies bitterly. “I’m proud of you, don’t get me wrong. Very proud.” He pulls my hand to his lips and kisses my fingertips. “But I still let you down.”

“Ash…” He still looks so exhausted, I can’t imagine the pressure he’s under right now and I can’t just let him sit there and suffer through it. At first, an all too familiar helplessness crushes my heart, but then I get an idea.

I kiss his cheek before crawling over to my backpack. That cleansing tea I had at Georgia’s was so incredible that I bought a premade version at the market. It won’t be as strong, and no one has as many cares to cleanse away as Asher does, but it should help a little bit. I pull out a mug and fill it with that enchanted spring water that won’t be cold for long.

Asher watches me with curious eyes as I close my own. The inferno is so much easier to find now, it’s nearly effortless. Within seconds the water is boiling hot and I drop the tea bag in the cup and cast, “Cleanse.” We both grin when it turns that beautiful sky blue color and the scent of blooming spring wildflowers fills the air. I’m about to offer it to him when my instincts tell me that it’s not finished, or rather that it’s not quite right for him yet.

I can’t resist taking a refreshing gulp before I’m huddled over my bag again, digging around for a bit of powdered amber that I bought at the market. I didn’t know why I had to have it, but I couldn’t walk away from that vendor until I did. I add a pinch directly to the tea, gasping as the liquid flares before turning into a deep electric blue and the scent changes to something spicier that fills my mind’s eye with a vision of a gorgeous sunrise.

Asher inhales deeply. “What is that?”

“Something I made just for you,” I reply, crawling into his lap and offering him my creation. I thought it would take some convincing to get him to take it, but he drinks it down greedily, the tension leaving his shoulders more and more with every gulp.

There’s a trace of his worries left when he’s done and I’m more determined than ever to chase it away. I’m straddling his thighs, my pulse racing as I feel his arousal grow against me. The brand on my leg flares when I press my lips to his forehead, dragging my fingers across his jaw. We both gasp in surprise as the campfire beside us doubles in size and puts off more heat than should be possible.

“I love you,” Asher murmurs, tossing the mug aside. “And I missed you so much today.”

“I love you too, Ash. I’ll never do that again, I promise.”

“You don’t understand how much you mean to me, Lindy,” he breathes against my neck between kisses that send ripples of excitement through my body. “I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you, if you’ll let me.”

“I will,” I pant, my nails digging into the flesh on his shoulders. The muscles beneath my hands grow bigger and stronger as he kisses me, plunging his tongue into my mouth. 

I gasp as Asher pulls my shirt over my head. Steam curls out of his nostrils in frustration when he sees my bra. “This again,” he growls, and before I can stop him I hear stitches popping as he rips it off and tosses it into the fire.

That was just too fucking sexy to chastise him. My body temperature rises, growing so hot a human would probably be burned if they touched me. But it’s my dragon lover’s mouth that’s closed around my nipple now, tiny flames dancing on his lips as he teases me. My own fingers leave a brief trail of fire on Asher’s skin everywhere I touch him, fire from the same source of the flames that swirl in my peripheral vision. The inferno. I can’t get this close unless he’s with me. I want it almost as much as I want him.

Asher tosses me on my back, his fingers fumbling for a moment with the button and zipper on my jeans. It gives me an opportunity to do the same thing to him, but these modern closures are familiar to me and my hand is wrapped around him almost instantly, stroking and hindering his progress even more.

“Let me pleasure you,” I coo, licking my lips as he pulls my pants to my ankles. I want to feel him in my mouth again, it’s probably so much better than in the dream world, like everything else.

The dragon’s groan rumbles through his chest, his flaring eyes rolling back. “Later. I need something else now.”

“Asher!” I cry out as he pushes my knees apart, driving inside me harshly.

We only had sex once back in his lair, and he wasn’t nearly as rough. I was afraid of what would happen once he lost control inside of me, but I think I like this even better than his tender touch.

I moan his name again when he pulls my head back by my hair and attacks my breasts, grunting and thrusting wildly as he claims me. He needs this. Me. And I give myself to him gladly, squirming beneath him and panting into his ear as I hold on for the ride because that’s all I can do.

Until he doesn’t let me anymore, wrapping his fingers tightly around my wrists and pinning them above my head. My body surrenders to his, my legs going limp as they spread wider to receive him. As soon as I do, I feel more connected to that fiery power I crave than I ever have, but it’s too close now. Too hot, a heat far too intense and intimidating to enjoy, let alone control. My muscles tense and I whimper into Asher’s kiss, but he either can’t hear me or he can’t stop himself.

“Lindy,” he snarls against my breast, letting my arms go so his hands can explore the rest of me. I keep them where he put them, breathing heavily as I grow accustomed to scorching heat of his mouth and the frenzied groping. I’ve done this with him hundreds of times, but in the haze of my dreams it’s so much easier to let go.

Asher shudders, gritting his teeth. Seeing how close he is to his release makes it easier to find my own and a heartbeat later we’re both writhing against each other as we fade into a fiery oblivion. A bright meteor streaks across the sky and the ground beneath us shakes, sending loose stones from the canyon walls tumbling into the raging fire around us.

When my senses return, I realize how lucky we are to be in the middle of nowhere, far from the Underground city. That shockwave was way too intense to go unnoticed. Asher gently pushes my hair out of my face when he recovers, our eyes locking. He lingers inside me, still as hard as he was when this started.

“You didn’t disappear,” he murmurs, his lips dancing around my face, kissing every little piece of me as his arm snakes up my spine and pulls my body closer to his.

“No, I didn’t,” I whisper, tracing my fingers in his hair.

We just hold onto each other for a moment, cuddling and kissing and relishing every second. We never get to do this afterwards and I’m definitely looking forward to it becoming the new normal.

After a few tender minutes, I sense Asher’s desire returning, coaxing mine to rise with him. “Your earlier offer,” he grunts, dragging his thumb my bottom lip as he presses his arousal against the brand on my thigh. “I’ll have it now.”

Grinning, I twist out from beneath him and sit back on my ankles, looking up at him through my batting eyelashes as I bite my lip. I’m glad we took a nap. It’s going to be a long night.

Chapter Ten

I’m in his lap when the first rays of the rising sun reach us, illuminating the black marks that scorch the landscape around our camp.

“We really destroyed this place,” I say as Asher lays back, still panting from our escapades.

He glances over at the marred canyon wall behind us and squints, like he’s trying to determine if what he’s seeing is real. “Yes, we did.”

“We might melt all your gold if we do it like that back in your lair.”

He frowns at me. “Hmm. Good point, I’ll have to rearrange some things. Your apartment building probably would have burnt to the ground.” Freshly recharged, I conjure a fireball and toss it into the air. Ash catches it when it comes back down, his eyelids fluttering as he absorbs the energy into his hands until all that remains is a curl of smoke. “I like this,” he says.

“You like what?”

Asher links his fingers with mine and squeezes. “The power. The Inferno. I can’t find it unless I’m with you. I don’t even know where to look. And I want it.”

“You do?”

“Yes,” he breathes, sliding his hand over my brand. “I understand why you had to go find your coven yesterday, why you want to set everything right. It’s not just for me, for us. Or for the Underground. I crave it, too. The only thing I want more is you.”

“You have me.”

“No, I don’t. Not yet.”

Asher grabs my wrists and pins them against my hips. My body enjoys the sensation, but something inside of me squirms in discomfort. “I can’t.”

“I know. We’ll get there,” he murmurs, pulling my face to his for a deep kiss.

“I don’t know if we ever will.”

“Oh, we will. It’s who we are. You came pretty close tonight.”

“No, I probably came a hundred times tonight,” I laugh.

He shakes his head dismissively and tweaks my nipples. I scoff, feigning outrage and pinch him back. “I miss seeing you like that, Lindy. So relaxed, not a care in the world. Squirming. Panting. Letting me do whatever I want and loving every single second. Completely at ease, knowing that I could never, ever hurt you.”

“Asher, it’s not you,” I confess. He lets out a bitter laugh and his eyes pull away from mine, his face hardening. “It’s really not.”

“Then what is it?”

“The Inferno. It gets so close, so hot. It’s just too much, it scares me.”

“It doesn’t scare me,” he says, his fingers skimming across my hairline. “I want it hotter. Closer. I want
you
more, so,
so
much more, but that heat… the more I get, the more I want.”

“Really?”

He nods. “My father used to speak of it, tried to prepare me for what it would be like when that weight sat on my own shoulders, but I didn’t understand him at all. And he left out all the good parts, or maybe it didn’t feel like this for him, I don’t know.”

“So does that mean… um, does that mean you want to…”

“Reclaim the throne?” he finishes the question I’m unwilling to ask. “Yes. The reclaiming was never the problem, it’s the ruling afterwards that I find so unappealing.”

“Why?”

“I don’t understand this world, these people. I have no idea what to say to them. Everyone I’ve met looks at me like a savior here to solve all these problems that I can barely comprehend. The only person I feel like saving doesn’t seem to need it.” Ash squeezes my hands again and grins at me. “I would love to stumble across a basilisk to rip apart right now so I can do something I’m good at.”

“I know,” I murmur. “Maybe we can run away.”

“No,” he replies firmly. “You want this, I think I do to. But even if I didn’t, I would give you anything.
Anything
. But I don’t know how this time.”

“Yeah…”

“What’s going to happen to me, Lindy?” he asks, his words laced with a hint of fear that I know so well. “We only have a few more days. You can see the curse, right?”

“Not really. There’s something distorting it, I can’t get a good look. But there’s a chance that it will regain control, that I can tell. Arralt might be able to put you back in your prison.”

“That won’t happen. I’ll never leave you.”

“Ash-”

“It won’t. If he even knows I’m free, there’s no way Arralt knows I grew up. He thinks he’s dealing with a kid and he has no idea what he’s up against,” he laughs, his chest puffing.

Asher really does look invincible, he must feel that way too. And if it was just Arralt, I don’t think there’d be a question of who the victor would be. But add the hundreds of SIGMA Seekers he has under his control… “Maybe you’re right,” I say.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. But I want to know for sure. I need to get a better look at the curse and that has to happen Underground, with my coven.”

“That’s impossible. I can’t go down there with you, I won’t put you at risk.”

“There’s something in that walled off forest that will help us. Or somewhere, I couldn’t tell what it was, but… that’s where we need to go.”

“I wanted to go toward that shadow, too. I think it is a place, not a thing, probably in ruins now. Even back then, witches would go down there to work their magic sometimes, I’m not sure why.”

“SIGMA won’t go in there.” Maybe. Probably. I’m definitely not saying that out loud. “If we go down through the tunnel Colin showed us, they might not even be able to detect us.”

“And what would we do?” he asks.

“I’m not sure. I need a better look at you.”

“What? You didn’t see enough tonight?” he laughs, his gaze falling to my bare breasts.