Charred Hope (#3, Heart of Fire) (11 page)

“You do love me, don’t you?” she whispered. “I can see it.”

“Maybe a little.”

She laughed in delight.

Chace captured her mouth with his, his hot kiss deep and demanding.

Skylar melted against him, loving the way his muscular frame felt beneath her fingers. Skimming his body with her hands, she reached between them to stroke his dick hard.

He groaned. “Shower?”

“Yeah,” she said breathlessly.

With a wolfish grin, Chace grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom. The shower was small for two people, but she knew the point wasn’t to get clean anyway. The cabin had turned it on for them in advance, and the mirror was already fogged up.

Closing the glass door behind them, Chace pressed her back against the wall, moving his hips against hers. The shock of cold tile and warm water made her gasp and shiver, the sensations in her body more intense than ever before.

His kiss was hard, his hands traveling down her body to her ass. He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. Pressed between him and the tile wall, she circled his neck with her hands and waited for the pleasure she knew was coming.

Chace entered her slowly, inch by inch, pushing her against the wall while kissing her deeply. His hot tongue explored her mouth then traveled over her lips before he began pressing kisses down her jaw.

“Oh, god yes!” she groaned when he was all the way in. “You feel incredible!”

“So do you,” he replied huskily. “Always so wet.” He moved inside her a few times, and she gripped him hard with her arms and thighs. One of his hands slid between them to stroke her clit.

Skylar shuddered at the exquisite pleasure the light touch caused. She moved against him, needing him too much to think of anything else. Nibbling on his ear, she clung to him.

“I love you, Chace,” she whispered.

His movement stilled, and he pulled back far enough to see her face. He smoothed her hair away from her features, his intense gaze burning.

“Do you really?” he asked. “Even after everything?”

With him inside her and their bodies pressed together, she’d never felt surer of anything.

“I do.” She traced the planes of his face with her fingertips.

Water poured over them. Chace eased out of her then stepped back.

Uncertain how to read his actions and sudden quietness, she lowered her legs and gazed up at him, her arms around his neck.

“Will you say it again?” he asked hoarsely.

Skylar smiled, understanding fluttering through her. Her dragon, the most incredible man in the world, had never known the love of another or what it was like to share something like a heart or soul. He’d been alone his entire life. Until now.

“I love you, Chace.” She said it more loudly and looked him straight in the eye. “You’re my dragon.”

He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closing. They stood in the shower in intimate quiet, the tension between them thick, but the emotion even thicker.

“You’re my Sky.” His voice was uneven and thick. “I love you, too, Skylar.”

Sensing how vulnerable he was in that moment, she slid her palms up to take his face then kissed him hard. Desire quickly turned into something more intense and primal. Their tongues tangled desperately, their hands roaming each other’s bodies with urgency.

Chace spun her and pressed her against the wall with his upper body weight, entering the depths of her body quickly. The jarring cold of the tile startled her into greater awareness of the sensations filling her body. One of his hands traveled down her wet body to her clit and began stroking her lightly, fast.

“Say it again,” he ordered in her ear, thrusting into her with the desperation she, too, felt.

“I love you!” she cried.

Her orgasm rose hot and fast, egged on by the friction of his dick against her G-spot and the tickle of his fingers around her clit. He filled her in a way unlike any she’d ever experienced, completed her world as if he’d always been there.

“I love you, too, Sky,” he said, his breathing ragged.

She moaned, his honey-bonfire scent and the wicked movement of his fingers driving her beyond herself.

Seconds later, she shattered. Waves of intense pleasure flew through her, wringing a throaty shout from her.

Chace withdrew and spun her once more, hefting her onto his hips again. He kissed her hungrily and plunged into the seizing depths of her core hard and fast while pressing her back against the wall.

Skylar groaned once more, her orgasm extended by the friction of his hard dick inside her sensitive sheathe. She clung to him, clawing at his back and forcing his body closer with her legs.

“I … love you, too … Sky …” he said a split second before he, too, gave a cry of release. He slowed but continued to pump then buried his dick deep inside her and stayed.

Panting, the two of them were still as warm water cascaded down from the rain showerhead in the ceiling. Chace’s body quivered from his release, his fingers gripping and releasing her ass as he worked through his pleasure.

Skylar didn’t have to hide her tears of joy in the shower. She let them fall and hugged him to her hard, breathing in the scent of a dragon while clinging to the frame of a man.

“We’re doing this every morning,” he said at last without lifting his head.

She laughed, unable to identify a time where she’d felt so comfortable.

Like I’ve found my home.

“And maybe every evening, too,” he added.

“I think we need a vacation when this is over. You still owe me a pizza date,” she reminded him.

He raised his head and gazed down at her, the glow in his eyes making more tears spill. She smiled.

“Was I too rough?” he asked, concerned. He released her and withdrew, stepping back until he had enough room to wrap his arms around her.

“No,” she murmured. Skylar hugged him hard. His soft skin was warm, the hard muscles beneath it strong and solid. She rested her ear against his heart and listened to it beat, knowing she was the reason it did so.

“You’re shaking.”

“I’ve never been this happy before, Chace,” she told him and buried her face into his shoulder.

He held her more tightly.

“I love you. I don’t want to lose you. Ever,” she whispered. “It makes me fear what’s coming even more.”

He lifted her chin and gazed down at her. With the tenderness was a new emotion: resolution.

“You have nothing to fear. We have each other, and we know what we’re supposed to do: put the shifter community back together and take care of everyone,” he said firmly. “I love you with every ounce of my soul. I’ll always be there for you, no matter what happens. You can trust me, Skylar.”

“I do.” She smiled, touched by his words.

“We have a world to conquer.” His thumb drifted across her plump lips, and his gaze dropped to her mouth. “Then we’ll come right back here and fuck until we can’t walk anymore.”

Skylar laughed again. They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s presence.

“Come on,” he said reluctantly. “Let’s get the show started, so we can spend more time together.” He opened the door to the shower.

Skylar grudgingly went. She dried off then left the bathroom, headed to a pile of her clothes. As if to remind her of how serious their awaiting adventure was, the lasso sat in the center of her clothing.

Her thoughts sobered quickly at the sight of it and the thought of what they had to do. She glanced towards the bathroom and found Chace in the doorway, studying her.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

“Yeah.” She smiled quickly and started to dress. “I want to help everyone, Chace. I know my father didn’t believe that, but I think we can.”

“I think you’ll find there are some people beyond reason.” He moved towards his dresser as he spoke.

“Like Dillon?”

“I imagine there are others as well. Your father wasn’t budging from his view of the world. Some people are too entrenched.”

“Or too motivated to get their ways,” she murmured, thoughts going to another dragon. Skylar pulled on her shirt. “Like Freyja.”

Chace froze for a moment then resumed dressing.

Interesting.
“She’s behind all this. Brainwashing me, causing the war between shifters.”

“I guess I’m not surprised.” His tone was measured. “Gavin was right about someone trying to push the strong shifters out of the way?”

“Yes. Mason won’t tell me everything, but he did say she hasn’t give up on her plan, even though the initial one didn’t work.” Skylar pushed her feet into her boots then bent over to tie them.

When she straightened, Chace’s features were hard to read. He seemed pensive, troubled almost.

“Is that an issue?” she asked, disappointed to know there was some emotion remaining after so long.

“Not for me,” he replied. “Might be for
us
, though. She’s not the kind of person who is going to change her mind. And she was able to reach out to others enough to strategize when she was supposed to be in hibernation. It means we may not have much of an option, if she refuses to back down.”

“You think we’ll have to kill her.” Skylar’s voice was hushed.

“I think it’s possible.”

Not quite what I was expecting.
“Dillon, too, maybe.” She grew still. “I’ve always known I might have to kill someone. I thought it’d be a shifter, back when I thought they were my enemies. Do you think we have any sort of obligation to try to work things out in a way that spares people’s lives, even if they really deserve to be taken out?”

Chace glanced at her.

“I mean, because we’re leading the community now,” she added.

“I think we need to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the community. No matter what that entails,” he said quietly. “This is new territory for me, too, Sky, but I think we must always do what is best for the shifters as a whole.”

She nodded. Never in all her time did she think she’d be in this position, the unofficial shifter queen, charged with making hard calls to protect the very people she once hunted. She felt neither worthy nor prepared, but she was grateful to have Chace with her throughout it all.

“And … as for us. Are we good?” she asked uncertainly.

“Absolutely,” he replied without hesitation. “We’re in this together.”

She believed him. They were too different to see eye-to-eye on everything, but she hoped they were able to build on their relationship to work through those differences while guiding the shifters into a more peaceful era.

“Do Protectors live as long as shifters?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not sure. I don’t see why you couldn’t, since you pretty much
are
a shifter.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, not liking the reminder.

“Even if you don’t for some reason …” he continued, hushed. “Sky, I’ve lost everyone I ever cared about. At one point, it made me harden myself to the world.”

She studied him as he spoke, hearing the pain in his voice.

“But with you … I can’t live without you. I don’t
want
to live without you. I’d rather spend eighty years together and eternity with the knowledge that my best years were with my Sky than walk away and never know how incredible it is to be with you,” he said softly. “I guess we’ll find out. Either way, I’ll never, ever regret you, Sky, or take advantage of every second we spend together.”

Her eyes misted at the sweet words, and she ducked her head, the giddiness inside her wanting to explode with happiness.

“Now, let’s see what we got waiting for us!” he said with forced lightness and opened the door to the cabin.

Turning her mind to their mission, she followed him outside. She smelled fire the moment she stepped onto the porch and sought out the source. Black smoke rolled into the sky from the direction of Mason’s hideout.

“Chace …” she murmured.

“I see it. Want a ride?”

She nodded, trusting his wings more than hers.

He stripped and shifted, turning into the magnificent teal dragon that once terrified her. With a tight smile, she rubbed the soft spot between his nostrils then stood back when he took flight. 

Chace picked her up gently and soared into the sky, staying a few feet above the treetops as he made his way towards the base where Mason had taken her. She saw the damage before they reached it: the compound was on fire, along with the forest around it. Her senses picked up on the shifters in the vicinity, and she cataloged them quickly. Four alive, over a dozen dead.

Mason was among the living.

Chace found a nearby meadow and lowered them into it. The moment her feet hit the ground, she was running towards the shifters she sensed were alive, assured that Chace would be at her heels as soon as he shifted. Her heart pounded and her hands trembled from concern that was too strong to be anything other than one of her newfound instincts. She didn’t even know these shifters, and she was terrified for them.

“Mason!” she cried, reaching a picnic area near the lake.

Smoke ballooned overhead. The breeze was carrying it in the direction opposite her, but it filled the sky.

Forcing herself to focus on her shifter senses, she picked up on the lion shifter and altered her course. He and the others were close to the lake.

Skylar pushed through trees to reach the opening around a cluster of boulders and tree stumps. The four living shifters she sensed were present covered in soot and ash.

She slowed when she reached them, assessing them quickly. None of them appeared to be too badly wounded.

“Mason, what happened?” she demanded, sinking onto the ground beside him.

The lion shifter appeared exhausted. His clothing was torn and charred in spots, and there was blood on his arms and chest.

“Something I didn’t expect,” he admitted with a sigh. “Dillon and Freyja teamed up. I think things are about to get nasty.”

“Teamed up?” she echoed, astonished. “They hate each other!”

“But they hate you more,” he said, meeting her gaze. “Think about it. With the legit leaders of the shifters coming into power, what could be worse? I just wish …” His gaze clouded and a look of agony crossed his features. “These were the only ones I could save.” His whisper was so low, she barely heard it.