Page 45 of Madness of Her Mages

He was trying to distract me with sweet words and curse my lovesick soul for wanting to believe him. “You never answered my question. How many of your former lovers are at the castle?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged then looked to his brothers as if he expected them to save him. “Maybe a few dozen.”

My jaw dropped. “A few dozen?”

“Auntie!” Aurora called from the other room.

Blaze slipped through the partition with amazing speed. “I’ll go see what they want.”

Nikkos followed. “I’ll help.”

I sank under the warm water and scrubbed my face while inwardly screaming in frustration. I surfaced with a gasp as Drae leaned toward me, his wings spread out across the sides of the tub as water droplets clung to the taut muscles on his broadchest, streaming in rivulets down the crevice that bisected the length of his torso.

“And now I have one, and only one lover.” Something akin to accusation laced his words. “And you have three.”

I shot him a sideways scowl before setting the sponge on the side of the tub. “The elements chose three mates for me.”

“Because you’re an incredibly powerful witch,” he said as he created ripples in the water with his fingertips. “I know how this works.”

I gritted my teeth, my gaze narrowing on him. “How am I supposed to react when they flirt with you?”

He leered at me from beneath thick lashes. “I will shut them down.”

I let out an unladylike snort. “Those whores on the battlements didn’t appear shut down.”

He arched a thick brow. “Thosewhoresare ladies in Malvolia’s court, and I told them I have a mate.”

I gave him an accusatory look. “Did you?” I remembered the way they giggled after Drae had whispered to them. Whatever he’d told them hadn’t upset them. Had he truly told them he had a mate?

“Yes, Shiri.” He leaned back against the tub with a sigh. “You can use your siren voice if you don’t believe me.”

I heaved a frustrated breath. “I’m not going to use my siren on you.” How could he ask that of me? What kind of mate would I be if I used my magic to force my mates’ honesty? I should be able to trust them by their actions.

A loud splash, and then he was hovering over me, his wings stretched out above us, blocking out the flickering candlelight from overhead and encasing us in a dark cocoon. “Shiri, even though we’ve only been mated for a few days, you need to understand, I’m wholly and totally committed to you.” He gently cupped my face, tracing my lower lip with the pad of his thumb.

I barely resisted the urge to spread my legs when I looked into his eyes as dark as onyx.

“Those other girls don’t hold a candle to your radiance,” he continued. “My past is in my past. I won’t apologize for it, but if this bond is going to work, you need to learn to trust me. We will have enough enemies wanting to drive daggers into our backs. We can’t afford to have this tension between us.” I wanted to cry out when he released me and leaned back against the side of the tub.

“You’re right.” I sat on my knees and crossed my arms when my nipples pebbled in the cool air. “I’m sorry.”

He arched a thick brow, crooking a finger at me. “Come here.”

I crawled through the water to him and sat in his lap, melting in his arms when he wrapped his wings around us and brushed his mouth across mine. His lips were slightly chapped from the journey, but so were mine. I didn’t mind. He was warm and strong and all mine. I groaned into his mouth, pressing my breasts against his hard chest when he deepened the kiss.

When he reached between my thighs, tenderly stroking my sensitive, swollen flesh, I instinctively opened my legs wider, leaning back with a groan as he feasted on my neck, sending trills of lust cascading down my spine. I cried out when he slipped one finger inside my dripping sex, gently thrusting into me. He cradled me in his wings, his hungry mouth devouring my breasts while he continued to thrust. My sheath flooded, my sensitive flesh swelling and tingling. When he suckled my nipple while thrusting harder and faster, spirals of desire tightened around my spine and my release hit me like a bolt of lightning. I tensed in his arms, crying out into his mouth when he captured my lips in a passionate kiss.

He continued to gently pulse his finger deep inside me through the throes of the orgasm, stirring my passion oncemore. But I had other ideas. I extricated myself from his arms and straddled his lap, sliding onto his erection with ease. Once I was fully seated, his thick length filling me completely, I grasped his shoulders, giggling when his chest hairs tickled my nipples.

He grasped my hair by the roots, growling into my ear.What’s so funny?his dark voice projected into my mind.

I gasped when he wrapped his wings around my back and thrust his hips up, grinding into me with his enlarged cockhead. The pressure was so exquisite, I thought I could die from the pleasure.

Well?he demanded, thrusting again and again.

I was trapped in his embrace, captive to our desires, and I never wanted him to let me go.

I grasped his face, kissing him fiercely as he continued to thrust into my dripping sex.Your chest hairs tickled. Please don’t stop, Drae,I pleaded.Please. Please!

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