Page 240 of A Dance of Water

"You won’t claim her fully, Prima," the King warned. Oh? He was using his title, must be serious. "You will take her first pleasure, but her innocence is mine."

"My innocence ismine," Luella asserted. But it fell flat when her voice wobbled. She tried so hard to be brave.

Tharen stifled a laugh. "For now," he taunted. "I get your first pleasure tonight, but if the King claims your innocence, you have no way of ever getting out of that. Dragons are stubborn bastards."

Vale pulled away from where he was nuzzling Luella’s neck. It was like he was trying to climb inside her skin—Tharen didn’t blame him. She smelled so fucking sweet all the time. He knew it was because they were Vincire, and their scents called to her, too, but godsdamn it made him want to dive between her thighs and see if she tasted just as good there, wet with desire.

"Do not worry about that now, darling," Vale murmured, voice laced with a low hiss, tinged with possession. "Let Tharen have you. I will watch." He pulled away from her, fingers sifting through the strands of her hair; the rainbow light made it look like it was dyed with every color imaginable, the pure white absorbing the shades. The dragon shifter’s slitted green eyes pinned Tharen to the spot. "And I will ensure he does not do anything you don’t want."

The warning was clear. Tharen fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Trust me. She’ll want it."

A powerful ward enveloped the room, preventing them fromreaching out with any magic. Bastian’s Mind link wouldn’t work here, so they couldn’t converse privately in their heads.

Vale pressed a hand to Tharen’s collar, fingers digging uncomfortably into his skin. He relished in the bite of pain, it woke him up. The King tugged him forward, nose nearly pressing against his as he hissed, "Make it good for her, or Iwillfind a way to kill you. The curse be damned."

In moments like this, it was hard to call their inability to kill each other a curse, with Vale’s dragon right under the surface of his skin, waiting to strike. Tharen could see the shift of his pupils, the way they elongated between blinks.

That was why Tharen uttered his own warning:

"Put a leash on your dragon. She doesn’t need to be acquainted with fire in such close quarters."

Vale’s hand tightened on Tharen’s collar. He blew out a sharp, smoke-filled breath and then released him. The dragon shifter moved to stand only a few paces away. Tharen didn’t miss the obvious desire straining against his pants. The fucker was as worked up as he was.

Good. He would love to let the King see what he couldn’t have—what Tharen stole.

"I trust my Advisor taught you well, Luella," Vale said roughly. "Why don’t you show me what you learned."

"Good idea," Tharen muttered, still holding her head between his hands. He trained his focus on her as he said, "How do you want to do this, hm?"

He prayed to the gods that she wouldn’t say sweet or gentle. He didn’tdosweet and gentle.

He watched the delicate line of her throat work as she thought.

Finally, the lamb spoke:

"I don’t want you to treat me like you care… because I know you don’t." Luella moved, and he let her, hands growing lax on her cheeks as she fell forward into him. "Don’t kiss me."

Tharen’s breaths were ragged, and he wanted to look at her face while they spoke, but she remained hidden, tucked close to his chest. He tangled his fingers in the back of her hair, feeling the softness.

"I would say we would make a bargain, but we saw how those turn out. So you’ll have to take my word for it, lamb." Tharen tuggedher head away from his chest, tipping her face up to stare at him. She blinked, lashes casting shadows on her pale cheeks. "I won’t kiss you. Not now." As he said it, he crossed his fingers, just out of her eyesight, working hard to hide the smile that threatened to give him away.

A warmth above him made him pause, and they both looked up, to where the Stella danced playfully, a choreographed routine that only it knew the steps to.

"So pretty," Luella whispered.

The Stella curled around itself as it shifted in the prismatic array of colors in the stone room, tendrils of speckled light whispering above the space over her head, as if testing the waters of her, seeking safety.

Luella pulled away from Tharen slightly, a small hand lifting up above her head, fingers outstretched as she reached for the Stella. Tharen expected it to hide or disappear, but it did neither of those things.

No, the Stella seemed to melt into her. Warm sparkles turned into a liquid-like substance, dripping into the palm of her outstretched hand, pooling over her fingertips and running down her bare forearm until it curled around her chest, snaking over her breasts and dipping down, nuzzling against her waist like vines.

Luella gave a startled laugh, the sound like the faint chime of bells as she looked down at the Stella.

"I’ve missed you," she uttered, so low that Tharen thought he misheard. Maybe he did. How could she miss it?

The change in her demeanor was evident, the way the tension left her as the Stella stuck to her skin. Sparkles of stardust clung to her lashes and dusted along her cheekbones and across her collarbones, skimming over the Binding mark and the mark of their bargain on her chest, as if hiding it away.

As the Stella mingled with Luella’s skin and lit her up, he found his hands stilling against her head, growing almost… reverent.

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