Page 69 of Light and Shadow
I collapse on his chest as my body shakes with the orgasm.
His legs shake beneath me as his warm cum fills me.
“Can elves and humans conceive?” I voice my thought as the rapture ebbs.
He draws a long breath and lifts me with his muscular chest. “I imagine we can, and since you’re not an elf with the magic to control pregnancy, we should be more careful.”
My mind drifts to a trio of children who have my hair and his eyes. They play and smile as dragons fly overhead.
“What was that?” Aaran grips my arms and stares into my eyes.
I blink the lingering images away. “I don’t know.”
Gently but decidedly, he slides out of me and rolls us to our sides. “I don’t think… Those notions…” He combs his fingers through his hair and sits on the edge of the bed. “It doesn’t do either of us any good to imagine such a future.”
I stand and grab a towel that was among the things I found in the abandoned room. I wipe our joined juices from between my legs before pulling on my jeans. I can’t decide if I’m angry or hurt. Whatever I am, it’s not how I want to feel after sex. I put on my shirt and pick up my shoes. “How do you know the vision came from me and not from you, Aaran? You’re no better than Jax, blaming me for everything that happens in your life.” I storm from the room and put my shoes on at the base of the stairs.
Half-dressed, he stops me with a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I got a bit…”
“Freaked out. Yes. I saw that. Men are the same in any world. If my magic can kill a shadow demon, you shouldn’t worry. I’m sure I can prevent your seed from taking hold inside me. I wouldn’t want to ruin your plans to rule this world one day.” My rage is burning so hot I can’t stop my thoughts from rolling to the side of extreme.
I storm up the steps.
At the top, he grabs my arm.
Shaking loose, I say, “I might remind you and Jax that you came and found me. I didn’t want to risk my life for this world.Now you’ve got me here, you might add a little more kindness to your list of attributes, Prince Aaran.”
“What are you talking about?” His face turns red. Good, I’m not the only one angry finally.
“You’re the firstborn of the woman who is the rightful queen of the elves, or did I get that wrong?” My breath is coming fast as I stare at him. “I needed the booty calls as much as anyone. Don’t give it a second thought.”
Scanning the deck and the number of people watching us, he lowers his voice. “What is a booty call? I told you how I feel.”
“You told me plenty. You love me, but not in the future when you’ll have to go back to a real elf’s life. You love me, as long as we don’t have shared visions of a future that freak you out.” Refusing to cry, I draw a shaking breath. “I will save your world if I can. As for the rest, you can fuck off, Aaran Riordan.”
Chapter Eighteen
Aaran
There’s nothing to do but watch her storm across the deck and up the steps to the bow. I’ll admit, I could have reacted better to the vision, but it was so real. Me and Harper here in Domhan with dragons back in the world and three littles who looked like us. How was I supposed to react? I’ve never had feelings like this for anyone. It was bad enough to hear the things she was saying, but I felt her hurt from the inside.
Moving aft, I block her thoughts. She told me not to, but I think she’s happy to have me out of her head right now.
As the sun begins to set, Fancor brings me a bowl of food. “That could have been better handled, lad.”
“I know.” I take the meager stew and eat. “It’s complicated.”
He slaps me on the back hard enough that I nearly spit out a mouthful of food. “No. It’s not.” He laughs. “You declared yourself, and then you got scared. Everyone on the ship knows that now. How are you going to make it right again?” He sits on the crate of extra wood next to me. It’s for the galley, but there wasn’t room below, so it’s relegated to the deck. Not ideal, but better than people having to endure all weather up here.
“Maybe it’s better if I don’t. She’s human. She has a mother and a life in her world.” A few hours ago, I would have begged her to stay here, but now I’m imagining her going home. I’m feeling more undecided than my youngest brother. Maybe I’ve always been too hard on Raith after all.
Fancor rubs his face like a man holding himself in check. “Lad, that woman came all the way here to save your world. Do you think she did that out of the kindness of her heart?”
“I saved her mother’s life. That’s why she came.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t be a dolt. You don’t believe that. She came because even then, she cared about what happened to you and the people you love. Did you lie when you told her you loved her? Was all of that just for the, what did she call it, booty call?” He chuckles at the foreign term.
“I didn’t lie, but we can’t always have what we want.” My stomach gives a lurch that has nothing to do with the stew. I put aside the half-eaten food.
