Page 112 of Veiled Flames
While he continues to play in my folds, his other index finger draws a line down the center of my nose and grazes over my lips.
“It’s funny,” he says. “I spent my childhood fighting toescapemy father’s attention, whereas you craved attention from yours.”
“That’s very true.” I shift against him, and the trainer moves inside me. I’ve become so accustomed to it, I’d forgotten it was there. And my ability to tolerate it inside me this long, raises my hope that I’ll be able to mount a dragon.
Using my hand on his cheek, I draw Tynan’s gaze back to mine. “You rode a dragon today!”
Pure joy spreads on his face, as if he’d forgotten. “That I did.”
“What was it like?”
“That’s what I came here to talk to you about.” His arm pulls me closer, and the fingers between my legs continue to slowly stroke.
I look up into his eyes, as joy and excitement radiate in powerful waves that erase all my sadness about how he was raised. How I was raised too, even though our upbringings were clearly so different.
“When I was up in the sky.” His voice soars with excitement. “I felt so alive, soconnectedto my dragon. His name is Xendus, by the way.”
“A male.”
He nods. “While up there, I wanted to fly with Xendus forever, but at the same time, I wanted to get back to the ground.”
“Why?”
“So I could see you. So I could talk to you. Hold you.” His fingers still, resting over my entrance, and then start to stroke again.
My heart pounds and expands.
“But there was a rupture in the veil,” he says, “and my priorities shifted to duty.”
Forty-Three
Rosomon
As Tynan recounts his ordeal, my heart races as if it were me who faced demons today. It was his first time on a dragon, and it’s almost impossible to conceive of the danger he faced.
And yet, after nearly dying, he burst into my room full of joy and excited to tell me about it.
Instead of letting him share his happiness, I doused it, forcing him to drill me with hatred in his heart. I feel terrible at how I brought him down from his literal high—although perhaps it’s turned out for the best in the end. We’ve shared things we might not have, and I feel closer to Tynan right now than I’ve felt to anyone, ever. And not just because his fingers are still gently stroking between my legs.
“You must have been terrified.” It’s all I can think to say after the shock of hearing his tale.
“I didn’t have time to feel terror.” His chest expands, and he looks more like the Tynan I knew before tonight. And yet I still see the vulnerabilities under his bravado.
“The demons flew at us,” he says with excitement in his voice. “Saxon tried to hold us back, but Xendus and I fought alongside the others, and I scored my first demon kill.”
He’s already recounted this, and more, yet I don’t mind hearing it repeated. “When will you ride again?” I ask.
“Tomorrow. I’ll ride every day, if I have anything to say about it.” He cups my cheek. “I want to spend every moment I can atop Xendus. Every moment I’m not with you, that is.” He kisses me, and one of his fingers pushes inside me, the pressure pulling me further onto his lap.
He leans back from the kiss. “Am I being presumptuous?” His eyes flash more with mischief than doubt. “Can you tolerate being around me more often?” His finger probes deeper and the pressure pulls me closer against him. “Or is your hatred of me too great?”
“My hatred has lessened. Slightly.” My hips pulse, hungrily drawing his finger inside me.
Grinning, I reach out to touch his face, finding his jawline has turned somewhat prickly. “I suppose I can find ways to tolerate your presence, when you’re not on your dragon, that is.” I’m genuinely thrilled for Tynan, but his success spurs my own ambitions. And my determination.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He lifts my hand to his lips and lightly kisses my knuckles, as if we are being formally introduced as scions of two royal families, as if his finger isn’t inside me. We’ve already met as scions, but that night feels a lifetime ago.
His expression turns playful. “How about I get you out of this restrictive corset. Whatever are you hiding beneath it?” He winks. “Clever girl, by the way. Great disguise.”
