Page 40 of Flameborne: Fury
And though I was apprehensive, my mind torn between heavy need and instinctive fear, it was a relief to take his kiss, to wrap my arms around him, and welcome him into my body again, and again, and again.
15. Who Did This?
~ DONAVYN ~
It was a night of dreams. The most incredible, stunning dreams.
Hours of touch and scent and cry and need. Hours of watching her unfurl like a spring fern. The fear that still flickered in her eyes at times slowly replaced with joy and ease.
And every time we reached that peak, climbing together, the intensity never waning because our bodies were ignited by each other, the bond, and the dragons, I was left awed.
She was gorgeous.
Strong, and sweet, and eager.
The bond thrummed and swelled and glowed, strengthening with every joining. It tangled my heart and opened my eyes. But I couldn’t shake the sense that there was a tremulous thread in it, a piece of her that still feared. I sought it, kissed it, reached within the bond to stroke it, to beckon her out, to see that she had me to my soul.
Mate.Even the thought stole my breath. But the sight of her…
The final time we tumbled over that cliff-edge together, she cried my name and the sound of her giving herself crackledthrough me like lightning. I held her, one hand fisted in her hair, the other grasping her breast as I shuddered.
We both slumped, exhausted. I curled her into my chest, panting, sweating, praying she’d sense my heart and never give in to that fear again. Then slipped into sleep together when the dragons finally exhausted…
…and was pulled out of sleep the next morning by the strangest sensation. A tugging. A chill. And a knot of dread.
When I opened my eyes, I didn’t immediately remember why, but I knew I’d been changed. Then I saw the cave roof overhead and sat up quickly, looking around because the fur next to me was cold.Empty.
Outside, the morning sun remained dim. Gray. The wind whistled and bushes rattled. But the rain only came in spatters. For a moment I thought we’d be able to fly home, but then I heard Kgosi groan in the distance and grimaced as my body responded.
A dragon’s heat could last three or four days. And during that time they were single-minded. Placing Kgosi anywhere in the vicinity of another male dragon while his mate was still in heat was a death sentence to any male stupid enough to even scent the air near her.
We weren’t going anywhere.
I pressed my lips thin.
There would begraveconcern back at the Keep when Kgosi and I didn’t return today. Then I eyed the sky. It seemed the light and bare spattering of rain was only a pause in the Creator’s tempest. Clouds to the east roiled towards us in steely gray, promising a great deal more rain and wind before this was over.
I prayed the captains wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk good men and dragons to come after us in the storm.
Desire and need speared through me again and I heard a crash and a scream from Akhane in the distance.
Shit.
Where was Bren?
Taking a tight grip on my body, I found my clothing—saturated and clumped on the edge of the cave where I’d thrown them. Looking at the sky outside there was little point trying to wrestle that wet leather back on. What we needed was the clothing spread out in front of a fire to dry.
I saw the gathering of sticks and a heavy branch that Bren had brought in the day before and, praying it was dry enough, quickly set a fire near the wall where the rising smoke would be diverted towards the cave mouth.
When I had it crackling, though smoky because the wood was still damp, I shook out my clothes and laid them out on the nearby dirt, praying the heat would reach them in the damp darkness.
Then I pulled on my boots and went looking for my mate.
I could feel her. Somewhere. Nearby, but she felt like Kgosi when he was distracted. Hollow. Distant. But something else too.Wary.
I frowned.
Ten minutes later in my pursuit of her, my body grew so tight and needy because of the dragons, I knew if I stumbled on her in the forest with a raging erection and fire in my eyes, it would likely frighten her. We needed totalk.But that meant I needed to be in my right mind. When I found a small pool, I gritted my teeth, took off my boots, and slipped into it, begging the chill to shock the heat from my bones. And praying that she’d come to me. That I didn’t have to pursue her. That she wouldn’t be afraid.
