Page 42 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
I knew I hadn’t answered her question yet, but I couldn’t find it in myself to admit my problem. I knew I needed to tell her the truth, but I also would have rather done a million far more interesting things. I put my forehead down on her thigh, tempted to sink my teeth into the soft flesh.
“Sai?” she questioned again.
“I’m worried about you finding your family.”
“What? Why?” Maya asked, confusion filling her voice and making this so much more difficult. I was so incredibly selfish, and nothing I said would make my thoughts and words less horrible. Who looked at the woman they loved and asked them to pick them over the family that she only recently discovered? It was so fucked up. I was fucked up.
I needed to feel like she was choosing me, though.
“I don’t want to lose you,” I admitted roughly. “I can’t lose you, kitten. It would gut me.” My words were met with surprise that I could feel in the slight tension that ran through her frame. Her hands cupped my jaw as I looked up at her from where I was kneeling before this perfect fucking woman. My pride was completely and utterly absent. I hadn’t realized how desperate I was for her reassurance until I was kneeling in front of her, practically begging for it.
“You will never lose me.” Her words had hope nearly suffocating me. “I may have found my parents, but they aren’t my family. Not how you guys are. You are my mates, Sai. Wherever we go, we go together… at least, that’s how I thought it worked. Unless you want something different.”
“No,” I hissed out immediately and winced, feeling like an ass at my harsh tone. “I wouldn’t blame you, though, finding out you’re the princess of an entire realm. You have a massive family that would love nothing more than to keep you.”
Maya’s voice was edged in vulnerability as she spoke softly. “Do you want to keep me, Sai?”
How was that a fucking question?
In a second flat I had her pinned to the bed, cupping her face and examining the slight surprised but worried expression. How the hell had she reached that conclusion? I wanted to kiss that expression away, but instead I decided to tell her exactly how I felt.
“Of course I want to fucking keep you, Maya. You’re all I want. I’m terrified that you are going to realize that you don’t want us. That you have better options.”
Her eyes widened. “Better options? Sai, you guys saved me. You changed my entire world in a day. There aren’t any other options because I could never feel this way about anyone else.”
I swallowed back my words of utter devotion as I considered laying all my cards on the table, but my dragon was demanding that I approach the topic that bothered him the most. I felt weak giving into it, but I knew her answer would relieve or break me, and the anticipation of it was driving me to insanity.
“You marked Ledger,” I whispered. The realization of part of what had truly been bothering me becoming all too clear as the weight from not asking her was lifted from me.
Her eyes filled with confusion. “Was I not supposed to?”
How the hell did I explain this without sounding absolutely mental?
“It’s not that.” I frowned, ignoring the rumble that tried to escape my chest. “My dragon is just upset that he came before us. You marked the other three but skipped over us.”
It was stupid, so stupid, that dominance mattered to my dragon, but it did, and it was driving me up the goddamn wall. It was a slight that made my dragon feel as though we weren’t worthy of being her mate, and that concept was painful enough to damn well cripple me.
“I didn’t skip you.” Her authentic confusion had me feeling even worse.
“I understand that,” I murmured, “but my dragon is a dick.”
“Is this because of the hierarchy thing Croy explained?” she asked softly.
I nodded, and her eyes filled with a softness, her lips pressing up into a beautiful smile. “Sai, I want to mark all of you. As soon as possible.”
“You can mark me literally whenever you want,” I expressed as her smile grew, making me suddenly wonder how dangerous Maya would be the more this side of her was released. The one that teased and taunted. All it took was a goddamn smile from the woman and I was hard enough that my pants were uncomfortable.
In a move that impressed me, she rolled us easily so her body was flush on top of mine, her knees coming forward so that she was straddling me, her dark hair falling and creating a shade of privacy between us and the world. I wasn’t worried about anyone busting in here, especially since I had no doubt my flight was clued into what was happening.
“What are you doing?” I grunted as she leaned forward and kissed me, a soft brush that I immediately deepened. My hands found her hips as my cock jumped, pressing against the heat between her thighs. I had never loved her lack of clothing as much as I did in that moment. Her fingers gripped my hair, creating a tight hold as a low groan echoed from my chest, her ass rocking against my hardening cock. A needy sigh left her lips as I found myself fucking thrilled that Maya was so attracted to me. It made dealing with this intensity far easier.
“I want to mark you now,” she admitted, breaking from the kiss. “Can I?”
Was that even a fucking question? Of course she fucking could. The woman could turn me black and blue with bites and I would fucking love that shit.
Before I could stop her, Maya was sliding down my body, my nostrils flaring as her hands ran along the waist of my pants before pushing up the comfortable shirt I had changed into. I hissed at the feeling of her fingers on my skin as I tried to keep my hands down at my sides, attempting to maintain some level of sanity while letting her take the lead, a concept that nearly had me getting lightheaded. Don’t get me wrong, the urge to dominate Maya was strong, but watching her take control was hot as fuck.
“Kitten.” My warning broke out in a low rumble as she began to trail kisses down my abdomen, my body tightening as her tongue snuck out along the divet of my abs. I knew she could feel how hard I was, and my hands once again twitched towards her automatically, wanting to pull her against me, but I stopped myself, gripping the bedding hard enough it was near ripping.
