Page 47 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
It was onlya few hours later that I was tucked away upstairs in the bedroom that I was starting to absolutely love, the circular bed making a far better nest than the one at home. I hadn’t started to properly set it up or anything, but for right now, I was perfectly content laying in it and relaxing in the glow of the moonlight as I heard the conversation from my mates drift up from the back courtyard.
I had told them I was going to take a shower, which I had, but now I was dressed in a soft silk nightgown, and I had absolutely no intention of leaving. I was honestly perfectly content laying right here and letting the lull of everything that had happened to me run over me like water in a creek.
Although, when I heard Anani’s voice, I couldn’t help the smile that broke onto my face as I rolled over onto the side and found him standing in the doorframe.
“Hey you.” I reached for him, and he was across the room in a second flat. I let out a happy sound as he sat on the bed and brushed my hair back from my face, looking down at me with a loving expression.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he admitted softly. “I know it’s been a lot.”
“It has,” I hedged, “but I feel better now. The main thing that was bothering me was that you guys were acting differently. I was scared… I just thought that maybe what I’d done to Lorn scared you guys.”
He blinked at me in confusion before shaking his head. “Absolutely not, Maya. I mean, was I surprised? A bit. But in a good way. I want you to be able to defend yourself, peanut. The world is a fucking terrifying place, especially when you’re smaller than the person coming after you.”
The last part sounded a bit harsh and uncomfortable, as if he were speaking from experience. I sat up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, letting out a small moan as he deepened it. When I pulled back, I spoke from the heart.
“I won’t always be bigger than the people who come after us,” I whispered, “but I will always do my best to protect you guys like you protect me. I don’t ever want to lose any of you, and Lorn symbolized just another person trying to ruin this. Trying to take away this peace I have finally found.
“I don’t feel guilty. I am supposed to, I think, but instead I just feel relief. Relief that whatever it was that was occurring with him is over. Finally.”
Anani examined my face, and his eyes warmed with an emotion that I was becoming more familiar with seeing from my men. “Peanut,” he said, his voice soft, “when I first met you, I was so scared that we would never be able to protect you. Scared that there were too many people in the world against this, against us. But I never considered just how strong you are, just how much you’ve been through… You’re a survivor. You are stronger than any of us, been through more than even my brother and I, yet you are still able to walk out of it unjaded. Uncynical. It’s beautiful. You’re fucking beautiful, peanut.”
“I love you,” I whispered softly, and his eyes flared. “It’s true, I love you. I love all of you, and I love what we are building here. I can tell something big is about to happen, and I know whatever it is, we will be able to handle it, but I want to handle it together.”
“Maya.” His voice choked up as I surged forward and kissed him hard. When I pulled back, I asked for exactly what I wanted.
“Can I mark you, Anani?”
A growl broke from his throat as his hands tightened into fists, as if he was trying to stay as still as possible. Did he feel the same level of need as I did? Did he feel the need to connect like that? To feel his mark on my skin and to feel my teeth on him? I knew most of the others hadn’t been planned, but this felt significant.
This was a choice. My choice. I knew exactly what marking him would mean and what it would bring for our future, and everything was telling me it was the right path. That it was essential to start this new part of our life. It didn’t feel rushed or pressured. For the first time in my life, I felt completely in control of the choice I was making, and it left me feeling almost high.
“Are you sure?” he grit out, his eyes flaring with the knowledge of what that would mean between us. Not just him and I, but everyone.
“Absolutely positive,” I whispered.
His eyes ran down to my neck, a rumble escaping his throat. “Can I mark you first? I want to have my mark on you when you finally complete the bond.”
My body lit up in flames as he caged me under him, his knee between my legs so that I couldn’t bring them together.
“Where do you want to mark me?” I asked, my voice breathy as he ran his fingers up my waist to hold me there, his eyes traveling over the expanse of my skin. When he bent down to trace his lips against the pulse point in my throat, my phoenix forced a sound of need from my lips, causing his dragon to rumble back in response. Anani’s human energy was quickly exchanged for a far more predatory version that had every inch of me melting against the bed, wanting him to take control of the moment.
“Fuck, you smell so good,” he groaned softly as my fingers strung through his hair. When my legs wrapped around his hips, he surged forward, and I let out a small cry at the way his teeth bit down on my pulse. My eyes fluttered shut and I arched back as power surged through me, lighting up my bond with Anani. I felt almost dizzy with relief as my eyes finally opened and I felt him kissing the spot before traveling up my jaw and then meeting my lips.
A moan caught in my throat as he pressed down against me, the entire moment searing every part of my body as I considered asking him for more. Asking him to fill me as I marked him, but when he rolled us so that I was on top of him, I could see there was something else shining in his gaze. It was heated, but also vulnerable.
“I want you to mark me here.” His voice was rough with emotion as he took my hand and brought it to his pectoral that was covered in tattoos. The hot skin felt good under my hands, but surprise hit me as I realized what I was feeling was scar tissue, my eyes watering in realization of what he was asking.
“It was the last place my father hurt me. He practically ripped a hole in my chest with his claws. They healed most of it, but there was still this mark left… I covered it in tattoos because I was ashamed of it, but now I want a new mark there. I want your mark. I want you to replace the bad memory with the best moment of my entire fucking life.”
Tears dripped down my cheeks as I pressed forward and kissed him in a deep, heated moment before he finally broke it and offered me an intense look that was filled with so much love that it floored me.
“I love you, Maya. I don’t deserve you, none of us do, but I love you and I’m going to fucking keep you.”
His words were like a high to me, and after a small smile, I surged forward and bit down on his pec. A hiss broke through his lips as the taste of his blood exploded through my mouth, and a whimper left me as I felt everything snap into place at once.
The air turned into an inferno, and time seemed to freeze. My phoenix nearly blasted out from my skin as I felt every fiery line and connection to my other mates turn into golden eternal flames. There was something there, something that turned those rope-like bonds into beams of steel.
My skin broke out into a flush, and I let out a moan at the way Anani flipped us, covering my body, as instinct rode me hard, creating a euphoric effect. It was the single best moment of my life… Until it wasn’t.
