“I’m not afraid of you, Rhys. I’m not afraid of him either.” She tried to reach through the connection like I did when I wanted to tease or talk to her and failed. She blew out a breath. “I don’t want you to hold back. I want all ofbothof you. Tell your dragon to come out and play.”
She would be the death of us, I decided. I let loose of my control, pinned her completely against the wall and let my dragon fuck her until she screamed her pretty little throat raw for the both of us.
* * *
Elena smiled ruefully.“What are we going to do about this?” she asked, her voice raw and throaty. I liked it too much to feel sorry. Or maybe I was simply an unrepentant bastard. The animal inside me liked having her wear our mark, liked having her covered in our scent, and walking like she’d been claimed good and hard.
There was no putting her dress to rights. What was left of it would smell of sex, even to the least trained nose. I shed my cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. I couldn’t resist kissing her plump lips again.
“I’ll summon a servant to get you a dress to wear until the carriages arrive with your things.” With her hand on my arm and her other holding the coat closed around her, I moved to the stairwell.
I didn’t want to be concerned, but I was. That didn’t mean I had to let her know. Skimming her mind with mine, I let her stream of thoughts wash over me as we made the long trek down to the main floors, passing living quarters, guest quarters, entertaining quarters, servants quarters, and more. Every time we needed a new room, we simply dug deeper into the mountain to suit our needs.
Is it wrong that I’m already thinking about having him again?
I wonder where his rooms are.
Goddess, these stairs go on forever.
My thighs are killing me.
I miss my father already. I wish he were here.
I wonder what his family is like?
Her thoughts blended together, feeling them flow down the connection and fill me with inner light, inner peace. I hadn’t felt either in so long,so longI welcomed them as much as I was afraid of them. I feared I’d also come to crave them when and if they were ever gone.
We came to the lower floors and a door, which would lead out into a main hall where I could flag down a servant. “Wait here,” I told her.
“Where are we?” she asked, peering through the crack in the door when I opened it.
“This is the guest floor. It’s less traveled, but I’ll be able to find a servant for some clothes. If we go any farther down, we’re likely to run into someone else on the stairway before you’re dressed.”
She clutched at the cloak. “Do I get the tour once I’m presentable?” she asked.
“Only if they end in my private rooms,” I answered.
I slipped out into the hall and strode to the washrooms where the linens and cleaning supplies were kept to maintain the rooms, even though very few people visited the castle these days. There, I found Merry, one of the maids who had been with the Blaque family for many years longer than I’d been alive.
“Lord Blaque! We didn’t know you were back.” Merry was as much a mother figure to me as if she’d been the one who’d birthed me. “Come, we must get you something to eat.”
Merry solved every problem with food. From boils to broken bones. She wouldn’t be satisfied until everyone around her was as round and pink-cheeked as she was.
“No thank you, Merry. I’m here with my mate, Princess Elena. I’m afraid we’ve had some... troubles during our journey and her clothes were ruined.” I leaned in closer. “She doesn’t want to meet the castle in such a state.”
Her blue eyes twinkled with feminine knowledge. “Oh, I’ll bet they were ruined. Where is she? I’ll deliver them to her.”
“I’d rather do it, thank you, Merry. I’ll wait here for you to return.”
“Yes, Lord Blaque. I’ll return in a jiff.”
I waited for her by the supply closet with the scent of lemonfruit juice and candle wax wafting through the air. Underneath was the slightly damp scent of stone and earth so characteristic of the mountain. Home. I’d just had her, but already I wanted Elena again. I wanted her spread on the bed,mybed in this castle. By stars, I wanted to claim her as mine like I’d never wanted anything in my life.
Pressing a hand to my head, I waited for the feeling to pass, but it didn’t. The bond between us, the thread that connected us after the binding ceremony felt stronger than ever. Moored in bloodshed and sex, it had strengthened since we left Aurelia, despite my best efforts otherwise. It was like a link in my navel, my heart, my cock, and my head had fused and connected me to her, always. Even this far away, I could feel her, sense her in a way I never had before, not even to my former mate. With her, the connection had been more like an abyss, something for me to drown all the best parts of me in.
“Are you all right, Rhysand?” Merry asked, her hands full of lace and silk. She was the only one left of those who raised me to call me Rhysand.
“Yes, Merry. Thank you for this. If you’ll inform Alaric that we’re back, Elena and I will meet him in the study.”
