I need to talk to Ebron as soon as I can do it without bothering him.Every time I’ve checked in with my dragon, he’s been happily content with the three female dragons. I knew he’d come if I called, but I didn’t want to interrupt him. He’s earned a bit of happiness.
Moving on, I enter the quiet kitchens, find a loaf of bread, and some cheese, and sit on a table against the wall, snacking. The homey foods bring my troubled thoughts a bit of relief. Good food, good health, good friends, and good family, that’s all a person really needs. A pang echoes through my chest as I think of Arthur and my family. I miss them so damn much it hurts.
There’s a slight noise outside the kitchen door. I stiffen, eyes fixed on the sound when Prince Lucien comes striding in wearing an open robe, black shorts, and no shirt. His gaze sweeps the room before it lands on me, and his eyes widen.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, surprised.
“Probably the same thing as you,” I counter, lifting up a piece of bread that I’d stuffed some cheese on. “The nighttime munchies.”
He gives me a funny look, but crosses the room toward me. His gaze moves to the bread and cheese beside me, and he slices off a piece of both and begins eating, a thoughtful expression on his face. Which can only mean trouble for me.
“I didn’t see you or your brothers at dinner tonight.”
My words bring annoyance to his face. “We were lost in the woods for a while.”
I choke on the bread and cheese in my mouth as I start laughing hysterically. “Really? I thought you knew those woods.”
He glowers at me. “We haven’t exactly trampled through the woods very often. Our focus was on the sky.”
I try to get my laughter under control. And fail. “So you three were lost most of the day?” My voice goes up a pitch. “Just walking in circles. The three great princes of the Dravari, completely lost.”
The way he eats his bread and cheese is almost vicious as he moves closer to me. He leans down, eyes narrowed. “It’s not funny. I was hungry all day.”
For some reason, that makes me laugh even harder. “You couldn’t even figure out what toeatin the woods?”
He finishes his food and crosses his arms in front of his chest.
“You’re like tiny little babies,” I wheeze.
“We’re not–”
“If I were to get lost in the woods, I’d be just fine. I know how to make a fire. How to forage for food. Even how to trap and kill my prey to eat. I’d be sleeping peacefully, food in my belly, fresh water nearby. But you three big, strong princes can’t handle that? What do they even teach you?” I say, setting my food down next to me. “Just to wipe your princely bottoms?”
He steps forward, so he’s suddenly between my legs. His hands come down on both sides of the table I’m sitting on, and the heat from his body sweeps over mine, sending a chill down my spine that stops my laughter. I don’t know why I’m so warm, or why the room is so small.
“I have a lot of skills. Want to see them?”
My breath hitches. “But, apparently, those skills don’t help you when you’re lost in the woods.”
I don’t know why I goad him. Why I don’t stop myself.
His gaze narrows and sweeps to my lips. “My skills are far more useful than that.”
I swallow around the growing lump in my throat. “I seriously doubt that.”
“Try me,” he says, his voice a low growl.
I don’t know what to say, so I just stare. And stare. His lips slowly lower, closer, closer, until they hover an inch from mine. His breath is warm on my mouth. Energy crackles between us in a way that’s hard to understand. It makes it difficult to think.
Then, giving me all the time in the world, he closes the distance between our lips and kisses me. Lightning splits through my body, and my back goes stiff. His lips are hard and possessive as they kiss me over and over again, all-consuming in a way I’m inexperienced with.
His hands leave the table, grab me, and pull me closer. A groan slips from his lips, practically vibrating against mine. I reach up and dig my hands into his wild blond hair, the silky strands falling between my fingertips. He seems to like that, because his hands slip down my back, to my ass, and jerk me against the hard evidence of his arousal.
I moan, and he slips his tongue against mine. The feeling of his tongue inside of me makes my knees go weak, and heat pools at my core. Every movement of his agile tongue makes me thinkabout what he could do with it between my legs, and the thought has me grinding against him.
He makes a choked sound and, unable to help myself, I reach between us, tugging his shorts so they fall down to his ankles. His entire body stiffens as I curl my hand around him and start stroking.
“Fuck,” he groans. “Fuck.” And then his lips slip down my neck, sucking along the way.
