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“My love, kiss me.” I pulled him in then, hungry for his touch. He hesitated, but I pressed my lips to his.
And then his weight was against me and we were leaning back in the bath, with him stretched out against my body. The mood shifted—we needed one another, hungry and desperate to reconnect.
“Camille . . .” He covered my face with kisses, his hair gently dipping into the water to gather me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, not wanting to dally, wanting him to reclaim me, to leave his mark on me that I was his, not Hyto’s. My nipples were taut, stiff against his chest, and he lifted both of us out of the tub.
My legs still wrapped around his waist, he carried me, with both of us dripping and wet, into a chamber off the bath. There, a bed with blue coverings waited. I scarcely glanced at the room, but on the nightstand, I saw a picture of me in a silver frame, and on the other nightstand I caught sight of a picture of me with all three of my loves on the day we brought Trillian into the marriage. Our wedding picture.
“Smoky, don’t ever leave me,” I whispered into his neck, as we stood by the bed.
“You’re mine. Forever mine.” He lay down, reaching for me. “Ride me, my love. Take control—it must be at your own pace.” And then, his hair gently—ever so gently—lifted me by the waist and brought me down astride his hips.
“Hold my arms,” I whispered, and two more strands rose to take hold of my wrists, stretching them wide so my back arched. Held firm, but by my own will, I could feel him waiting below me, pressing against me, making me wet I could barely stand it.
I lifted up and found his eager cock and then, with a wanton cry, slid down on him, the friction driving me wild as he thrust himself into me. I was so slick and he was deliciously thick and wide that I let out a little shriek, squirming against him as his heat began to pulsate through my body. I moaned, my head dropping back as we began to move, synchronizing rhythms.
His hair stroked my back, my sides, my face as he reached up and cupped one of my breasts, squeezing the nipple. With his other hand, he reached around, fingering my ass, slowly working his way in with his index finger. A white-hot flame shot through my body and I let out a low groan as I rode him, rocking against his hips, feeling him drive into me again and again.
We were flying. I opened my eyes to see the clouds building outside the window as we rocked. And all the pain, all the anger, all the fear dropped away as we soared. As we reached the zenith, it started to snow.
“Smoky, love me.” And then I burst into tears, coming hard and fast—my entire body caught up in one giant orgasm of release.
Chapter 23
By the time I finished my bath, this time uninterrupted except by Smoky washing my back, he had found me a long silver dress to wear. It was his mother’s and it dragged on the ground, but her chambermaid tried to pin it up enough so that it looked halfway presentable. I was also bustier than Vishana, and as I glanced in the mirror, I couldn’t help but feel that I looked like a wanton love goddess in a makeshift toga.
“I can’t wear this! What if Hotlips is at the Council?” I turned to Smoky, frowning. Hotlips had been his fiancée from an arranged marriage until he’d managed to buy her off.
He smirked. “Is her opinion really of any importance to you? It’s not to me. But as you wish.” He motioned to the maid—who I suspected, from the color of her eyes, was a green dragon. “Find something that truly fits her, please.”
“Yes, Lord.” The maid vanished out of the room.
“She doesn’t talk much, does she?” The woman had barely said a word to me since she’d come in and found us in our second bath of the day. Her eyes had glimmered with a smile, but she’d said nothing other than to curtsey and greet me as Smoky introduced me.
“She’s an indentured servant. Long ago, her father accosted my mother. The Council sentenced his family to serve my mother until the day she dies. Mother chose to train a handful of maids from the sons and daughters and leave it at that. She could have the whole damned family at her beck and call, but she doesn’t abuse privileges.”
“Life in the Dragon Reaches isn’t easy, is it?”
“No.” Smoky was dressed again by the time the maid—I never did catch her name; maybe she didn’t have a public one—returned. She carried a dress similar to the one I’d tried on, but it was shorter and fit better. I slid into it, marveling at the weave of the fabric. It was warm, while appearing to almost float like silk around my body.
“This is lovely. Thank you.” I gave her a warm smile and she returned it before fleeing from the room, only to return with a large platter filled with meats, cheese, and bread. We ate silently.
We were just finishing up the last of the loaf when a soft chime rang through the chamber. Smoky stood, motioning for me to join him. “Time to go. That’s the sound that means the Council will convene shortly.”
As we headed out the door, I wondered what was going to happen. And how. Images tumbled through my mind, broken bits of Hyto’s sneering face, his grasping hands . . . but then it was all moot as we came to the Council chamber and entered.
There, in the center of the floor, lay Hyto, in dragon form. His wings were strapped back, in a rigid framework that looked like a combination of steel and wood and rope. The frame held them in what had to be a painful position. A ball gagged his mouth, strapped over his muzzle, and he could do nothing but thrash on the floor. For all of his sins, I was horrified as I realized just how much humiliation and pain the setup provided. But at a flash of memory of groveling at his feet . . . my horror vanished and I breathed out a long sigh.
Atop the podium were a group of five silver dragons, the center one being the largest dragon in the entire place. He had to be the Wing-Liege. The others gave the air of nobility and I figured they must make up the presiding Council members. The Emperor was nowhere in sight.
As I looked around the stadium, the ledges were filling with dragons, most in their natural form. Vishana was standing to the side, in her dragon form, and as Smoky saw her, he, too, stepped back, and within seconds my husband had transformed into his natural bent.
I was beginning to feel conspicuous.
After a few minutes, the Wing-Liege let out a loud roar and chimes rang through the amphitheater. Everyone quieted down. Then came a spate of words in a language I did not understand. Shortly after that, a flash of shimmers and the entire Council, Smoky, and his mother shifted into human form. The Wing-Liege spoke again, and Hyto shifted, the wingstrap contraption now pinning him to the ground with its weight. What appeared to be a set of guards moved forward to remove it and to hold him in check. Hyto gave me a long look, but he said nothing, did nothing. Simply challenged me with his gaze.
The Wing-Liege spoke again.
“We will stand in this form today because the complainant’s daughter-in-law is involved in the proceedings, and she is not of Dragonkin blood. She is, however, sealed into our society by marriage, and therefore has the right to attend this Council.”
