Page 29 of Breaking Briar

What is she saying?

I cannot hear, cannot make it out.

Bond.

I cannot bond with the beast.

Unholy.

Abomination.

Salvation.

“Bond!” I scream out before the witch can close off my mind again.

I have no idea what it means. Maybe Philip does? Maybe his dragon does? Agony rips through me as I writhe on the bed, unable to process the feelings flowing through me.

“Please,” I whimper, pleading with the man before me. “Please make it stop.”

“I hear you, Briar,” he growls. “I hear you.”

He walks away, and for a moment, I worry he’s going to leave me like this. But soon, he comes back, his heavy tread matching the beating of my heart. In his hands are more of those infernal vines.

They cut through his hands, making them raw and bleeding, but he endures it for me. Kneeling beside the bed, he wraps it around my breasts, forcing the thorns deep into my skin. My mouth drops open as pleasure rushes through, pushing out the pain, until all I can feel is bliss.

My vision wavers as relief rushes through me. Then he takes more of those thorns and wraps my other breast. With each breath, they strain against their bonds, sending flutters through me.

My blood drips down my side, hot and thick as each inhalation forces the brambles deeper into my skin. But I don’t care. Nothing matters anymore. All I can feel and sense is pleasure coursing through my body, erasing the taint filling my mind. With each stabbing prick, the haze recedes until I’m me once more. At least as much of me as was there before.

Philip kneels before me, his eyes a dark red. The dragon shines through as he lifts his hand to show me the dangerous talons sliding from his fingers. They no longer frighten me. Now, I know the exquisite agony they will bring.

He slides his palms under my bottom and curls his hands up, digging the sharp points into my muscles, holding me still. I scream as pleasure forces my body to go taut. I writhe under his grasp as need courses through my veins.

Again, his tongue laps at me, but this time, it’s not the thin point I’m used to feeling. It’s broad and firm, like what I would imagine a human to feel like. Arching my neck, I look down the valley of my breast to watch him.

Philip lifts his head and makes a grand show of licking his lips. “I’ll never tire of tasting you, Briar. Neither me nor the dragon. We own you, and soon, the witch inside your head will know it too.”

“Does that mean you can fix this? Fix me?”

“Shhhh, princess. Lie back and let me keep the pain at bay.”

Heat washes over my skin as my mind goes numb. All I can feel is Philip tasting me, teasing me. He drags his tongue around the tip of my clit for a moment before sucking it in between his lips. The pressure is immense as he alternates between sucking and licking until I’m wriggling in his implacable grasp.

Desperation rolls off of me in waves, and again, I find myself staring down at the abyss. The black pool ripples before me, beckoning me to dive in. I want to. I want nothing more than to slip beneath the waves.

Philip growls against my skin, once more causing the dark waters to undulate beneath me. Whatever is happening in my mind is tied to him. If only he can break through. Behind me, the wall continues to loom, but now, thin cracks splinter the surface.

Bright light shines through, but I cannot touch it. I cannot reach it. Something still holds me back. My eyes roll in the back of my head as Philip pulls away, yanking me away from the scene and back to the present.

“Don’t worry, princess,” he breathes against my sensitive skin. “Soon you will be free.”

CHAPTER 13

PHILIP

I pull back and stare down at Briar. Her body twists with need beneath me, and as much as I want to indulge, I must free her from the witch’s spell. For once, the dragon and I are in accord. Knowing she was controlled this way eases the anger from burning so hot it overtakes us both.

Now, we are able to work together to make little Briar ours officially. Though Master Balcom wrote nothing of what happens between dragons and their mates, I have all the information I’ll ever need in my head and heart. The dragon whispers to me, revealing the secrets of the bond.