Page 56 of Ignite the Infernos

Aeson is in front of me in a blink, and a gasp lodges itself in my dry throat.

“Are you forgetting that you already agreed to be mine?” Aeson half whispers, half growls, and I refuse to acknowledge what that sound is doing for my more sensitive parts. He steps closer. “You moaned it and then shouted it several times while I bounced you on my cock.” Another step. “I’ve hunted you more than once, Ever Tenebrae, claimed you as many times, swallowed your lies, borne your betrayals, wrung orgasm after orgasm out of your sweet, dripping pussy, and now you won’t share a room with me?”

My chest rises and falls as though it’s competing with the rapid pace of my pulse. A throb between my thighs demands my attention, and my nipples tighten with need. Aeson takes another step, and his chest just barely grazes mine as I look up into his blazing blue eyes.

Think, Ever, think! Don’t let this blue-eyed bastard beguile you!

I lift my chin even more and press my shoulders back, like the stance will lend me strength. “You can’t even decide which head you want to think with, Aeson, but I’m supposed to share your bed? One minute you’re cold, the next hot. Which is it? Do you want to devour me, fuck me, ignore me, or abandon me altogether? Because I can’t for the life of me tell.”

His lips purse slightly, and my nipples pulse as though they’re trying to signal him and bring his mouth in for a safe landing. Aeson’s gaze blazes brighter and he presses his hard chest against mine, and I have to bite back a moan.

“That depends on you, Ever. Am I the enemy you’re intent on making me? Your mate? The person you traded yourself to for a chance at the Matron? Or am I just a means to an end? I’m not the only one who can’t make up their mind.”

His words strike true and sink into me. My mind offers several suggestions of other things he could sink into me, but first we need to be on the same page. I don’t step back, because why the fuck would I, but I pull in a deep breath and concentrate on what needs to happen here.

“We have a partial bond that’s already turning on us,” I start, and he reaches up and runs his fingers down a strand of my hair that’s escaped the mess I’ve piled on top of my head. I slap his hand away so I can think, and the smile that slips across his face is the definition of wicked.

I exhale a measured breath and look up into his gorgeous fucking face and get my shit together.

“I can’t promise to tell you everything,” I explain, my eyes searching his. “Not until it’s safe. You can either accept that or not. Accept me as I am or walk away. I can’t give you carte blanche to my secrets and my soul.”

Aeson searches my face for a moment, and then he lifts a hand and cups my jaw. At first, I think he’s going to kiss me, but then he tilts my face and leans down until his breath tickles my ear.

“I always thought one was the key to the other,” he rumbles, his breath caressing down my neck while his tone dips between my thighs. “And I’m not the kind of dragon to accept anything less than everything.”

Goose bumps crawl up my neck, racing the flush that’s already gotten a head start. Aeson steps back, his pupils blown and his jaw clenched as though it’s taking a considerable amount of force for him to put distance between us.

“What would you like to eat?” he asks out of the blue, and I stare at him for a second while his question elbows its way past my lust.

“Whatever, I’m not picky.” I shrug, and this elicits a low growl from Aeson, which I most certainly feel all over.

“Yeah, I’ve heard. Charred bugs?” he repeats with a shake of his head. “Never again, do you understand? No matter what you choose.”

My chest grows tight, and emotion swells through me. I give him a small nod, unsure why his words are garnering this reaction. I try to blink away the tears welling in my eyes, but two escape my efforts.

“No matter what you choose,” he repeats again before his thumb wipes away the tiny river of sorrow on my cheek. “You will always be protected, and this will always be home.”

I give him another nod, and then he turns to leave. I watch him go, biting my tongue, and bitch-slapping the bond to keep from calling him back. I’m sure if I did he’d only confuse me more. I’ve never wanted to fight someone more in my life, but then he says things like “this will always be home” and what makes it worse is…I believe him.

Chapter 26

Ever

“WHY ARE YOU ON THE floor?” Aeson grumbles, interrupting my perfectly peaceful sleep.

I groan an objection. “If it’s not obvious to you what I’m doing, we have bigger problems than we realized.”

Aeson sighs irritably, and I crack a smile. It’s a sound I could get used to waking up to, especially when he’s annoying me as much as I’m annoying him. “I know what you’re doing. Why are you doing it on the ground? I put you in bed halfway through the night when you wouldn’t stop tossing and turning.”

“I know,” I rasp, shoving my covers off. “I woke up and put myself right back here.” I sit up and blearily survey my surroundings. My brain slowly ticks off all the places I could be: a cell, a seedy hotel room, a sand cruiser, a storage container, Aeson’s rookery.

I slot the last one in place and calibrate accordingly. I’m safe-ish—depending on how one defines the word—rested as I get these days, and . . . hungry.

“Our discussion with my father has been postponed,” Aeson informs me as he strides over to the archways and opens the drapes.

Light blindingly breaches the room, chasing away the cocoon of pleasant darkness I prefer.

I search the balconies for any hint of snow, but the dragon-stone terrace isn’t softened by a blanket of fluffy flakes. The summits of Talon’s Reach boast sharp white peaks, but they’re being greedy and keeping the snow to themselves.