Touch of Flame

“Ephraim,” she hurried over and wrapped her arms around him. “What took you so long? I worried something happened and didn’t know whether to speak to someone or not.”

He hugged her back, his smile widening. “Don’t worry. I have managed to survive for so many years. I have learned many tricks to avoid danger and death.”

She drew back and smiled at him. “I don’t know how you did it.”

Truth was, it was hell but he forced a smile through the painful memories. It was all worth it now here with her. He cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over her cheekbones. She responded to his simplest touch and today, he could smell something different about her. She was close to her fertile days and if it was anything like with female dragons, then she would be more sensitive and easily aroused.

Well, he would also be more sensitive and aroused. Especially to her smell and touch. He leaned down and kissed her and as always he was surprised at her softness and the sweet taste of her. Every time would feel like a first time yet familiar.

Her hands went into his hair and she deepened the kiss. She was getting more comfortable each day and it made him worry less about losing himself in the moment. He pulled her closer to his body and she moaned against his lips. The scent of her arousal added to his own and as she pained him with pleasure she pulled away.

She was a little breathless and flushed but tried to appear calm. “You probably want to change,” she said.

“I probably should,” he released her and decided to go find something comfortable to wear.

As he changed in the private room next by, he could hear her pacing and her heart was still beating rapidly. She was surely reacting like a female dragon in heat.

When he returned to the room, she was sitting at the edge of his bed. The scent of her arousal still lingered in the room. If she only knew what she was doing to him.

Her eyes settled on him as he walked over and her cheeks flushed even more. She was recalling something seeing his robe.

“Did you have dinner?” He asked as he got into bed, making himself comfortable.

“Yes,” she climbed further up to face him, folding her legs. “Did you?”

He leaned back against the bedpost. “No, but I had so many sweets I am full.”

“It seems like you were welcomed.” She tilted her head.

He thought back to Ares. That man was interesting. He was like no human he had met before but then he knew tamers had special personalities. They were tamers for a reason. He was metalicious, very progressive for a human male, intelligent, confident, cunning, and straightforward. He was serious but not boring. Well, since he was a pirate, adventure was his thing but he was mission-focused now.

“I was. He will be a good addition to our team but he is careful of course and so should we. Even the smallest misunderstanding can sometimes cause division and he is not a man who plays fair.”

“Can we trust him then?”

“We need someone who doesn’t play fair,” he smiled. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling about him and he is a tamer so I know his priority is the safety of his people. It is wired in him. Nothing matters as much.”

“He sounds dangerous to me.”

He was. And there was also something else. He was something more just like his mother.

“He is. He is also the breedmate of a Katharos dragon.”

Dysis had come back with more information about the white dragons. The previous king of the white dragons and his wife was killed and they were rumors that the daughter was dead or locked away. It was interesting to find out that she was alive and in fact had been locked away.

“Did you meet her too?”

“Yes.”

“I would have loved to see a human and dragon together.”

Together? He wasn’t sure about that yet. He didn’t learn many good things about Nazneen as a princess and meeting her those things seemed to be true somehow. She was condescending in a way and demanding but she also seemed to listen to him. She didn’t give him an entirely bad feeling.

“It sounds hopeful,” she said. “What will you do now?”

“They are planning to get back her rightful place. We will see how that goes and he is willing to provide us with a certain amount of weapons.”

She nodded. “It will be good to have one ruler on our side.”

“King Malachi also has a human breedmate now.”

She frowned and her expression changed, turning grim. “I have no hope in the black dragons or their king.”

He wasn’t sure whether to have hope either. One terrorizer died and was replaced by another. And the human breedmate wasn’t a queen yet so it wasn’t a good sign.

“Forget about it,” he said not wanting to ruin the mood.

Her face softened again and she looked into his eyes. “Come here,” he said and she crawled over, getting into his arms and leaning back on him. He let his hands play her bare shoulders that tempted him. Smelling the way she did, he felt like he should send her to her room before his instinct took over too much but he didn’t want to.

His hand came to rest on the side of her neck and he planted his lips on the other side. She let out a small sigh as he sucked at her tender flesh, the scent of sweet arousal clouding his mind again but awakening desire.

His mouth traveled down to those delicate shoulders, not wanting to leave an inch of her untasted. He was already becoming feral. She tilted her body, her fingers finding his face and leading him to her lips. He crushed his mouth against hers in a wildness that he didn’t know he had.

She fell back and he was on top of her, ravishing her mouth, kissing down her delicate jaw, and sucking at her neck. She felt perfect beneath him. Soft and warm, her body arching, and heating to his touch.

He didn’t know exactly what he did as he was moving too fast but he touched or removed a part of her clothes that made her stiffen. He felt the way her heartbeat changed and she flinched.

Ephraim pulled away and saw the panic in her eyes, then slowly it was replaced by confusion. “I am sorry,” she breathed.

“No…it was too fast. I didn’t mean to…” he wasn’t sure what it was. If it was what she went through or just that he was going too fast.

He sat up and this time he could tell she was embarrassed. “It wasn’t… too fast. I just… don’t like to be undressed.” She said the last words quickly.

She looked down at her hands. He could tell she wasn’t happy about how she felt.

“It is alright,” he assured her.

She looked up at him. “It is not.” Her eyes glistened. “Will I forever be like this? I will have to at some point…” she looked down again fumbling with her fingers.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” he said hating to see her like this.

“But…” her voice lowered and now she scratched her fingers. “What if I want to?” She looked up at him again, her eyes tearing up.

It wasn’t just about wanting this. He understood what she meant.

“Would you be alright undressing?”

She thought for a moment then shook her head with shoulders falling. “Not in front of others.”

“You don’t have to completely undress.”

She looked thoughtful again.

“You could keep most things on.”

He could see her mind spin as she tried to figure out how and then she seemed to understand.

“Is that… normal?”

Normal?

“There are no rules.”

She looked at him for a long moment. “Would you be fine that way?”

The question took him by surprise. “Of course.”

She seemed skeptical. “No man would be.” He heard panic rise in her voice and then she shook her head. “This won’t work.” She then frowned.

It was her fear speaking. Her doubts. He had gone through that. The feeling of chaos over something that a normal person would solve easily.

“You haven’t tried.”

She looked at him for a long moment and he began to take off his robe to help her think. Well, about something else before she made the issue bigger in her head. “Are you not tempted enough to try?” He asked.

Her cheeks flushed. He leaned in and teasingly licked her lips, feeling them tremble to his touch. He now had an idea now on how to help her.