Page 40 of Monsters of Air

No matter how many lies they told.

Chapter Fourteen

The little bit of sleep I was able to get didn’t last long, not when the fire was slowly dying out and my dreams were plagued with ‘what ifs’ and ‘could haves’ thanks to the damn Fae. I sighed, rolling as close to the fire as I dared as I shivered in my blanket. I was too cold to sleep, and thanks to the echoes of the cave the Dragon’s snoring sounded like a herd of furry bears making their way toward us.

So, sleep was out.

Zilon was a couple feet away from me, his blanket draped loosely around his waist. He was shirtless, practically blanketless and I swear I could see steam rising from his chest. It was so unfair. Philit sat against a wall across the room, his blanket loosely wrapped around his shoulder. His head was tilted down against his chest as he slept.

Landers was the only one who was awake, it must have been his shift for guard duty. Except he was nowhere to be seen.

I shivered again, if I wasn’t going to sleep, I might as well be useful. Still shivering, I stoked the fire back to life, bringing it into a roar. It took a few minutes, and still no Landers.

Something wasn’t right. He should be here, guarding the cave or the Fae, and both were unprotected, although the Fae was still knocked out, so I was not sure it mattered.

The cold from the cave seeped through my soles, even with my boots and two pairs of socks. I would much rather stay by the fire, but I needed to find Landers. That, and I really needed to pee.

Wind blew over the opening of the cave as I approached it, the early morning light just starting to peek through the trees and over the peaks so that all the new snow and fog looked golden.

Golden and untouched.

Landers wasn’t out there, nor were any footprints leading away. At least that meant he hadn’t abandoned us, which actually surprised me. For all of them.

It was obvious they didn’t want to be around me, except maybe Zilon. Landers had gone from wanting me to ride him to loathing me, and Philit was only doing his duty.

They could just fly away now that Philit’s wing was better, but they stayed with me. I needed to find a way to be as strong as the Fae thought I was. As strong as I wanted to be. Climbing this mountain was supposed to be my journey, not theirs, and I needed to find a way to pull my weight, or I needed to go alone. Slipping away would be easy. It would be easy to just keep walking…

I pushed the delusional thought away before it took root.

I took two steps outside the cave and quickly peed before heading back inside, my body feeling heavy, exhaustion settling on my eyelids.

Then, I froze at the sound of a woosh. Except this wasn’t the same woosh as the Fae, this was more like heavy breathing. Pained breathing.

Shit! Landers!

I turned down a dark tunnel in the cave, trying to be as quiet as I could just in case he was under attack. What I saw was worse.

He stood in the dark, propping himself up on the cave wall with one hand. He was bent down slightly, his head bowed as he heaved. His muscles were all taunt as I followed the way his other arm was moving, his hand jerking back and forth over something long and thick. I blinked again, thinking I was dreaming, and if I was, it was the best fucking dream ever.

Landers was jerking off. Right there. In front of me.

He was breathing heavily, eyes hooded, almost looking like they were closed. My skin prickled as I watched him move, watched the way his muscles flexed, the movement of his arm, how sweat formed across his forehead. The redness in his face.

He looked to be in pain, but also in bliss.

“Yes, just like that. Fuck. Rayna. I want to fuck you, darling.” He sighed my name, not like the curse he had, but in pleasure. Like it was me below him. Like it was my pussy instead of his hand. All of those tingles exploded into sharp prickles. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to do whatever it was he was imagining. To feel him. To feel him inside of me.

My breathing picked up, a small moan twisting my lips as he whipped his focus toward me, his pace slowing until he caught sight of me. Then, he sped up. I froze, feeling trapped in his dark gaze.

He said nothing, just pressed his hand over the shaft of his cock, faster, harder. I stared at the wide tip, the feast of him half lost in the shadows. I didn’t care. I stared, listening to him moan as the head of his cock swelled and cum exploded over the rock floor between us.

“Rayna,” he moaned as he came, as the smell of his was suddenly everywhere.

I stared at his cum, my body growing warm, and hot, and needy. I couldn’t stop myself, I licked my lips.

“Rayna,” he said in a low voice, pulling my focus up to him. “Did you enjoy the show? You should have joined me instead of hiding in the shadows.”

“It seemed you had it handled,” I squeaked out, knowing that I wasn’t being truthful. God, I wanted to join him, I wanted him to fold me in half and press me against the wall as he fucked me. I wanted his cum to be dripping down my leg, not spread over the stone floor.

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