Page 46 of Burned

“Well, that clears it up then,” she says dryly.

I run my free hand over the stubble on my chin and sigh.

“You can tell them I’m fine and I’ll be home in a few days, just as uptight and bossy as I’ve ever been,” I say. “But I do need one more thing from you.”

“And let me guess, I won’t get any explanation for this favor either?”

I grimace even though she can’t see me. “No, but I have a sapphire necklace that would look lovely on you.”

“Oh, sweetie, you’re going to owe me more than a necklace for all of this. But lucky for you, I consider dragons owing me big favors to be an extremely valuable form of currency. So, go ahead and tell me what you need.”

I swallow and consider backing out. I pull the recipe Xanthis wrote out for me from my pocket and stare at it for a minute. Flames sizzle in the back of my throat, tempting me to set it on fire and forget it even exists.

“I’m going to send you a recipe for a potion, I just need you to make it for me,” I grit out, tightening my grip on my phone until I feel it starting to give under my fingers like it’s made of soft clay rather than metal and plastic and glass.

“And are you’re not going to tell me what it’s for?”

I swallow a second time. “No.”

I pull my phone away from my ear, snap a picture of the recipe, and send it to her. She’s quiet on the other end for a minute before she speaks again.

“It’s a little complicated, but nothing I can’t handle. I should be able to have it ready for you by the end of the week.”

My heart sinks.

“Thank you. I’ll see you then.” I hang up without waiting for her response.

I release the fire that’s been building on my tongue in a quick burst. The parchment catches easily and burns to ashes in a matter of seconds. I toss my phone onto the couch, happy not to look at it again for the next few days if I can help it, and then I strip out of my clothes.

ALRICK

My chest isheavy with the weight of the emotions coming from Lord. I’m tempted to get out of the tub and go check that he’s okay, but before I get the chance, the door swings open and he steps into the bathroom. He’s already naked, his cock starting to swell, although it’s not quite hard yet. The painful, wrenching feelings that were flowing through our connection seconds ago are buried too deep to reach now, and I’m happy to follow his example. There will be time for an existential crisis later, but our chance to hide out from the world together has a ticking clock hanging over it.

I skim my hands over the surface of the hot water and give him a purposefully slow perusal, letting my attention linger on each inch of his bare skin like I’m trying to memorize every muscle and plane of his body. I spread my legs as much as the bathtub allows to make room for my rapidly swelling cock. An achy, needy feeling tugs at my core, and I focus for a minute on that spot in my chest where I can feel the connection to Lord. It pulses and throbs with my lust and his cock answers, standing up tall with a thick strand of precum weeping from his slit.

I sit forward, draping my arms over the side of the tub and grinning wickedly.

“That knot thing… does that happen every time?” I eye his cock, remembering the way the base ballooned and throbbed in my hand, the way it was too big to get my lips around, the way he seemed to moan louder when I teased it.

His eyes light up and I swear I can see flames dancing in them. He takes a step closer, his erection swaying between his thighs with the movement.

“Do you want my knot, brave Viking?” he purrs in that low, deep tone that’s almost pure dragon, his eyes flashing again, this time turning into slitted orange before flickering back to human.

I bite my lip and nod. Lord leans down, his breath so hot it scorches my lips. I open my mouth with a needy gasp, and he teases just the tip of his tongue inside before pulling back.

“Then you’ll have it,” he promises, cupping my jaw. “But first, I’m going to make sure you’re nice and clean.”

Why does getting clean sound so very dirty? Not that I’m complaining.

Before I can even blink, Lord is in the bathtub with me, easily lifting me to make room then pulling me back into his arms. His cock nestles against my back, and he presses lingering kisses along my shoulder. He’s slightly smaller in stature than I am, but it doesn’t feel strange at all to be the little spoon. I feel…safein Lord’s arms.

“Tell me a secret, treasure. I want to know you.” There’s a strange vulnerability in the request that makes my heart beat harder.

Lord picks up the bottle of expensive looking bodywash on the edge of the tub and pours a generous amount into his palm, then he rubs his hands together until he has a rich lather. He brings his hands to my body, starting with my chest, and sets to work, massaging me as much as cleaning me. My muscles twitchand knots I didn’t even realize I had after the recent nights of sleeping on the ground loosen. I groan and melt into him.

While he moves on to working the tension out of my shoulders, I search my mind for a secret to share with him. It’s strange, because my life has been nothingbutsecrets—my brothers and me living apart from the world around us, holding knowledge that few have about the paranormal world hiding in plain sight. But that’s not what Lord is asking for, obviously. He wants to know something personal about me. I don’t know if there is anything. I would’ve had to have found time to be my own person to have secrets like that. I swallow around the lump rising in my throat and reach for the closest thing I can come up with.

“I’m still thinking about that snickerdoodle cookie. It was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

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