Page 77 of The Dragon King

The guilt felt heavier every time I looked at her.

Her eyes showed her curiosity, but she didn’t question me about the conversation I’d had with Queen Eldinar.

I removed my armor and uniform and stripped down to my boxers. The window was open, so the sound of the ocean was audible over the crackling flames. I grabbed the bottle of scotch I’d taken from their stores and sat on the couch beside her.

She was beautiful without even trying, her bare feet resting against the edge of the table, her elbow propped on the back of the couch as her hand supported the back of her head, her dark hair a lovely curtain.

I took a drink as I looked at her, stunned that someone could be so gorgeous without even trying. After I put the canteen on the table, I leaned back and continued to look at her, unable to deny the connection that had grown stronger over the last few days. I’d thought I would push her away when I told her about Vivian, but she showed no sign of hurt or resentment. Seemed to care for me more and not less. My plan had backfired, and not only did I bring us closer together, but I deepened the feelings I tried so desperately to fight.

Calista stared at me in the light of the fire, her thoughts unknown behind that calm face.

“She’ll speak with Macabre in the morning.”

“I think he’ll say yes.”

“I do too.”

“I’m sad to leave this island, but it’s time to go.”

I was sad to leave it too. It was easy to picture a life here, Khazmuda taking us for a short vacation from our duties, watching the sunset, and making love in front of the bonfire on the soft sand. But then I pushed it away, because there would be nothing after the battle. Once it began, it would be the last thing I ever did.

“Talon.”

My eyes shifted to hers again.

“Where did you go?”

Just like the queen, Calista could read me. Read me like an open fucking book. “Your uncle disagrees with her decision.”

Her eyes filled with sadness. “He cares for her more than himself.”

“I know he does.” He wore his heart on his sleeve, just the way I had when I was married. I never played games. Always remained faithful even when I didn’t have to be. Made my wife feel secure by making her feel cherished every day.

“She’s so beautiful, she doesn’t seem real.”

I watched her speak, watched the light hit the angles of her face perfectly.

“She’s like living magic, and my uncle is deep under her spell. I don’t agree with all the parameters of their relationship, but I can’t blame my uncle for his obsession because she really is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Her eyes shifted away as if she had pictured Queen Eldinar that very moment.

A sarcastic smirk moved on to my lips as I stared at her, seeing a woman who was so beautiful, a single look had changed my life forever. “I still remember the night we met with vivid clarity.”

She turned to look at me.

“The glow of your skin in the torches. The fight in your green eyes. The way you walked right up to the mightiest dragon in the land without hesitation. All it took was a single look and a brief interaction, and I was hooked on your line for the rest of my life.” I hadn’t been with another woman since I’d seen her, even when we were leagues apart and she wanted nothing to do with me. “I tried so hard to resist, not to care for you, but I was cast under your spell, and I’ve been imprisoned by it ever since. Your uncle may think she’s the most beautiful woman in the world, but I disagree.” I’d tried to pull away from this woman, to put a barrier between us to make this all easier for her in the end, but then moments like this happened…and I couldn’t fight it. “You are.”

She stared at me for several hard seconds, her eyes emotional but encased in disbelief. She continued to look without needing to blink, staring at me where I sat on the opposite end of the couch. Then she moved for me, showing more confidence than she ever had, and cupped my face as she brought our mouths together, kissing me with a passion that made her tremble.

My hand slid into the fall of her hair, and I fisted it as I felt the rush of emotion and desire, an adrenaline burst only she could give me. Rendezvous with my concubines had been just a means to an end, a display of power, but with Calista, it was deep and full of ache, a connection so raw it hurt.

She straddled my hips and cupped my face with both hands as she kissed me, sitting right on top of my hard dick through my boxers. She breathed into my mouth before she turned her headand kissed me another way, taking what she wanted without an ounce of hesitation.

I still remembered our first time together, how much patience and encouragement it had taken for her to let me in, for her to embrace our physical intimacy as something beautiful rather than violent. Now she took me like that had never happened.

It turned me the fuck on.

I lifted my hips slightly to pull down my boxers and get my dick free.

She lifted her shirt over her head to show her tits.

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