Page 30 of Don't Fae With Dragons

I growl softly, closing the space between us again. She stares up at me, eyes wide, her mouth dropping open with a sharp inhale. A spark lights in her gaze, and I feel her pulse quickening. When she tries to step back from me, she hits the wall, and instinctively, I reach out, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. She bites her lip, a faint whimper slipping out that sends a surge straight to my cock.

Surely she can’t be that frightened of me. All I want is to protect her - and that’s not just my cock talking. I want to help her save Ethelinda - and not just because that’s what I was born to do. I know very well she’s not mine to shield from harm or cherish, no matter how much I long for her or how fiercely my instincts scream that she should be mine. I know I have to keep my distance. Her elders that she reveres so much made it clear to me when they gave me the scar on my face to make sure I don’t forget it. But maybe, just for fun, I should see if she’s truly as wary of me as she seems—or, dare I hope, that there’s a hint of excitement beneath that suspicion.

I place my arms against the wall, one on each side of her, leaning in close. Her pulse is steady and she keeps her composure even though she’s closed in, so the least I can do is ignore the way my cock is ready to leap into action.

In my lowest voice, I murmur, “I could get rid of you right now, couldn’t I, delicate faery? But I’m not. There’s no reason for that. You and I—we keep the balance. Light and shadow. Fireand earth. Each force with its own strength, each necessary for the other.” I pause, searching her face.

For a moment, there’s no readable reaction. Then her blush seems to turn into full red-faced rage, and she slams her hands into my shoulders. I stumble back a few steps, from shock rather than impact. This is reallynotthe reaction I was hoping for.

I regain my footing, and before I can stop myself, I let out a low laugh. Her eyes flash, indignant, sparking with the same intensity I felt in her slap. She crosses her arms, and I love the way her breasts firm up as they get pushed together. Then she starts leaning in. This time it’shernarrowing the space between us, not me. I would almost feel threatened if I wasn’t so damn horny right now.

“You think you’re so powerful, don’t you?” she challenges, and I feel her words like a cold shower. “Fire and earth? You don’t control everything, Cory. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean I’ll dance to your tune.”

I raise an eyebrow, meeting her steady gaze. “Maybe not. But youarehere. And you’re in my volcano. So I wouldn’t exactly say you’re resisting the pull.” I lift my hand, brushing my fingers along her cheek, and for a second, she doesn’t pull away. I love touching her face. Her skin is warm and smooth beneath my touch. Her breath hitches, just barely, but I catch it. Smirking, I let my fingers trail down her neck to her collarbone, pausing to feel her pulse race beneath my touch. “If you really wanted to be anywhere but here, you would’ve walked away by now, in spite of me trying to keep you here until you regain your magick. But you stayed.”

“Maybe I would have left by now, if I didn’t need your help to save Ethelinda,” she says, her tone sharp despite her quickened breathing.

I let my hand fall, but I stay close, close enough that she has to tilt her head back to meet my gaze. “Stubborn, aren’t you?” I say softly, letting my voice go just a touch lower. “You can fight this all you want, but you and I? We’re just what the other needs. Alphas need a feminine strength—your softness is the only thing that can hold the fire together. It’s the emotional and... physical bond that makes us whole.”

She stares at me motionless so I continue. “You need an alpha’s strength, don’t deny it - someone to protect, someone to let yourself be protected by. Isn’t that why you’re still standing here Mili, letting me close?”

She tries to mask her reaction, but I can see the tension in her stance, see the way her fingers clench in resistance. “I think you’re mistaking me for someone else, Cory. I didn’t come here looking for a place in your pack.” She raises her chin defiantly. “I don’t buy into that whole alpha meant-to-be-because-of-biology thing, the fae society is more...civilized.”

“Funny,” I reply, taking a step back but keeping my gaze locked on hers. “Because everything about the fae culture says otherwise,” I smirk.

“Laugh all you want, insult the fae culture, I don’t care. My elders taught me that we outgrew those biological needs.”

“That’s just sad, isn’t it?” I laugh but what I should really do is roll my eyes at her reluctance. “It’s anyway not true. Would you not let yourself believe that the connection we have might bethe reason why it’s me you need in order to save Ethelinda? That I’m your alpha?”

For a moment, the only sound between us is the low rumble of the volcano.

I catch a faint tremor in her voice as she finally says, “I don’t need you, Cory. Ethelinda doesn’t need an alpha’s fire or some… primal bond to survive.”

“So why did you come here, then?” I ask. “If fae have evolved past all that, then what are you doing in my volcano, trusting me to protect you when you’re at your most vulnerable?”

She opens her mouth to respond, but hesitates, her fingers flexing at her side as if she’s struggling to keep control. “Maybe I came because I thought I could make you see reason,” she replies. “To prove we don’t have to be so ... so bound to instincts.”

“Is that what you thought?” I chuckle. “That I’d bereasonableif you challenged me enough?” I lean in just enough so she can feel the warmth radiating from me, close enough that our breaths mingle. “Look, Mili, instincts exist for a reason. You and I are here because they got us this far.”

“Maybe I’ll prove you wrong.” She whispers intimately, but I don’t think she means it.

“Tell me you don’t feel it, Mili,” I murmur as I take a step closer, closing the already small distance between us, and I reach for her face again. I let my fingers graze her jawline, trailing down to cup her cheek. Her breath catches, and I know I’m treading on dangerous ground, but I can’t resist any longer; the pull between us is thick and magnetic.

Without another word, I lean in and capture her lips with mine, holding back just enough to let her decide. Our wet lips meet and for a heartbeat, she stiffens—before melting against me, her body giving in as she parts her lips, her tongue brushing against mine. This is no gentle surrender. It’s raw, electric like a lightning storm. My hand slips around her waist, pulling her against me as the kiss deepens, the heat between us igniting and consuming everything in its path.

She wraps her hands around my neck, pulling me on her, and I let her. I’d let her pull me straight into the fire if that’s where she wanted to go. The world falls away, leaving only the two of us tangled in each other, our breathing heavy and ragged as the kiss intensifies, our mouths a fevered press of lips and tongues and teeth. She tastes of sweetness and fire, and for a moment, I lose myself entirely in her. I’m hard as stone and I don’t care if she feels it. Maybe I want her to feel it. I want her to know the effect she has on me.

I flick my tongue deeper into her mouth, sucking, devouring, claiming. Mili whimpers with desire for more, her hands clinging to my shoulders, and all I can think of is that I need to claim her, in spite of everything she needs to be mine, I want her, I need her more than anything. But through lust and hunger, what I want is also to protect her. I can feel her sweet scent of magnolia and lavender in my very soul.

Mili whimpers again, but this time she doesn’t pull me closer. She pushes me back instead. It takes everything in me to loosen my grip of her and let her pull away. She stumbles back, one hand covering her lips, the other blindly reaching for thewall to steady herself. “I can’t... we can’t do this.” She faces me again, eyes wide with worry.

“It’s alright,” I say, my voice thick from that carnal kiss. “Even if this changes everything.”

“This changes nothing.” she replies.

CHAPTER 20: MILI

“Curse you!” I yell at him before I can stop myself. “You think to seduce me at such a time?”

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