Page 33 of The Dragon's Warlock

11

Gideon

The early morning sun came in through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. Diem's hand rested on his chest. The memory of her crying on the ground made him want to punch something. Her trip had lasted most of the night until she finally fell asleep and he carried her back to their villa.

His trip didn’t last as long. The shaman wanted him to take more of the liquid, but he’d wanted to watch over Diem. He would work his own demons out that night or another time. They were going to do another ritual after they visited the waterfall. He hoped she would get a vision, because he wasn’t sure he could watch her go through that too many more times.

He leaned forward and pressed his nose into her golden locks. She smelled so good. His magic wanted to envelop her and bind them together forever—a conversation they still hadn’t had, not because she hadn’t tried but because he was too chicken to hear what she really thought. Will she agree to spend her life with me? He was one of the true immortals in the world. Only one sword could kill him, and when he bound her as his mate, she would become immortal. She would have to learn to watch the ones she genuinely loved die around her. It was easier not to make friends than to lose the people you cared about.

She stirred in his arms. Her pretty green eyes opened, and she frowned before putting her hand over her mouth. “I think something died in my mouth.”

He chuckled and gently pulled her hand away from her face. “How do you feel?”

“Like I went to the bar and drank a bottle of vodka and then kept drinking.”

Before they’d gone to bed, he’d placed an order for room service. Food would be arriving shortly. Like the previous day, he’d ordered one of everything on the menu. She would need the food, especially for the second night. Some might think it would get easier the second time, but it didn’t. It almost got harder.

“Once we get food in your stomach, you should feel better.”

Diem rested her head on his chest and ran her finger over his family symbol. He was the last one in his line still alive, unless he had a kid that he didn’t know about.

“I’m not sure I can eat anything,” she mumbled.

“You’re going to have to try.” He traced her cheekbone with his finger, moving the few strands of hair away from her face. “As soon as you’re done eating, we can go soak in the healing pond.”

“Do you think Emma hates me?” she mumbled against his chest.

“No.”

“I think she does. Nobody would ever send a friend somewhere to go through what we did last night. I’m not even sure I would make an enemy go through that. And for what? The only thing I was fixated on was the stars.”

He hadn’t taken enough of the ayahuasca to have a vision or get sick. While he sat next to Diem and watched her go through her trip, he listened, seeing if he could pick up anything. But her words had been mumbles and incomplete sentences.

“Did you see something in the stars?” he asked.

She was quiet for a few seconds. “Bears. I kept seeing two bears.”

She sat up, the sheet falling from her chest. An hour into the trip, she’d puked on herself, so when he’d brought her back to the room, he’d bathed her and put her to bed naked. Now he didn’t think that had been the best idea.

“I’m naked.”

He cleared his throat but couldn’t look away from her beautiful tits. “I bathed you before bed.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Her cheeks turned the pink shade he loved to see.

He ran a finger down the side of her face, tracing her collarbone. “You got sick, and I didn’t want you to sleep that way.”

Her skin was so soft. A trail of goose bumps followed as he touched the top of her breast and someone knocked on the door. “I swear they keep cameras in here.”

Diem giggled as she grabbed his shirt off the ground and threw it over her head. Her nipples poked through the white material. Her eyes followed his, and she smiled at him.

The butler wheeled in two carts full of food. Gideon and Diem sat out on the balcony and ate as a dolphin jumped in the clear water. He enjoyed the peace of the waves.

“I can’t eat anymore.” Diem patted her flat stomach.

“You want to go to the waterfall and the healing pond?”

“Absolutely.”

---