Page 14 of Licking Fire

Chapter Five

Alondra laughed softly,and the sound made his chest ache for more. He reached out, his fingers skimming over her smooth cheek. She was so beautiful. He longed to be permitted unlimited access to her. He wanted to learn every curve of her body. And he wanted to do so without the help of his risbrosius. He wanted to know she came to him unaffected by anything—that she wanted him as he wanted her.

She put her hand over his and stared up at him, her deep brown eyes wide. “Thank you for this. For everything.”

“You have but to ask, and whatever you wish to have in this world is yours,” he said, bending, the urge to be closer to her all-consuming.

She went to her tiptoes, and he waited, expecting her to kiss his lips. When she planted a chaste kiss on his cheek, he had to fight the urge to smile. He wanted far more from her, but understood the gesture was a large one on her part. She was opening slowly to him, and he knew she’d be worth the wait.

“I will be close, should you have need of me.”

“Thank you.” She squeezed his hand then kissed his cheek again, this time closer to his lips.

His entire body lit with a need that he had to seize hold of, for fear he’d lose control and ravish her. Rayer nodded and stood tall, his gaze whipping to Timothy for assistance.

Timothy sprang into action, moving much faster than a man his age should. He eased Alondra away from Rayer, in the direction of the master bathroom. “Come, child.”

Rayer used the moment to rush out of the room, needing distance between himself and the tempting beauty.

Timothy had taken her to Rayer’s room. His sleeping chambers, not one of the guest rooms. He knew the man had done so on purpose, and he was thankful for it. It meant Alondra’s scent would be on his sheets and all over his room. He wanted to roll in her scent, to cover his body in it while he, in turn, covered her body with hisscent.

Concerned that something was off with himself and his dragon side, he did the first thing that came to mind—he went for his cell phone and called Zarek.

His cousin answered on the third ring. “Rayer? My phone says this is you calling, but that cannot be. You have never called me. Are you hurt? You didn’t burn down a city, did you? That’s not such a great thing for one of our family to do—again.”

Rayer moved in the direction of his room once more, wanting to be closer to Alondra. He stopped just outside the door, leaving it closed, knowing Timothy was getting Alondra settled in. “No.”

“Then what is it?”

He cleared his throat. “I have a woman here—in my bedroom.”

Zarek laughed. “From my understanding, you bedding a woman isn’t anything new or earth-shattering.”

“Cousin, she’s in my bedroom. In my home.”

Zarek was quiet a moment. “You almost never allow anyone in your private dwelling. Just that magikal buddy of yours, and that one archaeologist you had us all sit down and tell our stories to years ago.”

“I still do not,” said Rayer, looking at the closed door, thinking of Alondra. “She is so beautiful. I ache to touch her. And I have no desire to use risbrosius on her. None at all. I want her to want me for me. She is…she’s in danger. And…and…I have to fight the urge to shift forms and fly far away with her. Am I broken? Has the sickness that claims so many of our kind late in their lives started in me? If so, you have to promise to kill me.”

Zarek laughed, surprising Rayer. “Have you had sex with the female yet?”

“No, but I want to. I want to lick every inch of her before I sink deep in her, releasing my seed. I want her to wear my scent.”

Zarek laughed again, as if this was funny in any way. “Cousin, do you think, perhaps, that she’s the one for you?”

The one?

Alondra?

“No. She can’t be,” said Rayer.

“Why not?”

Rayer tried to come up with a good reason, but nothing came to mind. He exhaled slowly. “How did you know Keren was your mate?”

“Looking back, I think it was when I realized she was immune to the risbrosius andshe still wanted me for me. Also, from the start, the idea of harm coming to her set me and my dragon on edge. When I laid eyes on her, she was the single most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I could not look away from her.”

Rayer thought about Alondra and the fact she’d been attacked by a aemaemurous demon. His dragon attempted to surge to the surface, wanting to go in search of blood. Rayer grabbed the doorframe with one hand and stepped back fast, clutching the phone with his other hand. “I… No, she can’t be the one. She smells human.”

---