Page 79 of Worthy Promises
Worthington chuckled huskily, and the sexy sound sent a fresh wave of lust through Oliver. As profoundly wonderful as their previous experiences together had been, tonight was quickly turning into a test of Oliver’s control. First, his owl was trying to dominate and seal his bond to Worthington. If that wasn’t enough to ramp up the desire raging inside him, Oliver was nearly undone by the thought of burying himself deep in his mate.
“I’ll do as you ask. But if you don’t get inside me immediately, I’ll be forced to take drastic measures.”
Oliver didn’t consider the threat unwarranted, so he nodded and let out a short breath of relief when Worthington released him. Shifting his weight, Oliver balanced himself on his knees and on one arm. He grabbed his rock-hard length and lined it up to Worthington’s slick hole. Just touching that puckered skin had his heart rate picking up and a new frisson of passion working its way through him.
Slowly but steadily, Oliver pushed forward.
“I won’t break, Owlie,” Worthington whispered.
“I know. If I thought I was hurting you…I’d stop. I promise.”
“There is no one else I trust as much as you.”
Moved by Worthington’s words, Oliver couldn’t manage any of his own as he pushed farther in and finally moved past the first barrier of the dragon shifter’s body. The luscious heat surrounding his length was making quick work of Oliver’s plan to fuck Worthington for any lengthy amount of time.
“You’re a miracle,” Oliver murmured.
Worthington lifted his knees closer to his chest and grabbed his thighs as Oliver continued to slide into his hot,smooth channel. Oliver’s instincts demanded he slam forcefully into Worthington, but he ignored that foolish, primitive part of his brain. Both Oliver and his owl were focused on nothing but Worthington’s pleasure as he bottomed out.
Taking a moment to savor their first moment of being completely joined, Oliver stole a quick kiss. He would’ve liked to make love to Worthington’s mouth, but his fangs were in the way, and it was a dilemma he intended to ignore for now. Satisfied that Worthington was accustomed to his invasion, Oliver pulled out and plunged deeply into him again.
Worthington groaned loudly and rocked his hips. It took them barely more than a stroke to line up the rhythms of their bodies. Their labored breaths and the tantalizing slapping of skin filled Oliver’s head. He grew dizzy as he fought against the sparking waves of delight dancing along his spine. Nothing and no one had ever moved him the way Worthington did.
Being inside him had broken something in Oliver. It wasn’t a sad thing. Quite the opposite. Worthington had ruined the idea of lovemaking in Oliver’s mind. Although it’d gone beyond mere sex prior to tonight, the open and trusting way Worthington had handed himself to Oliver had captured whatever part of his heart and soul the dragon shifter hadn’t yet conquered.
“I love you,” Oliver whispered.
“Owlie,” Worthington sighed, then stiffened beneath Oliver. So lost in the passion consuming them, Oliver hadn’t even grabbed Worthington’s cock. But it didn’t matter. There’d been enough friction between them that Worthington painted their bellies with his seed.
Oliver squeezed his eyes shut and waited with what little patience he could muster to allow Worthington’s long frame to relax after his orgasm. But before he could resume fucking Worthington, the dragon shifter moved his hands from thesheets and wrapped his arms around Oliver. He pulled with enough force that Oliver had no choice but to rest more fully against him.
Worthington’s fingers slid into Oliver’s locks, and his lips landed on his earlobe. “I love you too. Now, come, Owlie. Come deep inside me.”
Happy to oblige and overcome with the beauty of the words they’d finally shared, Oliver lost himself to everything but the physical. In quick short bursts of movement, he produced exactly the right amount of friction to empty his balls. With a grunt, he did exactly as Worthington asked, and he’d never climaxed so hard in his life.
“I’d like to do that again tonight,” Worthington said softly.
“I’m happy to oblige you. In any way. Whenever you want.”
In a companionable silence, they caught their breath and shared little kisses as their bodies cooled. Oliver took only a single precious moment away from appreciating Worthington to thank Fate for bringing the remarkable man who fit him perfectly into his life. While his owl was impatient to take the last step in bonding their relationship forever, Oliver was sated and content. But his mind was already looking to the future and how he’d ask Worthington to be his mate in every sense of the word.
Chapter 27
“No one in that Sorcery D’Vaire meeting looks happy,” Eternity said, her silver gaze fixed on a large viewing screen. The mirrors that allowed her and her sisters to watch whatever realm they wished were scattered throughout the palace most of them called home. Even Death, who hated to have anything in common with other goddesses, kept various mirrors in the enormous castle she’d constructed in the ebirlloba—the place where spirits wandered.
“Why would they be happy?” Death demanded, rising from the white chaise and flicking her long black gown out of the way. With a negligent fraction of her immense power, she forced the dress to grow more transparent to make pacing easier as she stalked from one side of the room to the other. “For years they have tried to solve an issue they cannot fix.”
“How long do you think it will take them to figure out it is impossible to help Zarasha?”
Death stopped abruptly and narrowed her black eyes at Eternity. “That is a foolish question. They will never stop trying. This is not a group of people willing to walk away from a fight despite it being beyond their magic. All the power of the Fae realm couldn’t have helped Zarasha once Xakiok took her soul from her body.”
“Poor Xakiok will never forgive himself either,” Eternity lamented. For thousands of years, she’d neglected the Light Fae, and situations like Xakiok and Zarasha’s plight were the result. All the beauty built by the predecessors of the Vol’Gon era had dwindled thanks to indolence and selfishness. The blanket rules Eternity had laid out had turned Xakiok into a Dark Fae on the fateful day he’d used his untutored magic to rebuke his cousin for annoying him.
Like the Light Fae realm, the Dark Fae realm was also broken at that point. Xakiok and his bemollo, Daravius, were tortured for years. Dear Zarasha hadn’t faced the lash herself but was forced to listen to the screams of the men she loved. The unjust punishments had left all three Fae deeply scarred, and Xakiok had sworn off magic forever. With so few Fae remaining, Eternity believed they could ill afford to have Xakiok refuse to cast. But she also understood why he refused.
Each day Zarasha wandered through the D’Vaire mansion limited as ato’faerdumped more guilt and remorse on Xakiok’s soul. Although he’d found some measure of happiness with his D’Vaire family, he didn’t allow himself genuine joy. Xakiok didn’t believe he was worthy of unfettered bliss. He was wrong, but Eternity couldn’t help him reach that truth. Neither could Death as the caretaker of the Dark Fae.
“I would chastise you for making Xakiok a Dark Fae, but Daravius is needed as the Valiant Defender of their race,” Death said, drifting across the room again, leaving a trail of black smoke in her wake.
