Page 70 of Beneath Scales and Shadows
“You’ve only just awakened. Your body needs rest, not...” He faltered, his gaze dropping to where her sleeping shift had slipped from one shoulder, revealing silver scales tracing patterns across her collarbone.
Exhaustion swept through Sora suddenly, her body reminding her of its recent trauma despite the supernatural healing. Her eyelids grew heavy, vision blurring at the edges.
“Rest,” Ignis urged, easing her back against the pillows. His palm cupped her cheek with impossible tenderness. “There will be time for explanations later.”
She wanted to protest, to ask more questions about this bond between them, but darkness pulled at her consciousness, dragging her down into dreams.
Forest surrounded her, dense and ancient. Moonlight streamed through interlaced branches, casting dappled silver across her naked skin. She ran, feet barely touching the moss-covered ground, heart pounding with exhilaration rather than fear.
Above, something vast shifted through the canopy, branches groaning under its weight as it tracked her. The knowledge sent thrills of anticipation down her spine.
She wasn’t prey fleeing predator.
She was an omega calling to her alpha.
Ignis crashed through the trees behind her, his roar shaking the forest floor. She darted between ancient trunks, laughing as he pursued, the game as old as time itself.
He caught her in a small clearing, the moonlight swallowed by the sheer breadth of his form. His scales shimmered like rubies in the darkness, eyes burning with hunger no longer restrained.
“Mine,”he growled, the word resonating through her bones.
“Make me,” she teased, reaching for him.
His form shifted, flowing from full dragon to dragoon with fluid grace. He pressed her against the wide trunk of an ancient tree, its bark biting into her back as his body held her fast, all heat and hunger. His maw found hers, a low growl in his throat as his forked tongue traced the seam of her lips, then slipped deeper.
Her body arched against his, every nerve ending alight with need. Scales scraped against scales, the friction creating sparks in the darkness. His taloned hand found her bare thigh, claws carefully retracted as he traced burning patterns up her skin.
“Please,” she gasped, as his mouth left hers to explore the sensitive junction of her neck and shoulder.
His growl vibrated against her skin as his teeth grazed her pulse point. Not biting, not yet, but promising what would come. His hand slid higher, finding wetness that betrayed her desperate need.
“So ready for me,” he murmured against her throat, voice rough with restraint even as his fingers teased her entrance. “I want you in all ways.”
She whimpered as one thick digit slid inside, stretching her with exquisite care. His thumb found the sensitive bundle of nerves above, circling with maddening precision.
The pleasure built with supernatural speed, spiraling higher as he added a second finger, then a third. His free hand tangled in her hair, tilting her head back to expose more of her throat to his hungry mouth.
“Ignis,” she pleaded, teetering on the edge of release.
His eyes blazed with molten intensity, scales rippling with inner fire as he pressed her harder against the ancient tree. “I must have you,” he growled, the words rumbling through her bones. “All of you, in all ways possible.”
His mouth claimed hers again, hungry and demanding. When he pulled back, his gaze held hers captive. “Do you know how long I’ve desired you? Since that first moment at the Selection Ball, your scent called to me across the crowd.”
His hand continued its relentless rhythm between her thighs, drawing whimpers from her throat. “I would make you my queen,” he confessed, voice rough with emotion. “Worship every part of your body until I’ve mapped each curve, each hollow, each sensitive spot and burned them into memory.”
Heat spiraled through her core as his fingers curled inside her, finding places that made her vision blur. Through their blood bond, she felt the depth of his conviction—his desire layered with something far more profound.
“When your blood filled the air at the northern pass,” he continued, his free hand cupping her face with startling tenderness, “I knew true fear for the first time in centuries.” His voice broke. “The thought of losing you before we’d truly begun...”
Sora arched into his touch, her body tightening around his fingers as pleasure mounted. His forked tongue traced the shell of her ear, sending shivers cascading down her spine.
“I’ve never been more grateful than when you woke and didn’t hate me for binding you to me,” he whispered. “But a blood bond isn’t enough. I want you to choose me, Sora. Not from obligation or prophecy.”
His thumb circled her most sensitive point, drawing a desperate moan from her lips.
“I want you to take me for who I am,” he growled, pressing his forehead against hers. “For what I am, in all my forms—dragoon, dragon, king.” His eyes searched hers. “Could you ever want a monster as your mate?”
Fierce desire consumed her, overwhelming in its intensity. Their bond amplified everything, creating feedback loops of sensation that spiraled through her body. His want, her need, his hunger, her surrender—all blended into a storm of emotion that threatened to sweep her away.
