Page 30 of Earth Dragon
She rolled her hips and he groaned, hand by the side of her face, slipping into her hair to grab a fistful of it.
She made a small noise of surprise at the sudden tug but responded by digging her nails into his back. He bit her shoulder gently, teeth resting against her skin and there was something like a blinding light starting up behind her eyes. The desire running rampant.
He thrust into her, getting her arms over her head, pinning her down as he dragged his teeth from her shoulder to her neck. She was making whining noises, unsure of exactly what she wanted except for him not to stop. He was thrusting harder, the pleasure building within her like heat around a struck match.
She clung to him as the orgasm rocked its way through her, craving the taste of his mouth and still rejoicing that his bite was still at her neck. He nibbled and sucked and bit along her collarbone and she didn’t know if she wanted him to draw blood. The thought excited but frightened. It felt too intimate, even with him buried within her. As though their inner dragons were at play. Then his mouth was hers to claim, and she kissed him deeply back, feeling his release before he groaned with his lips still to hers.
“Earth have mercy,” he murmured, going limp, seemingly unable to roll off her.
She smiled, wrapping her arms around him, both of them glistening with sweat. They smelled of sex and glorious exertion. And she smelled of him. Deepest woodlands with secret caverns she still had to discover.
Finally, she pushed against one of his shoulders and heaved him to the side, rolling with him to place herself with one arm bent across his chest and her chin resting on her hand. She looked up at him with something fragile placing itself in the middle of her chest.
Please, don’t hurt me, she thought, her hearts picking up their pace at the implication that he could.
She had felt connected to him a second ago, a minute, an hour. And now she felt as though a gulf was yawning between them. Because of all the things that she’d left unspoken. The confession that had caught in her throat.
If she could be certain that it would take away her father’s power, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell Ewan the truth. She was certain of that now. But she could not risk his fury. Not only because she feared the locked box that he had sworn he would consign her to if she ever disobeyed him, but because she knew he would destroy everything and anyone she had shown even the slightest affection for.
She could see how chaos would unfold and how terror would be wrought. She could see it so clearly. Especially in her father’s ambition. She still wasn’t entirely convinced he wasn’t simply blinded by his own convictions. He had aimed for the dismantling of the bloodlines for all of her life, perhaps he had become a true believer after centuries of focusing all his energy on the truth of those beliefs.
She had often wondered why he did it. He had never seemed to be vying for a crown, though he always vied for being the very center of attention. It was almost as though he had gotten an idea in his mind and now, he could not rest until he had seen it fulfilled. Was it a conviction that the crowned heads were hoarding power and wealth for themselves, or was it simply because he had to win in all things?
It had ensured that he always did win in the end. Because he was relentless.
And so, if she was falling in love, that very act might be enough to doom both her and Ewan in her father’s eyes. His instructions had never included a wish for her to catch feelings.
She stared into Ewan’s deep green eyes, her hearts thumping ever harder in her chest, and felt the need to move away from him.
Why had he taken her to bed?
Two days ago, he could barely stand the sight of her.
Then again, a year ago, by his own admission, they had almost become friends.
She felt familiar walls begin to build themselves around her hearts again. She wanted to stay in the afterglow, but it was fading. He was looking down at her sleepily which didn’t help. If only he could stay awake, make conversation, but of course she couldn’t demand it.
What was she doing?
She had wanted him and had let her desire run away with her. Had it been real emotion, or had she simply been starved for touch? Why him, of all people? Not only was she meant to betray him, but she was meant to seduce him, and now she had done exactly that. She was meant to make him fall in love with her. Was she following her father’s orders against her own better judgment? Was she simply making choices to make certain she never ended up in a locked box?
And what of Ewan’s intentions? He had outright told her he would never fall in love, had he not? When people told her who they were, she had always promised herself she would believe them. Ewan had made no show of being something he was not. Was this the show?
The questions worked like shards of glass in her hearts, but there was also hope there. If he didn’t love her, then her betrayal was not as great. She had not made him think there could be anything more between them because he did not wish for there to be.
But why had her father wanted her to get close to the prince? She should have found out before doing anything else.
Fool.
She gently pushed herself up, getting herself off Ewan’s chest so that she could turn around. Sitting with her back to him, she pulled her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. The room was chilly, but in a pleasant way. As the fall crept into winter, fires would soon be roaring in every fireplace in the castle, even though their kind ran hot.
It reminded her of how she could light her dragon fire, but she could not shift.
She was not allowed.
And she had just slept with her jailor. More than that, she had placed herself in his hands as though it was all she had ever wanted.
She scoffed softly, ignoring the shards cutting within.
