Page 85 of Quest for her Knights
“What—”
“You’re mine now, kitten. And I’m not letting you go.” If my heart could burst from happiness, it would have just happened. I don’t try to stop the huge smile from covering my face, and when he grins back at me, my breath catches. He’s breathtaking when he smiles.
“Draven. What are you doing?” Blaze asks nervously.
Draven wraps his other hand around my back, pulling me tight against his chest as if he’s afraid I’ll be taken from him. He looks at Blaze as he tells him, “I’m claiming what’s mine.”
“Hells bells, Draven,” I whisper, pressing my face against his neck. “I think you just went and soaked my panties.”
He lets out a laugh as I turn to look at Blaze. I can see he’s thinking hard as his jaw moves back and forth. It was only earlier today that he rejected me and I’m still feeling that pain. But technically, they’ve all been rejecting me since the day we met.
I turn back to ask Draven, “What made you change your mind?”
“Change my mind?” He brows pinch as his fingers move back and forth where he’s holding me.
“Yeah, about me. What made you decide you want to be with me?”
“Oh, kitten.” He pulls a hand up to stroke my cheek softly. “I always wanted you. Well, once I got to know you. It’s probably been weeks if not months.” My eyes widen in surprise.
“That long?”
He smiles as he nods. “Holding myself back has been the challenge.”
“It’s been a challenge for all of us,” Blaze says as he tentatively steps closer. “You have no idea how much it pained me to refuse you earlier. More than anything I wanted to say yes.”
I shake my head and frown at him. “That’s not true. If you wanted it more than anything, you would have kissed me. But you chose your job over me.”
I feel a tear break free, and Draven quickly wipes it away.
Blaze steps closer, looking as hurt as I still feel from his rejection.
“Darling, I’m so sorry. You have no idea how hard it’s been to be so close to you all this time and not be allowed to do what my heart truly desires.”
“What’s that?” I whisper, and he moves to stand right against my leg.
“To ask you to be mine. To beg you to consider me as more than your guard, more than your friend. To let me love you and take care of you. To let me bring you pleasure from my touch.” I inhale sharply as his hand lands on my thigh, his thumb rubbing my skin over the fabric of my long dress.
“Elora,” Draven says, and I turn to him in question. “I think you have an idea of how important our duty as knights of the royal guard is. But I’m not sure if you fully understand it. When you’re sworn in, you basically say you’ll never have a family of your own, that protecting the royal family is your only purpose. Breaking that promise is never done.”
“Never?”
He shakes his head. “No. It’s unheard of. For me, though, the old Elora had been cruel to me. Her behavior made it easier to see being a knight as just a job, not my whole identity. It’s harder for Blaze and Arrow, but especially Ranger.”
“Ranger?”
Blaze continues, “He’s been the head of the royal guard for a long time, and a knight even longer. He’s completely accepted that that’s how he’d spend the rest of his life. You’ve thrown a wrench in that, and he doesn’t know how to handle it.”
“And you?” I ask, turning to Blaze as Draven steps back and Blaze takes his place, standing between my spread knees.
“And me... I’ve come to realize that there’s only one thing in this world I truly care about, and it’s not being a knight.”
“But you love being a knight,” I say as his hands run up my thighs.
“I love you more.”
I gasp in surprise, my mouth falling open as he smiles softly at me, one hand moving up to hold my neck.
“Darling, can I kiss you now?” Unable to speak, I lick my lips and nod. He holds me gently as he dips his mouth to mine, and I let my eyes close as he finally kisses me.
