Fire's Embrace [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 6] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) (7 page)

As it was, Sari’s child—his son—was healthier than ever. He responded to her magic with a shy touch of his own, the distinctive traces of draechen power combining with that of fae energy. When she withdrew, Eanera was smiling.

“You were right, dear child. You’re absolutely fine, and so is your son. He’s already showing promising signs of having strong magic.”

Karein looked gobsmacked. He had been holding Sari’s hand tightly, obviously expecting bad news. Now, he gaped, as if he couldn’t quite believe what Eanera was saying. “Are you sure?” he finally croaked out.

“Positive,” Eanera confirmed. “I wouldn’t make any mistakes regarding my son’s and grandchild’s well-being. It seems that the vision didn’t affect Sari’s physical condition.”

The draechen stared at her, to which Sari chuckled. “Sit down, Karein. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

It was true. Karein appeared to be moments away from fainting out of sheer relief. Eanera could tell now that he had been actively trying to suppress his dread and concern, for Sari and possibly Eanera’s benefit. The difference between the Karein who had greeted her and the one who plopped down on the bed and kissed Sari passionately was staggering.

A smile still in place, Eanera abandoned the bed and left Sari to spend some time alone with his mate. They clearly needed some privacy, judging by that kiss and the moan Sari let out. A healthy sex life could only benefit Sari during his pregnancy. Eanera had denied herself that due to her vows, but Sari had no reason to do the same.

As she left her son’s quarters, though, her thoughts returned to Sari’s vision. Why did it suddenly feel like this brief moment of happiness in Sari’s life was among the last ones they’d get? Eanera rubbed her arms, the feeling of dread returning with a passion. She had to do something. But what? What could possibly stop Sari’s vision from coming true? For once, Eanera didn’t have any ideas, but she did know where she needed to begin. With Alwyn Cyraltin.

Alwyn curled on his bed, lying down with his head on Rachen’s chest. When they’d returned from greeting Caelyn and Graham, they’d simply retreated to Alwyn’s quarters and curled together like this. They hadn’t even touched sexually, although naturally, Alwyn felt tempted.

It was just that, every time he made a move to reach for Rachen, something stirred inside him, reminding him of the countless uncertainties in his life. Rachen caressed him gently, keeping everything platonic and above the waist. It was almost painful, because Alwyn knew how much Rachen was holding back.

Suddenly, Alwyn felt very frustrated. “Do you love me, Rachen?” he heard himself ask.

Rachen’s hand stilled in his hair. “Of course I do, baby. Why are you asking me that?”

Irritated with his own lack of self-confidence, Alwyn finally pulled away. What in the world was he doing? So what if he wasn’t truly Alwyn Cyraltin? Rachen didn’t mind. It was only a name, after all. Okay, when the illusion faded, it could become a problem, but Alwyn had faith that Rachen wasn’t only after his looks. Was he?

“Do you love me for me, or because I look like this?” He pointed to himself, knowing that the only reason he managed to continue this conversation was because Rachen hadn’t called him by his supposed name. “What part of me calls out to you?”

For a few moments, Rachen just looked at him. Alwyn’s heart fell, torn between a million emotions, but then, Rachen finally spoke. “When I first met you, my dragon sensed you were my mate, and yet, I wasn’t sure. It felt like an uncertainty that simply couldn’t let me get close to you. I felt you were meant to be mine, and at the same time, you weren’t.”

Alwyn frowned at Rachen. “If you’re trying to cheer me up, you aren’t really succeeding.”

He tried to seem sulky and irritated, but he couldn’t fully mask the hurt. Rachen shook his head and reached for his hand. “I’m not explaining myself right,” he said as he squeezed Alwyn’s palm. “Just listen, okay? I kept doubting and asking myself what you truly meant for me. At the time, I thought it was because of my own problems with my identity, but now, I wonder. Because when we spoke that day, on the cliff, when you confessed that you might not truly be Alwyn Cyraltin, I looked into your eyes and I knew. I saw the truth, my truth. You are my mate. You, not Alwyn, or whoever else might call himself by a certain name. I could see it, clearer than anything I’ve known in my existence.”

Alwyn’s breath caught. “Do you mean that?”

“Oh, baby…” Rachen kissed his knuckles, then smiled. “Of course I do. I would be lying if I claimed you weren’t also more beautiful than I ever imagined someone could be, but after all the time we’ve spent together, you have to know it’s not just that.”

It was true. Rachen and Alwyn had spent months together, and the sexual attraction between them, while considerable, hadn’t been the one governing their interactions. Rachen called out to Alwyn in a way nothing and no one ever had. At the same time, he unbalanced Alwyn, making his temper sharp and thrusting him on a roller coaster of emotion. Distantly, Alwyn wondered if this was how he was really like. He was beginning to grow increasingly convinced that there was something lying beneath this façade of a sprite. To think that Rachen accepted it, that he was willing to love Alwyn anyway, was almost too much to process.

He had been so shy when he’d come here, but now, all of that seemed like stupidity. Arousal and need swelled inside him, bright, hot, more intense than the doubt that consumed him. He pounced on Rachen and pressed his mouth to that of the draechen.

This time, his lover seemed to have expected Alwyn’s assault. Perhaps he was getting used to reading Alwyn’s cues. Either way, he immediately took control of the kiss, thrusting his tongue into Alwyn’s mouth.

The dragon’s hands tore at Alwyn’s clothing, and the sound of ripping material fueled Alwyn’s increasing lust. Rachen’s tongue invaded his mouth, tasting him, awakening the real him, making the boundaries between reality and deception blur. When he touched and kissed his lover, their identities ceased to matter. They were simply two mates, two men who desired each other more than anything.

Alwyn couldn’t help it. He clawed at Rachen’s garments savagely, his need for the dragon so intense it seemed to stop his breath. When they were both naked, they were finally forced to pull away to breathe.

They stared at each other, panting, their bodies trembling with unsatisfied lust. In that moment, Alwyn knew exactly what Rachen had meant when he’d spoken about seeing truth in Alwyn’s eyes. The same thing was happening to him. In a world filled with uncertainties, when Alwyn didn’t even know who he was anymore, he could trust Rachen to always be there for him. He could believe that Rachen would love him, no matter what.

In his heart, Alwyn knew that it was unfair to make promises he couldn’t keep. He knew that he shouldn’t be pursuing a relationship with Rachen when he could very easily be dangerous for Rachen’s family. But Alwyn was tired of being rational. He wanted to follow his heart for once. And his heart, his instincts, and of course, his body told him to get a move on and mate Rachen.

“Yes,” he gasped out. “Yes, I’ll be yours.”

It was an answer to the offer Rachen had made just the day before, and Alwyn got the reply he’d been hoping for. Rachen kissed him again, this time with so much ferocity that the word kiss simply didn’t seem to fit the action. It was a claiming, not at such a profound level as the one both of them craved, but a promise of it, a hint of what would soon come.

Alwyn kissed Rachen back, and their tongues dueled in a dance of passion as they explored each other’s bodies. Soon, the touches grew bolder. Unable to keep himself in check, Alwyn reached for Rachen’s dick, and as his fist enclosed the other man’s prick, Rachen groaned into the kiss. Alwyn had tasted Rachen, and he remembered all too well how much he’d enjoyed that, how right it had felt to pleasure Rachen. Now, though, he needed more. He craved to feel Rachen inside him, to have his mate claim him in every way.

Rachen was obviously of the same mind. Between kisses, he gasped out, “Lube. Where’s the lube?”

Alwyn didn’t have any lube. He’d never thought he would need some when he’d come here, and the last thing on his mind had been to procure it. In hindsight, that hadn’t been very smart of him, given the attraction between him and Rachen. Too late to fix that mistake now. Perhaps he had some hand cream or something…but he couldn’t for the life of him remember where he’d put it.

His frustration must have shown, because Rachen said, “It doesn’t matter. We can think of something.”

Judging by Rachen’s smirk, the draechen had already come up with an idea, one that foretold future pleasures for Alwyn. That expression was Alwyn’s only warning as the draechen pushed him down and took Alwyn’s dick in his mouth.

Pleasure exploded over Alwyn, impossibly beautiful, impossibly intense. Wet heat engulfed Alwyn’s swollen cock, plunging him in an abyss of lava. Alwyn clenched his fingers in the blanket, trying to anchor himself, to contain it and not allow it to get the better of him. But he simply couldn’t control it, couldn’t control the rising passion, the overwhelming urge to move, love, fuck, take, and be taken. Groaning, he started to shove his dick into Rachen’s mouth, desperate for more. He spread his legs, offering everything he was and had ever been to his mate.

His true self, the one Rachen identified as his mate, rose up out of him, ready to be one with the dragon. It was the perfect moment for Alwyn to identify it, but right then and there, he couldn’t bring himself to care. As Rachen bobbed his head up and down his dick, Alwyn moved with him, fucking the draechen’s mouth. Rachen didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he appeared to be enjoying this as much as Alwyn was. He groaned around Alwyn’s dick, and the vibrations awoke every nerve ending in Alwyn’s body, even ones Alwyn hadn’t been aware of. He writhed under Rachen, lost in the sensual torture, not even knowing which way was up anymore.

Rachen’s hand landed on his hip, holding him in place as the dragon continued his ministrations on Alwyn. Flames licked over his skin where Rachen touched him, and Alwyn knew it must have been Rachen’s magic, but when they came together like this, it felt like his, too. The fire of Rachen’s caresses purged Alwyn of every doubt and fear, leaving only need behind.

He didn’t know how long Rachen tormented him, alternating hard suction with teasing licks. Finally, the draechen took Alwyn’s prick all the way into his throat and swallowed. Alwyn’s vision blurred, and he exploded in a mind-numbing climax. For a few moments, reality blurred, and he almost thought he would lose his hold on his consciousness. Perhaps he would have, but he stubbornly refused to lose any moment of his time with Rachen. It allowed him to watch the sinfully beautiful sight of Rachen swallowing his cum and pulling back before Alwyn could fully spend himself. Some of Alwyn’s spunk landed on Rachen’s face and hair. What little was left of Alwyn’s reason just about melted.

His dick didn’t even go soft. His libido screamed that this wasn’t enough, not nearly enough. Rachen’s eyes glowed fiery red as he gathered Alwyn’s spunk on his fingers and reached between Alwyn’s ass cheeks. He inserted one digit into Alwyn’s virgin channel, making him shudder and groan. He’d never touched himself there, and it felt a little strange to have Rachen do it, at least in the beginning. But then, Rachen brushed over a certain spot inside him, and sparks of pleasure exploded through Alwyn, making him cry out. “Rachen!”

“Tell me, baby,” the draechen murmured. “What do you want?”

“You,” Alwyn answered quickly. “Please, Rachen. Please.”

Unfortunately, Rachen seemed disinclined to rush things along. He added another finger into Alwyn’s passage, scissoring them inside him. Alwyn whimpered and growled, torn between frustration, lust, and maddening bliss. Rachen continued to finger-fuck him, driving him wild, every time managing to hit his prostate.

He prepared Alwyn with almost excruciating care, all the while never looking away from Alwyn’s face, monitoring his reactions. Finally, just as Alwyn thought he was truly going to lose his mind, Rachen removed his fingers from his ass. He lifted Alwyn’s legs and positioned them on his shoulders. His dick nudged at his opening, so close Alwyn could already anticipate the pleasure of being invaded.

And then, a knock sounded at the door. Alwyn released a groan, and so did Rachen. “Just leave it,” Alwyn said.

Rachen grunted and lowered himself over Alwyn again. The knock returned, this time more insistent. “Lord Cyraltin?” Eanera Myrthylar’s voice sounded outside. “Could I possibly have a word with you?”

She said nothing else, but her mere presence was enough to thrust Alwyn back into reality. Not to mention that her tone told Alwyn everything she didn’t express in words. She might not be rushing to scream out to reveal Sari’s vision to all of Draechenburg, but it was clear that it was what she wanted to discuss.

In his heart, Alwyn wanted nothing else but to continue his lovemaking session with Rachen. But Eanera didn’t seem to have any plans to leave, and really, perhaps she was right. Given the circumstances, wasn’t it only right that she and the Tersain would want to speak to him and investigate his intentions?

Rachen could obviously tell what he was thinking. He heaved a sigh and pulled back. “Well, the mood’s ruined now. Might as well talk to her.”

“The sooner we do that, the faster we can go back to what we were doing,” Alwyn encouraged him.

That coaxed a smile out of Rachen, one of those wicked ones Alwyn had only seen addressed at him. “That sounds like heaven,” the dragon answered. He brushed a brief kiss over Alwyn’s lips and pulled away. “Quickly now. Let’s get dressed. We wouldn’t want to shock Her Holiness.”