Marked by the Dragon King (5 page)

Chapter Seven

“You heard a basilisk and you stood up. I called after you, but it was like you were in a trance and you walked away. The torch went out and I heard growling, but it sounded like there were two monsters instead of a boy fighting one. It terrified me and I woke up.”

“I’m sorry that I left you alone.”

“I’m sorry that I leave you all the time,” I murmur.

“You always come back.”

I nod, smiling sadly at him as his mouth gently press against mine. I can’t help but kiss him back, parting my lips. It reminds me of the first time he kissed me, a few dreams after the first time we met.

Asher’s tongue slips into my mouth as he pulls me closer to his solid chest. I remember the first time he did this too, and my shock when I discovered he had a forked tongue. My reaction hurt his feelings, but I managed to convince him that I liked it. It was true, and that was before either of us found out how much fun it could be. It’s not long and snake like, it has a normal human texture, just split in two at the tip.

I moved Uptop soon after that kiss and discovered the wonders of television. One night I watched a documentary about a tattoo and piercing parlor and the owner had a split tongue, but he cut it on purpose. It looked so familiar and then it hit me. That was the first time I remembered the boy from the catacombs that I visited in my dreams.

We were just kids when we met. All we did was kiss at first, cuddle, hold hands, stuff like that. Just like normal kids, even though we were anything but. When we finally did have sex a year later, we were both so nervous. I woke up with blood on my sheets and just figured I started my period early and it triggered the dream. That’s when the hollow place in my chest appeared, when I started waking up consumed by a loneliness so intense that I couldn’t understand. I thought it was just another facet of my pathetic nature. A broken witch who cries in the morning over her fake dream boyfriend.

Asher’s lips pull away from mine. “Why didn’t you want me to have you earlier?”

“I…” I trail off. His eyes are so confused and I can’t find my earlier rage. “Does anyone else come down here to see you?”

“I don’t think so. If they do, I can’t remember.” He can’t always remember me either.

“What about other girls?” I suggest, trying not to cringe. “Do you… do you think that you… with any other girls?”

“No,” he gasps. “Why would you think that?”

“Because there were other candidates.”

“Candidates?”

“Other girls you could have picked to mark.”

“To mark? Lindy, what are you talking about?”

“My thigh,” I answer, looking down. I do love how I’m always in a fancy dress when I have these dreams. It’s the same sleek black gown I wore last time. The ridiculously high slit easily allows me to show him the brand he left on me. I’m surprised he didn’t notice it before.

Asher’s jaw tenses as his eyes widen and fill with flames, but it’s not the fiery gaze that usually leads to me calling his name as he ravages me. His fingers trace the symbol as the anger in his eyes burns hotter until his hand closes into a fist and he growls. It’s such a loud, guttural snarl that I draw back in fear. A sound like that shouldn’t be able to come out of a human body.

My eyes drop down to Asher’s flexed pectoral muscles as a fire dances across his skin. When the flames subside, there’s a brand that matches the one on my thigh. That’s where I’ve seen the symbol in the past. It appears sometimes when he’s angry or fighting. Sometimes it flashes when he finds his release inside of me. But it always just flames and fades away, it’s never marred the skin before.

“Where the hell are we?” he growls, his eyes darting around the room with a newfound clarity. After a few frantic moments, they close and he inhales deeply, dropping his arms to his sides, palms forward. It’s a strange, ritualistic stance and I don’t think I’ve seen it before. His brow furrows as he takes another deep breath, but nothing happens.

“Ash…”

“Why can’t I shift?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does that mean you know what I am?” he asks, dropping that peculiar posture and stalking towards me.

“I do.”

“Say it,” he orders.

“You’re a dragon.”

“Not just any dragon. Be more specific.”

My pulse spikes as my skin flushes. “You’re the Dragon King.”

“Then
why
am I trapped here in a human form?” he roars. “Why can you wake up and I can’t? I want out! What is keeping me here?”

“I don’t know.” I’ve never seen him angry like this when he’s lucid. “It’s not me though, I swear,” I murmur, dropping my chin.

Asher’s anger stops raging, his face softening as he closes the distance between us. “That’s not what I meant,” he says softly, his thumb grazing my jawline.

“I just figured out that all of this was real, I promise.”

“Lindy, I wasn’t accusing you.” He lifts my face until I’m looking into his fiery eyes. They aren’t angry anymore, but they are hungry. “You’re the only one that I’ve ever been with. You’re the only face that I can see when I try, and I find it in my thoughts often, even when I can’t find you.”

“Asher,” I breathe as his hands wrap around my waist and pull me into his body.

“Am I the only one? When you wake up, do you ever lie with anyone else?”

“No.”

“Never?” he growls.

“Never,” I say as he pushes me against the wall, pinning my hands above my head. “I swear.” Asher’s gaze bores into me, but it isn’t just accusation in his eyes. There’s a little fear in there, too. “I belong to you,” I whisper. “You’re the one that keeps saying only one of us can possess the other.”

“I was wrong about that,” he admits, dragging his lips up my throat until they clamp onto mine. “You officially win that argument. I am yours. You are mine. We belong to each other.”

“Always.”

The corner of his mouth lifts slightly. He looks like he did back then, a little nervous, unsure. “I need you,” he groans, his trembling body pressing mine harder into the stone.

“Yes,” I gasp, arching my chest forward as much as I can manage.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” He tightens his hold on my wrists until the tips of my fingers start to throb. “That’s not all I meant,” he whispers into my ear before he nuzzles his tortured face into my shoulder. The urge to wrap my arms around his neck and hold him is overwhelming, but he won’t release me when I try to pull away. “You. I want you. I need you to stay here with me. If I’m trapped here, I want you to be here, too. I can’t take it anymore.”

“I would if I could, I swear,” I murmur, turning my face to kiss forehead. He squeezes my wrists even tighter. “Let my hands go so I can touch you, Ash.”

“No.”

“I’m not going anywhere, not yet.”

“You’ve said that so many times before and I’ve watched you slip right through my fingers,” he chokes.

“It hurts, Asher. Please.”

With a mournful sigh, he loosens his hold but doesn’t let go, pulling my arms down. His hands slide lower, exposing my wrists and bringing them to his lips to cover them with kisses. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You never do. You just can’t control yourself.”

He chuckles, dropping my hands so he can wrap his around my waist and pull me away from the cave wall. “I’m getting better at that.”

“No, you’re getting worse,” I giggle as he lowers us back to the ground, his hungry mouth suckling its way from the square of my jaw to the end of my collarbone.

“Well, I’m trying harder,” he replies.

“Now that’s definitely not true.”

Asher grunts out a laugh, his eyes flaring as they rake over my body. Warmth covers every inch of my skin as my gown ignites, leaving me bare and laid out before him. Hesitation crawls across his face and he stops himself before actually touching me. Grinning, I nod and reach out for him. He falls into my arms, his smiling lips pressing into mine.

He kisses his way down my throat until he’s at my breast. “Do you remember when we came up with this trick?” he laughs, locking eyes with me as his forked tongue surrounds my nipple.

“I do,” I breathe, arching my back. He moves to the other side and teases me until I cry out and spread my legs. If I’m lucky, he’ll remind me what his tongue can do down there.

I get something better instead. Some of that levity leaves his face and Asher’s eyes grow wider as he slowly pushes inside me. “You remember the first time we did this, right?” he asks softly, kissing the tip of my nose.

“Of course I do,” I answer, dragging my fingers across the back of his neck. He looks so relieved.

“I was so worried that I’d hurt you, Lindy.”

“You didn’t.” It was perfect. He was so gentle, just like he’s being right now. Asher’s arms wrap around my waist tightly as he starts thrusting faster and I breathe out his name.

“Let’s do it like this,” he murmurs, rolling our bodies until he’s underneath me.

I sit up, my eyes savoring all the peaks and valleys of his chiseled chest and stomach. His fingers wrap into mine. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on top,” I say, sinking down on him.

“I know. We should do this more often,” he moans, bucking upwards. Frustration mingles with the lust on his face. “I want you underneath me, but I don’t like that it means you’re pressed into the damp, dirty rock floor.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” I assure him.

“It bothers me.” He sits up until we’re face to face, my legs wrapped around his waist. “That really bothers me. A lot. Every damn time, but not until it’s over.”

“It does?”

“Of course. You deserve better. And I don’t understand why I can’t give it to you, it doesn’t make any sense,” he croaks.

“We’ll figure it out. Don’t think about that right now.”

“Melinda…” he breathes as I suckle the hot flesh on his neck.

It distracts him from his troubles and his hands begin roaming my body, his mouth clamping onto mine as he rolls us over. My skin is so warm that I shudder when my back makes contact with the chilly stone, crying out loudly as he drives himself deeper. If it really upsets him, he’s not thinking about it now.

Asher is such a beast when he gets carried away. That part makes a lot more sense to me now that I know more about his true nature. He’s so feral and rough, snarling into my ear that I belong to him as his body proves it to mine. His hands wrap around my wrists and hold them above my head, lowering his full weight on me, pinning me to the ground. A satisfied groan reverberates through his chest into mine as he pulls my earlobe between his teeth and nips it. I swell around him, my legs spreading further, welcoming every greedy thrust.

“I love you,” he growls into my ear, letting my hands go so he can slide his down the length of my body until he’s gripping my ass.

“I love you, too.” I skim my fingers into his hair and across the back of his neck as he leans down to kiss me, my stomach fluttering from the memory of the first time he said it. His eyes were so big and surprised when it just popped out of his mouth, and he covered my face in excited kisses after I said it back.

“I miss you so much. I want you all the time and I can never find you,” he chokes.

“I’m so sorry, Ash. I can’t help it.”

“Promise?” He rests his forehead on mine, kissing the tip of my nose.

“I’d stay here forever if I could. I swear.”

“Lindy…” Asher groans, cupping the back of my head and pulling me upward for another long, desperate kiss.

I can feel the frenzy overtake him as his breath gets hotter and his tongue plunges deeply into my mouth. I cry out as the rest of his body stakes its claim on mine, his fingernails digging into the small of my back as he holds me steady on his rigid length. I screech into our kiss, my arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders as I writhe against him. His lips pull away from mine as his body shudders, growling frantically, his eyes ablaze. The furnace inside me grows hotter with his release and another feverish wave rolls through me. My frenzied moaning echoes off the cave walls as Asher holds me close to his chest, kissing the top of my head until my cries fade into a rhythmic panting.