Page 18 of Ashborne: Defiance

The dragons began to sing again and I stopped pacing, clawing both hands in my hair, gripping so hard it hurt, begging God to free me from this torment as my body responded to the dragons’ joy and hunger for each other, driving me to find Grace.

Grace.

Images of her face, her huge eyes, then a memory of that one, bared breast and the way she’d bitten her lip, arching into my touch when I stroked it—fuck!

If I wasn’t a grown man, I might have wept with the sheer frustration.

She would not be my mate! If we could just get past Koa’s heat, she and Kham would settle, and I would be able to think straight again. I’d never complete the link. It would all fade. We could get on with our lives—

—the slip of Grace’s tongue against mine, unpracticed, hesitant, but somehow more enticing for it. She threw herself into the kiss with an enthusiasm and abandon that brought my body to life. The way she trusted me to hold her, arching back into my hand, letting me take her weight, letting me touch her—all of her.

I groaned at the memory of her hot, slick skin, the evidence of how she’d wanted me—and the clench of her on my fingers when I’d been unable to resist the temptation of her. Those moments before memory flooded back, and fear drove me away. When I’d simply wanted her. Needed her. And she’d responded with nothing short of delight. Just like Kham.

Not like Kham, I corrected myself with a quick shake of my head, and began pacing again, praying the movement would ease the want in my body that was growing with every passing breath. Her delight could just as easily have been triumph because she caught me. Just as she set out to do—she’d followed me in the shadows.

Shit.

That was the other thing.

How had I not heard her? How had I not sensed her?

Fear sliced through my insides. If only it cut the ties to my want for her, as well. But no…

This was torture!

I raised my head, looking around—became aware, once more, in which direction she lay, and turned my back, looking frantically for somewhere I could rest. Shut myself off from the torrent of desire.

But I needed… shit. I needed her. Her sweet, warm skin. The honey of her breath. Those tiny gasps and sighs in my ear. Her little hands, so unsure, and yet, boldly clawing, holding me close. The pleading in her, and the joy. The delight. The—

A memory of my mother rose, a beacon from my childhood, a moment I’d forgotten. Hadn’t thought about in years, yet I lived it all over again as my body flooded with fear.

She smiled, her raven black hair falling over her cheeks to hide the bruises. But her eyes welled as she gently wiped away my tears. “Life comes at a cost, mi roche. Don’t let it defeat you. The pain, the fear, they’ll always pass. It is a season. A storm. Hold onto me. I won’t let them have you. I’ll never let them—”

FUCK.

I staggered back as if she truly was in front of me, as if I truly relived that night and all it had entailed.

I tried to forcibly bring my mind back to the present, but suddenly, all I could see was Grace—Grace arched, Grace’s cheeks flushed, her eyes glazed, feel her body ripple under my touch and the sheer joy of that.

Until she’d spoken.

“Mine. You’re mine.”

I swore and whirled, then turned again, but everywhere I looked there was only darkness and more unknown. I couldn’t hear anything but my pulse thrumming in my ears. Couldn’t feel anything but fear and fucking need.

Life comes at a cost, mi roche. Don’t let it defeat you.

Mine. You’re mine.

Like a panicked colt, I stopped turning, whirling, searching and just stood. Trembling.

And it all became very clear.

If I didn’t find a way to stop this, I was going to lose my Godforsaken mind.

7. Denied

~ GRACE ~