Page 50 of Ashborne Forged

When I finally pulled away, she resisted for a moment. Then opened her eyes and tracked me as I pushed up on one hand, cupped her jaw, and made myself hold her gaze.

“You’re amazing,” I said gruffly. “Pure and simple. But you also need care. Your body isn’t used to this. I have ointment in my bag. I’ll clean you and treat your wounds.” The word turned my stomach.

I looked away for a moment, suddenly saturated in self-doubt. She wanted to learn, but she didn’t know what she was walking into. Was I wrong to—

Grace grabbed my chin, which startled me. But when I tipped my head down as she urged, the smile she gave me blazed so brightly, it could have lit the whole castle. “Voski… I like this. I want this. I want you. Keep showing me. All the ways. Please. If I stop enjoying it, I’ll tell you.”

I stared at her, my heart swelling, but my fear as well. “You’re not just saying yes to please me? Give me your word that you’ll tell me if anything—”

“Yes.”

I stared, still uncertain if I could believe her. Until my dragon spoke. ‘Made for you…’ Kham murmured quietly in my head.

Something in my chest that had been fragile, brittle, turned solid. Strong. And Grace’s eyes warmed.

“Then we won’t stop,” I croaked. “We’ll use it for us, and for your training. Increase your skill while we… learn each other.” I swallowed.

Grace clapped her hands, and I shook my head.

“You’re an eager and fast learner,” I said on a huff of disbelief.

“Because I’m taught by the best,” she said, then laughed and launched herself at me, rolling me onto my back and kissing me with all the fervor and thrill of a woman in love.

17. Hurt vs. Harm

~ VOSKI ~

The following two days were the most precious and thrilling of my life. I caught myself blinking, asking God if it was a dream. But if it was, I never woke up.

I justified wallowing in the joy of my mate, by continuing her training to increase her stealth, practice the knife throwing—though she still got quiet during those sessions—and teaching her the control and respect for authority needed as a soldier, so that she didn’t put herself, or others at risk by jumping into things too quickly. And with the added benefit of building together—her submission to a superior officer, calling me sir, morphing into my worship of her.

But even when the hours were only work and training, the days brimmed with joy.

We were outside patrol lines, so never saw another soul.

I felt more grounded, more in control of myself than I had in months.

Our link, though still foggy at times, was strengthening. Especially when we were close. And with her increased awareness and control, I’d been able to offer her some instruction in how to block intrusion on her mind—both her dragon, and me. Frustrating as it was that she learned so quickly, it made our hunts even more thrilling.

On our fourth day at the hut, I’d been cleaning up lunch, while Grace took Koa to the river, intending to bathe. I followed half an hour later, Kham lumbering at my side.

He knew how thunderstruck I was. I walked in stunned disbelief at the sheer perfection of her. He teased me incessantly about being right about mates.

‘You should have listened to your dragon. The Creator gives a mate not just for pleasure, but for rightness.’

I was still uneasy about that part. ‘Is it rightness? Or am I corrupting her?’

Kham rumbled, but we were about to reach the edge of the trees. I hesitated, not out of fear, but just to see her when she didn’t know I was watching.

The sun was high, and though there wasn’t a great deal of heat in it, she’d decided to bathe properly, stripping all the way down and venturing into the water. But it was so cold, it made her skin redden.

She laughed when Koa splashed her, and shrieked at the cold. But she smiled the whole time.

She took my breath away.

Her smooth skin, golden hair, those bright blue eyes that twinkled when she laughed and shone when she smiled.

She screamed, and giggled like a little girl when Koa shocked her by slapping her tail down on the water and sending a wave against her bare back. But she took it in good humor.