His head lifted and stared down at her in bewilderment. “The fuck, Ciara? That’s impossible!” he demanded as he pulled out a little, staring down at the blood that covered his thick base. Tears formed in her eyes as pain burned through her body. Her limbs trembled, shaking with the pain he’d created from not readying her body. A soft sob exploded from her lips, and a tremor tore through her as he pulled out.
“Get off me you bastard,” she demanded as she lifted a foot and booted him from the bed. She could feel the blood running down her leg; over a century she’d preserved it, and in seconds, he’d taken it. She pulled the furs around her, uncaring that he watched her. Uncaring that pain burned through her body as sobs fought to leave her lungs.
Tears poured from her eyes as she closed them against the shock on his face. He swore violently, cursing himself for what he’d done. Now he knew, now he knew she hadn’t lied to him about what had happened to her.
“You said Max fed you, how the fuck is that even possible?” he demanded.
“In illusions,” she whispered hoarsely.
“You’re transitioned,” he snapped as he pulled the covers from her, staring down at the blood smeared across her thighs. “Fuck,” he growled as he dropped them and sat on the edge of the bed, resting his head in his hands.
“I am transitioned, but I did it without a lover,” she uttered as she turned away from him. “I told you what happened, yet you refused to hear what I said.”
“You said you took any man who wanted you!”
“Yes,” she said, turning to stare at him with a coldness that shocked her. “Do you know how many men are willing to ask or take the Princess of the Horde when doing so would mean asking the king? A king who is also her protector and her brother? Not one man has offered for me to join him in his bed, ever. They flirt, but to touch? Oh, to touch would mean staring down the Horde King and my other brothers, who would probably rip him apart for even asking. So yes, I fucked every man who offered for me to share their bed.”
“You’re untouched, until me,” he uttered softly. “Bloody hell, Ciara, you should have just told me the truth.”
“Congratulations, asshole, you are the first to fuck the whore of the Horde, the seductress who lures her men to her bed to bathe in their blood. Such a slut, am I right?” she seethed brokenly as she dismissed him, turning away to ignore him. “I told you, you shouldn’t listen to rumors. I told you I transitioned without intercourse, I told you. You just didn’t listen.”
“Ciara,” he whispered and then frowned as she began to shiver violently in silence; the frost moving into the camp was chilling, worse so than before. It bit painfully at her flesh, and then Blane was there, touching her. She pushed him away, hating that she would need to be close to survive whatever it was that crept in with its chilling fingers. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have done it like that.”
“I know, but that doesn’t absolve you, now does it? You’re no better than the monster you claim to hate,” she said.
“You should have made me hear you,” he whispered against her ear.
“Would you have listened? You wanted me to be a monster; it made it easier for you to hate me. So you assumed I was, and maybe I was okay with it. I’m not free with my body, Blane, and you sure as hell didn’t deserve to take what was only mine to give.”
“You’re my prisoner,” he whispered as he touched her shoulder, pulling her closer. “You’re mine now, Ciara. You’re right, I didn’t deserve to be gifted it, but I wasn’t, was I? I took it. You are Fae, they do not value virginity. It’s a bane to them, tossed away at transition. No one will care that it has been given,” he replied.
“It wasn’t given,” she said, turning to look at him with glowing eyes. “You took it. I remained pure for myself, because I’d earned it. I transitioned without feeding for weeks alone and lived. I survived what no other Fae could have, and I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to give it to someone worthy of it. You’re not worthy, dragon whelp. You’ll never be. Now get away from me, please.”
“I can’t do that, Ciara. You’re right, it was wrong to take what wasn’t given, but I can’t undo what has been done. I never thought for one second that you were untouched, but I’m glad you were. I’m not proud of what I have done to you, and I don’t expect you to forgive me for it, but I’m going to show you what it is like, what it’s really like to be taken. To be touched, and claimed.”
Chapter Fourteen
Blane’s fingers caressed her shoulder as he turned her over, wiping away the tears that rolled from her cheeks. His mouth hovered against hers, hesitant until she lifted her mouth to his. He’d hurt her mentally, but worse, it had fucking hurt like hell when he’d entered her body. It wasn’t going to be how she remembered this, not when at any time her brothers could show up, and she’d be forced back into her life. The frozen, untouchable princess. She’d lost what she’d saved for her husband, and it was too late to get it back. He could damn well show her what it was like to be touched, to be claimed in every way a man could claim a woman.
She was a glass doll. She’d realized it when Ristan had brought one back for Kahleena. He’d placed it on the shelf and explained that it was beautiful, yet no one could play with it because it wasn’t meant to be touched. She wasn’t ready to go back there, to remain untouched. She captured his tongue with hers, drawing his mouth to hers as her hands rubbed against his thick and muscle-coiled arms.
“Show me what it is really like,” she whispered against his mouth. “No magic, no illusions of what I want, but what it is really like, Blane. You owe me that much,” she murmured as he growled and claimed her mouth in an earth-shattering kiss that threatened to consume her.
He pulled away, placing passionate kisses all over her face before kissing the soft column of her neck and then dropping his lips to her collarbone as he kissed his way down her body. His hands cupped her breasts, nipping at them as she moaned and arched for his hungry mouth. With him there was no cold; the entire tent was ablaze in heat. His mouth was an inferno that left a trail of fire in its wake. He pulled away from her, bending over the bed to reach for the bucket of cold water.
Ciara swallowed hard as he lifted up, pushed her legs apart as he washed the blood from her body. He tossed the cloth aside as he stared down at her flesh, and his fingers pushed against her clitoris as he leaned over, nipping it with his teeth as throaty laughter met her hiss of pain. His tongue stroked between her flesh, forcing her to arch her back to get away from the blinding, mind consuming pleasure. His fingers pushed into her body, and she jerked against the intrusion. He invaded her body and mind more than any man had before. Max gave her just enough to maintain magic, but never in her wildest dreams had she ever felt the earth-shattering pleasure that Blane delivered with his treacherous mouth.
He sucked on her clitoris, using his tongue to work her nub in a circular pattern as his lips moved, using his fingers and mouth to prepare for what was to come. She moaned, crying out as he started moving his fingers deeper, only to withdraw and force them in harder, deeper until she was coming undone on them. Her body tightened as sweat beaded against her brow. His eyes never left hers as she whimpered his name over and over like he was her savior. Once the pleasure subsided, he moved to sit between her legs.
His body shifted, spreading her legs as he watched her reaction. She dropped her knees, giving him permission as he settled between them, kissing her thighs softly as his fingers explored her naked pussy. One entered her again, and she tensed, his eyes holding hers as he pushed it deeper, bending it as he found her pleasure zone. Her moans grew louder, faster as he worked her body until she trembled precariously with the next release.
He didn’t allow it. Instead, he crawled up her body and pushed his cock against the entrance, slowly rubbing it against her as he judged her reaction to his movements. When he pushed inside, she hissed, exp
ecting the pain to be there, but only an uncomfortable fullness filled her. She frowned as she lifted her head, watching where they were joined.
Blane pulled out a fraction and then thrust into her body. She cried out, wrapping her legs around his hips to adjust to his size. Her body moved, taking control from him as she found a rhythm and danced to it beneath him. Steam filled the tent as they moved together until their bodies swayed as if they’d done this a million times before. The pain lessened, she adapted to what he was, filling every inch of her body until she pushed against him, unable to take more.
“Bloody hell, woman,” he growled as her brands glowed, and her eyes followed their lead, lighting up the tent as if she herself were the light of the world. His mouth touched against hers and she rolled him, straddling him as a soft yelp left her lips as she took him deeper into her body. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured as he pushed her inky black hair away from where it was plastered to her face. “Ride me,” he growled as he gripped her hips, moving her body. He was teaching her, showing her what to do.
She slowly started to move, finding a tempo that hit her spot until she threw back her head and moaned as the orgasm rocketed through her. Lights exploded around her as a drum began beating in her ears. She felt as if she was falling without anyone to catch her. Hands held her, pulling her down as she was rolled beneath his big frame. He held her there until her eyes could focus and as she looked up, she noted the smirk that lifted his lips.
“My turn,” he growled as he leaned back, lifting her knees to his shoulders before he thrust forward. A scream tore from her lungs as he increased his speed, never stopping even as her hands grabbed his. He threaded his fingers through them, lowering his mouth to capture hers as he gave no mercy.
His body was created for this. For her. He was relentless, pushing in deeper than she needed him, but she took all he gave and more. Her body clenched around him, demanding he stay within her heated depths. He released her hands, grabbing her hips which he used to move her body against his. Ciara lost focus, lost meaning as she floated in a sea of sensations. Her pleasure was absolute; his anger and frustrations were gone, and in their place was his own pleasure and the exquisite pleasure he received from fucking her. He not only wanted this, but he also was enjoying it. Her brands swirled as she watched his eyes lift to hold hers, reflecting the violet glow of her hunger in his.
Blane tensed as his gaze moved to her brands, watching as they fed on his pleasure. She pulled it back, not wanting to ruin the moment with what she was, and yet she didn’t have full control. He bent down, nipping against her breast as her hands came up to thread through his thick hair. He grabbed them, pushing them against her belly as he jerked and growled low from his chest. Bluish green eyes stared down at Ciara when he lifted his head.
She moaned as his body grew inside hers, crying out as it became too much. He didn’t stop, but it conceded and stopped giving her more than her body was able to take. His body tensed as he leaned down and stared into her eyes with those of something ancient. She knew he was a dragon, but now she knew why he was the dragon king. His beast was the same as Ryder’s, with one exception; one was infinite, and the other was created for its host. Blane held a beast inside of him that could never die. His eyes fed her facts, information, allowing her to see what resided inside of him and was currently ruining her body relentlessly as he drove in harder, faster, taking her where he wanted her to go without mercy or care that she was unskilled.
He cried out against her lips, claiming it in an angry kiss meant to punish, and yet mid-kiss, it shifted to urgency, and his hips slowed. His head lifted, and he stared down at her with something soft in his eyes before they returned to blue. He trembled and then moaned as he stiffened, finding release as her orgasm tore through her, stealing the last of her strength.
“Gods, woman,” he groaned as he rolled off of her, holding her body to his to stave the cold from reaching her. “This was a mistake,” he mumbled.
“No, if I had to choose again for my first time, I’d choose you,” she admitted. “I don’t know why, or how, but I think this was always meant to happen.”
“You’re saying we were meant to fuck?” he snapped as if he regretted it.
“I think I’m supposed to be here with you.”
“Fyra is right, you’re insane.”
“Am I? Five hours,” she admitted. “That’s how long before you entered the castle and the babes had been removed. I took first shift of pretending to be in it with them, and you showed up moments after I arrived. Had you been a few hours earlier, it would have been the babes, but a few hours later and you’d have faced the Horde’s weapon master and head of the Elite Guard, and I assure you, you would have died there. Instead, you got me. I have to tell you, though; their mother and father were with them in that nursery, as was the entire head of Elite Guard, standing outside for protection were over one hundred more Elite Guards. Whoever gave you the information set you up to die.” She rose to her elbows and looked down at him. “They are always protected, as the fate of Faery is their destiny, and Danu herself blessed their birth using what little power she held to save their tiny little lives. And, Blane, if you ever endanger them, I will show you what a real monster looks like. I am cold; I am Ciara the Coldhearted Princess of the Horde, the Ice Queen and Untouchable One to anyone who isn’t of our bloodline, and while I may be innocent in some things, I assure you, I make up for it in others.
“My brothers saved me; those days spent writhing in agony as my father watched were nothing compared to what I will do if any harm comes to those babes or my family. I know what you went through, but you need to understand this, to defy my father wasn’t just death. He didn’t kill you outright, he killed anyone and everything you loved and made you live through it to endure the pain forever. You want to think we are monsters? Had Ryder defied him that day, he’d have probably killed me, Zahruk, and Dristan, and more than likely Ristan as he had wanted to destroy him long before your kind entered the picture. He bred thousands of children, Blane. Thousands, and yet only a hundred or so survived to live beyond his reign and time. We fought hard to live; we did what he wanted because if we failed, it wouldn’t have been us who paid the price for our failure. It would have been those that we loved that paid the price for our disobedience.”
“And yet they came and raped and murdered women and children,” he growled.
“And so they came, and they killed and did what was expected of them, but my brothers did not rape or murder women and children. Ryder has never taken what wasn’t given, and we do not murder children. Not when others of the Horde were so willing to do it to gain favor with the murderous king. You want peace? So do we. You’ve earned it, but so have we. As I said, going to war to secure peace is like fucking and hoping your virginity is still there. It’s not, you destroyed it. You took it, but you can’t do it again nor can I ever get it back. Peace is the same, so tell me, dragon, will you destroy your chances of peace by going to war and hoping your little army survives?”
“I don’t have a little army, Ciara. I have thousands of troops around this world, ready to go to war against you and your brothers. You think my kind is the only one who wants you and your kind gone?”
“Then you will destroy us all,” she said sadly as she let her fingers trail over his chest. “The High Fae feed the land; without us, it dies. More so, Synthia is the Goddess of Faery’s people. Without her, we are nothing. There will be nothing left if she loses Ryder or her babes. If she abandons us, we are all without hope. This land and world’s walls are crumbling, and you’re planning to take the tiny stones that hold it together because your need for revenge is so great you will never forgive us for what happened so long ago. For that, I am sad for you and your people.”
“Goddesses are created, not born, Ciara. I know who she is, and where she is from. She was mortal, then Fae.”
“A
nd then Ristan cut my nephews and niece from her as she lay dying,” she said sadly. “And when she returned, she was Goddess. You are aware of what we choose to let you know. What benefits us to tell the people is what reaches your ears. What we keep within our bloodline is the truth, and it doesn’t leave our family. You think we are stupid enough to play our hand before we are ready to play it? We are at war already on one front; you thought to take advantage of it. You misjudged us. We are the Horde, we lead through fear, you are aware of that. You will lead your people to the slaughter should you fight us, and I will be there to stop you.”
“You think we are weak? Who is misjudging who, Ciara? We are dragons. We ruled this land before you. Those ancient tombs your brother loves to visit of the first people? They are a part of us, created by Danu herself among others. I am immune to the Horde because of what lives inside of me,” he hissed as he rolled over and trapped her beneath his body, entering her without warning.
He moved slowly as his eyes altered and changed. “I am not just dragon; I am Demi-God. My mother was created from Mórrígan’s ribcage. A Goddess of war and fate who mated with a great man of legends. My mother wasn’t a dragon, Ciara. She was much more than you could ever imagine,” he murmured as he kissed her eyelids. “She was the daughter of Merlin and Mórrígan. So you see, my father wasn’t afraid of yours because he knew I would rise to avenge his death. When he said goodbye that day before he was killed, he told me it was my turn to rule, and so I shall. I’m not afraid of your brothers because I know I can kill them. They’re Fae, they can be killed. Maybe not easily, but they all have weaknesses, don’t they? You’re one of them. They adore their beautiful, precious sister to a fault. Tell me, what would think of you if they knew you enjoyed my cock wrecking your pretty flesh? What would they say if they knew Ciara the Untouchable was no more because Ciara had been touched, fucked by their enemy until she begged him for more? By the time you leave me, you’ll crave my touch, sweet girl; hell, you’ll even beg me for it.”