Hadley had never been so glad to hear his voice in her life. Hadrian. Somehow he was here. Tears sprang to her eyes as she pushed past Jeremiah into Hadrian’s arms. “I’m right here.” She knew it was too early to feel relief, but just having Hadrian there made the feeling start to creep up her insides.
His mouth claimed hers hard and she practically purred.
“This is all very romantic, but I can’t imagine Jeremiah was dragging the two of them through the hall because he felt like it.” Hadley’s eyes whirled to Dragon. He looked the most disheveled she’d ever seen him. Somehow, in the brief course of their acquaintance, Dragon had gone from one of the most put-together men to utter chaos personified.
Jeremiah looked at his watch. “Minute and a half before Pettigrew arrives with Prize and the whole gang in tow.”
Hadrian raised an eyebrow. “Then maybe it’s time and past I did something about
Pettigrew.”
Dragon shrugged. “Sounds like fun.”
“No.” Jeremiah sounded so authoritative it stopped everyone in their tracks.
“Stopping Pettigrew isn’t your job—it’s not your path.”
“Is it yours?” Hadrian sounded skeptical. “I’ve recently become acquainted with the flaws of the so-called Sight.”
“I’m not saying whether it’s mine or not but you have your role to play and yours is to get Hadley to Astor, where I imagine she has not been yet or we wouldn’t all be standing here.” Jeremiah grasped Hadrian’s arm. “Get your woman to Astor.”
“I’m not going to just leave my sister here while I go gallivanting off to Astor with Hadrian. There is still a lot of retribution to dish out here.”
“Hell, you sound like him.” Dragon rolled his eyes and Hadrian shoved him against the wall.
“Everyone has a path, my lady. Yours is very important and it’s waiting for you on Haven. You are not responsible for all of this but we need you in Haven. Things will fall into chaos without you. Hailey and I have to do the next part.”
“I hate to agree with anything Jeremiah says, but in this case it’s sound logic.”
Dragon pushed his brother away. “Perhaps we should all return to Haven.”
Jeremiah shook his head. “Not you, Dragon.”
“Oh crap.”
The door at the top of the stairs slammed open. “Stop them—they’ve taken my daughters.”
“Daddy!” Hailey screamed, and Jeremiah covered her mouth with his hand. “Do that again and I’m afraid I’ll have to knock you out.”
Hadley feared he actually would and opened her mouth to speak when Hadrian grabbed her hand and sliced it with his knife. She cursed, unprepared for the assault on her still-healing hand.
Seconds later she saw the portal open. Hailey gasped next to her. She swung around to look at her sister.
“I love you, Hailey—we’ll see each other again.”
Hadley wasn’t so sure why she was certain of that, but she was.
Swallowing, she continued. “Take care of her, Jeremiah.” He nodded and she smiled sadly. Just as she knew in her heart she would see Hailey again, she knew she would never come back to Earth.
“So much for my plans of tracking the giant squid.”
The sound of footsteps running down the stairwell ended her musings.
She smiled at Hadrian. “Let’s go.”
Together they once again stepped through the portal.
Chapter Twenty-Two
They hit the ground gently. It was another open field, but this one was filled with rocks. He scooped her up and laid her back down in a grassy clearing a few feet away. Off in the distance, the sound of a rushing river filled the air. Just in case it had been hard, Hadrian had taken the brunt of the fall, keeping Hadley on top of him. They’d spent the journey in silence, just glad to be together and not to be dragging anyone with them this time. Immediately he rolled on top of her.
She ran her hands up his back, stopping at his neck. He leaned down and kissed her, hard. He’d almost lost her. The thought repeated in his head over and over. “Hadley, it was too close—we came too close to it all being over.”
She nodded, nibbling on his neck. “I don’t want to think right now, Hadrian. Kiss me.”
“I think if I start kissing you, I’m not going to be able to stop. I think I’m going to want to make love with you right here on the ground.”
This time he tried to kiss her gently. He hadn’t managed to the first time they were together and she was the most precious thing in his life. More important than king, country or loyalty to his Warriors. Hadley could ask anything of him and he’d give it.
What was amazing was that he knew she would never ask more than he would be happy to give.
She shook gently in his arms and he slid his hands down her throat to the top of her neckline. Their faces were mere inches apart and her breath felt warm and smelled sweet. He was already so hard it was painful and they hadn’t even done anything yet. But looking at Hadley, being close to her, made his cock stand to attention even without the possibility of sex.
He ran his hands up and down her legs. She shuddered and gasped. For just a moment he allowed his gaze to travel her naked body. Hadley was perfection itself. Long legs attached to curves that didn’t quit, with breasts he wanted time to suckle and memorize. If she would let him, he would spend eternity worshiping her like this.
“Hadrian?”
Forcing his gaze to meet her eyes, he saw she was happy, albeit confused. “Did you know that in your eyes, although they are truly the greenest of green, one gold speck illuminates from the middle?”
“No. But I look so different here than I do on Earth.”
“You’re crazy. You’ve always been gorgeous, since the moment I first saw you. I knew you would be the undoing of me.”
“The undoing?”
He leaned down and planted a kiss on her nose. “That I would never be able to resist you, that you could have whatever you wanted from me anytime you wanted it.”
“I can?”
He laughed. “Oh, you have no idea.”
“I don’t care that we’re outside. I want you here and now, deep inside me until I can’t think straight.”
Hadrian looked around. He didn’t see anybody in the vicinity. “Well, as my lady wishes.”
She reached between them and undid his zipper. He helped her by pulling his pants off while she tugged his T-shirt over his head. Kissing her again, he was relieved when she opened her mouth to meet him tongue to tongue. Her breasts pressing against his bare chest triggered sensations up and down his spine.
He groaned, barely leashing the hunger inside him. Their kisses became more urgent.
He pressed, she pulled and soon they were entangled in each other. She still wore too much clothing even if it was just a hospital gown. He yanked until he’d torn hers from her body. She grinned, remembering what he wanted her to, which was their earlier conversation about their mutual clothes-destroying fantasy.
Hadley had pale, porcelain-like skin, and when she touched him in the moonlight he could see the difference in their skin tones. For a second he was fascinated by the image. She reached up and kissed him softly on the lips, bringing him back to the moment.
He bit down on her shoulder, her neck and the nipple of her left breast. Anywhere he could mark her, he did. The whole world needed to know she belonged to him. No more hiding it, no more denying his feelings.
Unable to wait any longer, he reached down into her core and stroked her pussy while taking her breast in his mouth. Her hands found his neck and she massaged his hair, his back. He craved the feeling of her hands on his skin.
“Oh yes, Hadrian, that’s what I need.”
He loved the way she felt on his fingers. The way her clit responded to his ministrations, how wet she got, and how her pussy pulsed for him. “Me too, darling, me too.”
Hadrian moved until he was in a good position to enter her. Determined to keep the pace slow, he pushe
d home. He thrust forward, gradually picking up momentum as she moaned and writhed beneath him. Wetness surged between their bodies.
Hadley grabbed his finger and sucked, which made his already aching cock get even harder. She smiled up at him when she was done, as if she knew it drove him crazy.
“Damn, Hadley,” he cursed, barely holding on to control.
There was nothing so exquisite as the feel of being inside Hadley. Nothing in any dimension could ever compare.
In and out he moved. She met his thrusts with her hips, drawing him deeper, forcing him to thrust even harder. Her muscles contracted and finally, after a while when he could barely breathe from the effort to stay with her, to give her pleasure before he came, she shouted his name.
He pressed his mouth against hers, wanting to actually taste the sensation of Hadley in his mouth when she came. His own release was just as forceful. He saw stars and he collapsed on top of her. Sweat glistened in the moonlight as he stared down at the woman whose very presence on the planet had taught him the meaning of true joy.
Hadrian laid his forehead against hers. There would be no moving until it was absolutely necessary. The whole world could come and see them naked and he wouldn’t be able to budge.
Hadley’s hands brushing over his face brought him out of his pleasure-induced stupor.
“Am I crushing you?” He needed to find his strength—he was twice her size.
“No. But the ground is getting a little uncomfortable.”
“Ah.” He pulled himself off her, groaning slightly at leaving her warmth as he stood. He offered her a hand, helping her up.
“Hadrian, I have a problem, I have no clothes.”
Yes, he knew that. He’d torn them off her body. She’d traveled over in her hospital gown, and that had been in bad shape to begin with, and then he’d shredded it to pieces. He bent over and picked up his T-shirt. Looked as if she’d be making do in one of those again.
“Here.”
She took it with a smile and a glimmer in her eyes. This one was even bigger than the last and she swam in it.
“It’s a good thing it’s warm or I couldn’t let you give me your shirt.”
“Someday I swear we’ll get you a wardrobe fit for a queen. You won’t have to wander the countryside wearing nothing but that.”
“It’s okay.” She twirled like a ballet dancer. “I kind of like it, if you want to know the truth.” Her face turned somber. “We need to get to Astor.”
He nodded. “I know.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his whistle. He hadn’t used it in centuries and he didn’t know if his birds would come, but it was worth a shot. When he blew into it, even though he couldn’t hear anything, he knew his birds could. The fact was confirmed when seconds later the birds arrived, flying in their creative, demonstrative way, circling, looking down as he and Hadley watched in awe.
Sighing, he clapped his hands to show he wanted them to descend. “They came.”
“Of course.”
“It wasn’t a given. These birds don’t know me as their ancestors did.”
Hadley shrugged. “You’re a hard man to resist.”
A gust of wind whirled Hadley’s hair until it gathered at the top of her head. Her cheeks were pink and rosy, her mouth as red as her hair and completely kissable. She’d never looked more beautiful.
“Hadley, will you be my wife?”
What had possessed him to do that? It was too soon and she was about to find out what it meant to be royal on Haven. She’d be much too important to marry him. But damned if he’d take it back. He loved her, she belonged to him. He wanted it in writing and recognized by everyone so no one would dare to make advances on her.
“I will.”
The lead bird swept down and picked them up. Hadley shrieked and he grinned.
The girl was never going to get used to flying this way.
* * * * *
It was a long distance to Astor, and by the time they made it the sun had set and stars fully illuminated the night sky. The birds skidded to a stop and let Hadley down. She wobbled for a second before finding her balance.
Walking over to Hadrian, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “When can we get married?”
“Tomorrow if you like.”
“Ahem.”
Hadrian jumped and pushed Hadley behind his back.
Hands raised to the sky, Stone grinned. “Didn’t want to frighten you, just wanted you to know that the royals await you in the observatory.”
Hadrian raised an eyebrow. “Right now?”
“Immediately.”
Taking Hadley’s hand, he brought it to his mouth and kissed it. He didn’t need to know she was nervous—he could read it in her body language and the way her breath had suddenly come up short.
Kissing her hair, he whispered, “It’ll be okay.”
They walked in silence through the great hall and down the staircase that would take them to where they needed to go.
“Are we going underground?” Hadley looked from side to side. He could see her taking everything in. “Underwater, actually.” Her eyes got huge.
They stepped through the door, lavishly decorated with mahogany and oak fixtures, into the throne room. As they entered he could hear chitchat and laughter but their appearance caused the chamber to go silent.
Hadley tugged at her shirt and he wished he’d had time to get them both clothes. He wasn’t exactly comfortable seeing the king and queen while half-clothed either.
The throne room never ceased to amaze him. Made up entirely of transparent walls, the whole room was surrounded by the ocean. As a child he’d sat on the ground and watched whales, dolphins and sharks play as his father had conducted meetings with the king.
The king jumped to his feet and ran down the staircase to greet them. Hadrian was shocked. He’d never known the man to be demonstrative. Even more unbelievably, he took Hadley’s hand and kissed it.
“My granddaughter, welcome. You bring the country back to life with your presence.”
“Please, Your Highness…ah, Grandfather…don’t thank me. I haven’t done anything on purpose—it’s all just sort of happened through me.”
“Don’t underestimate the power of fate to choose who it wants to perform its will. Everyone here tells me you are an extraordinary woman.”
Hadrian looked up. Friends and family filled the room. All his Warriors were present as well as Hadley’s sisters and his mother and sister.
“I’m grateful but I feel the praise is undue.” She looked as if she would say more, but just then gasped and pulled her hand from Hadrian’s grasp. Hadrian reached for his sword, prepared to fight any danger that might come her way.
Hadley rushed to one of the transparent walls, touching it with her hands as she gasped again. That was when he saw them too—the giant squid had come out in droves to see her.
The queen, who had been silent up to that point, rose to her feet. “Dear heavens, I’ve never seen so many before.”
Hadley turned around to the crowd, tears in her eyes. “They’re sick.”
“How do you know?” Hadrian charged forward to her and placed a hand on her arm.
“They’re talking to me. Can no one else hear them?” She looked around, her eyes pleading with anyone else for reassurance. He wished he could give it to her. “They’ve wanted to come but something has been making them ill. They don’t know what it is.”
She stared into Hadrian’s eyes and he grasped what she meant to do. “The last time you did this, it nearly killed you.”
“I must.” There was nothing else she could say that he would have understood so well. Obligation and a need to do what was right were engrained in her soul.
“I won’t let them kill or harm you in any way.”
Hadley nodded. “I don’t think they would do that. It’s different from the Shadow Land. They haven’t asked me for anything, let alone demanded it. This whole time they’ve been trying to take care
of me. Somehow they’re dimension travelers—they’re everywhere but belong nowhere.”
The emotion in her voice brought Hadrian up short. “You don’t think of yourself that way, do you, Hadley? You belong here with me and I belong wherever you are. That’s how this works.”
“I know, but if I didn’t have you, that is how I would be too.”
Hadley walked to the glass and he watched in awe as it started to glow under her touch. In mere days she had become the most powerful person he’d ever known, and that included his wayward brother now residing, for some reason, on Earth.
The giant squid seemed to freeze, unmoving even in the currents of the ocean. Sparks of electricity drove through their bodies, lighting them up like decorative bulbs. They were all sorts of colors—red, green, gold and blue.
Gasping, Hadley fell backward into Hadrian’s arms, her hands as red as tomatoes.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I am, amazingly, and moreover so are they.”
Dancing above the ceiling, the giant squids did indeed seem well.
The queen crossed to Hadley and threw her arms around her. “You truly are a gift to us all. Thank you for coming home.”
When the queen released her, Hadley walked straight into Hadrian’s arms. “I really need to change into some proper clothes.”
Personally he liked looking at her in nothing but his shirt, but he understood her desire to be properly dressed. He held her hand as they walked toward the door.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in my life, Hadrian—I certainly never could have anticipated any of this—but as long as I’m with you, I’m certain all will be well.”
He was certain of it too, and as soon as he got her alone, he would show her. The crowds around them roared with delight and Hadley covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle.
He was a happy man.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Five months later
All this time and the Seers could tell her nothing of Hailey. It was endlessly frustrating. Hadrian stood across from her in the throne room. The king, or Grandfather as he insisted she call him, sat straight in his chair unsmiling. The whole room was more somber than she’d ever seen it before.