“No, with a destiny such as hers, there will be no denying her. He will sense Cait once he’s in the city.” Claaron adds his opinion, having recovered from his earned payback.
Oliver draws a deep breath. “She holds the loyalty of representatives from the House of Pendragon, the First Brother of House of Graywyne, and you believe the most uniquely skilled of our kindred brothers, the blessed First Brother of House of Faerwyng, will pledge loyalty to her as well. How far do you expect this to extend among our houses and ranks?”
Claaron laughs. “I’m not sure Cait can imagine the number of dragons who will swear fealty to her, who will fall on their knees before her in reverence and adoration.”
“If I am correct, one hundred and ninety-eight,” I specify while my eyes remain adhered to Cait, again on the dance floor with Dante.
“The whole of our three foremost houses?” Oliver questions my statement, possibly my sanity, aghast.
“She is the one. Jai will confirm this, but I believe so.” Dante whispers something in her ear, and she laughs. “However, I am the only dragon who will love her.” I speak it aloud, wanting to remind myself. “And the only one she will love.” Thoughts of this morning linger, what already seems forever ago, a moment lost to history.
“Surely you choose not to be blind to her involvement with Dante,” Oliver remarks. “How can you be so sure she loves you?”
“Oliver, I cannot give her children or a family, and she may not choose me as her husband, but I have no doubt of her love for me.” I know he cannot understand, and I pity him. “Whatever her decision, I will serve her with the utmost devotion, knowing I mean more to her than I have ever meant to another ward in all my existence.”
*Cait*
“The view here is quite lovely, Caitriona. I can see why you have been excited to return home.”
Dante walks around the open-concept main living space in the home where I grew up, a Seaport District penthouse apartment in a hi-rise building with a gorgeous waterfront view. “How long do you think it will take them to get everything together and moved over here?”
“An hour, possibly. A porter service brought your belongings earlier, with all the bags you packed. Mostly it’s a matter of reorganizing security details and Theo collecting personal items he hasn’t already gathered, his brothers doing the same. I’m not sure Claaron has anything more than what he’s purchased since arriving.” Talking while manipulating a tricky wooden puzzle Uncle Thomas bought ages ago, the demigod has it apart and back together in under a minute.
“What about you?” I rearrange a few pictures on the side table as I ask, hoping to hide any outward signs indicating that I’m curious or anxious to know. “Are you going back to your place?”
Keeping his eyes on me, he makes his way across the room, wandering in his path, indirect, touching various photo frames and knick-knacks, though he looks at none of them. “Is it too forward of me that I brought over a few personal belongings, Caitriona?” With a small smile, I shake my head. “I do not have to stay if you do not wish me to do so.” He stops at a vase of flowers I forgot to toss out, pathetic now, limp and dead, and he runs his hand along the lifeless petals, each one springing back to a brilliant vibrancy at his touch until the entire bouquet looks even more beautiful than when I bought them fresh.
Reaching me, Dante holds one red rose. “There are many things I can give you, Caitriona, but to start, I promise two.” He snaps the flower off the stem, handing it to me. “Red roses symbolize true love. I promise my love, true and eternal, is yours.” Closing his hand over the stem, running down the length, it turns to ivy right in front of my eyes, and I gasp. With a smile, he ties it around my wrist. “English ivy symbolizes fidelity, and I promise you mine for all eternity. Until the end of time, I shall never love another, never bed another, nor ever betray your trust, Caitriona.”
I can’t meet his eyes, burning tears welling up in mine. “Promise you won’t turn your back on me or walk away when things get complicated, when you don’t know the answer to make things right.”
His fingers brush along my cheek, hand capturing my face, pulling me closer, stepping nearer, lips touching mine as he speaks in a whisper. “An infidelity of your trust I will not commit.”
“Then it’s not too forward, Dante.” I press my lips to his, welcoming the sweetness of his breath on my tongue.
Too soon, he pulls back. “I do not wish to rush you, my love. It has been a long day, and you must be anxious to get out of those shoes and that dress. Would you like a relaxing soak in the tub?” His thumb wipes away the few tears that escaped.
“That sounds amazing.” His offer surprises me, but I lead the way to my bedroom and private bath.
Once inside, Dante gently pushes me to sit on the bed, kissing the top of my head. “Let me draw a bath for you, love. I will return in a moment.”
Hearing the water running, I reach to slip off my shoes, managing to untangle the straps of one before he returns, jacket and tie off, tossing them onto the nearby chair. “Allow me.” Kneeling, he swiftly removes the other then stops, eyes fixated on my leg, breaths shallow, tongue tracing his lower lip, fingers trembling as his hand contacts my skin, a shiver running through me at the tingling sensation. “Is this what you want, Caitriona? To be with me?” Dante’s hand wanders higher. “Do you believe you will find happiness, satisfaction in life with me?”
Fingers slipping over my knee, forging a brazen path up my thigh, he rises to his feet, steadying himself with one hand, but I fall back, wrapping my arms around his neck and taking him with me. “I believe I can. Are you afraid you can’t satisfy me?” Surging upward, bunching up the fabric of my dress, he grasps my hip, electricity pulsing in time with his heartbeat, our eyes locked.
“In that particular regard, I have no doubt. Of the many things I have studied, they were not all mundane. The Kama Sutra is quite fascinating, Caitriona.”
“Do you have a doctorate in that too?”
He laughs, smiling lips meeting mine. “Perhaps if they gave doctorates, I would.” The sound of heavy footsteps and boxes dropped on the floor disturb the otherwise quiet apartment, and Dante scrambles off the bed, all traces of a smile gone. “I believe the source of my concern regarding your satisfaction in a life with me has arrived… earlier than expected.”
Smoothing his clothes and hair, ensuring nothing looks out of place, he disappears into the bathroom again, shutting off the water. The demigod holds a hand out to me when he returns, lifting me to my feet. “You enjoy your bath while I speak with the ever-growing number of Dracopraesi around you, and check the progress in security improvements and preparations on the rest of the floor for your entourage of dragons.” Careful in his actions, he reaches behind me and unzips my dress. “I will return, if you should so desire.”
“I do.”
A smile plays at the corner of his mouth as he kisses me—a tender, chaste kiss. “I love the sound of those two words spoken from your lips to me, Caitriona.”
“Then keep your promises.”
“I am not walking away, love. I promise.”
Chapter 15
*Theo*
Cait’s home remains quiet with my brothers taking residence across the hall. Her hesitancy to sell the property owned by her uncle worked out for the best, leaving the entire top floor and two apartments downstairs available for our use. Still, Claaron and I agreed there will come a time when we will need other arrangements, or additional ownership within this building. It certainly gives me something else to occupy my mind. Scrolling through real estate listings on my Sky Book while lounging across the entirety of the sofa in the darkened living room, I find two immediately available a few floors downstairs and send an email to the agent, stating we will pay asking price, no viewing necessary.
Bored of such mundane tasks, I open the Mahjong app, finish off my second bottle of water, sure Cait will be satisfied I’m not going to shift and destroy her home, and start tapping matching tiles. Qui
et beeping alerts me to someone entering the passcode at the front door, and I click the screen lock button, my Sky Book going black. Despite Clifford changing all the codes, I take no chances, lying in wait.
“Theo, I know you are on the sofa. Caitriona is too angry with you to allow you in her bed, and the other bedrooms are not near enough to prevent your worrying all night over her safety,” Dante too-accurately comments as he walks in, respecting Cait’s wishes he not ‘flash’ in and out of her home without necessity.
“Why did she call you? Was it about Cait?”
Even in the dark, I can see him twist the silver triquerta ring on his right hand, the ring of his mother, while perching on the edge of the nearest plush chair. “She called me to request I convey a message, much like always. Mother choosing to remain in the High Realm leaves me in the position of her messenger far too often, particularly when the message has great importance.”
“A message for Cait? Is the Goddess going to share something with her?” Any reassurance of what lay ahead for my ward would lessen the immense stress I know she suffers.
“No, Theo. It is for you.”
“For me?” Our Mother Goddess never sends us direct messages through Dante, only vague guidance from Agtos which is, at best, somewhat decipherable. “What did she say?”
“I’m not exactly sure, or at least, I have no idea what she means by it. She told me to say ‘Theo, you think too much,’ but do not ask me why.”
A heavy, sick feeling settles in the pit of my stomach as I bury my face in my hands. “Agh.… No. No. Fucking curse of Hades, I hate Claaron.” Rolling off the sofa, I pound my head on the wood floor rather than destroy anything in Cait’s home. He will never, ever let me live it down. Stupid dragon indeed. “Dante, go to our apartment for tonight.” Mumbling the words into the floor, I pray he asks no questions of me, be they concerned and well-intentioned or not.
“Are you going to be alright? What did it mean?”
“It means I must speak with Cait. And I must do it before it is entirely too late.”
“Before she decides to marry me,” Dante states with the reserved calm I believe only he could maintain in this moment.
Propping myself up on my elbows, I run my fingers through my hair, my back to him. “Yes.”
“This would be far easier if I believed such a conversation would hold no meaningful value to the overall outcome of events.”
“You sound as though you do not believe she will still choose you, Dante.”
His derisive laugh raises the hair on my neck. “Why do you sound so sure she will regardless of what you say?”
“I am not blind. I saw her with you tonight. I know what you can give that I cannot, but she deserves to know everything I told her was true. I did not use her, or dishonor her in any way.” There is no other way to explain why I must do this, knowing it will not change matters between us.
“Yes, well, spending time with Caitriona tonight shed light on much for me. I have no doubt she loves me, at least to some degree, enough that once you walked away, you ensured she would be mine.” His sharp statement leaves me banging my head on the floor again, wishing I could pummel something. “But Caitriona is in love with you, not me, and there is nothing I can offer measurably comparable to holding her heart.”
Oh, the many colorful ways Claaron will find to describe this mess. “Please, Dante, just go away.”
“To be clear, I am not walking away from Caitriona, or refusing to marry her if she so desires. I am in love with her, whether she feels the same for me or not. If you ruin this, she will turn to me, and over time, her heart will mend from what damage you cause, growing to love me in return. I will not let her down the way you seem so intent on doing repeatedly in the realm of love.”
“Should I fail, I hold you to your word.”
Dante sighs, deep and quite annoyed. “I’m rather torn, Theo. For my sake, I hope you fail miserably, yet for Caitriona’s, I do hope you are not so foolish this time. You do know what the elves say, ‘Smash a man’s head once, he sleeps; smash his head twice, he sleeps forever; smash it three times, and you have a mess to clean up’?”
“Did you actually just use an elfin warrior saying to advise me on dealing with Cait?” I question, rolling onto my back, looking up at him as he now stands, arms across his chest, jaw taut.
“They do say ‘all’s fair in love and war.’ I do not see how overkill in battle is terribly different from overkill in breaking a woman’s heart. There is a point of no return; there are wounds that cannot be healed.”
“Dante, I’m going to say this as politely as I have the patience for at the moment. Huq ju baz eq wuba a jcam ae eq ju bazynh mynza.”
“Fine. I’m leaving.” He turns on his heel in a huff. “However, for the record, speaking in Penfaeryn does not make such vulgar profanities any more polite. I still understand them, and find them just as uncouth.”
Hearing the door close, I lay my head back, staring at the beamed ceiling, counting the numerous reasons why crawling into bed with Cait is a bad idea, regardless of how inviting it sounds in my mind. The click of her bedroom door latch releasing reaches my ears, and I sit up, watching her creep into the kitchen, not turning on a single light, knowing her home by heart.
She retrieves a glass from the cabinet before opening the refrigerator, which sheds light on her attire of a blue silk nightgown, midnight blue, dark as the night engulfing us now, the hem skimming her thighs. Her hair, still wet from a bath, clings to the fabric, dampening it, causing it to cling to her skin in turn. The sight stirs every sense in me, and I am alert, aroused, in need of Cait.
I rise in stealthy silence, stalking toward her as she closes the door, ensuring I stay where no shadow falls, revealing my approach, until I stand directly behind her. “Theo, what are you doing?” She takes me by surprise instead, foiling my intent to do so to her.
“How did you know?” Dragons have the uncanny ability to stalk any being without detection, every species. Not even Dante is aware of us approaching, though he knows my habits quite well as we have been good friends since his renouncement of vampirism.
Shaking her head, she sets the glass back on the counter. “I don’t know. Maybe your body heat or something does it, but I can always tell when you’re nearby, Theo… as if I can just somehow sense you there.”
“Just as I can always sense you. It should only work for a dragon to sense his ward. It’s not a reciprocal matter.”
“Is that all I am to you? Your ward?” The question cuts deep, having left her to think such a thing.
“No, Cait. Everything I have told you of my feelings for you is the Goddess-honest truth. I did not want to walk away, but I cannot ask you to sacrifice the life you deserve for me, to give up children, a family.” She will not face me, but I lean down, wanting to be near her, to touch her.
“Instead, you don’t even ask. you just pull away, and force me to sacrifice being with you to have a life I never considered for myself until you threw it in my face. You didn’t even give me time to absorb the idea before assuming what I’d want.” Taking a small step back, Cait presses her body against mine, reaching her hand up, tangling her fingers in my hair. “For one moment, did it ever occur to you maybe I could be completely satisfied just to have you, Theo? Love me the way I love you, you crazy dragon. We can figure out the rest.”
Her other hand slides along my leg, over my jeans, and I respond to her touch, wrapping an arm around her, sweeping her hair to the side. Dropping my hand, letting my fingers create a dance over the smooth skin of her thigh, I kiss her neck, inching up the silk of her nightgown, finding her bare underneath. “My, my, Cait, were you waiting for someone?” Deep down, I fear she awaited Dante’s return, prepared to commit to him in my emotional absence, denying my want of her, refusing to acknowledge her want of me.
“I knew you were out here.” She slips a hand back, holding me against her, grinding into my body, eliciting a guttural growl and the reaction sh
e undoubtedly hoped to gain. Given my already aroused state, needing her, responding to her takes no effort. “You know what they say, ‘the best plans to lay dragon men.’ ” She laughs wickedly.
“Perhaps you mean, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men,’ ” I offer in correction, turning Cait, her hands slipping under my shirt, pushing it upward, and I pull it off. “Better?”
“Yes, much. I also like my quote better.” Cait’s fingers deftly unbutton my jeans, and I’m thankful for my minimalist nature with clothing, making for brevity when Cait attempts enticing me into taking her right here in the kitchen, not requiring any exertion on her part. I was rather inclined to do as much to her.
Capturing her lips in a punishing kiss, daring her ever to think I do not love her, I caress every inch of her silk clad body, wanting more, needing more. She is not close enough. “And I’d like this off you.” I pull at the hem of her nightgown as Cait pushes my jeans to the floor, and she agreeably slips out of it. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” She’s sassy tonight, biting and licking my nipples, earning a low growl of desire. I do not tell her how much I love it, enjoying how she thinks she’s having her wicked way with me.
Capturing her face in my hands, I teasingly lick her lips. “Keep it up, Cait. I will turn you over this counter, smack your sweet little ass, and see how excited playing rough gets you.” Sensing the thrill surge through her, I find it is difficult not to, knowing she wants it, that she trusts me not to hurt her, only to pleasure her in every way.… And I would.
“Is that a threat or a promise, Theo?”
I step her back against the counter. “Consider it a promise, if you like.” Feet between hers, spreading her legs, gliding a hand down her body, I find she’s inviting, wet, and ready for me, the heady, intoxicating scent of her body sending a rush of desire through my own. “Exactly what have you been doing in your bedroom, Cait? You seem terribly eager for attention.” Slipping two fingers in, preparing her, curling them forward, elating her, her own fingers pull at my hair, incoherent moans escaping my Cait as she arches into my hand, wanting my touch. “Were you thinking of me, Cait?” I demand in a whisper, commanding she speak the truth of her desire.