Chapter Ten
Bryant
She smelled so sweet, like vanilla wafers. Bryant held Esther closer, kissing her neck and jaw gently as their breathing evened out. His muscles unwound as the relaxation that always overtook him after sex swept through his body. Esther wound her fingers in his blond hair and brought her mouth to his, a sleepy smile on her face.
“Are you okay?” he murmured as he eased himself out of her.
“Yeah…”
Bryant smoothed the hair from her face and gazed worriedly into her eyes. At the time it seemed like the thing to do, his desire to be close to her, to have her in his arms feeling more powerful than anything. But now that they had been one and she was no longer a virgin, what if she regretted her actions? What if she decided that they didn’t have a future after all and it had all been for nothing?
But she smiled at him and snuggled closer to his chest. “I thought I’d feel more shy about this. But I don’t. It was amazing. Is it always that good?”
“Mostly, yeah. Sometimes it’ll be faster. Other times it’ll be rougher. The important thing is communication. You telling me what you like, what you don’t like.”
“And you telling me the same?” Esther rose a brow at him.
Bryant nodded.
“You do have me at a disadvantage though.” Esther pushed herself to her elbow. “You already know everything you like. Me, I only have my fantasies. I don’t know if I’ll actually like the things that I’ve seen.”
“Seen?” Bryant’s eyes lit up as he contemplated her. “You watch stuff on the internet?”
“I have. And I do. Occasionally. It’s hard to find stuff I like, though. So often the women look like they’re in pain or its close-ups on body parts that I don’t want close-ups on. I like things that are a little more… romantic, I guess? I don’t know.” She shrugged, then groaned. “I was going to make chili for Kayla.”
Bryant grimaced. “I need to let them out. I was an idiot for locking you three up. Career’s over already, and maybe I have a chance at Shane not killing me if I just free them.”
“He’s not going to kill you.”
Bryant shrugged as he pulled her in for one last kiss. “You’re probably right. I’d beat the crap out of him.”
Esther sighed. “Are all dragons this competitive?”
“I’m from a prince’s line, even if the clan that my family once ruled is gone. Dragons might get along but we have strong alpha instincts. We protect what’s ours and we don’t like being told what to do.” Bryant rolled out of bed and reached for his clothes. “Our societies are built in such a way that competition is actively encouraged. It’s one of the reasons why I gave up clan ties to be part of the Emperor’s guard. I want to make a difference, not just live in petty fights.”
Esther knelt behind him and pulled him in for an embrace. She kissed his neck, which made him want to abandon his struggle with his clothes and just take her again. “I think I remember you telling me that on the night we married. I think it’s one of the reasons I decided to marry you…”
She trailed off. As Bryant pulled on his pants, she went on a hunt for her own clothing. It was a shame to cover up her soft curves and delicate skin, but they did have to get a move on. He’d wasted too much time already and it was time to release his prisoners and accept the consequences of his actions. Still, he sighed.
“I might end up in jail for this. And then what will we do?”
“Wait,” Esther replied. “I want to be your wife. Whether you’re with me or I have to wait for my jailbird to be free, I want you.”
A smile blossomed over Bryant’s face as he heard those words. He caught her and rolled her onto the bed, kissing her deeply. “Good. As long as it’s what we both want, I know we can make it work.”
“Me, too.”
Suddenly, the building shook. There was a massive roar from the foundations. Debris and plaster fell from the ceiling. Bryant threw himself over Esther, shielding her until the shaking was over. Another roar filled the air and he dashed into the hallway. A thunderous crashing noise filled the corridor, combined with shrieking metal and the sound of claws against rock.
Where the kitchen once was now was an empty hole. Shane in his dragon’s form stood in it, nostrils flared. He pulled in a deep breath but there was the sound of a woman shrieking and he whirled about suddenly. Kayla clung to his back as he jumped into the air, leaving the castle behind.
“Dammit!” Bryant started after them, his fires roaring up in his belly. They scorched his throat but before he reached the kitchen, the castle shook again. Not as badly as it had before, but enough to make him instinctively turn back.
Esther clutched her shirt to her chest as he rushed back to her. She opened her mouth and he seized her around the waist and flung himself towards the door. More chunks of plaster fell from the ceiling. There was a snapping, crackling noise but he ignored it until he got Esther safely out of the building. Then when he turned around, he saw smoke billowing from what was once the kitchen.
Had he left the stove on?
The shaking seemed to have stopped, but Bryant still held Esther back as he eyed the hole in the foundations where Shane had dug his way out of the dungeon. “Well, I guess that wasn’t as stable as I thought.”
Esther pointed. “It’s on fire.”
Bryant turned to her. “Stay here. Don’t go back in, I don’t know if it’ll collapse again.”
She nodded and he quickly ran around the building to the kitchen, finding the propane tank and turning it off. The fire hadn’t gotten very big yet and he was able to put it out quickly. By the time he was done, Esther had circled the building, too. She’d put on her shirt and had her arms wrapped around herself as she stared with wide eyes at the damage Shane had done.
“If he hadn’t had Kayla with him…” Bryant let the thought trail off as Esther began to shiver. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, uncertain if it was stress or cold that was making her shiver. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”
Esther nodded as she leaned her cheek into his chest. “Yes. We are. But now what are we going to do? I mean, your prisoners escaped… they’re going to call in the police or something. And Kayla knows about Thunder when she shouldn’t and Shane was so angry… I won’t be surprised if he comes back to kill you. He was so angry.”
Bryant didn’t blame him, but his natural fighting instincts rose up and he wanted to say that the other dragon could go ahead and try to get the drop on him. He wasn’t going to go down so easily. However, those thoughts would only get him into trouble, so he pushed them aside. There really was only one thing for it.
“We’ll have to head back. Go to Virdi and explain the whole thing. It’s the only thing we can do. He might be able to take authority of my punishment over human governments. Whatever happens, though…” He hesitated, wanting to tell her that he loved her, but a sudden surge of anxiety seized him.
Yes, what they had shared was wonderful but what if everything that had seemed too obvious before they made love turned out to not be true? What if when they went back, what she had said before, about it happening too quickly, came back? What if Esther decided that he wasn’t worth it after all? Or worse, what if this passion cooled, and in the warmth of the sun the feelings he had for her couldn’t live up to the hopes they were already building?
He had had his mate. What if Shaya really was all he was going to have, and this thing with Esther was just desperation?
Esther put her hand on his arm. “Whatever happens, I love you.”
Her words calmed the raging storm inside. He smiled and kissed her. “I love you, too.”
A smile flashed across her face, but it melted away into worry again quickly enough. There was no more time to talk, though. His mind was made up and what else was there to do, anyway? Even though his career was over and he might go to jail, he wasn’t the kind of dragon that just abandoned everything to run away.
After making sure that nothing was going to ignite again and collecting clothing to change into once they got to the city, Bryant shifted. He cradled Esther in his arms close to his heart and leaped into the air. Destiny was calling.