Chapter Fifteen – Lily

His stance was so tense that Lily wasn't sure if she should proceed. She kissed his thigh as she removed his pants entirely, then moved back up to grind herself against him through her little silk booty shorts. She had been hoping that he would sneak into her room, even if she had some temporary doubts when he did arrive at her window.

"Lily . . . " he whispered as she gently rocked her hips against him.

"Yes?"

His warm red eyes stared into hers and he nodded. She slowed and stopped, grinning as he moaned in disappointment and gripped her hips.

"Now, now. None of that," she mock-chided. "You want me to try? If you don't like it—"

"I'll tell you."

She moved back down his body, lifting his shirt over his head to press kisses down his chest as both of them adjusted their position so he was laying down with an arm behind his head. Her heart pattered nervously in her chest. It had been a long time since she had done it. What if she forgot the special tricks – how to touch a man just right?

He's not a man. He's a dragon.

"If you want, you can pull my hair into your fist," she told him. "Just don't push my head down on you, okay?"

Eyrl nodded seriously.

She bent over him again, sweeping her hair out of the way. She started gentle, using her hands to help him relax (and stiffen in the right away) before she took him into her mouth. Eyrl gasped sharply as she sucked gently, peering up through her lashes to check his mood. His head fell back onto the pillow and one of his hands wound into her hair. She smiled as she continued, careful to keep her teeth well away from his sensitive skin.

His hips began to move in jerking motions. Never lifting very far from the bed, but enough that she knew it would be giving him extra pleasure as she considered her ministrations.

"Touch yourself," Eyrl moaned. "I want you ready for me when I'm ready for you."

The gravel in his voice heightened everything that much more. She didn't need any more encouragement to reach between her legs. As her mate gripped her hair with one hand and the bedding beneath them with the other, her motions on herself had everything tightening. Pregnancy was doing crazy things to her, but it was what she loved the most – how sensitive she was getting. She didn’t even need to spit on her fingers to get them to slip and slide.

Eyrl made a strangled noise, his hand moving to her neck. "Stop."

Lily pulled back, panting slightly. "Is everything okay?"

His pupils were so big that his eyes almost looked black. Without a word, he gripped her by her shoulders and drew her body up to his. He kissed her hard, his tongue thrusting into her mouth as he wrapped his body around her and rolled so that he was caging her. He entered in one hard motion and started to thrust hard and fast. Her cries of surprise and pleasure as the fire roared through her were drowned in his mouth.

She bucked her hips up, the bed squeaking with the force of their movements. The headboard rattled, but Eyrl grabbed it and stopped it from slamming into the wall. He nipped her lip and she rested her hands against his chest, tweaking his nipples.

Neither of them lasted long after that. The crash of pleasure nearly made her scream, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she couldn’t make noise, so she held her breath instead. Eyrl thrust a few more times before he fell over her and was still.

After some time, they managed to get their senses back enough to redress in case her parents came barging into the room. Lily giggled as her father snored again. That was close – too close, really. They should have tried to be sneakier and not quite so passionate. She rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as his chest still heaved.

"So I take it you enjoyed the blowjob?"

"It was the best I experienced," he agreed. "I liked that thing you did with your tongue at the beginning."

Lily smiled. "I'll remember that."

Her body, filled with fire and warmth still, sagged against his. As her heart rate slowed, tiredness seeped into her bones. It was late, and after what they'd just done, she had expected it, but she still fought against the sleep dragging at her limbs. There was something she had wanted to talk to him about, and she hadn't ever found the right time. Maybe there would be never a right time, but at least she had the words to say it.

"Efira really scares me."

Eyrl kissed the top of her head. "There is nothing to worry about. If there is a threat—"

"And that's another thing. She scares me and I don't think anybody takes it seriously."

Eyrl said nothing.

"I know that I don't have sources to back me up, but you can't discount instinct. Gut feelings are worth something, and they're not born out of anything. She outright threatened me. To my face." Lily pushed onto an elbow and stared down at her mate. "She knew she'd get away with it, though. Because I didn't have a recording on me, so it's chalked up to a misunderstanding. Did you even consider that maybe when she dragged me from the courtroom she was angry? Or am I the only person with emotions on Bronæl? She scares me, but it hurts that you won't listen."

"I listen—"

"You don't take me seriously."

Eyrl stroked his hand through her hair. She could see him struggling to know what to say, and she sighed. This wasn't going to turn into a fight, but she needed to be free to say what was on her mind and share her emotions if this pairing was going to work. So she pressed on.

"I know you're trying. And I am very, very grateful to you for that. We have a clash of cultures going on here, and that's not easy to deal with. For either of us. I love you, though, and I know that even if you can't say it, you care about me. It's just the whole emotionless thing you've had to portray your whole life . . . " She shook her head. This was getting off course. "You're trying, but you still don't take me seriously."

With a sigh, her mate shook his head. "I believe that you believe what you are seeing is true."

"You also believe that I'm overreacting and being stupid."

"Not stupid."

"I heard you and Zaner discussing my hormone levels on the way here. You think that I'm paranoid because I'm pregnant."

Eyrl flinched. "She does."

"And you?"

Hesitation. It was enough.

"Efira has it out for me. She was the one who was leading the charge at your trial. She put in a bid to be formally adopted into the royal family so she could replace you as the heir. She has been bullying me since I arrived." Lily sat up and shook her head again. "I get that you need evidence. I get that your society is built around this ridiculous notion that one sex is more emotional than the other and it's used to deny dragons the positions they deserve. The same thing happens all the time on Earth, only the opposite. But emotion can't be discounted. The way the Stlozyn dismiss and repress it is dangerous."

Eyrl tugged her back down to lie beside him. "I'll open an investigation. I can't promise more than that."

She relaxed again. "That's enough for now. Thank you."

He kissed the top of her head.

She made to lie down again, but before she could, a bright light stabbed through the window. Both of them gave cries of surprise and pain as they threw their hands up to shield their faces. There was a crashing noise. Lily's heart jumped to her throat as the wall was ripped out and a dragon's head appeared in the opening. A clawed hand reached in and grabbed Eyrl. It hurled him out and disappeared, a roar piercing the air.

"Eyrl!" Lily jumped to her feet. She ran to the ruined wall. In the flood of light coming from above, she saw the guards that had been stationed around the house lying on the ground, utterly still. Quom was among them. Alive or dead? She couldn't tell.

In the neighbor's yard, Eyrl faced off with the beast that had thrown him from the window. Fire burst into the air between them as wings sprouted from his back.

An arm wrapped around her waist. She jerked back but the muscular grip was too strong. A hand slapped over her mouth. As the kidnapper dragged her into the hallway, she caught a glimpse of her attacker in the mirror. A dragoness with yellow scales.

The door to her parent's room was open. There was no movement inside. Lily screamed, the sound muffled, as she fought to free herself. But there was no freeing herself, and her kicking and writhing didn't do any good.

The dragoness dragged her out of the house and into the arms of a waiting dragon. And then they were gone.