Chapter Seventeen
Birk could tell Lily wanted to go home and relax, but her knowledge of what occurred inside the castle could help others in the future. Had his dad not asked him to take her to SinCas to fill everyone in, Birk would have given in to her wishes.
Once there, Birk escorted Lily down the stairwell and into the conference room. As soon as they stepped inside, party streamers sounded and horns tooted.
“Whoa. What’s going on?” To his surprise, almost everyone in the family was there—except for those taking care of the former prisoners.
His dad came up to Lily and hugged her. “Congratulations. You did a great thing today, young lady.”
Lily tightened her grip on Birk’s hand, acting as if she wasn’t comfortable with the praise. “I couldn’t have done it without Fay and the Four Sisters, as well as the rest of you.”
Laird smiled. “It was mostly you. Come on and take a seat. We can debrief in a moment.”
Lily looked up at Birk. “I can’t believe they did this. No one has ever thrown a party for me before.”
The excitement in her eyes and voice made up for all the agony she’d put him through since she started on this mission. “Me neither. Let’s get something to drink,” he said.
“Just water for me. Right now, my adrenaline is surging through me so fast, if I had coffee or an alcoholic drink, I’d be pinging off the walls.”
“Water it is. Sit down and I’ll bring it to you.”
While he fixed the drinks, his mom carried over a cake and handed Lily a knife. “You want to do the honors?”
“Sure, but what would you have done if the escape had failed? Would you have hidden the cake?”
Birk set the drinks in front of her.
His mom smiled. “Failure wasn’t an option. We’re Guardians, remember?” She winked.
For the next hour, Lily answered their questions, most of which came from Kaleena. “You said Danita was weak?”
“Yes, she was wearing metal cuffs, like the ones you said you’d worn.”
“Asshole Royals.” She shook her head. “And here I thought with Rathan dead, the evil would stop. I hope Declan takes her to the Four Sisters so they can remove those poisonous restraints.”
“I’ll text Declan now.” Birk pulled out his phone and sent a short message. “Done.”
After Lily told everyone as much as she remembered, Birk pushed back his chair. Lily’s skin looked a bit pale, and her shoulders were slumped. “I think Lily would like to rest.”
“Of course,” his dad said. “Once I have the full update from Declan about the condition of the prisoners, I’ll let you know.”
After they congratulated Lily once more on a job well done, Birk escorted her out. “Food first or shower?”
She chuckled. “For someone with a good sense of smell, I’m surprised you have to ask. How about I shower and we order in some burgers?”
“It’s a deal.”
The trip back to his place took mere seconds. Lily seemed tired but happy when he set her down. Once in his condo, she headed straight for the bathroom.
“How do you want your hamburger cooked?” he called after her.
“Medium rare. And order some fries, please. I’m in the mood to live dangerously.”
Birk chuckled. The person he’d first met had been shy and tentative. After this successful mission, Lily was more exuberant than ever.
The water turned on in the shower, and as much as he wanted to join her, he figured she needed the time to decompress and think about what really happened. Having someone run into her had scared not only her, but Birk as well. Until they finally mated, Birk was not going to let her out of his sight.
Once he called for their dinner delivery, Birk waited for Lily to finish cleaning up. A few moments after the water shut off, the doorbell rang. He paid for the meal, and then placed the food on the table. A second later, Lily walked out, dressed in cute pink pajamas and drying her hair with a towel.
His animal went wild. Birk’s skin nearly became covered in ruby red pulsing scales.
“Something smells amazing,” she said, seemingly unaware of how much he wanted her.
Birk smiled and motioned to the table. “Sit and let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Lily pulled out a chair and sat across from him. “How can you be so hungry? You ate three pieces of cake at the party.”
He laughed. “Dragons are always hungry.” And this dragon is particularly hungry for you.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?” She couldn’t have read his mind.
“For being so supportive. I know you must have been crazy with worry the whole time I was inside the castle.”
“Only a little.” Birk had hidden in the woods, far enough so as not to be seen by any guard, but close enough should he sense she was in danger.
He curled his fingers around his glass, not wanting her to see that he’d bitten his nails down to the quick during the hour long escape. Birk wasn’t used to standing by while someone he loved put herself in danger. He kept telling himself that Lily needed to do this. Her selfless act spoke volumes for who she was as a person. While he didn’t picture her doing battle once they mated—despite the fact she would possess great power like her brother—she would be a valuable asset to the Guardians.
“You’re lying,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Am I? How do you know?”
“Your eyes turn dark when you aren’t telling the truth.”
Really? No one had ever told him that before. Lily laughed, stuffed a bite of hamburger into her mouth, and chewed. Once she finished, she leaned back. “You would be a lot happier in life if you didn’t worry so much. How many times were you tempted to rush into the castle and save me—even though I wasn’t in trouble?”
“About once every minute.”
She chuckled. “See? I know you well.”
Lily had his number all right. Seeing her so calm after what she’d accomplished said a lot about her. He dug into the meal and relaxed for the first time in a while.
“If you want to shower, I can clean up here,” Lily said.
He probably did need to wash. “I’d appreciate that.”
Birk loved how comfortable she seemed around him now. It was almost as if they had mated. As she dumped the paper bag in the trash and placed the glasses in the sink, he stepped into his room and discarded his clothes. Once the water warmed, he ducked under the hot stream and washed away all the worry that had built up in his system. Just as he’d finished rinsing, his bedroom door opened.
“Lily?”
Of course it was her. It wasn’t a dragon shifter. With the water running, he couldn’t be sure what she was doing until the bathroom door opened and a naked Lily stepped in. Instantly, his teeth sharpened and his scales glowed.
Mate, mate, his dragon chanted.
He wanted Lily worse than anything, but she wasn’t ready for mating. Today was the first time she’d experienced what life with him would be like—full of danger and adventure. While she did exceptionally well, she needed time to come to grips with everything, and what could have happened if something had gone wrong.
“I was wondering if you needed help,” she said as she moved closer to the shower door.
“I absolutely do. Seeing your luscious body has made me totally forget how to use this bar of soap.” It didn’t matter that he’d already washed.
She grinned, just as he’d hoped she would. Lily entered the stall and held out her hand. “Then let me wash you.”
Heaven help me. All during the mission, Birk tried to distract himself by thinking of the moment when he could make love to this amazing woman again. Now that it was about to come true once more, he wanted to take his time and savor every inch of her body.
She slipped the soap from his fingers. “Turn around,” she said.
Birk obeyed and palmed the wall in front of him. She moved him away from the spray. As soon as her gentle fingers massaged his shoulders, and then his back, and finally his butt, he had to concentrate on not dragging her out of the shower and impaling her.
“Other side,” she commanded.
He wasn’t sure he could take much more of her touching, but he obeyed. When she soaped up his cock and stroked it, he groaned. “Lily.”
As if he hadn’t spoken, she continued to wash his very hard dick, making sure to clean his balls too. She was a temptress all right, one he couldn’t resist.
When she placed the soap on the shelf and rubbed her hands higher on his chest, his ability to keep from touching her cracked. Without any thought to getting her soapy, Birk drew her close and kissed her hard. His hands found her sweet ass, and when he rubbed her butt, his scales glowed and his body heated. As much as he wanted to drive his cock into her, he had to rinse off first.
He’d do that in just a few more seconds. Their tongues entwined, and he savored her sweet taste that had a hint of meat and tomato.
After they thoroughly devoured each other, he stepped back and did a final rinse. “I think we need to find a new location for what I have in mind.”
She cocked a brow. “What’s that?”
“It’s a surprise.” Birk turned off the water and then held open the shower door for her. Once she stepped on the blue nubby bath mat, he grabbed a towel. She then slid the white one from the rack, but he stopped her. Tossing the towel she’d grabbed over his shoulder he dragged the one he’d snatched down her chest. “Let me dry you off.”
“What are you trying to do? Convince me to have sex with you?”
Birk cracked up. “If I need to convince you then I’ve been doing something very wrong.”
Lily moved closer and ran a nail down his wet chest. “Seems to me that you haven’t done much of anything yet.”
That did it. He dropped the towel in his hand, lifted her up in a fireman’s hold, and then stomped into his bedroom. If she hadn’t been laughing and pounding on his back, he would have put her down instantly.
Once in the bedroom, Birk slipped her off his shoulders. “I think the mission of freeing the prisoners was a bad idea.”
Lily looked up at him, all innocent like. “How can you say that?”
“Because you never gave me this much sass before. For your punishment, I want you to stand perfectly still while I enjoy looking at you.”
“That won’t be a problem, but are you sure you don’t want me to do more?” She dropped her gaze to his hard cock.
“You’re asking for it.”
“You’re pretty smart for such a big guy.”
Using the towel from over his shoulder, he dragged a portion over her breasts again and then dried her stomach.
“You’re taking too long,” she said, attempting to grab the towel.
Birk stopped her. “Oh no you don’t. You promised to stand still.”
“You’re stalling.”
“What’s wrong? Do you have no will power?”
Lily furrowed her brows and pursed her lips. She then crossed her arms over her chest. “I know what you’re trying to do. Go ahead, dragon-boy. See if you can turn me on.”
“Dragon-boy? In case you haven’t noticed, I am all man.” Birk couldn’t help but grab his stiff cock and wave it at her.
She laughed. “You are so easy to tease.”
He wouldn’t take her bait any longer. Birk knelt and dried off her right leg and then her left, avoiding the area between her legs, believing she was dying to have him touch her there. “Turn around.”
She did, and he couldn’t help but notice how she’d stiffened. Regardless of the number of times he’d told her that the scars on her back meant nothing to him, he’d failed to convince her. Birk stood and patted her back dry. Dropping the terrycloth towel on the floor, he leaned over and kissed her neck and then inhaled deeply. “I love how you smell,” he said, unable to keep the awe and need from his voice.
Lily must have decided not to play coy anymore for she slipped her hands behind her and grabbed his ass. His dick pressed hard against her, sending off another strong wave of need through him. With each kiss and nibble, her fingers tightened on his skin.
“You’re right, Birk.”
He continued working his way from her ear down to her shoulder. “About what?”
“That I can’t stand still when you touch me. My body is already on fire.”
Birk spun her around. “Is that so?”
“I’ll show you.”
She drew his head down and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Their tongues crashed into each other, and she pressed her tits hard against his body. He threaded his fingers through her slightly wet hair and tugged hard. “Need you,” he whispered after leaning back.
“I need you too.”
Backing her up until she was pressed against the bedroom door, Birk dropped to his knees and spread her legs wide.
“First, I feast,” he said.
She groaned. “Don’t take too long. My pussy is already throbbing.”
“I’ll do my best.” He had no intention of letting her off the hook this easily. From the moment he had laid eyes on her, he had been the one to suffer from wanting her. It was about time she yearned for him as much.
Birk leaned over and swiped his tongue across her opening to give her a taste of what was to come, but he was the one who paid the price. His dick turned even harder and his scales glowed in more places than he thought possible.
Drawing on his Guardian strength and control, he slipped two fingers into her wetness and had to clamp his mouth together to keep his teeth from elongating any farther.
Lily moaned and then swayed, but it was when she grabbed his hair and tugged that he nearly lost it.
When Birk’s tongue found her clit and gently sucked on it, she arched her back and let out a sexy little cry. He only stopped because her knees buckled.
Birk shot to his feet and held her up by the waist. “Are you okay?” he asked.
She finally opened her eyes. “I think so. When my climax rushed in, I was overwhelmed with incredible heat.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “I have just the remedy,” he said.
She looked up at him and clasped his shoulders. “What’s that?”
“Wrap your legs around my waist, and I’ll show you.”
He lifted her up and held her at waist height until she did as he asked. With her back pressed against the door and her tits flattened on his chest, Birk couldn’t hold out any longer. He threaded his cock into her opening, and to his delight, her slick entry allowed easy access.
Her eyes widened, acting as if his size was larger than she expected. Without a word, Lily pressed the soles of her feet against his thighs, rose up, and then eased her way down. “That feels so fucking good,” she murmured.
Birk almost chuckled at her crass comment, hoping there would be more dirty talk in the future. “We’ve only just begun.”
She slid her hands to his face and kissed him again. Birk’s hands dropped to her waist, and he held her up while he plowed into her. He went fast for a few strokes and then agonizingly slow. With each change in speed, Lily moaned, and her pussy turned slicker.
As she slid her tongue around his, Birk held her tighter, trying to keep his rapid heartbeat in check. This was testing his resolve to the max.
When she broke the kiss and dropped her lips to his neck, visions of him sinking his teeth into her surfaced. But he had to wait. It wasn’t fair to her if he didn’t.
Lily once more took control of the rhythm, and he let her have her way. After all, she’d been through a lot today. Too bad it was driving his dragon to the breaking point.
Wanting better access to her body, he spun around, and in three long steps, reached the bed. He dropped her on the tangled sheets with him still buried deep inside her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Did I ever tell you that I think I love you?”
Birk’s mouth turned dry, and his pulse soared. He never thought he’d ever hear those words from her mouth. “No.”
See? You can mate with her now, his dragon said. Lily wants you to.
Not yet. She only thinks she loves me. I want her to be sure.
Birk pressed his head against her neck and thrust deep into her. Once fully inside, he held perfectly still to quell his raging need.
Lily planted her feet on the mattress and lifted up. “Yes, Birk, yes!”
He lost it. With his climax brimming, he plunged into her again and again. From the way she’d clamped down hard on his cock, and the fact her eyes had rolled back into her head, she’d climaxed, and Birk was only a few seconds behind.
Once he’d pumped his hot seed into her, Lily’s body sagged, and they lay in each other’s arms for a long while. Without a word, he slipped out and retrieved a washcloth to clean her up. He loved having Lily with him, next to him, around him—forever.