Her plea undoes me, and my hands grip her ass as I turn around, looking every which way. I’m so out of my mind I can’t even fathom a thought as to where to go. All I know is she needs me.
I’m a split second away from taking her right here, bent over the city’s fountain. But my bonded deserves so much fucking more than that.
“This way,” the male says.
I bare my teeth at him, my canines so sharp they nearly slice through my lips.
“Shh,” Auren soothes, even as she starts to rock against me. I have to bite back a groan as she presses fevered lips against the pulse at my neck. “Let him show us where to go. I need you.”
My head swings toward the male. “Where.” I demand.
He turns and quickly starts leading us away. I put one foot in front of the other. It’s all I can do.
Auren’s hips move as I hold her against me, seeking a satisfaction she can’t yet reach. And she won’t—not until I’m inside her. Not until I’m pumping her full and the pair bond is fully sated.
I never personally knew anyone who was a päyur, but I heard crass stories of the newly bonded and how they’d shut themselves into a room for days at a time.
The male keeps a good distance ahead, squeezing us down an alleyway and then to a narrow building on the next street over. My head swivels around, but everyone ran from the dragon.
Thank fuck. I don’t think I could handle anyone else being near Auren right now. I’m barely holding it together as it is.
Instead of going to the front door, the male goes around the back of the steepled building, its sides smoothed with decorative arches around every window and vines growing down from the roof. He stops at the building’s back and kneels down, shoving aside the vines that have draped over the ground to reveal a cellar entrance.
“Slade…”
It kills me to hear the desperation in her voice.
I grip Auren harder, one hand at her ass, the other holding the back of her head so that her face can be pressed against the skin at my neck. I’m hoping my scent can soothe her at least somewhat. Her scent surrounding me is one of the only things keeping me fucking sane right now.
But then her hot, wet tongue darts out, tasting my skin, and I nearly explode in my pants.
“Hurry. The fuck. Up,” I say to him through my teeth.
The cellar doors squeak open, and the male quickly hands me a key. “It locks from the inside,” he tells me. “Go down the stairs, and you’ll come to a private underground waterway. There’s always at least a boat or two there to use. Take one androw downstream until you see the house with the green bulbs. It’s a Vulmin safe house. No one will be there, and I’ll ensure no one will disturb you. It’s secure.”
Auren stops licking me to turn her face, her cheeks blotched with heat and probably a bit of embarrassment too. “Thanks, Wick.”
It feels like every muscle in my body fucking bulges.
“Goldfinch?” I grit out.
She tips her head up at me, her eyes lidded, my blood surging.
“I’m hanging on by afrayingthread. I really need you to not say another male’s name right now.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh,” she breathes.
“Yeah.Oh.”
“I’m going,” the male—Wick—says as he starts backing away, hands held up in front of him like he’s warding off a rabid animal. “When you two are…done, go to the building with the blue roof in the city. We’ll be waiting there.”
“Wait!” Auren suddenly blurts. “Oreans. Just outside the city. I got them out of the dungeons. They’ll need your help.”
Wick nods. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of them.”
I barely hear him, already stepping down into the cellar. As soon as I clear the stairs, I reach one arm up and slam the doors closed and then engage the lock. Slipping the key into my pocket, I turn, letting my sight adjust to the darkness of the tunnel while my bond burns with my need to take her.
Have to get somewhere safe first. Have to take care of her.
