I pull back a few times, working my way in slowly. By the time I’m fully inside her, I’ve bitten the inside of my cheek until blood fills my mouth. She hisses once sharply and I stay still, giving her time to adjust as well as to keep myself from coming already.
When she starts squirming beneath me I start to move, movements slow and controlled. I snap my hips a little harder and she gasps, clenching around me. With a groan, my movements become more erratic until I can’t hold back anymore. I have the good sense to pull out despite the primal need to lose myself inside her completely, my cum staining the couch beneath me instead.
“Shit,” I pant, scrubbing a hand down my face.
I think I lasted all of five minutes. I don’t think she even came; I should have done that before I ever pulled my dick out. Oh fuck, what did I just do? The others are going to kill me.
“Cai?” She’s pulling herself into a seated position, giving me a strange look. “I shouldn’t have pressured you, I’m sorry,” she starts rambling.
“No, fuck, I’m an idiot,” I rush out, leaning forward and kissing her once, hard, and leaving no room for doubt. “Just enjoying my last few minutes of life before I’m murdered.”
She smiles, relieved and starting to gather her clothes. “Want me to distract the others so you have time to make a break for it?”
I pull on my jeans and help her up. “Well, youarepretty fucking distracting,” I tease and she flicks my arm.
“Excuse me, but I am a goddamn delight,” she retorts.
I grab her wrist and tug her in for another kiss, making sure she knows I just enjoy provoking her. “Absolutely. You alright?”
Her eyes soften, but she nods. “Honestly, with a big of a deal as everyone made out of it, it feels sort of anticlimactic, you know?”
“Ouch, brutal. Tell me how you really feel, why don’t ‘ya?”
She snorts. “Not like that, you know what I meant. Everyone made it into such a big deal, but I don’t feel really any different . Relieved, maybe? That it’s not hanging over my head anymore?”
But that’s as far as the conversation goes before Soren is there, looking pissed off. Vyrian, on the other hand, looks positively thrilled, so it’s hit or miss how this is going to go.
Yri skips over to her and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side possessively. “See? I told you guys we were going to need to kidnap her and skip town.”
She furrows a brow and looks up at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”
At that, Yri’s expression hardens and he pins me with a look. I rub the back of my neck, repentant. We’ve got her up to speed with so much so quickly that I forgot she might not understand the full implications of what we just did.
“I asked if she was sure,” I throw out in a pathetic bid to defend myself, but I don’t even attempt to block the punch Yri aims at my shoulder.
Her expression becomes guarded and I hate that it’s completely my fault. “It just means we need to up the schedule to go make everything official, is all. By having sex, we just kicked it off a little early.”
She sighs. “Okay, I should have expected something like that. Kahl already told me to keep it in my pants, so not really a surprise. Besides, that’s what I get for saying it was anticlimactic.”
Soren snorts, but doesn’t make any jabs. “Kaiden called, they’re on their way back and will fill us in when they get here.”
I nod, taking a few minutes to scrub the couch while we wait. Yri and I head back to our house to pack some bags, because after we get updated, we’re going to have to start making our way to the Sanctuary. Despite whatever information the Veles’ bring back with them, I’ve forced our hand now. I don’t regret it, but if we thought the pheromone issue was bad before, it’ll be nothing compared to sending her into heat early. The birthday deadline is a thing of the past now, and at best, we have a week.
“Sorry to add another thing to our plate,” I apologize, feeling like a dick.
But Yri just waves me off. “Am I jealous it wasn’t me? Fuck yeah. But I wouldn’t have turned her away either, Cai; definitely not going to find me complaining. Now it just means that she’s that much closer to being officially ours and the rest of the world knowing it.”
We toss our backpacks in the trunk and head back to her house, figuring everyone should be back by now. “She’s going to be okay, right?” I finally ask, voice barely more than a whisper.
I don’t look at his face as we drive, don’t want to see any of the fear there before he manages to stow it away. Yri wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time and the rest is locked in an iron box in the back of his mind. But that brief flash before he manages it is still too much for me to handle right now.
“Of course she’s going to be alright. Soren’s right; he was just trying to throw her off balance. Besides, anything they could have done will be undone when she has her first shift; you can’t be a dragon without your fire. And Ezra? That girl is all fire, it’s just trapped inside for a little bit.”
We park and head in, her brothers looking ready to murder me, so at least I missed that awkward conversation if nothing else. I don’t cower, not before them. I may want to stay on good terms for her sake, but no one is going to make me feel bad for loving my mate.
“Bring me up to speed?” Vyrian tosses out there, trying to break some of the tension.
Kahl grits his teeth, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. “You guys need to go. Now.”
