Page 96 of Tears of Gold

Ava screams as her second orgasm takes flight and I shudder, finally pumping my own release deep into her as the intense joy of her experience overtakes me like a tsunami—not from the contact of our skin, but blazing from within my own essence as the new connection between us flickers into existence.

Water sloshes around my feet as I clutch her tightly, merging our existence for eternity.

“Mine,” I repeat, a broken whisper breathed against her cheek as the last shudder runs through me.

We stand, our chests heaving together for a long time, just holding each other, silvered by a rising moon and the soft light of the last dragon tree. The inner connection solidifies, bringing me the echo of her heartbeat pulsing in sync with mine. I’ll hear that sound until the day death parts us.

She’s my dragon treasure now.

Chapter Thirty

Ava

My left knee touches Erritt’s and Skye strokes my right knee periodically as we cluster around the sawn-off tree stump which serves as an indoor coffee table, and right now, a platform for Blackjack, which Harper is determined to teach the other guys.

When he pulled out the familiar deck of playing cards, a little piece of home wrapped in a waterproof bag, a spark of joy lit me right up. I’m not at all surprised to find Harper can shuffle like a pro. It’s easy to picture him leaning against a casino table in jeans and a dinner jacket, charming some unsuspecting player with his crooked smile while he filched their TAG Heuer wristwatch. I smile at the image, watching as he places two halves of the deck side by side and expertly fans the ends into each other.

We needed this vacation to heal and bond, chatting late into the night about all the stories we haven’t been able to share, playing in the creek during the blazing summer days, and making sure my memories are in order as we snuggle on the battered lounges.

I think this is the first time we’ve experienced companionship together. Between kidnappings and stealing moments in secret at the academy, we’ve never had the luxury to just laze and be together, and I like it—a lot.

My pager buzzes, and I jump up to check it. Rita’s sent me a message asking how I’m going. I smile as I tap back an answer.

“I think I’m jealous she’s smiling over a message from someone else,” Skye grumbles.

I laugh and turn the device around. “It’s from Rita, asking me how my boring class break is going at De Tuan.”

Harper smirks. “Very boring; nothing interesting happening since we definitely haven’t left the grounds.”

I drop my pager back in my bag, nudging Harper with my foot as I walk past him.

“What’s the prince worth again?” Skye asks in a loud whisper, turning the jack of diamonds in my direction as I settle back onto my cushion.

I lean into him. “It’s a jack, and he’s worth ten points.”

His brows crease together. “The prince’s name is Jack?”

I snicker as Harper rolls his eyes. “They’re called jacks, not princes.”

“You can call it a prince if you want,” I offer, ignoring Harper as he shakes his head.

Skye holds the card up in the air and looks between the portrait and Erritt. “Looks a bit like him.”

I can’t help laughing at the unimpressed look on Erritt’s face, and Skye smiles slyly as if that’s exactly the sound he wanted to hear.

He’s had a self-satisfied smile playing on his lips since two days ago when he showed me the dragon tree and made love to me until I couldn’t speak coherently. He’s happy, and it’s as if I can feel his joy within myself because I’m warm and happy too.

Erritt forms a wisp of blue qi that flickers on his fingertip like a flame and leans toward the card. With a yelp, Harper throws himself between the other two guys, leaning over the log table. “Do not burn my cards! There’s no replacements within a trillion lightyears!”

Skye rests on Harper’s shoulder and points at Erritt’s magic. “None of that!”

Erritt’s lips twitch with good humor, but he winces as the blue flame dissolves.

That’s the only dampener in our glorious vacation; although his stutter’s improved a lot, Erritt still struggles with the pain of his lashing. Skye’s been insistent he doesn’t use his qi, and from what I’ve learned about the horrific spiritual injury, there’s good reason.

“Prince Jack is worth ten points,” I remind Skye with a grin as the guys settle back into place, Harper eying the cards like a mother hen worried about her chicks. Harper swears about princes under his breath, and everyone’s gaze flicks to Erritt.

I think it’s time I asked the question that’s been bothering me since the New Year’s festival, but it takes me a few more hands of the game to work up the courage.