Starlight (The Dragonian Series Book 5) (53 page)

“I can’t read your mind.” My voice was soft. “But I can feel your emotions Elena. Why are you scared?”

She looked up at me and smiled. “You really feel that?” she asked and I nodded. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” She let go and walked over to the bed.

“Don’t do that, please. Just talk to me.”

She sat on the bed and moved underneath the covers. I sat down in front of her and just looked at her.

“Fine, I’m scared that you are never going to want to be with me, okay,” she spoke quickly. “I know it’s stupid but you always pull away.”

What?
“Elena,” I stroked my face.
How do I explain this to her?
She wasn’t ready.

“You wanted to know, Blake. I’m not going to force you.” She touched my arm softly and smiled. “So let’s not fight about stupid things, okay.”

“Force me?” I chuckled. If she only knew what she was doing to me.

“I don’t want to fight,” she said again with a slight whine.

I looked at her again. “I don’t want to fight either. Believe me that’s the last thing I want to do with you.” I touched her face and my core became warm as she leaned into my hand and just closed her eyes. I knew that if she was a cat, she would purr.

Did I got this wrong?

I didn’t think, just moved in and kissed her again. I could tell she hadn’t expected that at all and I felt like I was playing on the edge again. Of just losing everything.

She took control and moved toward me. Her body slammed into mine as she moved her legs over mine and sat on my lap. This felt so perfect, like we fit.

I held her tight as the kiss became deeper, never wanting to let go.

Stop, Blake, just stop.
I couldn’t. The feeling inside of me didn’t want to stop this time.

Her hands were tangled up in my hair and she moved closer toward me. She connected deeper with my body and a million ripples danced through my being as a small grunt escaped my lips.

Her legs were on either side of my waist and I couldn’t stop kissing her. My fingers pulled at the material of her track suit pants.
Don’t Blake, just stop.

She kissed me faster, her heart was rising but the feeling was not fear of what this could lead to, it was the same I was experiencing. Fear of what would happen if it didn’t. She wanted more.

I pulled up her shirt, and her arms went above her head as our lips left each other for a few short seconds.

When they found one another again, I pulled her tighter against me and her skin was so soft as her chest connected with mine.

She kissed me hard, just like that first time when she didn’t want me kissing her. I couldn’t stop then either. It was the first time I’d tasted her, and discovered what she was to me. It was like that, but this time she wanted it too.

My lips left her and I bit onto my lower lip, trying not to kiss her. I needed to know. “Elena, are you sure about this?” I asked in a whisper. My breathing was heavy.

“Just shut up,” she sounded stern, which made me chuckle as she forced her lips on mine again.

She pushed me backward onto the bed. She’d never been this adamant before. I felt as if I could burst and then her hands moved to my track pants and I knew. I’d had it all wrong.

Elena.

I rolled onto Blake’s chest and just gave out a tired laugh. We were both breathing fast. Well, his had calmed almost immediately, mine took a few seconds longer. His lips kissed the top of my head. My body still vibrated softly. I’d never felt anything like this in my entire life. “What the hell was that?” I had to know.

“Now you know why our species loves this so much.”

“What, dragons or men?” I asked through a tired smile. I didn’t want it to end, but I was so tired.

“Dragons, men, all of the above.”

I hadn’t felt this with Lucian. It was slightly painful, both times, and not to…. I didn’t want to think about that anymore. It was like it’d never happened. I was so happy, and tired. “Will it always feel like this?”

Blake chuckled. “I hope so.”

I looked up at him. We were both naked with just the linen sheet covering our bodies. “I love you Blake Leaf.” There, I’d said it. I’d owned up to it, and a huge breath left my mouth. Why did this feeling hurt so much?

I lay with my head on his chest and closed my eyes. If love could be painful, I was experiencing it.

His hand touched my face softly and I touched his hand.

I should’ve never done this. If this was going to be the first and only time… I would not survive in a world without him.

He shifted from underneath me and I moved down so that he could see me. I kept my eyes closed.

“Elena,” he spoke softly with a sad tone and kissed me again.

I didn’t want to stop kissing him and just wanted him here with me. I wished I could use my frost to freeze time and just be with him like this forever. Feel this forever and not worry about the consequences of later.

I would give anything for that. He broke the kiss.

“I love you more, even if it doesn’t feel that way, I promise you. The feeling inside of me is much stronger than yours. And I’m okay with it, as we love differently.” He smiled and kissed me on my nose. I used to hate that he could feel my emotions, but right now I loved it. “You can’t die.”

“Neither can you. It’s either we both die or we both live, Blake.”

He nodded. “Then let’s go with the last one, please?”

I nodded too and kissed him one last time.

I WOKE UP around five and found Blake still sleeping in the same position he’d fallen asleep in last night.

The fairy tales had it wrong. Sleeping Beauty wasn’t a girl, she was a guy, as he was sleeping right next to me.

I couldn’t stop staring at him. He looked so peaceful, as if we didn’t have this heavy omen of death lingering over us.

His lips started to curve. “Why are you staring at me like some creepy stalker?” he asked.

“How did you know?”

“I can feel those beautiful green eyes of yours on me.”

I laughed softly and kissed him on the lips. His hand brushed my back, over my arm and shoulder and came to rest on my neck, touching the side of my face gently.

He broke the kiss. “We can’t start this now, Elena. We need to get packing.”

“Fine, party pooper,” I said as I got up, pulled off the blanket that covered me and walked into the bathroom. As I left I could hear a small chuckle escape his lips.

I switched on the taps and found myself sitting for a long time with the blanket still wrapped around me on the toilet seat.

I couldn’t get last night out of my head and I refused to sully this feeling with what lay ahead of us today. I kept seeing him, the way he’d treated me last night, it was as if I was one of his orbs. Delicate, and gentle. He’d kept his word from that night: he said when it was going to happen it would be perfect, and it was.

It was going to be a long trip back to Areeth where the rest of us were going to enter Etan.

Tonight would be their day again. It wasn’t even time for the feast, they would be completely taken off guard. At least Goran wouldn’t be prepared if he knew we were coming. He would be totally taken by surprised as we’d decided to attack a month earlier. I just hoped Emanual was right and that my father was with his men.

I still had to take in King Helmut, and Emanual. King Caleb and one of his guards, Becky and George, Sammy and Dean and finally Sir Robert and Blake.

We all knew what to do. We had our mission. Our paths were going to part the minute all of us set foot in Etan. That was the most difficult part, not knowing who I was going to see afterward or whether they would see me again.

I forced the sadness away and I concentrated on last night again.

His kisses on my body were everlasting. It was as if I could still feel them if I closed my eyes.

I sighed and climbed into the shower. I tilted my head back and let my hair wet as I got lost in my string of thoughts again. It had been the most amazing night of my life. Being able to share something so deep in me, with Blake.

I hadn’t even felt this way with Lucian. Sure, I’d loved Lucian too but it wasn’t like this.

It wasn’t that can’t eat, can’t sleep feeling, it was the jump in front of the bullet kind without thinking twice. My connection to Blake was much stronger and when I was with him, which was almost every minute of the day, I didn’t want it to end.

It was so intense. He felt like a part of me, but it wasn’t just that. He felt like my heart, the breath in my lungs, the blood in my veins. I wouldn’t live without him.

Was this what the Dent was like for our dragons?

Did they become like this for us? Our life support?

I knew it sounded pathetic, but it wasn’t. It was actually beautiful, to know that there were two beings that just couldn’t function without the other. Soul mates.

I truly believe that the Dent was something like that, and the words that he’d used in that poem weren’t literally what happened, it was just the metaphors he’d used to describe this feeling.

I closed the taps and get out of the shower. I draped the soft towel over my body and went into our room again.

Blake had left.

I quickly got dressed. We would change later when we get to Areeth.

At least the suit wasn’t black anymore like in our vision, and the good part was that I hadn’t received a new one with him looking like a dove.

I laughed at that and remembered how Alex had transformed with the suit turning into armor that protected her face, her torso, everything.

Blake would look majestic wearing it.

I braided my hair and went down to where all my friends were hopefully enjoying breakfast.

I found Dean by the coffee pot, deep in thought.

“Hey,” I said and he jumped slightly. We both laughed.

“Elena, would you like a cup of coffee?”

“I would love one, thanks Dean.”

He smiled as he took out an extra cup. “They are all on the porch.”

“How is she holding up?”

“Scared, but strong.” He smiled. “She will be fine, Elena.”

“You better be too, mister.”

He laughed and I went to the porch.

I heard Sammy’s hyena laughter, and the rest all laughing with her.

I opened the sliding door and walked out.

“Good morning, Princess,” Becky smiled.

“You are chirpy this morning.”

“It’s going to be a good day, Elena. I can feel it.”

It better be,
I didn’t say that out loud but I just smiled at her, bent down and kissed her on top of her head giving her a slight squeeze of my arm around her neck.

I sat down on the deck chair that Sammy was sitting on and leaned with my head onto her knees that she’d brought up to her chest.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that,” she said through a huge grin.

“What, how am I looking at you?”

“You are going to be fine, and you are too.” She stared at her brother.

“Of course we will,” Blake said and took a sip of his coffee as he lay with his head on the chair. “I figured out the missing ingredient.”

They all gasped. Still, as beautiful as it was, I didn’t buy it. I knew he was lying. How, it was hard to tell, but I just knew. He did it to ease all of our worries.

I just hoped Becky was right. That I would find the missing ingredient before it was too late.

Becky, Sammy and I made breakfast and we weren’t surprised that Emily and two of her friends had stayed over.

They finally emerged from their rooms and joined us around the table.

Blake piped all sort of things to make Ty uncomfortable, who was such a douche when it came to the morning after.

He was pretending a lot with Emily and I hated him for that. But I guessed that some boys would never grow up.

They left as we washed the dishes. Sammy went to look for more dirty cups around the house and we laughed as her laughter filled the hallway from above us.

“You don’t agree with Blake, do you?” Becky asked as her hands lingered in the sink.

“Blake and I don’t agree on many things, you need to be more specific Becky.” I put the dry plate into the cupboard.

She smiled. “The missing ingredient.”

“It’s sweet, but no. I don’t. I think he is just saying that to alleviate fears.”

“Why can’t it be what he says it is?”

“Because it’s not something you can touch, it’s something you need to believe in Becky.” I took a huge breath. “And I just know it’s not. Like he knew it wasn’t Louie’s berries. Like you said, I will know when the time comes.”

“You will.” She sounded confident even though she didn’t smile this time.

Afterward we went to our rooms to pack our suitcases.

I found Blake just throwing his clothes in.

“You are such a slob,” I said and picked up his jersey and folded it nicely before putting it in the suitcase.

“I’m not,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and falling with me onto the bed.

“We need to get going,” I said as he kissed me.

“Can’t we just stay here, hide?”

I gasped. “Coming from the mighty Rubicon! Now that is a first.”

He laughed. “I hate being the Rubicon. Seriously.”

“Stop whining.” I looked down at him, kissed him quickly and got up. “We need to pack.”

In less than ten minutes our suitcases were in the trunk and we were ready to lock up.

We made sure that everything was more or less tidied up and jumped into the SUV.

When we reached the diner, Dean stopped and Blake took the bike from the trailer.

“See you on site,” Sammy said from the front.

“Bye,” I said and got out.

Blake made sure he had everything as Dean said goodbye and climbed into the front seat.

I pulled on my jacket as I watched my friends drive off and then Blake turned around and grabbed me again.

He kissed me like there was no tomorrow.
Well there might not be one.
My ears and everything started to vibrate. I’d felt it last night too and grunted as his hands slide fast and hard down my body to my thighs, he lifted me up and my legs curled around his waist.

His lips moved to my neck giving me a million goosebumps and I started to laugh.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “We don’t have…”

“Shush, just shush,” he said and his lips found mine again.

We both started to laugh just thinking what this must look like to everyone driving past.

“Okay, let’s go,” Blake finally said as my feet touched the ground. I really wanted time to just stand still. I wanted this omen over our heads to disappear and I wanted to know that everything was going to be okay.
Everything.
But time wasn’t our friend anymore. It was going by so fast and nothing I did would make it just slow down for a few more hours.

I waited while Blake got onto his bike. He zipped up his jacket and was ready to put on his helmet when he caught me staring at him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said as put on his helmet and started the bike.

I put on my helmet too and climbed on. My hands went into his jacket’s pockets, and could feel how he’d zipped them up so that my hands were warm and secure.

“You ready?” his voice came over the radio that was in both our helmets.

“Go for it!”

He revved the bike and I laughed as he sped off.

Excitement left my mouth. I used to be so scared about flying, heights and bike rides, but I wasn’t anymore.

I felt safe with him and knew that he would do something super cool if we were going to fall, because he was just that type of guy. In less than ten minutes we zoomed past the SUV, past the Jeep and hit the open road like there was really no tomorrow. I didn’t care about tomorrow anymore. This was it. The time to live and live it like I’d never lived before.

WE REACHED THE Dragon League before the others and found Sir Robert with the two royals and Emanual in his office.

“I wanted to say that was you,” Sir Robert spoke to Blake as we walked in. “How fast did he drive, Elena?”

“Not that fast. I’m here, in one piece.”

They all laughed.

“You ready for this, Dad?” Blake asked.

Sir Robert looked at him. “I’ve been ready for the past eighteen years, son.”