Wyvern's Prince (The Dragons of Incendium Book 2) (17 page)

He was nude and she stole a glance, appreciating how muscled and trim he was. A splendid male specimen, if a little pale. Her mouth went dry, then she noticed the cut on his forearm. It was healing, and the scab was a deep blue crust.

It was in the same place as the wound Felice had given the toad.

He returned her gaze steadily, unflinchingly. “Thanks, Gemma,” he murmured.

The missing prince of Regalia had been found.

He was her HeartKeeper.

And he didn’t believe in love.

* * *

“You were here with Arista,” Gemma charged, hating that she sounded so breathless.

That she felt so keenly aware of him. It made her sound foolish, more like a demure maiden than the warrior she knew herself to be. She tugged the cloak around herself, as if the fabric could defend her from his allure.

“I was.” Venero sobered and looked down at the color dripping from his fingertip. “How remarkable to have a second Warrior Maiden of Cumae arrive in this cave. Are you here to avenge her?” He arched a brow. “Or finish what she started?”

“That depends.” Gemma admitted. “Were you lovers?”

Venero’s grin was quick and reassuring. “I have no interest in cyborgs.” He shuddered a little. “I like my women warm and mortal, as well as beautiful.”

Gemma didn’t smile. “What are you talking about?”

“Arista was a cyborg,” he said with conviction. “An excellent cyborg of superior design and manufacture, but a machine all the same.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

“She wasn’t a cyborg,” Gemma insisted. “I knew her for years. We were Sword Sisters! We trusted each other completely.”

Venero held her gaze, his confidence complete. “Just because you didn’t know doesn’t mean it wasn’t true.”

“Just because you have a suspicion doesn’t mean you’re right. You can’t be sure.”

He nodded once. “I am.”

“How can you be?”

He pursed his lips and looked down at the cup. “Her mind was different. You must have sensed that.”

“She was a precise thinker. Always logical.”

Venero looked up. “She didn’t dream, Gemma.”

Gemma frowned, thinking of her own dream, but Venero continued before she could speak.

He stepped closer and the scent of the Seed nearly overwhelmed her. “I liked her,” he admitted in a whisper. “I admired her.” His gaze swept over Gemma as surely as a touch. “But I need to be able to trust a lover.”

Her heart skipped at the implication of that, but she kept talking about Arista. This was her chance to learn more. “You couldn’t trust a woman you believed to be a cyborg?”

“I didn’t believe it: I knew it,” he corrected. “And that meant I didn’t know what price she might be willing to pay for success. I knew she was programmed to fulfill her mission.”

“Did you know what it was?”

“To kill me, of course. I knew about that before she arrived.”

“How?”

His smile was wry. “My mother is easy to anticipate but harder to stop.” He shook his head. “But there was something else Arista came to do, and I sensed that it was more important than the assignment to kill me.”

“So you helped her.”

“And I paid the price.” He smiled and it was easy to see how he’d captured Arista’s heart. If she’d met him in this form, she wouldn’t have delayed that kiss, especially not with the scent of the Seed arousing her as it did. He put down the cup of dye and took a step closer. Gemma waited, wanting whatever he was going to offer. “I was trapped, until you came along and saved me.”

“Meaning true love does exist after all?”

He frowned, looking so concerned that Gemma wanted to make him smile again.

“Are you sure it will stick?” she asked, her tone teasing. “Maybe I should kiss you again to be sure.”

“Maybe,” he replied with a laugh. His eyes shone as he regarded her, and he beckoned with a fingertip. His voice dropped low. “Come here, Gemma.” She moved willingly into his arms, her heart skipping in anticipation. His gaze fell to her lips and she smiled, lifting her hands to his shoulders. He bent toward her and Gemma reached up for his kiss.

“Thank you, Gemma,” Venero whispered, just before his lips brushed across hers. A tingle swept through Gemma and her desire surged. She reached for him, catching the back of his neck in her hand, and kissed him. It was a long and passionate kiss, one worthy of a reward, and when Venero lifted his head, Gemma’s heart was racing.

She stared into his golden eyes and was assailed by a curious sensation. Her pulse matched to his, the feel of their hearts pounding in unison enough to make her dizzy. The scent of the Seed filled her with urgency. She saw Venero’s eyes brighten and couldn’t look away. He swallowed visibly, then pulled her close, crushing her against his chest. The sensation grew more powerful.

He lifted his hand to her chin. “What’s happening?” he murmured and she knew he could feel it, too. “Is this love?”

Gemma smiled and shook her head. “It’s my dragon. You’re the Carrier of the Seed,” she whispered. “We’re destined lovers.”

“And that means there will be a son?” His arms tightened around her and she wanted to explore his body fully. His skin was warm and his body firm. Gemma reached down and caressed him. He caught his breath and smiled, his hand sliding down to tease her breast.

“A son,” Gemma agreed, remembering his earlier words but needing to say it anyway. “It also means that you’re my HeartKeeper.”

Venero was bending to take her nipple in his mouth but looked up. “I told you that I don’t believe in love.”

How could he, given that he had a mother who ordered his assassination and a twin brother like Urbanus? “You should reconsider. It’s how I saved you, after all.”

“There is that.” He gave her that lazy smile and her heart skipped. “Maybe I’ll have to restore your dragon first.”

“I thought you liked your women demure.”

Venero laughed. “You’re changing my mind, Gemma.” They stared into each other’s eyes as the Seed urged Gemma’s desire to a fever pitch. She had a feeling that even without the Seed’s scent, she’d want Venero with his smile and his irreverent comments, his challenges and his valor. She liked that he was concerned about doing the right thing, even at his own expense. She admired that he teased and provoked her, tempting her smile and her laughter. It would never be boring to live with Venero.

“You’re changing my mind about everything,” he whispered. His thumb moved across her skin, setting her afire, and she wanted all of him, immediately. “What happens next?”

“That’s easy,” she replied. “This.” Gemma framed Venero’s face in her hands and stretched to kiss him. Heat fired through her from the point of contact with his mouth, and she tasted his gasp of surprise that she was so demanding. Then his hands were in her hair and he was pulling her closer. His kiss deepened and she could taste his need. Gemma welcomed it, responding to the passion he kindled without question.

And wanting only more.

* * *

Venero couldn’t understand why he’d ever thought it was a bad thing for a woman to be forthright or outspoken or demanding. Gemma’s kiss was fierce and decisive, and her unmistakable desire for him was the strongest aphrodisiac in the galaxy. He knew exactly where he stood with her, and it was a fine place to be.

Venero found himself deepening his kiss and meeting her demands for more. His blood was aflame and any plans he’d had to seduce her slowly—to savor her—went up in smoke.

That she was nude and at ease with that only fanned the flames. That she knew what she wanted from him and wasn’t shy about making her wishes clear was enough to incinerate his reservations—and his assumptions. Her kiss was hot and hungry, and he was as consumed with her as she seemed to be with him. He could sense the dragon in her kiss and her passion was incredibly exciting.

He backed her against the wall of the cavern and kissed her deeply, loving how she knotted her hands in his hair and pulled him closer. She rubbed herself against him, then reached down to caress him, her touch both confident and gentle. He heard himself moan, then felt Gemma’s chuckle.

“I knew you were naked for a reason,” she whispered then dropped to her knees. Venero found his fingers in the silk of her hair as she tormented him with the softness of her lips and the occasional brush of her teeth. He whispered her name, knowing he wouldn’t last long before such an assault, and felt her laugh again. She flicked her tongue across the tip of his erection, sending a shiver of delight through his entire body.

He looked down to find her eyes dancing, even as she gripped his hips. She held his gaze, inviting him to watch her caress him, and Venero knew he’d never seen a sight so arousing in his life. His entire body was humming. His blood was pumping. His erection was so large and hard that it ached. He felt like a bow drawn taut, and that the merest flick would send him over the edge. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Gemma’s. Their hearts did that dizzying feat of matching pace again, and he felt lost in the marvel that was Gemma.

And he didn’t care.

“I was going to thank you,” he managed to whisper.

Gemma teased him with the tip of her tongue. “Now or later?”

“Now,” he said, because he knew he’d only last another second if she stopped. “In a most fundamental way.”

“How?”

“With pleasure.”

Gemma smiled. “I like that kind of thanks.”

Venero bent and caught her upper arms in his grip, then kissed her again. He spun her around the room, as if they were dancing at court, and she laughed into his kiss. Her hair floated behind them, long and golden, and she was a graceful dancer.

He kicked her feet out from beneath her, then caught her in his arms, liking how her eyes glowed as he lowered her to the pile of her discarded clothing. She was so beautiful that he wanted to play homage to her forever. Gemma gasped when he took the tight peak of her nipple in his mouth, and moaned softly when he teased her with his tongue and teeth. She arched her back, her nipple getting harder and the scent of her arousing him even more. Venero wanted to watch her, as well as pleasure her. She wasn’t shy and she welcomed his touch with a confidence he found enticing.

She was bold and demanding and passionate—just as a dragon should be.

He rolled her to her back then, spreading her thighs so he could give her a more intimate kiss. Gemma sighed and welcomed him, purring in pleasure when his tongue landed upon her. Their hearts beat as one as he teased her, alternating little nips with languid strokes as her passion rose. He loved how he could feel her reaction as keenly as his own, how he could time his actions to increase her arousal, how well he could torment her with pleasure. He drove her high and halted just before she had her release, then did it again. Gemma was writhing beneath him, moaning and whispering his name. He could feel that her skin was hot and her heart was racing. She was slick and ready when Venero bent to make her reward complete.

“No,” she said, her hand blocking him. He looked up to find her eyes shining. “With you,” she insisted.

Venero didn’t need to be invited twice. He moved over the length of her, running a trail of kisses to her shoulder. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he eased into the tight heat of her. She groaned with pleasure as he buried himself completely and he had to pause to catch his breath. Then her nails were digging into his shoulders in silent demand and her need drove him on. They moved together, gazes locked and breath matched, the heat rising between them so rapidly that Venero lost track of everything.

Save the woman in his arms.

And when they reached the summit together, crying out in unison as the fire of release raced through their bodies, Venero knew there was no going back after a mating with a dragon princess. She was unlike any other woman he’d ever known. The experience had been a hundred times more potent than ever before. He felt as if he’d been waiting for her, and that now, no other woman would do.

True love.

Who would have guessed it possible? Not Venero.

He smiled as he dozed, realizing that even though Gemma didn’t believe in magic, she was very adept at casting a spell.

* * *

Gemma remained awake while Venero slept. Now that the influence of the dragon was diminished and the call of the Seed had been answered, doubts assailed her.

She should, as Arista’s Sword Sister, fulfill Arista’s unfinished assignment of assassinating Venero.

She should also make a permanent bond with Venero because he was her HeartKeeper. She could sacrifice Arista’s mission for her HeartKeeper, but Gemma wondered. Would Venero ever believe in love? Could she teach him?

Could she trust a man who was a DreamCaster?

Or should she just be content with having the Seed? She wasn’t good with compromise, so that wasn’t an appealing option.

If they reached the Queen’s Grotto and broke the spell over Gemma’s dragon, what was Venero’s plan? What were his intentions?

Gemma didn’t know.

And that meant she couldn’t lie quietly beside him any longer.

She rose to her feet and began to pack for the day ahead. Gemma watched Venero as he slept and felt uncharacteristic doubt about her future.