“Ultimately, it’s not their fault, is it?” Missi stroked my hair. I was lying on her couch, my head in her lap, having the good solid cry that I’d needed all night.
“Huh?” I sniffled.
“I mean, it wasn’t their call, was it? Aric’s your age, and the others only have a few years on you. Obviously, they weren’t the ones saying ‘Hey, let’s chuck this kid to the curb and hope she survives long enough to be the Shadow Queen when she grows up.’ Which, admittedly, is a major dick move and you should be very angry about that.” She squeezed my shoulder in solidarity. “They probably didn’t want to just show up and have that be the first thing out of their mouths. Or the second thing. Hell, I would have made the people who made that call be the ones who told you, because no one wants to land that much crap on a person.”
“Well, they did.” I wiped my eyes and sat up.
She put an arm around me. I leaned into her, too exhausted and drained to resist. “Well, they must care an awful lot about you.”
I shot her a look. “How do you figure?”
She shrugged. “It would have been a hell of a lot easier and nicer for them to keep up the lie. They didn’t have to be honest with you unless they wanted you to know the truth. Unless they wanted you to trust them for the right reasons.”
“Maybe they just felt guilty because we…” I started, then shut my mouth.
Missi cocked an eyebrow. “We what? Did you and Galen…?”
“No.”
“Aww,” she moaned in mock disappointment.
“Me and Chase, however…”
She sat up abruptly, almost knocking me back into her lap. “You and…woman, you are a force of nature.” She reached down and squeezed my hand. “So, what did you two do?”
I blushed beet red. “It was more what he did. To me.” She started to look concerned. I raised a hand. “And I wanted him to. We didn’t, y’know, get all the way there. But we got a good head start.”
“Sweet merciful…” A knock on the door made both our heads whip around. I leapt to my feet.
In the end, I hadn’t been able to stay away. As much as I believed I could walk the earth alone, that I deserved to walk the earth alone, I needed a friend. So here I was, in her home, endangering her life. I felt selfish and stupid and weak.
Missi reached for her phone and mouthed I’ll call the cops. I quietly walked to the door and peeked out the peephole, then shook my head at her and opened the door.
Cass looked all the world like a lost, kicked puppy. His green eyes gazed soulfully at me from under his tousled red hair. He snapped to attention the moment he saw me, straightening his untucked white button-down shirt over his blue slacks.
“Can we talk?” There was hope in his voice. A dark part of me wanted to crush it. Wanted to slam the door in his face and go back to Missi. His eyes, though. They cut me right to my heart.
I looked back at Missi. She must have seen the battle going on in my mind, because she made a gentle shooing motion. I nodded at her, then turned back to Cass.
“If this is about the text I sent Galen…” I started.
He looked at me quizzically. “What text?”
I frowned. “Okay, we really do need to talk. And I need to let Missi get some sleep.”
The view of the city was striking. Glittering lights, as far as the eye could see. I could also see the sky starting to turn light at the edges. It was later, or earlier, than I thought.
I’d filled Cass in on what I’d heard from the cultists in the car. He’d nodded a lot, but said little. “We’re pretty well warded at the mansion, so I’m not overly concerned there. But the talk about extracting your essence… that’s a new one to me. I didn’t think they could do that to dragons.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s one for the Elders.”
Now we sat together on the hood of his car, a Nissan Figaro that matched the color of his hair, gazing over the silent city as it slowly began to stir. It was hard to hold onto my rage sitting this close to him, nearly touching. Missi’s words echoed in my ears. Ultimately, it’s not their fault, is it?
“I’m sorry.” Cass reached over to touch my hand, then thought better of it and awkwardly set his hand back down on the hood. “I’m not trying to suck up or anything, but I hated every second of not telling you the truth.”
I nodded silently. He swallowed hard, taking my impassivity for hatred.
“I… we all realize now that we were being really condescending to you. Thinking that you wouldn’t be able to handle it. Thinking that we were doing what was best for you. It’s patronizing, and it’s wrong. It was your truth to know. It was information you needed to make decisions for yourself about what to do, and who to trust. We were following orders from the Elders, but those orders were wrong.” He gave a short laugh. “Like we’re particularly good at following orders anyway. But I digress.” He turned to face me. I continued to gaze out over the city, but watched him in my peripheral vision. He clasped his hands over his knee, eyes studying my face, that flicker of hope still haunting me. “We are all so sorry. I am so sorry.”
I reached a hand over and placed it over his hands. Our eyes met.
“You weren’t the ones who put me in foster care. I’m sorry I took it all out on you.”
He nodded silently. “I can’t blame you. We’re the only representatives of dragonkind that you’ve met. You have every right to hate us all for what we let…”
I snorted and squeezed his hand. “You didn’t let anyone do anything. You’re what, two years older than me?”
He blushed and looked away for a moment, then laughed. “I didn’t have anything to do with it directly, no. But the Elders…”
“Have a lot to answer for.” I took a deep breath and frowned. “I’m going to have to meet them, won’t I?”
“Yes.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “And we’ll be right there with you when you do. We have your back. Always.” He bowed his head. “And if you can’t forgive us, if you don’t want anything to do with dragons ever again…” His eyes met mine again. “At least I got to meet you. And I’ll always treasure that.”
My heart did a little flip. His eyes were so green, so deep I could dive into them and lose myself forever. I leaned forward, pulling gently on his hand. I heard him gasp softly as he echoed the lean and placed his lips gently over mine. It was a gentle kiss, soft and sweet and chaste. Gently, I parted his lips and deepened it a little. The tips of our tongues caressed each other tentatively. His grip on my hand tightened, and a soft moan slipped from his throat.
“Sia, I…”
I slid closer to him, almost sitting in his lap. He swallowed hard and blushed in the dawning light.
“I’ve never…”
I smiled at him. “Never?”
He looked away. “I’ve mostly spent my life with books. Girls and I…we’ve never really been introduced.” He made a vaguely suggestive gesture with his hands.
It was my turn to blush. “I’m only a bit more experienced, and by only a couple days.” I reached up and ran trembling fingers through his lush red hair. “We can learn together.”
His eyes widened in surprise, then his face lit up in an eager grin. “I’d… like that a lot.” He winced, then slapped a hand to his forehead. “Smooth. This is why I hate Chase and Galen sometimes. This stuff comes so easily to them.”
I felt a tightness in my chest. “So… you don’t hate me? For being with them?”
He chuffed softly. “Of course not. I couldn’t hate you. You’re amazing.”
The tightness eased. “Am not.”
His fingers traced along my jaw. His gaze turned serious. “Chase and Aric may have tracked you down in the end, but it was my job to learn about you. And the things I learned… could have utterly destroyed a person. Even a dragon. But you, you are so strong, and so vibrant, and so…alive. Every moment I’ve spent watching you take in everything I had to teach you and keep asking for more. Every moment I’ve spent watching you and Chase in the yard sparring.” A little grin flickered at the edge of his mouth. “Watching you move, with the sunlight glinting off your hair and skin. I didn’t know what to expect when we found you, but you’ve been so much more than I ever could have imagined.”
“And Chase and Galen?” I looked down. “You don’t think I’m a slu…”
He cut me off quickly. “Don’t even think that of yourself.” His finger slipped under my chin and lifted it. “You are the Shadow Queen, and you deserve everything, and everyone, you desire.”
I smiled. “Good. Because I desire you.”
He swallowed hard again, freckles glowing in a blush as red as his hair. “I… I…” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I desire you too.”
I slid my fingers through his hair and drew his face closer to mine. Our lips met, a little fiercer this time. His hands went to my waist, pulling me into his lap as our tongues danced. I could feel his desire, pressed firmly against my thigh. Gently, I ground against it, prompting a moan of desire from Cass. Encouraged, I traced my fingers along the back of his neck, then arched my nails into his shoulders. His arms wrapped tighter around me, his breath quickening. I was panting as well, caught up in his arms and his lips and the overwhelming desire flooding through me.
I pulled away from his grasp. He looked up at me with worried eyes, but the smile returned as I slung a leg around him and pulled my body tight against his groin. His eyes closed dreamily as I returned to our kiss, caressing him with my whole body. His fingers traced over my back in lazy circles, sending tingles through my body.
He was so different from Chase, so different from Galen. Galen was gentler than Chase, but both of them had definitely been the ones in control. Cass was letting me steer, and it was exhilarating in a whole different way. I felt powerful. I felt energized. I felt like a Shadow Queen.
I brought my fingers to the front of his shirt and began to work at the buttons. He gasped against my lips, then returned the favor by sliding his hands beneath my t-shirt and slipping it up over my head. I paused in my work to let him slide it off, then finished and tore his shirt back, pinning his arms behind him. His eyes widened. Mine narrowed in playful fierceness.
“You are now my captive.”
He grinned broadly. “Yes, my Queen.”
I blinked at that, then decided I liked it. A lot. With a wicked grin, I kissed him square in the center of the chest, then started a trail of lazy nibbling kisses down his stomach. There was a soft trail of cherry red hair starting at his navel leading down into the hem of his pants. I wanted to follow it. I kept one hand clasping his shirt, ensnaring his wrists, and worked at his fly with the other hand.
“You don’t have to…” he protested feebly.
“Oh yes I do,” I replied, intently focused on my task. He raised his hips, and I seized the waistband of his pants and hauled downward, taking his boxers with them.
I’d never found myself eye-to-penis before, but it was a sight to behold. Long, thick, and as deeply-colored as the blush on his face, with auburn curls at the base. For a moment, I was completely lost as to how to approach this strange beast, but instinct took over. Gently, I pressed my lips to the tip. Cass gasped loudly. I smiled, then began to kiss my way along the length of his cock. When I reached the base, I flicked out my tongue and slid it up along the underside. The soulful moan from Cass urged me onward. I began to toy with the shaft and tip with lips and tongue. Cass writhed, trying to free his hands from his shirt. I tightened my grip on it and made tut-tutting sounds against his shaft. He chuckled low and leaned back on his hands.
I drew the tip into my mouth, savoring the salty, tangy taste of his precome. A shiver went through Cass’s body. Cautiously, I drew more of him into my mouth, pulled back, then dove down for more. His hips bucked, and I began to work at his cock in earnest. Cass moaned louder. I felt myself growing wet at each sound he made, at each thrust of his hips. I devoured him eagerly, taking as much pleasure as I was giving.
“Sia…wait.”
I pulled back and looked up at him curiously.
“I need you. I want you.” His eyes were pleading. “May I have you?”
In silent answer, I slipped off my jeans and dampened panties. His smile was radiant in the rosy light of the dawn.
I trembled in the chill of the early morning. Suddenly, I thought of Kitty’s lectures on the topic and dove for my wallet. She’d always made sure I’d be ready for this day. I claimed the foil packet and fumbled with it for a moment before tearing it. Cass started to pull his hands free from his shirt. I shook a scolding finger at him, then placed the condom on the tip of his cock and slowly, teasingly rolled it down, caressing his shaft the entire way. His head lolled back, eyes closed in rapture.
This is it. I climbed into his lap, knees resting on the hood of the car, and positioned myself above him. I was wet, wetter than I’d ever been. My pussy glided against the head of his cock. He pressed his hips up, sliding his cock against my folds and teasing at my clit. It was my turn to gasp and shiver at the contact.
He gazed deep into my eyes. “My Queen,” he whispered. A powerful jolt rocketed down my spine straight into my core. I needed no further urging. Carefully, I positioned myself, then pressed my lips to his as I eased him into me.
The pain was fleeting, the pleasure overwhelming. He pressed his hips upward, slowly taking me with his entire length. My whimper of desire became a long, loud moan of ecstasy as wave after wave of pleasure ran through me. I took control once more, gripping his shoulders with my hands and slowly, carefully riding his cock up and down. Our tongues danced again, and we moaned into each other's mouths as I took him faster and faster, riding the wave of pleasure harder and deeper and with wild abandon. I wanted more. I took more. And he gave more, freely and eagerly.
I pulled my lips from his and buried my face in his neck, biting and kissing the tender flesh. He groaned with desire.
“Sia…my Queen…my god…” he gasped. The desire in his voice sent me rocketing over the edge at last. My back arched as a blinding wave of ecstasy tore through my body. I pressed my hips into his, plunging him deep into my core. He cried out, a feral cry of need, as he came deep inside me.
My arms wrapped tightly around his neck, my face buried in his shoulder. I felt his arms wrap around my waist, pulling me close.