Dragon: Allie's War Book Nine (25 page)

I gave an incredulous snort. “It’s not?”

He met my gaze, his eyes a touch colder. “No, it’s not. Not unless she’s your lover. Then it’s your business…otherwise, stay the fuck out of it.”

I frowned, less bothered by his tone than lost somewhere in the nuances of seer logic. I knew they had different rules when it came to this kind of thing. It scared me that I almost understood what he’d just said, even though it didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

“It makes perfect sense,” Revik muttered.

“Punching one of your oldest friends?” I said, exasperated.

I don’t want to talk about this here,
he sent, his thoughts warning.

Did you have to hit her?
I sent back.
Seriously?

“Allie, I don’t want to talk about it,” he growled. When others looked over at his tone, he switched back to my mind.
She kissed my fucking wife. She grabbed my wife’s ass. She would have fucked my wife, if my wife had consented. She didn’t deny it. Nor did she dispute my right to lodge a strong fucking complaint as a result…

I let out another snort.
Nice euphemism.

It’s not your business,
Revik sent, sharper.
I mean it, Allie. Stay out of it.

Thinking about that, I nodded slowly.

I did understand, when all was said and done.

Revik considered Chandre a friend. She’d crossed a line with him. In that respect, it really wasn’t anything to do with me. I couldn’t decide if it reassured me or bothered me that he didn’t treat her any differently than he would have treated a male who’d made a pass at me.

Either way, I could respect what he was telling me, in terms of the two of them. He was right; that end of it was a friendship thing.

So I nodded, softening my light. Shifting my weight, I snuggled my back into his chest.

All right. None of my business. Got it.

I didn’t say anything more for awhile. I just leaned there, feeding him light and waiting for him to get over it. Still holding my shoulder, he gradually relaxed.

I felt it take him a few tries to let it go.

When I glanced up next, his eyes were glowing again. That heat had returned to his expression, but I saw and felt more possessiveness in it that time. When I didn’t look away, he dropped his lips to my ear, that time speaking in a bare murmur so we wouldn’t be overheard.

“I want veto power,” he said.

I felt my chest clench, but I only nodded, once.

“Yes,” I murmured back. “…Of course.”

“Good,” he said. He nuzzled my face. I felt a denser coil of pain leave his light, not all of it separation pain. His voice remained low. “Jorag. Surli. Balidor.”

“All ‘no’ I take it?” I murmured.

Yes. Hard no.

I nodded, barely perceptible.

“…No on Chan now, too.”

I sent him a pulse of warmth, rolling my eyes a little.

He seemed to be thinking. A harder stab of pain left his light. “You sleep with Jaden and I’ll fucking kill him,” he said, softer.

I flinched, looking up.

His jaw only hardened.

“Zero promises, Alyson. Zero…I might even do it in front of you.”

I started to answer, but his fingers exuded a warning pulse.

I felt reassurance there, what might have been an apology.

He didn’t retract the threat, though…and I honestly couldn’t decide if his words had been theatrics, meant for ears other than mine, or if he really meant them. I was still turning that over in my mind when he spoke again, pressing his mouth to my ear.

“What if I picked the person?” he said, a bare murmur. “Would you go with who I picked? Would you trust me to do it for the right reasons?”

I looked up, startled. I honestly couldn’t tell if he was serious about that, either.

Once I met his gaze, however, I knew he was.

“How would I even know?” I said, as soft as him. “Or are you going to tell me?”

“You’ll know,” he said.

I frowned slightly, but didn’t argue.

I felt him watching me minutely as I turned over his words.

Then I nodded, once. “Yes.”

Relief expanded off him. “Really?”

“Yes.”

The pain coming off him worsened exponentially. I felt something else there too, what might have trepidation…or maybe guilt…or maybe it was more jealousy. I honestly couldn’t tell if any of that was meant for me, either.

I was still trying to decide when he lowered his mouth to my neck.

That time he bit me…hard.

Hard enough to break the skin, and to make me gasp, in surprise as much as anything. He was kissing me then, sucking on my skin with his tongue and lips. I closed my eyes, unable to move as he wrapped his fingers around my face and the back of my head, tugging my head sideways so he had more access to my neck. He pressed against me as he did it, his light sensual once more, pulling on me so hard I lost control over mine. I leaned my face into his chest, fighting to breathe as he massaged my thigh, still kissing my neck.

A few minutes later, he pressed his face against mine, still caressing my hair and jaw with the hand that held both.

“I need this,” he murmured against my neck. “Allie…I need this. Can we go over by the pool? Or do you want to stay here?”

I felt my face tighten. I could feel enough to know it was some combination of nerves and desire, adrenaline mixed with pain, worsening that sick feeling in my gut.

I needed this, too. So badly I couldn’t think straight anymore.

We could talk about the rest of it later. Or not.

I turned my head, gazing at the lit swimming pool.

Someone must have cleaned that out, too. It looked beyond inviting, for more reasons than one. Golden lights shone from under the blue water. The edge of the pool itself was surrounded by small, flickering torches in and among the taller palm trees. Even with seers talking around us, I could hear the soothing sounds of a waterfall from the elevated platform that housed a ten-person hot tub. We were still above it where we sat, so I could see the steam rising from the bubbles, dancing across the red and orange lit water in faint, smoke-like curls.

They’d really gone all out for this. I wondered if that was Revik, too.

“Let’s go over there,” I said.

My voice came out gruff.

At his silence I glanced up.

I caught him staring at my face. His eyes shone brighter as I returned his look and I heard and felt a few of the others murmuring, staring at his eyes. I could tell some of them liked it and it unnerved others, but I almost didn’t care.

Well, I did care. Mostly because I could feel some of them getting turned on. I felt some of them wanting him already, including that Mara chick, who I was about to punch in the face.

He blew warmth at me, reassurance.

His fingers traced my jaw, then continued to glide higher, over my skin and lips. He did it softly, sensually…almost lazily. That tension continued to ratchet up in his light even as he did it, until I could scarcely breathe.

I honestly don’t know who kissed who.

I know I couldn’t see straight not long after we started. I found myself curling my arms around his neck what felt like a heartbeat later, sitting astride his lap, gripping his hair with both of my hands. He let out a low sound when I slid closer to him, breaking off the kiss. When his light opened more I raised my head to look down at him.

He was fighting to breathe, staring up at me, his eyes a thousand shimmering green crystals, live wires running in the tiny lines making up his irises.

Gods, he was beautiful.

The next thing I knew, he had me pinned to the cushions by the table.

We kissed harder that time. I tried not to think about how long it had been since we’d even just kissed, but I could feel myself aware of it. The time. Too much time. Too many times, really. I could feel his awareness of it too, even as I fought to control my light.

I think I forgot everyone else until we’d been kissing a few minutes longer. Or maybe a lot of minutes longer. Revik had always been someone who liked to kiss…so was I. We’d joked about mutual oral fetishes more than once. Now it felt like it had been so long we were already acting light-drunk. Or sex-drunk…or kissing-drunk, maybe.

He was the one to slow things down, I know that.

He started using his light more, along with his lips and tongue.

At one point I realized I was reacting to other lights getting too close to ours, especially to his. Too close by a lot maybe, although I couldn’t think about it rationally enough to know if I was overreacting.

I looked up at Revik. I was pretty sure it must have been me who opened the front of his shirt although I couldn’t remember doing that, either…and he had a hand under my dress, wrapped around my ass, but otherwise we were still more or less clothed. He pressed his lower body against mine as I thought it, watching my eyes react.

When I gripped his hair tighter, he lowered his mouth obediently.

We were kissing again before I could remember what distracted me.

I tried to remember what mattered about the rest of the room. Details flitted through my mind, questions. Were the others just watching us, or were they back to their conversations? Were any of them having sex already?

Revik let out a low groan at the question, tugging harder on my hair.

More urgent things lived there, too, but quieter.

Was Tarsi still shielding us? Would she be able to shield Revik enough if one of us lost control? Would we blow it all, just because we couldn’t handle being apart?

“Shut up, Allie…” he groaned, gripping my hair tighter.

We kissed again, and the questions faded, even as he sank his body more heavily into mine.

That anxiety lingered in the background of my light, though.

Revik raised himself off me, that time with a heavier groan. He was unbuckling his belt then, one-handed, leaning his shoulder into mine when he fell forward, losing his balance. He didn’t speak but I felt so much asking and pulling on his light I found myself responding as if he had. I pushed his hands out of the way then, and finished undoing his belt and pants. He groaned again as I did it, pressing into me, and that time I definitely felt flares of heat off of other seers around the nearest table. Some of them were familiar enough with Revik’s light that I gritted my teeth, fighting not to react.

I felt that female Mara again and my possessiveness grew almost homicidal.

Even as I lay there, trying to get my light under control, Revik sat up, more or less naked now, and I felt those reactions spark higher, especially in those sitting near enough to get a good look at him. He was fully extended, which didn’t surprise me, but when he put my hand back on him, I realized he was past the point where I could probably get him to retract.

I sent him a flicker of images instead and he groaned.

“No,” he said, his voice a groan again. He shook his head. “No…I don’t want that.”

He looked out over the table, scanning faces.

I didn’t feel desire on him aimed at anyone else, but I tensed anyway. I was gripping his arms then, pulling him back to me, trying to get his eyes back on me alone.

It’s all right, Allie…this is for you…
he murmured.
This is for you…

There was another pause while he looked around the table. Feeling some of them react to his stare, I felt that possessiveness worsen in my light.

Revik…stop it. Please…

Torek,
he sent. He looked down at me.
Are you okay with Torek? Or Raddi…you told me once you thought he was attractive…

Am I okay with them?
I asked, alarmed. My mind slid back to our previous conversation, but he’d never ask me about that inside the Barrier, no matter who shielded us. Thinking about what he probably did mean, I wondered if Revik was really suggesting what I thought he was suggesting.
Okay with them for what?
I sent.