Firebreather 2: A Royal Continuum (16 page)

"Tanner? You'll stay with Ava in my chamber?"

"Your chamber?" Ava eyed Matthias with suspicion. "Why can't I have my own room?"

"You will, love. But Shino won't think of intruding in my personal space, even if he knows you're back."

"Oh." She deflated and, with a nod, grabbed Tanner's hand.

He squeezed it, but couldn't stop worrying about Matthias. The three of them left the dirty truck by the side, private entrance into the stronghold. An actual castle, Dracon Mount had been built over five hundred years ago and stood as a testament to the Dracon that it had never fallen.

Buried deep in the mountains of Asheville, the castle protected the Dracon from invaders, and gave many of them a sense of community living together within the stone walls. Matthias bypassed the updated security guarding the outer door, and once inside, he reset the code. They walked through the darkness using their Dracon sight, and saw enough to make their way up several flights of stairs into the easternmost turret of the keep itself.

The estate spanned nearly sixty acres of space, a rock wall surrounding an interior of gardens, hothouses and cottages in which many Dracon lived and worked. The central keep belonged to the royal family, as well as their personal retainers and business personnel who worked closely with Ferin, the king.

Tanner had used the private, royal entrance into the castle once before, but he'd never entered the royal family's wing. He'd dealt with Lucas in the central offices on the main level of the keep. Now, however, he stared in awe, along with Ava, at the polished marble floors leading toward Matthias's room.

"It's a bit much, I know." Matthias apologized, and Tanner and Ava glanced at each other, savoring this small show of humility. "But it was done way before we came into power. Personally, I'd rather have hardwood or carpet than cold marble."

They passed a few Dracon, all of whom gave the three of them puzzled greetings. But Matthias only waved and continued walking hurriedly toward his room. They reached a large oak door that Matthias pushed through and closed behind them.

Upon entering, Tanner froze at sight of the largest bed he'd ever seen. "Holy shit, that's a monster."

Matthias flopped down into it with a tired sigh. "Man, I missed my pillows."

Ava and Tanner looked around, and Tanner didn't know why he felt so much comfort in the room. It looked nothing like his own spartan accommodations, yet the hominess of the space could not be denied.

The mammoth bed was surrounded by a mahogany armoire and dresser, and two mismatched end-tables that should have looked out of place but didn't. Large oriental rugs covered the floors, leaving minor portions of the white marble floor visible. On the walls, medieval paintings of dragons and knights covered sections of rock, reminding Tanner that they did indeed stand inside an honest-to-God castle. The lone window in the room was shuttered, covered by thick wood and draped with a velvet swag that fit the rest of the décor. Warm yet masculine, and he noted Ava's obvious approval as well.

"Gee, Matthias. I hadn't realized you were such a neat freak." Ava wiped a finger over his dresser that came away clean, bypassing the stack of books and magazines that seemed the only personal touch to the otherwise pristine room.

"Ah, one of the women comes through once a week to clean."

"Only to 'clean,' hmm?" Ava asked airily. Tanner could see she was only teasing, and was therefore stunned when Matthias snarled and jumped out of the bed to glare down at Ava.

"Just to clean, yes. I haven't fucked the hoards of women you think I have."

Ava blinked up at him and turned helplessly to Tanner.

"Matthias, calm down. She was just joking."

The look Matthias turned on him made Tanner want to take a step back. "Oh? Do you think it's funny? Because I don't." He paced, rubbing his temples as he confused the hell out of both Tanner and Ava.

"Matthias?" Ava walked to Tanner and linked hands, as if needing his support.

Matthias stared at their connection, grimaced and strode toward the door. "I have to see Ferin. I'll be back soon. Please wait for me here, and I'll have something to eat brought up. Just...just wait for me, okay?" He looked to Tanner for affirmation, and Tanner nodded readily, wanting to ease Matthias's odd state.

With a nod, the prince left them.

"What do you think that was all about?" Ava asked him, staring with wide eyes that caught at his heart. She looked so innocent, and so incredibly beautiful.
And Matthias wanted her for his own before you stole her from him.
Had he been so preoccupied with his feelings he'd missed what was right in front of him?

Tanner felt sick and sat in a plush chair, taking Ava with him. He settled her into his lap and stared into her eyes, wondering what to do. "I think I know what's eating at Matthias."

"Well? Spill it." She chewed on her lip, a sure sign she was worried.

"He, ah..." Matthias had asked for his help in confidence. But now that Tanner was mated, he had a duty to share with Ava, didn't he? "Matthias wanted my help with you."

"How so?"

"He wanted me to... Well, it's like this." He flushed, knowing he probably wouldn't say this the right way.

"Just spit it out, Tanner." Their week together had brought Ava and Tanner to a closeness he'd never had with anyone else. And he loved the fact that she said what was on her mind.

"He wanted me to fuck you, to make you fall in love with me."

She blinked, astonished.

"Except
I
fell further in love with
you.
" His confession jolted a smile out of her. "But he wanted you to fall for me, so that I could convince you to look at him the same way."

"That doesn't make sense." She studied him with a wondering expression. "He wanted you to make me fall in love with you, to gain my trust so I'd somehow fall in love with him?"

"Well, uh, yeah." Tanner agreed with her. "It does sound stupid, but it made sense at the time."

Ava shook her head and muttered, "That sneak."

"What?"

"He told
me
to help him with
you.
Since he figured you planned on leaving as soon as we returned to Dracon Mount, he wanted me to convince you to stay with him."

Tanner couldn't understand what he was hearing. "He wanted me? As in, wanted me like a lover?"

"I don't know why that surprises you. I saw you two together, and you can't deny you desire him."

Tanner stared, wanting to deny her yet was unable to do so. Instead, he frowned at her. "It doesn't bother you that I might want to fuck him?"

"No."

"Yeah, well, it hasn't bothered me that you've been having sex with him either. But we're mated."

Ava's nostrils flared, as if catching the scent of something very wrong. "You know, that's been bothering me, too. All week, we've been loving one another, all of us together. And it all felt right. Anyone else looking at you or Matthias made me angry, and I'll admit, jealous. Like that trampy waitress at the Smithfield Diner." She glared.

"And that truck driver and his buddies off the last exit in Tennessee." He'd knocked two of them into unconsciousness before the others had seen the wisdom in a hasty retreat.

Ava gasped, her mouth open in sudden shock.

Tanner stared into her wide, black eyes. "Ava? What's wrong,
lefne
? You okay?"

"That underhanded, green-scaled weasel."

"Huh?"

"We're mated, Tanner." Anger and laughter mixed in her gaze. "That princely bastard mated
with
us right under our noses."

"But--but that's impossible."

"Apparently not."

"I'm mated with you and
Matthias
?" Tanner's mind boggled at the thought. But as he pondered her words, the odd incidents that had been bothering him this past week all came to resolving halt. The lack of possessiveness when it came to Matthias and Ava. His emotions felt the way he'd expect Matthias to feel about things, most notably their return to Dracon Mount. The ever-present need to touch Matthias, not just as friends, but more, as lovers.

"He's a prince," Tanner said stupidly, still coming to terms with what she'd said.

The rage that had been brewing in Ava waned, to be replaced by soft understanding. "And he's too good for us, hmm?"

"Not for you. For me, hell yeah."

Ava stared at him, hard. "So he's too good for you, but not for me? Then what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, if you're so below me, what am I doing mated to you? I guess I'm not good enough for the prince either, right?"

"No, no." He shoved his hands through his hair, wondering how the hell they'd gotten off track. "I'm not sure where you're coming up with this shit,
lefne.
"

"I'll tell you where I'm getting it,
lefne.
" She shoved the endearment right back in his face. "It pisses me off when you put yourself down. You might not be
a
prince, but you're
my
prince." Her lips quirked. "Mine and Matthias's."

"No, I'm not--"

"Oh, can it, Tanner. Matthias tried to convince me to be gentle with you. To lure you with soft words and my tender voice. Bullshit. You need some tough love, Dracon. And you're getting it from me."

Tanner blinked at the sudden change in his mate. Her eyes gleamed as the dragon within shone brightly, her fierce devotion making him feel both small and incredibly proud to call her his own.

"You belong to me, Tanner. And now, apparently, you belong to Matthias. But we're all the same. We were all born to Dracon, and I'm not discounting your mother," she added, reminding him that she was aware of his birth. "None of us chose our parents. To belittle our feelings because your mother wasn't Dracon is ridiculous."

When she put it like that he sounded foolish. But the reality of the situation--

"I don't have the same prejudices that others do, Tanner." She cupped his jaw, and her hand felt like heaven. "And neither does Matthias. He loves you, and he wants you. And the sneaky prince actually tricked us both into giving him what he wanted. Each other."

Tanner realized she spoke the truth. "That son of a bitch."

Before he could shoot to his feet, Ava tightened her arms around his neck and kissed him breathless. "Do you really mind?"

"Mind?" He couldn't think for wanting to shove deeply inside her.

She chuckled. "Mind loving me?"

"Of course not!"

"Then it's Matthias you're unsure of? I can tell you this, Tanner. He really does love you." She kissed him again, plunging her tongue into his ear. "And I have a feeling he's going to take great pleasure in taking your ass, too, the same way he took mine."

He shuddered, the thought making him even harder. Groaning, he spread Ava's thighs wide and toyed with the snap of her jeans, inching his hand under the band of her pants. "You like that, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah." She sighed when he managed to shove a finger beneath her panties and between her thighs. "God, I love how you touch me. And I love watching you, especially when you and Matthias go at it. You're so incredibly sexy."

He began fucking her with his fingers, quickening his hand over her tight clit.

"I can't wait until he spreads your ass and sinks deep." She moaned, gripping him with her pussy.

"Ava." He brought his other hand to her breast and squeezed her nipple. "Bad Dracon."

"Don't you mean naughty Dracon?" She squirmed over his hand, and when he twisted his fingers over her clit and plunged them deeper, she cried out, coming in a rush.

"No, I mean bad," he said thickly, removing his hand. He lifted her up as if she weighed nothing and brought her jeans and underwear down to her knees. Turning her over his lap, he palmed her ass, taken by her smooth, soft skin. "And bad girls get spanked."

She flushed, and desire pooled in his groin. God, he wanted to come in her mouth. And the thought made him think of his times with Matthias, when the handsome prince had swallowed all of him...with caring dedication.
With love.

The truth wasn't as hard to accept as Tanner would have thought, and suddenly he felt the future as one limitless possibility, where happiness hovered just in reach. If only he were brave enough to grab for it.

"Think he'll mind if I fuck his ass first?" Tanner smiled at the thought.

"That would be fitting, wouldn't it? And something he's not expecting."

"Payback."

She nodded, groaning when he slapped her ass. "Payback," she whispered as he struck her again and again, lighter and softer, the love marks making her incredibly hot. She couldn't help sharing her arousal with him, and he took her desire as his due.

Not able to wait any longer, Tanner removed her from his lap and settled her on the floor between his legs. He hurried to free his engorged cock, shoving his jeans out of the way. Fisting a hand in her hair, he stared into her hungry eyes. "Put your mouth over me and swallow my cum,
lefne.
" His voice grew raspy. "Love me."

"I will if you tell me what
lefne
really means."

"
Lefne
, Dracon's heart. It's one of the only good things I remember about my parents, something my mother said my dad called her before she had me and he left."

She grabbed his shaft and kissed him. "
Lefne.
You're my heart, Tanner, my
mate.
And I'll never leave you. I love you." She lowered her lips, taking all of him with that selflessness that was all Ava.

It wasn't long before he was crying out her name and shooting down her throat. She swallowed him, sucking and licking his cock clean. Spent, he could only sit back, idly petting her hair.

Ava glanced up at him, love in her gaze. "You and me, we're good, aren't we?"

Tanner sighed with contentedness. "The best."

"But still, it's like we're missing something. Someone."

Tanner knew what she was talking about. Since Matthias had closed up on them, the intensity of their passion and joy just wasn't the same. Still great, but not as explosive, not as...right.

"Yes." The admission felt ripped from his soul, but he meant it.