Welcome back to Holinite Village for the conclusion of Yuletide Hearths! If you're a new reader, the story begins in the fall with All Hallows' Eve Masquerade so catch up and then rejoin us!
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Staring at Pryanna's naked body, panting post-orgasm on the slick rocks by the stream, Slyvern felt his control weaken even more. She had finally let her guard down, let him taste her, and now she was primed for him, even eager from the hunger that still raged in her eyes.
He could fuck her, right out in the open, sate the madness that had taken him over. Her need was there in the bond that had gotten him into this mess in the first place. She didn't care where she was. She only wanted him.
And still, he couldn't do it because also in those human eyes was vulnerability.
She deserved the comfort of a bed, the cover of darkness, and the hands of someone in more control that he was at the moment, so he hoisted himself out of the water and gently pulled her up over the rocks.
Hovering over her, he took her mouth in a gentle kiss and called upon the fires inside him. With the heat of his breath, he dried her easily enough, starting from the top of her head and moving down her body.
She gasped and shuddered, and when he was done, he handed her the dress she'd discarded. If he hadn't known that she'd question her actions today, he'd take her back to the cave stark naked, but he wanted to give her time, so he watched as she dress, and then he gathered her in his arms and called on his power.
When the purple smoke cleared, they were back in his lair. He'd arrived dressed although his hard cock was an uncomfortable fit in his pants. It had cost him to conjure the clothes, but he wanted her to feel more at ease. With a flick of his wrist, he conjured a fire in the hearth. The lair didn't need any more warmth, but she would find it a comfort, and the light would help clear her mind.
Still, her hunger didn't fade, but she wrapped her arms around herself and took a step back. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"Are you hungry?" He asked, and when her eyes widened, he chuckled. "For food, Pryanna. Are you hungry for food?"
Irritation raked across the bond, and she pushed her hair out of the way. "Yes," she said finally. "But I can make my own dinner. It's getting dark. You'll be leaving soon, aren't you?"
"Not tonight." He didn't like not flying over his territory when it got dark, but tonight, he would not leave her. Jealousy left a bitter taste in his mouth, and while he knew she would not turn to another, he could not have another man in here while she felt like this.
Nor could he leave her alone.
"Oh."
Was that disappointment? Turning, he raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to leave?"
"To be honest, it's a little easier for me to think when you're not here."
He knew the feeling. "Tell me what you're thinking, and I will make us some dinner."
"You cook?"
"Did you think I only bring women here to feed me? I spend many years in isolation, Pryanna, and I don't just eat in my dragon form. I let you cook because you are full of nervous energy and need something to do. Luckily for both of us, you are a good cook, but tonight I will prepare a meal. Your hands are not all that steady at the moment."
"You sound a little too satisfied about that," she said darkly and sat in the chair as she watched him. Immediately, she shifted, crossing one leg and then switching.
That nervous energy was now sexual energy.
"I won't apologize for finding pleasure in knowing that you want me."
There was a beat of silence as he started gathering ingredients. She liked vegetables, so he grabbed some from the basket he'd made for her and began chopping. Would she like a garden? Would a garden survive in the mountain conditions? He could build her glass structure and warm the earth for her. Maybe that would make her happy.
"Rubina says that I should not waste the opportunity that I have here," she said finally. "You can bring me pleasure, and I should take advantage of it."
For the first time ever, Slyvern was inclined to forgive Rubina of her past treachery. "Is that what you want from me? Pleasure?"
"That is all that you're offering, is it not?"
The sharpness in her voice caught his attention. Did she want more from him? Pleasure was all he had to offer for the women, but he'd never mated with one before. Many offered their hearts, but he would never accept it because he could not give his in return.
It hadn't occurred to him that Pryanna would want more. She clung to her hatred of him.
"Yes. That is all that I am offering." The knife hit the cutting board a little too hard, and he inhaled sharply.
He wanted more from her. He wanted not just her body but her heart as well. It was selfish for he knew, even with the bond, he could not offer her the same.
"If I am to be here until the snow thaws, alone, then I should take pleasure where I can." She gifted him with a rare smile. "She says you are very good."
Was that just a hint of jealousy? "I brought you back here because I did not want our first time to be out in the open but also to give you time to think."
"I have already had plenty of time to think, and I have made up my mind. If there is anyone here who seems to be hesitant, it is you." Cocking her head, she studied him. "I wonder why that is. Do you not find me sexually attractive?"
The woman was going to drive him mad. Putting down the knife, he wiped his hands with the towel on the counter and stalked toward her. Pryanna sucked in her lower lip and watched him uncertainly as he reached down, hauled her up, and crushed her against the wall.
He didn't kiss her. He didn't touch her the way he wanted to. Instead, he waited until her legs wrapped around him, and then he pressed his cock against her.
"This should be proof enough of my desire," he growled. "And this should be the last time you question it. I will give you a choice. If you kiss me now, I will take you to that bed and fuck you until you scream my name. If you do not, I will put you back down, make dinner, and you can think, because once I am inside you, you are mine, Pryanna."
"Wait, are you saying that if you...if we...that you won't let me go in the spring?"
No. His dragon all but roared it, but Slyvern gritted his teeth. "I will not break my word to you, but while you are here, you will submit to my will. I will not ask you to do anything that you are not comfortable with, but whether it is in bed or out of it, you will do as I say."
He didn't know why he was even giving her an option except that he wanted her to realize what it meant to be in his bed.
It had never meant so much with anyone before. He marked his women so he could track them, bedded them until he was sated and more in control of his dragon, and then released them elsewhere, muddling their memories of him.
But her, he didn't want to let go. He didn't want to remove the mark. He knew that his dragon would not tire of her, but he'd already given her his word. The best he could hope for right now was that she might change her mind and stay.
Would she? Would she stay if she knew that the man she spent the rest of her life with could never love her like she wanted?
Like she deserved?
Slowly, she reached up and framed her face. "You look sad," she whispered. "You want me. I can feel it, but you don't want to want me."
"You'll want more than I can give," he said gruffly.
"I am a practical woman. I don't hope for something I know to be impossible."
Then, she leaned forward and kissed him.
It wasn't just boldness. Pryanna had never thought herself a bold women. In fact, she barely recognized the woman who threw herself at the dragon god in the heated pools or spread her legs for him out in the open on the rocks at the shore line. She didn't recognize the woman who so openly talked about the hunger inside her.
She didn't recognize the woman who rubbed herself against Slyvern's hard cock and ached for him as she kissed him desperately. But it was still her, and it felt right.
It felt like she was exactly where she needed to be.
Slyvern growled and gripped her thighs. The fabric of her dress was trapped between them and kept him from surging inside her, and for a moment, she wondered if he would just rip it, but instead, he released her, whirled her around, and pulled her back up against him.
Slowly, his hands roamed down her body, cupping her breasts, rubbing her nipples through the thin fabric, caressing her abdomen, and then moving lower.
Closing her eyes, she moaned and fisted her hands together as her heart hammered in her chest. He would not abandon her to her hunger again. This much, she knew.
His hands moved back up her sides and up to her neck. When he gathered her hair and pushed it to the side, she immediately cocked her head and offered her neck. Slyvern brushed his lips along her sensitive skin, dotted his tongue along the column, and then suckled.
Her toes curled.
Then, in a burst of violence, he tore her dress in half, from the neck down, and shoved it down her body. Instinct had her scrambling to cover herself, but he pinned her wrists in front of her with one hand and allowed the other to roam her body.
"Mine now," he said hotly. "I will look at you and touch you. Taste you and fuck you. You unravel me, Pryanna, and I will not stop until you feel the same."
Then, his hands were between her legs, probing her, and his teeth skimmed along her neck. The nipping was playful, but the desperation in which he dragged his fingers along her clit, forcing pleasure on her, was anything but. He was at odds with himself, and it was wreaking havoc on her senses.
When the orgasm hit her, hard and blinding, her knees buckled, and he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down gently and then immediately climbed over her, trapped her legs between his muscled calves and staring down at her with eyes that were tinged in silver.
The dragon.
"I won't hurt you," he whispered hoarsely. "But you cannot touch me right now."
