Page 41 of The Dragon and the Exiled
Thankfully, Euclid was equally greedy for the same thing, and had him spread open and slick in no time, and in the next breath was sliding into him.Dipak moaned, nails digging into his shoulders, head falling back, bared to Euclid's sharp teeth.Before he had to beg for it, Euclid started moving, fucking him slowly at first but with increasing fervor, until Dipak could only pant and gasp and moan Euclid's name, hold on for dear life as Euclid took him apart and put him back together.
He screamed as he came, and it took several minutes for his body to cool and his breathing to function properly.His body ached in the best way, and he didn't even mind he probably had more laundry to do now."Been far too quiet without you around, dragon."
Euclid smiled as he settled along his side, kissing his chest, mindful of the nipples he'd left sore and swollen."I love waking up fully rested, knowing all was tended while I slept, and you'll be here to greet me.I have always been fine on my own, but I like this infinitely better.Did I miss anything important?"
"The royal steward came to offer me the position of king," Dipak said.
"That does not surprise me at all.What did you tell him?"
"No, obviously, but that's not the interesting part."
Euclid propped himself up to better see him."What do you mean?"
"He said he knew I'd say no the moment he saw me because he could tell I was dragonbound.He said to tell you, 'Mircea of the Faded Star Clan extends you greetings of peace and honors your boundaries.'Before that he also made some comment about how only two frost dragons would leave the Sacred Lands to rule quietly over a forest?It was all very strange, and he seemed to take particular delight in not telling me anything.Said he'd come visit when everything quieted down, by the way."
Snorting in amusement, Euclid flopped down to lie on his back."I look forward to meeting him.As to what he is, and his teasingly cagey behavior…Vampires as a whole tend toward mischief, though the flavor and severity of that mischief can vary widely."
"Vampire.I've killed vampires before.They were nothing like him."
"What you know as vampires are actually ghouls.Humans latched onto the wrong term somewhere along the way, and vampires are content to keep it that way.True vampires generally go about the world unnoticed unless you know to look for them.They mostly live in secret, carefully hidden enclaves around the world.Curious that one has become a royal steward; that is generally more attention than they care to draw upon themselves.Faded Star is one of the oldest clans, located on a completely different continent."
"Interesting."Dipak rolled over and shifted so he could be the one sprawling across Euclid."I assume 'dragonbound' is just his way of saying I'm your mate."
"Essentially.Bound is something of an honorific in vampire culture.Most often it equates to mate, spouse, and so forth, but it can apply to other arrangements.Their leader is called the Nightbound, for example.Good to know we have an ally in the royal palace.What a shame we didn't know it sooner, but that is the risk you take choosing to live so isolated.I knew that when I made the decision."
Dipak smiled and kissed him."We know now.Hungry, dragon?"
"Yes, extremely.You stay here and rest."
"I can help."
"You've helped enough, hunter.I'm fully restored, and it's my turn to look after you for a bit."He winked."I also owe you for that delightful surprise.Who did the work?"
"Minali," Dipak replied, and recounted the whole embarrassing venture."She said something about a chain to go between them."
Euclid's eyes burned with hot promise."Oh, yes.I have a few that would suit, and hoops with jewels, like I suggested before.All for me to admire."
"Later, dragon, I'm used up for now," Dipak said with a moan."You promised me food."
"I did, and I'll go get it now.You stay right there, I mean it."
"As you wish," Dipak replied, because he certainly never minded being fussed over.Euclid had figured that out pretty quickly.
He'd almost started to doze off again when Euclid returned with a large tray filled with proper food: soup, bread, cheese, pickles, olives, and more.He arranged it all at the table across the room, got Dipak settled, then came back with a pitcher of wine and finished the tea he'd started on the stove.
"So how did Mircea know it must be you here in the forest?"Dipak asked."That was honestly the part that confused me the most, other than figuring out what he is."
"Frost dragons are few.My family is one of just three left, though our families are relatively large by dragon metrics.Only a handful of us ever left the Sacred Lands, what we call the territory where dragons live."
"You said once it would be exceedingly difficult for you to go back, even with your shortcuts."
"Yes, difficult is putting it mildly," Euclid said softly, looking briefly sad."My homeland is up in the sky.Powerful magic obscures it from most sight and keeps it afloat.Leaving is easy, all you have to do is go down.Not much magic is required to do that.To gouphowever, is something else entirely.Even my magic reserves would deplete before I could finish the journey, especially since part of its defenses is making it hard to get to.It would take years of preparation, and even then, success would be far from guaranteed."
Dipak didn't even know what to do with 'up in the sky' and so high up that going back was nigh impossible.
Euclid smiled."You need not worry about me.I was not young when I made the choice to leave, and I knew it would be a one-way trip.Thatis why Lord Mircea knew it must be me here.Plenty of dragons live across the continent, as evidenced by our rather bleak history of being hunted and murdered—"
Dipak winced.
