Page 36 of Dragon Heir

“Nessie…” Pax reaches out and takes my hand. “I do like you.”

He draws me back to the bed, but I refuse to sit.

“Yeah, but you weren’t being weird because you cared about me. It was all because you knew I was the freaking heir.”

The thought makes me want to snort with laughter. Me. Not just a dragon, but royalty.

“Not only that,” he says. His familiar eyes are full of more depth than I’ve ever seen—more than he’s ever let me see.

“How can I believe that?” I ask. “How can I believe any of this is real? You’ve been lying to me since the day I was born.”

“I’ve been protecting you.”

“Yeah, because it’s your job!”

“Not because it’s my job,” he says, his voice rising to meet mine. “I’d protect you even if I didn’t have to. I want to protect you, Vynessa. I want to be near you, even if it’s all I can do.”

I swallow hard, my resolve melting at the earnestness in his words. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s lied to me all these years, though. “But it is, right?” I press. “You’re my royal guard or something official like that?”

“Damn it, Vynessa,” he says, jumping to his feet. “Would you stop being so stubborn for once in your life and believe me when I tell you that I’m not lying about this?”

Before I can react, he grabs my face between his hands and kisses me, hard, on the lips. I was pissed, but within seconds, I yield. There’s no choice. I don’t stand a chance. I’ve loved this boy since I can remember, and I’ve wanted this and dreamed about it for so long. I cling to him like the last bits of my sanity depend on it. Maybe I’ve been kidnapped by a crazy dragon lady, and maybe she is the queen. Maybe Pax isn’t my friend but my guard. But he’s here now, just like he’s always been, every day of my life. He’s always been there when I needed him, and this moment is no different.

Pax’s kiss is frantic, frenzied, burning with all the desire and frustration I’ve always felt, always hidden. My hands rise to his arms, my fingers digging into his muscles. He’s still the boy I’ve always known, even if he’s so much more than that too. And I want more than I’ve always had.

I step closer, closing the gap between our bodies, and wrap my arms around him. He steps back, walking me backwards a step, and we crash onto the bed together, him on top of me. Pax’s hands are all over me, pulling at my clothes, my hair, his teeth raking across my lip.

“I may be a member of your royal guard, but I hope I’m more than that to you,” he says into my shoulder, his chin scraping against my neck. His voice is rough and desperate. “I want to be everything to you.”

“You are,” I gasp, burying my hands in his hair and lifting my chin. “You always were.” It’s such a relief to say those words at last, to tell him how I’ve felt all the years we’ve been friends, years when I repressed it and wouldn’t admit it even to myself. Warmth floods through me, and I go weak with the release I feel at unburdening myself from the weight of that secret.

He pulls away for a second, his breaths coming heavy, his sea-green eyes fierce on mine. “You don’t get it, Nessie. In this world, I’m nothing compared to you. When I was five, I was given one mission—die protecting you. That’s all I am to these dragons. Disposable. A man like me, kissing you, touching you, the heir to the throne, it’s unheard of. It’s treason. There’s no one lower than me in their eyes and no one higher than you except—”

“Pax,” I cup his cheeks with my hands. “You know me better than anyone on earth. Would I care about any of that?”

“No. Not even a little bit.” Pax sighs, pressing his forehead to mine. “It doesn’t matter what world we’re in, I don’t deserve you, Nessie.”

His lips meet mine again, and he parts my thighs, pressing his body between them. I suck in a breath when I feel the hardness of his desire for me. My own desire flares hotter, and I wrap my legs around him, aching for him to fill me. We rub up and down, moaning into each other’s mouths.

Bracing his elbow on the bed, he plunges his fingers into my hair, his mouth angling for the hollow of my throat. “Vynessa, my queen,” he murmurs. “I want to do so much more than guard your bedchamber.”

“Then do more,” I whisper, pulling his face up to look in his churning eyes. “I’m yours. Do what you want with me.”

Chapter Fourteen

My hands slip down to Pax’s belt, and he obliges by leaning up as I fiddle with the hook. My gown is up over my waist, revealing lace panties underneath, the ones I put on thinking he’d be taking them off in a much different scenario at the end of the night. I loosen Pax’s pants and push them down until his cock springs free. He’s not wearing any underwear, and wow, its bigger than I thought it would be up close.

My breaths are coming quick, and I’m wondering how I’m going to get my panties off in this position when Pax rolls away from me with a groan. He flops onto the bed on his back, an arm flung over his eyes, his cock standing stiff and proud, begging to be licked.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up and raking my fingers through my tangled hair to get it out of my face, maybe clear the lusty thoughts from my brain. “What did I say?”

“You’re can never be mine,” Pax says, sounding resigned.

“Why not?” I ask in a teasing voice, rolling towards him and playing with the string tying the front of his shirt. “If I’m going to be queen, don’t I get to do anything I want?”

“I’m lowborn, Vynessa. The highest rank I’m ever going to be is your guard.”

“I’ll just make you my king.”