Why was he talking about honey when his tongue belonged down my throat?
Dante rested his face in the crook of my neck as his powerful arms pulled me tighter to him. My hands slid lower down his back until I could slip my fingers underneath that damn shirt, gasping at the reward of warm skin. I shivered as he ran his lips against the bite mark. “Alexis,” he called.
“Yes?”
“I need you to knock me out.”
“Why would I stop this?”
“Damn voyeur,” he growled. Icy wind frazzled my senses when he fell back, throwing an arm over his eyes. Something twitched, and I looked down to see proof of his arousal. Panting, I slid my hand down his body, running my fingers over the ridges of his abs. When I traveled lower, his hands shot out to grab my wrist. He lifted his arm to regard me with a calm expression, mismatched from the feral want in his eyes. Gently he brought my hand to his face and pulled my fingers away to kiss my palm. “Cherry, go back to the blanket. Right now.” The command in his voice brokered no room for argument.
But fuck, I love to argue. “I’d rather stay here with you.”
He rubbed my ass gently, before smacking it. “This must be penance for some past crime I’ve committed.” With a grunt, he lifted himself up and sat on the opposite end of the fire.
Why am I sweating?My mind felt hazy and euphoric. The stress of the day melted away as my entire body relaxed. If this resulted from mixing purple honey and dragon magic, then we’d need to figure out a way to bottle this stuff and share it with the world. “Aren’t we supposed to be bonding on this trip? Kissing by a campfire seems like the perfect idea to me.”
Dante’s head fell into his hand. When he spoke, his voice sounded hoarse. “Honey badger, take a step further and I’ll remember this when I have you underneath me and completely sober.”
“I still think your clothes should answer for their crimes, but fine,” I relented, and returned next to Alexis on the blanket.
“What crimes have my clothes committed, Cherry?”
“Existing. Obviously.”
He laughed, but made no move to undress. “Just stay on your side of the damn fire.”
Sweat beaded my brow, and I fanned myself. A bout of dizziness struck me and the world spun. My back hit the blanket with a soft thud. I blinked and tried to focus on the fluffy clouds in the sky, but they too were swirling.
Alexis floated closer, the glint of her metal causing me to squint. “Um… Cherry?” She said something else, but her voice was too far away. As my vision grew blurrier, I saw a blob of gray and black rush over to me, before my mind drifted to sleep.
An ocean of blue stretched out beneath me. Just like in my dream before, the waves were calm. Yet the serenity did nothing to soothe the growing animalistic fear nipping at the edge of my consciousness.
There was something in the water.
Chapter 13
Dante
“I’m doing everything wrong,” I said, running a hand through my hair.
The mirror’s image flickered as Fallon flipped through the pages of his book, his brow furrowed in concentration. “There’s nothing in here that says Kiboon honey can be harmful. Though I suppose there is no record of humans trying it.” He flipped the book closed and crossed his arms. “Where did you even get that stuff? I thought they were one of the species that went extinct after Myva banished us. Insects aren’t exactly made for the cold.”
“My mother was obsessed with medical research. When it looked like we were going to lose the war against the lich, she gathered a colony of bees and hid them away in her horde.” Along with every other useful plant she could get her hands on. Her apothecary had been damn near a jungle by the time Volsog’s gate had finally sealed.
Exhaustion weighed heavy on my shoulders. I rubbed at my tired eyes and tried to stay focused. Seeing my mate passed out on the beach chased away any thought of sleeping. Instead, I hauled her all the way to Kirkwall in search of a healer. Yet, even after forcing the healer I found to check her thrice, he couldn’t discover anything wrong and suggested she merely sleep it off. Still, the fact that she hadn’t woken hours later was worrying.
“What about before the mess with the honey?” Fallon asked. “You must’ve made at least some progress with her.”
My fingers thrummed against my seat. “Well, we were.”
“But?”
I thought back to when I had her in my arms. The rage I felt was so consuming that I didn’t even notice her discomfort. Humans are incredibly fragile, I should have known better. Fuck, I’m a terrible mate. “But I may have crushed her a little. I don’t think I heard any bones pop so she should be fine.”
Fallon’s mouth formed a thin line. “You don’t think you heard any bones pop.” His head fell into his hands. “Dante, I think we may need outside help.”
“I said Ididn’thear any bones pop!”
