She raises one foot and presses it against my leg, spurring me on, and I pull back, thrusting again and again as she cries out beneath me.
I lose all control, almost falling over the edge.
Not without her.
I strum my thumb against her clit, and her breath catches again, the sound music to my ears as she goes tense.
And then she moans, shuddering against me, and I plunge into her, deeper and deeper, until she comes again, pleasure ripping down my spine as I empty myself inside her.
I gasp, suddenly weak as I roll away, careful not to crush her. The poison may be out of my body, but the effects remain.
“Are you okay?”
“Better than okay.”
I have the hellion in my arms, and she sighs against me, closing her eyes. I watch her until my own eyelids become heavy.
The kradi bells ring.
Sarissa groans, her eyes opening to slits. I can’t help but laugh. It feels strangely right to have her in my arms after all this time. I freeze at the thought, staring at her, and she frowns up at me.
“What?” I ask.
The kradi bells ring again, and Sarissa mutters a curse under her breath, burying herself beneath the furs.
“Yes?”
“Rakiz requests your presence in his tashiv,” a deep voice I don’t recognize says, and I sigh.
“I will be there momentarily.” I roll away from the temptation of Sarissa’s body and reach for my pants.
Sarissa sighs, and my gaze wanders toward where she’s stretching, the fur falling from her breasts.
I instantly harden again. “You little witch.”
She grins at me, and I stalk toward her, leaning down and burying my hand in her hair as I take her mouth. Why am I not surprised that even this will be a power struggle?
With Sarissa, I will never be bored.
Until she leaves.
That thought allows me to pull away from the hellion, who drops onto her back and sighs.
“I suppose I should go meet Alexis and Kate,” she murmurs. “By now, they’ve probably tried the control chip.”
The thought darkens my mood, but I nod. “I will see you later.” She opens her mouth, but I leave the kradi, the cooler air outside helping me collect my thoughts.
Dragix is sitting in Rakiz’s tashiv when I arrive, his mate by his side. Charlie has regained some color in her face, but her eyes are still ringed with dark circles.
The dragon himself seems to have recovered, although his body is tense and he holds himself as if still in pain.
Dragix glances up at me, nodding in greeting. “I will go to Arix today,” he says.
I tilt my head. “Are you sure you’re healthy enough to travel?”
Gold eyes flare, and I sigh.
“I mean no offense. You’re our best chance when it comes to organizing our forces.”
The dragon nods.
“Ignore him,” Charlie advises me. “He’s never grumpier than when he’s been injured.” She snorts. “Except, of course, when I’ve been injured.”
“Understandable,” I say. I glance at the doorway as Rakiz enters the room. He takes a seat next to me and slumps into it, looking more tired than I’ve ever seen him.
Dragix studies him. “I will warn Arix about the Dokhalls lying in wait on our side of the water. If I kill them now, the others will know we are expecting their attack.”
Rakiz nods. “It is better to wait until they are marching on our camp.”
“I’m going with you.” Charlie’s expression is defiant, and Dragix’s eyes flare in what looks like panic.
He opens his mouth, but Charlie holds up one hand. “I believed you were dead, Dragix. I won’t sit here going out of my mind with worry.”
He studies her face, and for a moment it’s as if only the two of them exist. She reaches for his hand. “Together,” she says.
Just a few days ago, I watched Dragix fall from the sky, his body covered in wounds. From the expression on his face, the thought of taking his female with him is just as agonizing.
The door opens once more, and Dexar walks in. “I’ve put more guards around the ship,” he says. “But we have the one thing the Dokhalls want. They’ll never stop coming as long as they think they can use it to leave Agron.”
My hands fist at the thought, and Rakiz sends me a sympathetic look.
My hands suddenly itch, and I’m desperate to once again feel Sarissa in my arms. After spending so much time loathing my vicious little female, now all I want is the ability to make time stop so I can spend every second with her.
Perhaps I never truly loathed her after all.
Chapter Fourteen
Sarissa
The sun heats my skin as I lean my head back, enjoying the gentle breeze that teases my hair. After spending the morning working on traps with the Braxians, I’m taking a break with Nevada, musing over the best way to take out the Dokhalls.
I glance at her. “They may outnumber us, but we’re smarter. The Braxians know this part of the forest like the backs of their hands. Plus, we know for sure that some of their weapons are no longer working.”
“We barely won last time, and that was before they got their shit together and allied with those Zintas. Not to mention the Voildi. There are so many of them now.”
I stare at Nevada. I’ve never heard her sound anything other than confident.
“Are you okay?”
Her lips twist, and Danica lets out a howl from where she’s lying on a blanket on the grass, having something Nevada calls tummy time.
Nevada picks her up, and the baby instantly turns back into her sunny self, giving me a gummy smile.
“You’re a master manipulator, kid.” Nevada holds Danica in the crook of her arm and hands her a wooden toy to play with before turning back to me. “I’m scared. I can’t talk about it because when I admit I’m terrified, Rakiz gets this look on his
