Page 36 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
“Dirk!” Ella sank to a crouch in front of me, holding my face in her hands. “What happened? Where are you hurt?”
“Just tired,” I groaned, pretty sure it was the truth but not certain. “Very. Very tired.”
Ella sank to both knees, coming closer to give me a hug. “Thank you.”
She pulled away, but not before we locked gazes. My world shrank. No more clearing, no more chimera. Just Ella. And me.
I grabbed her wrists, holding her palms to my face. Then we were kissing. She wasn’t trying to back away. Her lips pressed against mine, kissing back while also holding my exhausted body upright.
Not that I needed it as I tasted my mate for the first time. Fresh adrenaline surged through my body like an electric charge as I realized Ella wasn’t backing away. She wasn’t backing away!
Neither was I. I should be. But I couldn’t.
Her lips were too soft against me, her hands too tight to my face. Her mate scent too strong in the air, luring me in.
A soft moan slipped past her lips as I eased closer, feeling her small, compact body practically remold itself to me, melting with all the delicious softness I could have imagined.
I growled in response, pulling her close as I lay back onto the snowy mountaintop. She pressed her little breasts against me, and her mouth parted as I took control, our tongues dancing and exploring, learning each other for the first time.
It was perfect. It was everything. It was …
Ruined by the flap of wings announcing the presence of not one but two dragons in the vicinity. I looked past Ella and frowned.
Damnit, brother, not now!
“Dirk.”
My eyebrows shot up at the formality from Caz. He could clearly see what was going on, and was well aware of the struggles Ella and I were having accepting what was between us.
Which meant he wouldn’t be here unless it was serious.
“What happened?” I asked, wearily lifting us both to our feet and setting Ella down at my side.
She immediately disengaged, pulling away from me to go to Anna. I didn’t have time to feel hurt or empty over the sudden lack of her presence at my side because Caz was already speaking.
“There’s been a messenger from the citadel.” His voice was cold and hard. He was in full Ice Tyrant mode. “Mirko has called for an assembly of the Council of Elites.”
“What?” I couldn’t stop myself from shouting. The surprise was complete and total. “That can’t be good.”
“I agree.” There was no humor from Caz. “Bryna’s trial is less than a week away.”
“If he wants to meet early like this, he’s up to no good,” I hissed, remembering my promise to deal with Mirko as a traitor.
“He’s making his play now, and we need to be there to cut it off in time.” Caz’s eyes flicked to Ella for just a second, the only acknowledgment he would make about the poorness of his timing. “We’re heading back tonight instead. I need you there.”
“Dirk isn’t ready to fly that far yet,” Ella said, pointing across the clearing at the dead body. “He needs to rest.”
But I knew Caz would have seen the chimera’s corpse on his way in. He wouldn’t care. And neither did I, even if there might be some truth to Ella’s claim. Iwasquite depleted after the fight.
“No, he doesn’t,” Caz said. “He just needs you.”
“But what about Milly?” Ella said, “I need to stay with her.”
“Everyone is coming,” Caz said, shutting down her protest. “The others are awaiting us back at the chalet. You will ride on Dirk’s back. He will need to draw on the energy of your mate bond. The more of your skin that touches his scales, the stronger he will be.”
I opened my mouth to protest as did Ella. That was asking too much of her. She clearly had gotten lost in the moment just now and, with the arrival of the other two, had come to her senses. Asking her to spend hours on my back, pressing her skin to my scales, was past the limit of her comfort. I couldn’t allow it, and she didn’t want it.
Caz didn’t care. “There is no time for this,” he barked, overriding us both. “I know you two have issues to work through. That is not my problem. Right now the fate of the Ice Kingdom itself could very well be in peril. Youwilldo as I command. Is that understood?”
