Twisted Soul (Cursed Legacies #3)

34. Baelfire

34

BAELFIRE

I think I just woke up in Paradise.

Gods, Maven is just so fucking pretty. And she smells like heaven.

In fact, my entire room is perfumed with her sweet, dark midnight scent mixed with the mouthwatering fragrance of her arousal, which makes sense because we’ve been in this room for…

Shit. How long have we been in here?

I have no idea and can only recall fleeting, foggy moments of the most intense pleasure I could possibly imagine—but I can tell the burning, mind-melting desperation of my rut is finally calming down.

Still, I can’t stop staring at Maven as she breathes softly, curled up on her side facing away from me. My attention moves to the new mark on the left side of her neck.

My mark.

My heart does a happy dance—because holy shit, I marked my mate.

I'm obsessed with the hickeys I left all over her. Her messy tangle of dark hair, the slight bruises on her hips from where I couldn't control my strength, the fact that she’s still dripping between her incredibly biteable thighs from the last time I fucked her rough and raw…

Godsdamn, I just can’t get enough of seeing my keeper looks so ravaged.

Unable to think through the final waves of frantic heat, I kiss my way up her bare spine. Maven hums contentedly, rolling over and stretching so I get a torturously dick-hardening view of her entire fuckable body?—

And the new emblem on her chest.

The circle of the House of Shifting laid right over the top of the others, framing the triangle and square.

Holy fuck.

Elation floods me, so now I’m both horny out of my mind and ready to shout from the rooftops.

I’m bound to Maven. To my mate.

Maven peeks open her eyes, her lips curling as she speaks into my head. About damn time.

“Tell me about it,” I laugh breathlessly, a smile breaking over my face before I lean down to kiss all over that mark and her chest, lapping at her nipples.

Soon I'm sucking on her tits, my hands slipping down to spread her thighs so I can finally thrust back into my mate’s warm, greedy, fucking fantastic pussy.

“Gods,” I grit, trying to take it slow. “Fuck, you feel so damn good.”

She moans.

Nope, that’s it. Can’t do slow. I’m way too keyed up knowing I’m bound to her.

I look into Maven’s eyes, loving the way she watches me as I lift one hand to tease her clit and start to fuck her harder. My keeper wraps her arms around me, gasping.

“So tight,” I pant, kissing her neck.

I accidentally kiss right where her unhealed mark is, and her breathing catches. I slow immediately, trying to combat the burning need pumping through me.

“Sorry. Damn, I bit you a lot, huh?” I grimace.

She laughs. “That's fine. I bite back.”

Then she bites my neck.

I immediately see stars, slamming into her as I come so hard I can’t fucking breathe. As soon as my cock stops jerking and the relief washes over me, I wrap myself around her, her ass to my lap.

Holy shit, I groan through the bond.

Maven is breathless, smiling over her shoulder at me—and gods, that smile .

Still my favorite thing.

“You like it when I bite you.”

“ Like is a fucking understatement,” I laugh.

Gods, I feel good. Better than I ever have, actually. My head isn’t splitting, there is no growling and snarling interrupting my thoughts, and I’m not so on edge that I want to spit fire.

Instead, my inner dragon is just as ridiculously happy as I am. He feels…different, somehow. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but maybe he’s not the asshole he was before…now that my curse might be broken.

I realize Maven is studying me thoughtfully. I trace her jaw, unable to stop touching her. Which reminds me…

“So, how many times did you have to freeze my ass with magic so you could take a beat without me mauling you?” I check, anxious at the idea of making my mate uncomfortable.

“Thrice, but one of those times was to keep you from killing the others.”

I blink. “They were in here?”

She shakes her head, amused. “In between fucking, you got fussy about taking care of me and went to get food and water in the middle of the first night. They were waiting outside plotting your death for holding me hostage—their words, not mine. I explained this was my idea and that I’d blocked them out on purpose. Then you carried me back in here over your shoulder, caveman-style.”

I blink and sit up, noticing the small collection of protein bars, water bottles, and other random snacks on my desk.

“Oh, fuck. I don’t remember any of that.” Then I pause, her words sinking in. “Wait , first night?”

“It’s been two and a half days.” She studies me. “How do you feel?”

To be completely honest, for the first time in my life, I feel disappointed that my shifter system heals so damn fast. I reach out to gently feel where Maven’s mark is scabbed over on her neck.

I frown, thinking. Then I grin when I realize the simple solution.

It’s my first time doing this, but I try to push the thought to the right person.

Can you bring liquid silver to me?

Why the fuck would I have liquid silver? Everett demands telepathically. And if I find out you’ve been fucking our keeper for two days straight without giving her a rest, I’m going to ? —

Nah, wrong one. I block out Snowflake and try again.

Si?

“What are you doing?” Maven asks, arching a brow. “Are you blocking me out on purpose?”

“Not on purpose, I just don’t get how this telepathy shit is supposed to?—”

Silas’s reply cuts me off. Somehow, I can tell he’s speaking only to me and Maven.

Look who finally decided to join us. Sangfluir , are you all right in there? Why would you need liquid silver?

Maven frowns before understanding crosses her face. She grins at me. For help marking my mate.

Her mate. Gods, I will never get tired of hearing her call me that.

Silas is cranky about it, probably because I’ve kept Maven to myself for two days. But a few minutes later, I open the door and he hands me a vial of silvery liquid. He also hands me a pile of Maven’s clothes, and not for the first time, I’m glad someone in our quintet thinks ahead.

The blood fae tries to step past me into the room, but the surge of violently protective panic I feel comes from both myself and my inner dragon. I hold out an arm to stop him, shaking my head.

“You can’t be serious,” he scoffs.

“You try going through a rut sometime and tell me how serious I am,” I challenge. “I’m still coming out of it, and I might accidentally rip your head off if my territorial side comes back.”

“Tell your asshole dragon to deal with it,” he gripes, trying to get past me again.

I shove him away from the door, growling, “We’re in harmony now, dick, so back the hell away.”

If Silas’s own curse hadn’t been broken, he probably would’ve just gone all paranoid magic madman on me. So it’s odd when he just glares at me, obviously weighing the threat before rolling his eyes.

“A thank you is in order.”

“Thanks. Now fuck off.” I shut the door in his face and turn to Maven, beaming as I hold up the vial.

She’s fighting a smile. “Your charm and manners have taken a nosedive since we met.”

“That’s because I care a lot less about pleasing random fuckers and a lot more about pleasing you. Speaking of which…” I crawl back onto the bed, surrounding myself in our scents again as I hand her the vial. “How do you want me? On my knees?”

Maven smirks and shakes her head. “Stay where you are.”

My heart is pounding again as she leans forward, her lips skimming over my neck before she licks the place she bit earlier. That alone has me fucking weak. The idea of wearing Maven’s bite mark on my neck for all to see for the rest of my life has me damn near feral as warm arousal starts to pulse through me once again.

Then she bites me again. Way harder than the first time.

“Fuck,” I hiss, gritting my teeth as Maven pulls away and spills some of the liquid silver over the fresh mark before it can start to heal.

Shit. Ouch. Arousal officially cooled.

“Holy hell , that burns,” I grimace as she recaps the vial. I frown. “Did it hurt that bad when I bit you? Because I wouldn’t blame you for kicking me right in the dragon eggs for that.”

Maven laughs, shaking her head. “It didn’t hurt much.”

Yeah, maybe for her. After seeing her brush off getting stabbed with fucking nevermelt, I’ve decided my mate has one hell of a pain tolerance.

I’d be jealous, but I’m mostly just pissed she had to develop that.

After a moment, Maven leads me to the bathroom to clean up the painful substance. I gawk at us in the mirror. We’re both marked, and damn , she looks good naked and covered in love bites.

I grin down at her. “Do I have your permission to use the L- word?”

“Never.”

“Fine. Then I really, really liked all that…canoodling.”

She swats my shoulder playfully as we both step into the shower to clean up. I genuinely enjoy washing my mate when she peers up at me.

“Can I ask you for something?”

“Literally anything. Tell me to cut off my wings or tail or whatever, and it’s all yours.”

“What about scales?” Maven asks, tipping her cascade of dark hair back under the spray of the water.

“Sure.”

“That easily? You were fighting Silas on this tooth and claw.”

“That’s because it was Silas asking,” I snort. “Of course, I’m not going to give him shit.” Then I pause, curious. “Are you asking for the scales for him? Why?”

Maven makes me promise I won’t say a word to Silas about any of this and quietly explains what the blood fae is trying to develop for my family. He also needs scales for the Garnet Wizard, but by the time she starts explaining that, I still haven’t processed that first part.

Silas is trying to help my family with the dragon shifter infertility? I mean, the prick probably just wants to make sure rare dragon scales don’t disappear completely when we’re killed off…but still.

What a fucking softie.

I nod slowly when Maven finishes. “Okay. How about this? You can have all the scales your pointy-eared nerd needs if you agree to go flying with me sometime. Deal?”

Her eyes light up. “Riding on your back?”

“Definitely my back since the only time you can ride my front is while I’m human, Boo.”

She laughs as we finish showering and start to get dressed to emerge from the deliciously sex-scented lair I’ve been blissfully happy in for the last couple of days.

As I slip into a shirt, I notice Maven studying the photos all over my walls again. “What made you stop?”

“Huh?”

“You said you used to be into photography,” she points out.

Oh, that. I shrug, watching as she finishes dressing in the clothes Silas brought for her. “It was just a hobby. Legacies don’t have career options doing shit like taking pictures—and besides, all dragons are mandated to fight in the front lines at the Divide.”

“I didn’t know that,” she frowns. “That seems…”

“Unfair? That’s what I always used to think—but then, it makes sense that they want the biggest, strongest, best legacies there all the time,” I grin cockily, brushing my old dreams under the rug and attempting to cheer up my mate.

I don’t think she buys my acting. She’s sharp like that.

As soon as we’re both dressed, I reach for the door handle. Then I freeze.

Oh, shit.

What is it? she asks back telepathically.

I grimace. “There are a lot of shifters in this house with sensitive hearing. I mean, I normally don’t give a fuck who hears, but when it's my family?—”

“I soundproofed the room with magic.”

“Oh, thank the fucking gods,” I breathe out.

“Or just thank me. Still, your family isn’t stupid. They know what we were up to in here.”

She smirks at my groan and slips out of the room.