I hoped that was all this was.
Henry spoke softly, “She’s going to be fine, Marco.”
I looked up at him and nodded, trusting his opinion. Still, I kicked off my shoes and my jacket, moving into bed with her as she let out a small sigh and pressed her searing forehead against my chest. Running my hands through her hair I began to notice the dark red tones buried within the chocolate and gold pieces of her hair. They were small but for sure there. I wondered if those were new. I couldn’t remember her having them before.
When the door closed I realized Atlas and Henry had left, leaving me alone with our perfect little mate. My dragon let out a discontented sound, annoyed that he couldn’t shift and see that she was alright himself. Because apparently my opinion wasn’t good enough.
I placed a hand out, letting my magic out just a bit and had dark runes forming on my forearm and hand, in Dreki’s ancient script that was rarely used today. My hellfire easily jumped from my darkened, almost black, fingertips as it swirled around and down my hand in an easy pattern. I didn’t think it would hurt Maya but it still worried me, having it around her.
My lips pressed up thinking about her conclusion that I was too sweet to be the type of dragon that I was. In a way that made me irrationally happy because it meant I was doing my job right. Keeping her happy, safe. Keeping all the bullshit out. It also made me want to show her how scary we could be. Which was not going to end well for anyone, so I ignored it for now, knowing eventually it would make an appearance. Dragons were fucked up like that.
No really, especially when it came to mates. They wanted them cared for and protected, but my dragon also wanted her to recognize how scary we could be. I was a bit more confident in the situation than he was, to say the least.
“Marco,” Maya’s sweet voice had me snapping my head over to where her wide brown eyes blinked open and she looked around.
“Hey, baby girl,” I whispered softly, running a thumb over her jaw and letting my fire sink back down as her eyes darted back towards me.
“What was that?” she asked, her voice confused.
“That was hellfire,” I informed her, pulling her closer to me. “How are you feeling?”
Maya sighed wrapping her arms around me, “I’m okay but very tired. I still feel super warm, what the heck is going on with me?”
I wanted so badly to have an answer for her. There was an irrational urge in my head to not only protect her but to provide the answers for Maya. I wanted to assure her that there wasn’t anything wrong but I also couldn’t lie to her. Inhaling, I kissed her forehead gently.
“We aren’t sure yet, but we’ll figure it out,” I told her as she nodded and tried to sit up frowning and rubbing her head as if it hurt. I winced and my dragon rumbled as if we could physically feel her pain. Although that wouldn’t be very surprising considering how connected I felt to her.
My eyes trailed where my bite mark sat. As more of our flight bonded to her, I could feel the connection growing. I had a feeling once we were all connected it was going to alter some things with our magic. It just seemed to have enough force and power to do that.
“Henry wanted to give you some medicine but he worried you would just burn it off,” I explained, while handing her a bottle of water. She nodded and then frowned looking down at her wrist.
“It really wasn’t a dream?” She asked, blinking as I chuckled softly.
“What? Paris?” I arched a brow.
“Yeah,” she mumbled, shaking her head, “sometimes I wonder when I’m going to wake up from all of this.”
Reaching over, I took her hand and pressed a kiss to it gently, “Not a dream, but I do think we need to take it a bit easier. Between school, work, and traveling, I think I may have overestimated our ability to be in ten places at once.”
Maya met my gaze as a serious look passed through it. “I really don’t want to go to school anymore, Marco.”
“Alright,” I nodded, “I’m not going to put that on you if you don’t want to. I never went and I turned out fine.” She grinned at that as I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “The twins and Henry may continue until the end of the semester but they were really only doing it for the experience. After everything that went on in Los Angeles, they wanted something more normal and we just never made a change. Henry never wanted to be there, but he cared more about keeping an eye on the twins.”
“So I never have to go back?” she sat up after nodding.
“We will have to go in on Tuesday, I need to sign some paperwork. But more than that, I think you may want to grab some of your things. I heard your locker is fairly decorative,” I teased as she crawled forward across the bed. My groan barely suppressed. I wanted her to crawl across the bed towards me before she...nope. I can’t even go there right now.
“Thank you, Marco.” She leaned forward and met my lips. Despite her fever I could feel that her energy was back slightly and she wrapped her arms around me. I easily turned her on the bed and caged myself over her, making sure she was still comfortable. I didn’t want her moving around much considering.
“Anything for you,” I admitted sincerely and her eyes flared as she ran her leg against mine, my eyes narrowing at the coy smile on her lips.
“Anything?” she asked sweetly, her fingers playing against my jaw as I inhaled. Her sweet scent mixed with desire and making my head fucking spin.
“Anything,” I confirmed, leaning down to nip her jaw as she made a soft sound and pulled me to her. My eyes flashed up to find her face a light pink, eyes hooded slightly with desire. My hands trailed up her leg, the silky smooth skin breaking out into shivers as I traced the lace of her panties, kissing her neck and jaw in slow light movements. I could practically feel her trying to figure out what to ask for but I wasn’t making it any easier, my thumb rolling over her nipple as she let out a soft needy sound.
“Marco,” she whispered, her pulse fast like a fluttering of wings.
“Yes, baby girl?” I teased as she squirmed, a whimper breaking through her lips.