Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“Do you want me to smooth it over with him?” Ravi asked, not moving from where he was snuggled in Sora’s arms.
Warin shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I figured I would blame it on Sora.”
“Hey!” Sora said, his head popping up while North and Warin laughed.
“Ignore him,” North said with a playful sigh. “Warin just needs to tell Alric when Cameron is there and mention the secret lake.”
“Ahhh…” Ravi commented, slowly climbing out of Sora’s arms.
Sora accepted Ravi’s hand and let himself get pulled back to his feet. “What’s that mean?”
“It means Cameron will get that wistful look in his eye because he and Alric have gotten Baldewin to sneak them off to this spot plenty of times for a quiet afternoon picnic.”
“Cameron will then pull Alric away to their bedroom where they can act like newlyweds, making Alric forget all about being angry,” North explained.
“And Alric knows that we’ve got a web of spells all around the lake to warn us if the Jaeggi get close to it,” Warin added as he prepared the harness for North.
Sora lifted an eyebrow. “The same spells around the castle that warned us about the Jaeggi bomber?”
Ravi snorted.
“We had to take those down when reporters and people claiming to be mages started showing up. All that noise was interfering with the spells.” He leaned up and brushed a kiss to Sora’s chin. “We’re safe here.”
Sora turned his face and kissed Ravi back, sinking into his warm reassurance. It wasn’t so much that he was worried about his safety as he was worried about Ravi’s. The dragon had already been hurt once. He wouldn’t be able to take it if Ravi was injured trying to protect him.
With more reluctance than he expected, Sora climbed back into the harness and secured himself before Ravi pushed off the ground, carrying them back to the castle. The sky was turning a deep midnight blue, twinkling diamonds surrounding them. He hadn’t realized how much he needed this stolen moment with Ravi.
While Burkhard Castle was huge and there were significantly fewer clan members than at the Sodalicium, there always seemed to be someone around. It was too hard to have those secret moments where it was just the two of them. Even with Warin and North there, they’d felt alone. He’d heard stories about everyday life and silly mishaps. While lazily floating in the lake, Ravi had told him about life with Alric, Baldewin, Warin, and Gunter. He felt like he’d learned more about his gefreogen in the past two hours than he had in the past several days.
And it left him all the more unsure of whether he should remain in Burkhard or take Ravi back to the Sodalicium.
Sora was still vibrating from the flight back when they made it to Ravi’s rooms. He absolutely loved to fly, and flying on the back of a wind dragon was an entirely different experience. His heart was still thumping. Sora didn’t think of himself as much of an adrenaline junkie, but he was very willing to ride that high again.
Sometimes, being with Ravi overrode Sora’s logical side. It tapped into pure emotion, and this was one of those times when he felt overwhelmed by Ravi. He couldn’t contain the emotions, and he wanted—no, needed—an outlet.
Ravi spoke as he shut the door. “I’m a little chilled, how about a shower? To warm us back up.”
Sora could think of another method to warm them back up. And it had nothing to do with water. He spun on his toes, backing Ravi sharply against the door, taking his mouth without hesitation or apology.
Ravi jolted, not expecting the kiss, then melted into it, his hands coming up to thread themselves in Sora’s hair. Sora loved having his hair played with in general, but he especially enjoyed the way Ravi’s fingers sunk into it, the light pull that made his scalp tingle. Sora grasped one of Ravi’s legs, pulling it around his waist and grinding into him. Ah, yes, that was better. That was some of the friction he needed. Too many damn clothes in the way, though.
“Definitely have to take you flying more often,” Ravi gasped against his mouth.
“Yes,” Sora growled in response.
The shower was a good idea, though. He’d not had enough of that wet, slick skin against his own.
Sora managed to pull himself off Ravi long enough to haul him into the en suite bathroom, Ravi happily coming along with him then darting ahead to get the water running. That was ever the case with Ravi—he was always pulling ahead, then darting back to Sora’s side, as if he were too excited to restrain himself. It amused Sora, watching it play out, and he didn’t even consider complaining.
He stripped off his shirt and shoes before entering the bathroom, leaving them at the door. Ravi did the same and came in for another kiss, plastering their bare chests together. The skin-to-skin feeling was lovely, a sensation that never ceased to be so. Even as they ate at each other’s mouths, Sora’s hands dropped to Ravi’s ass, molding it and lifting Ravi up onto his tiptoes to erase their height difference. The pants were becoming more frustrating by the second.