54. Elijah - I will tell you... but first

54. Elijah - I will tell you... but first
Despite all my mistakes and fuck-ups—for which I’ve paid dearly—I’ve always thought of myself as a rational person. Or at least I try to be. 
But right now, though, the only thing in my head is how to kill Killian. Despite my many warnings, he never learns. 
I close my book and gently place it on the nightstand before I get to my feet. “How many times can you make the same mistake? When will you learn?” 
My tone is laced with anger. I should be careful with what I say around Ariel, but I’m so furious with Killian, I’m seeing red, which is very dangerous because one slip up, one mistake, one wrong word said… it can end in disaster. Asher is not the only one struggling. I am as well, but for Ariel, for the beautiful love between us, I have to be strong for her. 
Killian knows he made a terrible mistake by letting Ariel know that we didn’t go to the store this more and tries to explain. “She figured it out. What am I supposed to do? Keep lying to her?” 
Ariel folds her arms across her chest. “Can you stop talking about me as if I’m not here?” she huffs. “And can someone explain what the fuck is going on? I’m tired of secrets. Tired of imagining things.”
I pull her into my arms and breathe in deeply, filling my lungs with her sweet cherry-blossom scent.
I still can’t believe I found her. That she’s safe. She has no idea how hard it’s been for me, being separated from her. I lost control of my Fire more times than I’d like to admit.
My cock twitches. I need to be inside her—to fuck her, to possess her, to claim her.
I’ve held back since finding her, letting her body heal. But I can’t wait anymore. I need her too much.
Tonight. 
Tonight, she will be a prisoner of my desires. Tonight, I will remind her how much I love her, how beautiful it’s between us. 
I pull my head back, meeting her eyes. “I can’t imagine how hard it is, not remembering anything about your past.”
“That’s an understatement,” she mutters.
“Trusting us–your mates–must be difficult, especially when you can’t trust your own mind, but believe when I tell you that all I do is because I love you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I’d never do anything to hurt you.” 
She sniffles a bit. “I just want to know what’s going on.” 
“I’d tell you if I could, but risking your life…” I shake my head. “I can’t hurt you, Ariel. Never again.” 
“I still don’t understand why my life would be in danger if I learned the truth about what’s going on,” Ariel complains. 
God! She has no idea how hard it is not to tell her everything. “That’s the problem. I can’t tell you anything without risking you. Trust me, I tried to think of a way but…” I shake my head. “You can doubt anything, but don’t you ever doubt that you are mine and loving you is the only good thing I’ve done in my life.” 
A crease appears between her brow. “Why do I feel you are trying to manipulate me?” 
I press my forehead to her. There are so many things I wish to tell her, but I can’t. Not yet, at least. 
Killian clears his throat. “We could tell her about this morning.” 
I glare at him.
One slip, and all is over. 
He puts his hands in the air, his palms facing me. “She could help us. You know how perceptive she is. Plus, telling her about Therion and everything else won’t affect her.” 
I move away from Ariel and pinch the bridge of my nose while I think of reasons why I shouldn’t kill him. Nothing comes to my mind. 
But Killian is not wrong. Telling Ariel about the dead dragons won’t put her life at risk. Plus, it might allow her to trust us more. 
“Fine,” I finally agree. Before Killian can open his mouth and say something he shouldn’t, I turn on my heels fast, facing him and my beloved Ariel. “But I will be the one to tell our mate everything.” 
“Agreed,” Killian says. 
I sit on the bed while Ariel does the same, her body next mine, while Killian sits in an armchair, across from us. 
Revealing something so big, when I was asked for discretion by King Ignarion and Grandmaster Ranger Therion, is not easy, so I take Ariel’s soft hand into mine. She might not know this, but I always feel braver when I’m with her. 
“Dragons are being killed,” I simply say. 
Ariel studies my face. 
God! She is so beautiful. I still can’t believe she’s my mate. The urge to be inside her intensifies. 
After I tell her about this difficult case I’ve been working on for almost two months. 
“Do you know who is behind the killings?” she asks softly. 
I shake my head. “I’ve been trying to track down the killer ever since the night of Princess Daeva and Prince Soren’s engagement party. The killing scenes are clean, no trace of any clue.”  
Ariel chews her bottom lip, and I can’t stop myself from leaning forward and having a taste as well. 
Nothing else matters right now than Ariel.
My Fire roars inside me. 
She pushes me away. “You are distracting me while I’m trying to think.” 
I press her palm to my semi-erect dick. I’m trying to be patient, but it’s impossible. “Can we think later?” I ask. “Much later. 
Ariel playfully smacks my upper arm. “Stop being horny and focus.” 
My arms circle her waist, and I lower her onto the bed. I tried to wait, but it’s your fault for tempting me. Now, you need to take responsibility.” 
Killian gets up from the armchair. “Our beautiful mate, trapped in here with two dragons. This should be interesting.” 
Without looking at my Wingbrother, my gaze fixed on Ariel’s face, I say, “Did you bring rope with you? Because I so want to see our beloved Ariel tied up before us, ready to submit to our pleasure.” 
Her pupils dilate, and for a moment, I fear that I scared her. 
But then…
A whine erupts from her throat. She exposes her neck to me. “Elijah,” she moans. 
“What do you need, Ariel?” 
“You,” she doesn’t hesitate to reply. “And Killian.” 

I have the flu - so it might take me 2-3 days until the next update (yes, I will try to write more than one chapter, especially since a very... hot scens is about to follow)