50. The Desperate Heat
Leila was frail in Thorn’s arms. A burning sensation ravaged her body, as if her blood was boiling, melting her bones into the water.
Thorn’s mind was racing as he flew across the sky above the forest. The rich scent of maple, vanilla, and pine pervaded the spectacular fall palette down below. Nothing could compare to the refreshing sweetness of maple syrup produced during autumn in the Craggy Mountains.
Thorn intended to take Leila to the local market later to apologize to her. His own insecurities had dominated his behavior over the past few days on the road. But they would never get that far.
A female dragon in heat meant new life, even though it hadn’t happened to a dragon descendant for a very long time. The entire structure of her body would be rearranged. With the help of a mate to connect the female dragon to a mark bestowed by the dragon divinity, the offspring would be naturally blessed. Only when a seed is planted in the female’s belly by her mate could the symptoms of the heat could die out. Otherwise, the female dragon would likely perish, burned from the inside out.
Leila was in heat at a time she shouldn’t be.
More pressingly, he needed to quell the fire within her; he could even feel her heat through his thick claws. He stretched his wings and glided through the air, feeling the wind as it glided off her skin. He trusted it would take them to the right place.
The black dragon squinted his molten eyes, fanned out his hard scales, and used every sense available to him. He suddenly sensed a place, seemingly whispering to him like a sparkling oasis in a desert where no man had ever ventured.
He veered west. The sun began to set in front of him, waiting for the night to devour its golden shine.
With a mind of their own, Thorn’s wings carried him into a vast canyon. Dried-out creeks divided the landscape into patches of different shades of browns. The steep ravine deepened endlessly. He dove down along the sheer rock face and entered a hidden cave, where an eagle had just flown out of.
A gust of fresh air filed his lungs. Thorn shifted and held Leila in his arms. For a second, he thought he had entered a different world. Delicate plants with round, deep-green leaves floated on the water’s surface and laid a path for him. At the end of the path, in a shallow pool of water, an enormous, creamy-white petal floated in the center of lush greenery like a little boat.
There couldn’t be a more suitable place. Thorn lowered Leila down onto the petal, and the rim furled upward. The water underneath waved to and fro as if trying to absorb some of her heat.
Leila opened her eyes, trying to use her blurred vision to work out where she was.
“Leila…” Thorn said, “how are you feeling?”
His voice somehow anchored her. “Am I in heat?” she said, her voice almost too soft to be heard.
Thorn nodded, furrowing his brows.
“But I…” she said despairingly, “I haven’t been marked yet..”
“We need to do it, Leila,” Thorn said, heartbroken.
Thorn hadn’t marked Leila successfully. They were nearly rejected by the dragon divinity. He was sure what would happen if he entered and planted his seed inside of her. Instead of blessing their dragon union, their relationship would be considered illicit; the mark they had both pursued along their journey could be permanently forbidden.
“Listen to me,” Thorn held Leila closer, speaking with in more controlled tone, “We have to do it. Otherwise, you’ll die. That’s a certainty.”
“I… I don’t want us to be condemned… I want to be yours, happy and blessed…” Leila shook her head, feeling torn, “and our baby… what will happen if we plant it now?”
Hot tears swelled in Thorn’s eyes. He tried his best to hold them back and avoid her question. “Don’t think about that now. It’s best that you don’t try to resist the energy inside you, or it will reverse and attack you.”
Like a drop of dew, Leila felt herself helplessly pinned onto the petal. She realized that drinking the water from the creek must have been the catalyst for her unbearable heat.
As she struggled between dying or losing Thorn, the scorching burn hit her again at full force. She started to drift away, enveloped in a blazing fire. Then she heard Thorn’s voice. “Let everything go. Just kiss me.”
Like a lighthouse in the darkness, she had to follow. She felt his lips press against hers, softly and tenderly.
He kissed her ear, then her neck. She felt a gentle pain as his gentle tongue slid over her skin, on her collarbone, under her breasts, on her calves and thighs. Her body heaved with each painful kiss.
When his tongue tickled the spot between her legs, she couldn’t help but moan.
She felt pressure as Thorn’s fingers pressed on the center of her clit, feeling her muscles tensing. She let out another moan, from the back of her throat. He opened her legs wider and pinned them down securely on the pedal.
The pleasurable sensation spread all over her body. She felt it between her hips, in her toes, and in her nipples. Leila was worried that her heart may stop from beating so fast.
She was like a flower, blooming and revealing her most intimate parts to him. She gripped his bare flesh and curved her upper body involuntarily as his fingers sped up rubbing her clit. Her muscles tensed again.
He put her legs together and straightened them upwards. He found the place she was most sensitive. She put her finger in her mouth and bit her fingertip.
“Sl…slow down,” she said, with her eyes half-closed.
Thorn did the opposite. He rubbed harder and faster.
He couldn’t wait another second longer. Longing her ever since their first met, he thrust his erect cock directly into her.
“Ah…!” Leila couldn’t help moan louder. It was painful, given the sheer size of it. Her blood flowed into the water beneath the petal. But at the same time, it hit a euphoric spot deep inside her. The pleasure followed immediately after, until she was completely filled by him.
She was getting wetter and wetter, her water mixing with the water surrounding them. The sweet scent of it made his thrusts even more aggressive. The pressure around his cock was impossible to resist. He pulled her hips towards him and pushed deeper.
The deepness stimulated her core as she felt a slight pain. “Sl… slow down pl… please.”
Thorn calmed down a bit. Leila felt an immense pleasure with his slowed rhythm. He was so hard inside her. She even started to circle her hips against him; with each circle, the pleasure climbed higher as his cock hit her sensitive nerves precisely every time. She gripped hard onto his arms and moaned out loud repeatedly, “I’m coming, I’m coming…”
The dragon prince went harder and faster when he felt her tightening, and he felt close to his own climax. But he intended to give her more. He pushed inside and held it steady. The tip of his cock suddenly felt the uncontrollable spasms of her core. She buried her face in his arms. The momentary absence of air in her lungs had intensified her orgasm. He came at the same as her.
The heat had been instantly extinguished. Her body resumed to its normal temperature.
He found her mouth and kissed her like he intended to devour her. For a moment, she had forgotten about herself, forgotten about the cruel world. She lived in the ravishing moment with him, in his kiss.
Leila ran her fingers across his broad chest and huge muscles. His godly body solidly pressed against her. He kissed along her neck, down to her soft breasts, then over every inch of her skin. They melted in each other’s gaze, with pure love in their eyes.
“I love you,” Leila said.
“I love you more,” Thorn said.
Suddenly, golden dust was expelled from the roots of the plants surrounding them, floating to the surface of the shallow water. It gathered around the enormous petal and numerous leaves. The cave was illuminated by it, like thousands of stars had fallen into the water. Then, for the first time ever, the stone on Leila’s neck shined with a blinding light.
She heard water rushing outside. Thorn followed her gaze. A waterfall had suddenly appeared at the entrance of the cave and cascaded into a flowing stream, glowing as the sun finally set on the west horizon.