A Bride for the Mountain God (Divine Dragons 2)

My mind drifted in a wonderfully erotic haze as my underwear vanished and I was gently set into the overly large stone tub. For the first time, I noticed the stained glass window permitted the moonlight and the dappled rainbow light reflected on the floor. A large mirror, double sinks carved into more of the same dark stone, and other commodities we didn’t have back at the castle. Things that looked new and outside current human design. It was a lovely room with a dazzling ambience, made all the sweeter by the comfortably scalding water lapping at my skin.

I closed my eyes, leaning back on the rim of the tub and sinking bodily into the welcoming bath. As much as my bottom ached, the soaps and oils infused in the water seemed to have a healing quality. Water splashed on the opposite end, and I felt the swish of movement near my feet. My eyes snapped back open to find the Mountain God lowering himself on the other side, his legs coming to bracket mine.

His wings pressed against the stonewall, thick, muscled arms draped over the edge, and a long serpentine tail swished over our legs. A shiver danced down my spine.

I tried not to follow the trail of his sculpted chest and abdominals dipping into the water. But once my eyes landed on the bulk of his biceps, I failed. Ronan had a delightful bulk about his frame. Muscled, but not egregiously so. Toned, but not so much he seemed like thin skin stretched over stone.

There was a substantial magnitude about his presence that didn’t stem from his horns, green scales, wings, or claws. It was wholly him. A dominating personality with an unfathomable vastness, and I… I wanted to know more about him.

Ronan caught my stare. He quirked a brow, stroking his hand over his chiseled jaw. The motions drew my eyes to his mouth, and I dashed down rising thoughts of what those lips might feel like. His eyes briefly dipped to the swells of my breasts just under the surface of the water, then snapped back to my face.

“Nia,” my name vented from his lips startled me out of the storm in my mind, “I want you to know that you will be taken care of here. It’s important to me that you understand how serious our bond is.”

I crossed my arms, suddenly self-conscious.

“I’m afraid I don’t. You are a god and while I might have been raised a princess, I know there is a difference between divine power and mortal sovereignty. What you are and what my father thinks he is are unequivocal.” Avoiding his intense eye contact, I dropped my stare to the gentle ripples in the water while curling a strand of wet hair around my finger. “You mention this bond as if it is something prophetic and indisputable.”

“Hm. We don’t have to speak of your father. I see by the look on your face that just mentioning him leaves a foul taste on your tongue.”

“He’s a foul man.” Resentment rose within me like a snake with a mouth full of venom.

“He will get his comeuppance, princess. Don’t worry.” Ronan smirked, and my lips quivered. “As for the bond, yes, it is predestined in a way. I don’t mean to frighten you with the inevitability of the matter.”

“I’m not—” I swallowed “—frightened, that is. Not of you, despite that first encounter.” A giggle escaped me. “There is a part of me that recognizes something in you. I’m sorry if that’s presumptuous.”

Ronan shrugged. “Not at all, not after I’ve had you over my lap.”

My face burned, and I looked at the window again.

“As a god, it is a divine right to have a partner born from the chaos of the universe as we were. My brothers and I all have someone, a fated companion. We don’t know when they will stumble upon our paths, waiting centuries since the dawn of our creations for them. It is a knowing in the center of our being that our mate will come along someday, and that we must not let them go when they do.”

I turned over his words, tasting the finality of it on my tongue. It wasn’t as bittersweet as when he’d first proclaimed it in the woods. Sitting in the comfortable intimacy of a shared bath in the middle of the night with Ronan, I had time and air to feel the truth of his proclamation.

A destined companion for life. A fated partner to spend the rest of my days with. And I didn’t dislike Ronan—certainly not the look of him or how he handled me.

I preferred fate providing me someone molded for me rather than my father selling me to the highest bidder. And to be the bride of a god? It was more than I could have expected—or hoped for.

I’d spent years taking lovers as I pleased to pass the time until my kingly father found some lord or nobleman to sell me to. Those hopes were crushed in his fist when he’d decided to sacrifice me to the forest spirits. Two days ago, I thought I’d die in the forbidden forest, never having known what it meant to be truly cherished. That chance sat across from me, gazing at me with open longing and unmasked desire.

“So, you will not let me go?”

“Never.” His voice had grown husky, warming my insides. “I’ve waited all my life for you. You are mine.”

“I don’t belong to you,” I chirped back.

“Not like that.” He smiled easily. “You are not mine as an object that belongs to me, Nia. You are mine as the air in my lungs is mine, as the blood in my veins is mine. You belong to me because you are a part of me as much as the heart in my chest is.”

“Oh.” My cheeks flushed, and I averted my gaze.

“Indeed.” A beat of silence passed before he leaned forward and curled a hand on my upper arm. “Come here, princess.”

Momentary panic made me stiffen at the prospect of being close to him, skin to skin. Such familiarity wasn’t common with my past lovers, and it unsettled the guarded part of my heart. Ronan slowed, but parted his legs to make room for me and gingerly pulled me to seal my back against his chest.

I blatantly ignored the hardness that twitched at my back. He kept enough space between our hips that I didn’t feel the full brunt of it, but enough to know he was massive.

“Disappointed?” Ronan sputtered, and the sound of it tugged another laugh from me.

“Well,” I squirmed against him, “you said you were going to take care of me and make it all better. I had just hoped that, perhaps you might—”

If I burned any hotter, my skin would melt off.

“Ah, I see, princess. I certainly did promise my good little whore a reward, didn’t I? Lie back.” His hands skimmed up and down my sides, hips, and upper thighs, urging me closer to his chest and groin. His erection twitched, nestled perfectly between my aching backside. My heart fluttered with anticipation as his fingers trailed toward the apex of my thighs.

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