Ivan's Queen

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine - Home

The kiss is sweet and passionate, better than I could have ever imagined. Ivan cups my face and pulls me close as his lips coax mine gently. I push up on my toes and wrap my arms around his neck, opening my mouth after his tongue sweeps across my bottom lip. Our tongues dance together before he bites down on my bottom lip and tugs, making me groan. He soothes the ache before the need for air becomes a matter of necessity.

I pull away for breath albeit hesitantly. My eyes meet his and I smile shyly at the tender expression on his face. As I'm pulling away, he leans forward and pecks my lips which makes my breath hitch in surprise. I blush at the loudness of it before peeking at Ivan, only to find him smirking cheekily. Rolling my eyes, I swat his arm and skate away but he follows close behind.

We spend much of our time on the frozen lake before deciding to have food, making our way back to the benches to take off our skates. We walk up to a wooden lodge that turns out to be a restaurant tucked away in the trees and the smell of food makes my tummy growl. Like the ice rink, this place is also cleared out and only the two owners are serving us. After eating our meals and sharing a dessert, we decide to walk around the area before Ira comes to take us back home.

In under an hour, we break through the clouds to the familiar sight of the castle and I sigh in relief. Travelling on top of a dragon is cool and all but I'm not so comfortable with heights. Ira lands back in the courtyard and Ivan helps me down. He leans forward and whispers something in a foreign language to the dragon before winking at him when he steps back to my side.

"What did you say to him?" I ask curiously as I watch the massive creature fly away.

"Just a thank you for bringing us." He smiles down at me.

"And he understands you?"

"Yes. The most common language for supernatural creatures to use is Latin. But dragons have a far more ancient language, as well some other species. I've learned most of them." He explains before intertwining our hands as we start to make our way back into the castle.

"Speaking of creatures..." I start hesitantly as I wonder if he'll tell me what I want to know. "Can I know the name of your wolf and vampire?"

He halts before turning to me with a hesitant look. I can see his eyes switching from black to red chaotically, something that I've noticed uncle Vulcan's eyes do. He once told me that it means his beasts have come to the surface and are talking to him or trying to take over. But I notice Ivan's clenched jaw and fists, his knuckles are also as white as a sheet.

"You don't have to –" I smile understandingly because I don't want to push him.

"It's not that..." He licks his lips and almost deflates from his tense form. "I-I'm scared to hurt you again."

He whispers the last part, as if he didn't want to say it in the first place. I step closer and cup his cheek. My confused gaze meets his worried one as he sighs heavily and rests his forehead against mine. His hands find mine and intertwines them both with his as he holds them tightly. I murmur his name which causes his eyes to open.

"I've been trained on how to control them in every type of situation but the one situation I didn't prepare for was when I would find my mate." He laughs but it's slightly strained as his eyes keep switching colors. "It's really difficult to control them around you, Amelia. I don't want to hurt you like the last time."

"You won't. I trust you completely." I smile before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "But if you're not comfortable, you don't have to."

There's an undecipherable look in his eyes as he stares at me for a long moment. Eventually, he sighs and nods before wrapping his arms around me gently. He's treating me like I'm extremely fragile but I trust that he won't lose complete control.