#ridoc x reader

Ridoc fucking Gamlyn. The bane of your existence. It started the day you crossed the parapet, you were determined to get across if only to spare your family from seeing your dead body on day one. The first rider of the family meant you were already dead to them, no one was there to prepare you for the onslaught you would face. And that day on the parapet was too close, the wind and rain caught you off guard, but it was your stupid long hair that was almost the death of you.

Your arms were out at your side to keep your balance while the wind whipped around you. You could hear the soon-to-be cadet behind you cursing with every step he took, his nervous laughs filling the air. It was hard to keep your balance though with your hair flying into your eyes every five seconds, and moving it away from your face took away precious time, the boy was getting closer. In a swipe of your hair, you glanced behind you quickly catching the dark-haired boy's eye, and he fucking grinned at you. Was it meant to be intimidating? No. But with how much adrenaline was coursing through your body the only thought you had was that he wanted to throw you off the edge to get rid of you early. You tried to pick up your pace but it only caused the wet strands of your hair to fly back in your face quicker resulting in you momentarily losing your balance. You crouch closer to the rocky surface trying to regain your balance slowly, a shaky breath leaving you as you hear the boy approaching closer.

"Better chop off that pretty hair when we get across or you're as good as gone when challenges start!" he shouted over the wind, his voice was teasing but you couldn't help the fear that was still running through your veins.

"Shut. Up." you grit out. You'd recovered your pace but he was still behind you.

"Hey, just trying to help. Or you can fall and I'd have one less cute girl to talk to and that would be a shame," he was so close to you you could feel his laugh on the back of your neck. But you ignored him, trying to focus on getting across the last quarter of the parapet. "You excited?" you give no response, again tucking your hair behind your ears, "can't say I'm thrilled with being potentially killed but hey, the lives we choose to live." You roll your eyes your pace now quickening with being so close to the confined walls of Basgiath once more. "Wait up! Don't want you running off without your new friend!" you were so close, ten more steps.

A deep exhale leaves you as you jump the short distance from the parapet to the grounds, a girl sits at a table with a sheet of paper and a pen waiting to take names. She jots down your name and gives you a tight-lipped smile before calling the next person.

"Ridoc Gamlyn," that gods-damned voice again. You try to speed away before he can get to you after giving his name but you don't make it. "Hey!" he calls to you. That's it. Better to get him off of you now before it becomes a habit.

"Hey?" you turn on your heel and stare him down causing him to almost run into you with the stride he was going at, "What the fuck was that back there?"

"Uhm I'm sorry?" he questions confusion taking hold of his face.

"I said, what the fuck was that? You were right behind me shouting in my ear! I know we're not supposed to root for each other but you're trying to kill me already?" you knew your face was going red with the anger consuming you. Gods, you couldn't wait for this guy to be gone.

"Woah, princess, I was just helping. Your hair is going to get in the way, take a look around, who else here has that long of hair?" you don't want to but you look around anyway. Every person, male, female, or otherwise had either short, cropped hair or it was tied back tightly. He gives you an I told you so look before speaking again. "That's because they're all at the bottom of the river, I was just there in case you lost your sight again. Whatever I'm done with this shit." He rolls his eyes before turning away and walking elsewhere.

You sigh to yourself. This was going to be a long three years and you've already made an enemy. With your luck, he would try to kill you that night.

Your first night as Basgiath started better than you expected. You'd managed some small talk with some other first years and the two girls invited you to sit with them at supper that night. One of them was the Sorrengail girl you'd heard everyone talking about, she was slight but with her stubborn determination you had no doubt she would try to cheat death in here. The other girl was taller, her hair braided back in dark cornrows, Violet was also smart enough to have her long, silver ends tied up. Shit. Maybe Gamlyn was right. You did your best to keep your eyes on him throughout supper, he sat a few tables away from you with some other first years, but clearly, you weren't being very discreet with your wandering gaze.

"Already found someone worth sleeping with?" Rhiannon questioned teasingly, turning to look at who you were staring at, "He's cute."

"No. He's a fucking asshole is what he is." You grumble, stabbing some lettuce with your fork.

"Ridoc, I talked to him earlier," Violet speaks up, "he was nice to me. Bit of a smart-ass but he's funny. What happened with you two?"

"He tried to kill me up on the parapet!" you say, definitely louder than you wanted to, and shit of course he looked up right as you said that. He excused himself from his table and made his way over to you guys. You swear your eyes nearly rolled into the back of your head. His stride was confident, a smirk playing on his lips as he brushed his dark curls away from his forehead. No. You internally scold yourself, he may be attractive with his lean frame but he was annoying as hell.

"Is the princess telling lies about me?" he smoothly slides between Rhiannon and Violet throwing his arms around their shoulders a grin eating up his face.

"You tried to kill her?!" Violet shoves his arm away from her, looking at him incredulously.

"Of course not!" rage consumes you, "I was just staying close to her, her hair kept flying in her face, was just there in case she lost sight completely and fell," he says as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"No. You were fucking distracting me!" your utensils clatter on your plate, "telling me to 'chop off my pretty hair'" You lower your voice to imitate him and he dares to laugh at you.

"Well...what do you girls think?" he says looking between the other two, their minds processing.

"I hate to say it...but Ridoc is right, it'll probably make it easier if you cut it, or at least tie it back like Violet," Rhiannon gives you an apologetic look and a shrug.

"That settles it then princess, just trying to help," Ridoc shoves himself away from the table before walking back to his seat, turning around halfway to meet your gaze, and winks at you. You roll your eyes in response before turning back to the girls. They share a look before going back to their meals.

The next morning in the barracks Violet had offered to braid your hair back for you and you begrudgingly agreed. You hated Ridoc being right. Zihnal was not with you because when first years began being added to squads you were thrilled to be with Rhiannon and Violet, but your excitement was short-lived as Ridoc was the next name called to Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing. He takes his place behind you and you do your best to ignore him as he talks to Sawyer–another member of your squad.

"Ah, look who took my advice!" you feel a tug on one of the two plaits Violet had done on you and you turn with fury.

"Take your hands off me Gamlyn," Rhiannon turns from where she stands next to you, grabbing your hand in an attempt to calm you.

"Someone's fiery this morning," he laughs, "looks good on you princess," he winks again, and before you or anyone else can stop you, the hand Rhiannon didn't have a hold on flew and slapped Ridoc straight on the cheek. He raises his hand to hold his face as you hear a shout a couple of rows ahead of you. "What the fuck?!" Ridoc shouts the shock evident on his face.

"Cadets!" your new squad leader–Dain Aetos–approaches the two of you, "You're a part of a squad now! Act like it. There will be plenty of time to fight during sparring, now behave yourselves." You turn back into formation hearing Ridoc grumbling behind you. Holy shit. What've you just done...? You hit your squadmate! You'd unknowingly unlocked months of intense rivalry between the two of you, all because you couldn't hold your temper.

The weeks went by slower than you thought, days of intense training and studying. Being a rider was a hell of a lot more difficult than you imagined it to be. But the most difficult part was trying to keep your temper around the man who was trying to make your life a living hell. Your other squadmates were fed up with your bickering. It ranged everywhere from trivial arguments about homework to betting who would make it up the gauntlet first when the training was to start. Challenges were going to start soon too, no longer assigned fighting partners and you knew Ridoc would challenge you only to bring revenge on the slap you'd landed on him the first day. But you were smart, you'd started studying his fighting style the moment he stepped onto the mat during the assessment. He held up alright, eventually knocking a tooth out of Aurelie's mouth, but that was before the daily training. As annoying of a squad leader that Dain was, he worked you all hard, and with gauntlet practice approaching too, he ensured you were all eating more than your share of food. Ridoc had gone from a lean floppy-haired boy who teased you on the parapet, to a now filled-out man beating most of his opponents in challenges.

But the most annoying part about Ridoc is that you didn't mind him...he was kind to the people he cared about and there had been more than one occurrence where you had to hold back your laughter from one of his jokes. But it was already over, you'd already hit him and he'd already decided that he would get his retaliation. So now every morning at breakfast you'd have to hear his taunting voice tease you.

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Does that scowl hurt your pretty face?"

"Seems like the princess hasn't gotten any this week, she's grumpy."

Day after day. Thank the gods when it came to serious moments he seemed to hold back. You were halfway up the gauntlet, about to cross the shaking posts. Only moments earlier Ridoc had been arguing with Tynan about Barlowe, you and Violet had shared a glance, never seeing him lose his temper and it was...kind of hot. He was taunting Tynan from the ground, and you'd expected the same when you began, but he stayed oddly silent. You'd surprised yourself after making it to the top, the training was paying off.

The next week, challenges began, and you were ready. Just as you'd expected Ridoc challenged you. Rhiannon gave you a nervous look as Sawyer tried to talk him out of it.

"Are you sure?" Rhi asked you as you stripped off your flight jacket, leaving you only in your training top and pants with half of your daggers strapped to your belt.

"It's fine, Rhi. We all knew that this was going to happen. Maybe after this, he'll give up and stop annoying the shit out of me." You approach the mat, Ridoc already standing ready, his arms swinging at his sides to pump himself up. Did his shirt get tighter somehow? No. Not the time for that. You shove the thoughts to the back of your mind, trying to bring all the memories of the times he irritated you to the forefront. You take your stance, a dagger in each hand just like he did.

"Ready, princess?" He teased, that gods-damned annoying smirk splayed across his face.

"Begin," Emmeterio announced, and Ridoc pounced. You'd been watching him, he always skirted around his opponents waiting for them to make the first move, but not this time. It caught you off guard but you were able to move away in time, moving around him before throwing out a leg to knock him off balance. It worked for a moment but he was on you again in no time. He was moving fast, but you could move fast too. You hit each other with a series of blocks before you were able to knock a dagger out of one of his hands. He cursed, but that only freed up his hand to be able to grab your wrist, twisting until you dropped a dagger of your own. A gasp left your lips from the pain, and he eased up with the sound. He was going easy on you. Well fuck that. With his guard down you pull him closer, close enough that you could smell his sweat. Damn, why did he have to smell good too? You used that closeness to wrap a leg behind his knee to take you both down to the ground. You were on top of him now, his face contorted in frustration, only the second time you'd seen him lose his temper. He grunted and cursed.

"Fuck!" he shouted from between his teeth. Did you really get him this worked up? You grappled with each other, both of your remaining daggers lost somewhere on the mat, you tried to reach for your belt to grab another one while you were still on top but it made you lose your leverage. He was still stronger than you and you roll so that he now has the advantage above you. All these months he'd been preparing just so he could beat you. He grabs your wrists and pins them above your head. You've lost all semblance of control and tactic, now just thrashing to get out of his hold. He holds your wrists with one of his hands, his other shooting out with the speed of light to grab the dagger closest to him and bring it to your throat, "Yield!" he shouts louder than necessary. You stared into his eyes above you, his gaze was concentrated, and he knew he'd won. But you continue to stare at him before swallowing thickly, your eyes burned, tears threatened to spill over and his gaze softened, and the pressure of the dagger at your throat lightened significantly. You could use his moment of softness to try to gain back control but it was over, you'd already been humiliated.

"I yield," it was barely a whisper, only enough for him to hear. He gathered himself quickly and reached his hand down to help you up but you ignored it and picked up your daggers from the mat. You were missing one and you knew it was in Ridoc's hands. You turn to him, your gaze still low to the ground refusing to make eye contact. He mutters your name quietly, gently, and holds your dagger out to you, but you just push it back to him before rushing off the mat and gathering your things, leaving the training room. He'd won it, fair and square. You lost all control in that match, what was happening?

The next few days were awkward, to say the least. The rest of the squad tried their best to keep things normal, but nothing was normal without the banter between you and Ridoc. Slowly he seemed to regain some confidence in teasing you, it started light with you just rolling your eye in response, but by presentation day the two of you were in full-on arguments again.

"So how many of us do you think are going to be dragon lunch today?" Ridoc asks as you and the rest of the first years in your squad are waiting for your turn on the gauntlet.

"That's cruel, Ridoc," you reply, not in the place for humor this morning with how nervous you were, and you were sure you were not the most nervous, Violet still couldn't get up the wall.

"We live in a cruel world, princess," he mutters shaking his head. You groan in annoyance, trying your best to hold your temper instead of retorting, instead turning your attention to Violet.

"How are you doing Vi? Is there anything we can do to help?" you weren't much taller than her but those couple of inches were enough for you to bridge the gap to get up the wall.

"I'll be okay," she takes a deep breath, strangely calm for the situation you were about to enter. Luca was behind you two beginning her rant on the dragon she would be choosing. As if. Presentation was for the dragons to decide who was worthy and who would be torched. The past months had all led up to this. Every breath you took was shallow the entire way up the gauntlet, so aware of every step you were making and how fast you were making them. You released a breath once you reached the top, the rest of your squad cheering for you. Ridoc was right behind you breeching the top of the sloped wall, he whoops and gathered Rhiannon and Sawyer into hugs, the three of them laughing before he turned to you, a huge smile still on his face.

"Nice work Gamlyn," you say giving him a forced smile.

"Ah, a compliment, that's the first one I've received from you, I could get used to this!" He throws an arm around you squeezing you close.

"Way to ruin it," you grumble removing his arm from you before turning your attention back to Violet on the course. Oddly, you miss the warmth of his arm on you. He's always been touchy with the rest of your little crew, often embracing them or keeping an arm on them during meals or classes. You'd even see him press a kiss to Rhi's head after she'd helped him with physics. But with you, he didn't cross that line. Did he hate you that much? Or was it just because he knew how you would react? Your thoughts race as you watch Violet do the same, right before she grabs a rope from the side of the course and hauls herself up. Then using her daggers to climb her way up. This girl was something special. You grin and clap your hands as the rest of your squad cheers.

"That's our girl!" Ridoc shouts, obviously proud of his friend. Some of the other wings began groaning complaining that she cheated but all the noise falls into the background as the rest of your squad huddles up. That was the easy part. Now the next could very well mean your death. You try to calm yourself, hold it together, and keep all semblance of control before the dragons can sense you.

Now at the top, you waited for the other squad to finish before you entered the flight field. One of the other wingleaders stood before you preparing you to enter, instructing you to make small talk so the dragons would get a feel for you as well as recommending staying at least seven feet apart in case another squad member got torched.

"Nice day for presentation," Ridoc jokes 'small talking' with the senior wingleader.

"Not with me, with them," she rolls her eyes at his antics, and gods of course Ridoc will be right behind you annoying you the whole way. You knew you'd have to try your best to be in control or else you'd lose your temper in front of the dragons.

"Lucky me I have a wonderful view to distract me from our impending dooms," Ridoc laughs, anger swelled in your chest. You hear Rhiannon scold him and smack him upside the head, a smirk grows on your face but you stay facing forward.

Your senses feel heightened as you make your way onto the flight field, dragons surrounding the edges, a smile gracing your face at the pure wonder that these creatures held.

"They're pretty incredible aren't they?" you hear the awe in Ridoc's voice behind you, no humor or teasing, just... Ridoc.

"They really are," you respond to him and turn to face him, he was grinning, clearly he was made to be a rider. He turned slightly and met your gaze, his smile not faltering. His eyes shined in the sunlight this high atop the cliffs and you turn back to watch where you're walking before you get caught up in staring at him any longer. Why did this keep happening to you? As you neared the end of the field before turning back you caught sight of the illustrious feathertail, Violet was enthralled, her eyes not moving away from the creature. But your eyes wandered to something else going on only feet away.

A red scorpiontail on the smaller side was sitting peacefully in the sun, she was practically glowing. But what caught your attention was the brown swordtail a little larger than her that approached where she sat. He nudged her with his nose, seeming to almost mutter things at her before he rolled on top of her putting what seemed to be his entire weight on her. The red reared up, a deep growl leaving her throat, drawing the rest of your squad's attention to the two dragons. The brown stood again, circling the red while making grunting sounds to her, right before she swung her neck and snapped her massive teeth at the swordtail.

"Hey, princess," Ridoc is right beside you now, his voice hot on your neck from where he leans down close to your ear. "That red looks like you during math lessons, so grumpy," he's whispering to not draw attention to the two dragons, but you make the deadly mistake of reacting.

"Well if you helped me like you did everyone else maybe I'd be fine!" you turn to face him, a scowl traced between your brow, unbeknownst to you two it drew the attention of the two dragons.

"Woah now you look even more like her!" he laughs quietly before reaching out a finger to poke right between your eyebrows where your scowl formed.

"Ugh! You're insufferable!" you turn on your heel expecting to walk ahead of him again before coming face to face with the red scorpiontail. Your breath stopped and fear coursed through you. You heard Ridoc gasp your name.

"Don't fucking move," his words are seethed between his teeth but you barely resonate them. You feel the dragon's hot breath on your face, the smell of sulfur strong. "Please don't die, please don't die," Ridoc repeats the mantra as if it will help seal your fate. You keep your eyes low to the ground not daring to make eye contact, knowing that would be your death sentence. The dragon's gaze moves from you and you take the opportunity to look at her face. She was incredible. And her eyes were locked on Ridoc. Shit. But you didn't have time to assess your feelings before the massive creature was tackled to the ground by the brown swordtail.

You released your breath staring at the creatures fighting in front of you. Their roars echoed through the field as the chuffs of other dragons were heard from the edges as if they were egging the two on. You felt someone grab your hand and you were tugged to the beginning of the field again. You meet up with your squad about 20 feet ahead where Rhiannon is standing in front of the burnt corpse of Pryor, you hear Luca start to say something about him right before she gets torched right in front of your eyes. You gasp holding on tighter to the hand in yours, Ridoc's hand. Once you realize you dropped it immediately, but not before Violet could notice. You risk a glance behind you to look for the red scorpiontail again, praying she is alive. But the sight you were fixed with was not one you were expecting to see. The two dragons were still on the ground fighting, but they were both still alive, the brown was a bit bigger, you had expected him to take the red down fast, but there they still were.

"Come on, let's go!" Ridoc urges you, pulling on your arm yet again.

"Wait, Ridoc, watch them!" You were captivated, and surprisingly, Ridoc stopped pulling and watched the dragons with you. "They're playing."

"No, they're fighting, let's go," he tugs again, and this time you comply. His hand doesn't release yours until you're off the flight field.

The mess hall that night seemed a hell of a lot smaller after having lost so many first years in one day. You were sure there would be even less after threshing. Your squad was down two more people now. You sat with Rhi, Violet, Sawyer, and Ridoc who were all discussing the dragons you'd seen today. Rhiannon talks about a green that had been all up in Violet's business while you and Ridoc were being intimidated by the red scorpiontail, while Violet says she didn't feel a connection to any of them.

"What about you?" Rhiannon says your name, drawing you into the conversation. You open your mouth to speak but before you could Ridoc interjects.

"Well, I for one think that red scorpiontail already loves you. You two even have the same frown and grumpy demeanor!"

"Shut up, Ridoc," you turn your attention to Rhi. "But yeah, I did feel drawn to her..." your voice went quieter.

"Well you might as well go for that brown then, Ridoc," Sawyer speaks up. "with how annoying he was being to that red those two dragons are practically you guys already." He laughs, the girls nodding in agreement.

"You wound me," Ridoc puts a hand to his heart, "but unfortunately I think that guy took down the red so the princess is gonna have to find another dragon." No. He didn't, you knew that both of the dragons were still alive, and it pissed you off that Ridoc decided to taunt you about it when you'd just said you were drawn to that red.

"They were just playing Ridoc!" you shout, sounding almost childish with your insistence.

"Yeah right," his words muffled by the food in his mouth.

"They were! Don't you think one of them would've already been dead by the time we turned around? And neither of them were going for death blows, it was almost like they were sparring or something..." you mumble out the end, brows knitting as you think about it.

"Maybe it's their form of flirting then," Ridoc jokes, earning him a groan from Rhiannon. "What? If I were a dragon that's how I'd try to get a girl, relentless teasing, tackling her to the ground, you know that sort of thing." Ridoc shrugs and the wheels in my brain start turning.

"And that's why you mostly sleep with men..." Violet says under her breath, she and Rhiannon start to giggle.

"Hey! I'll have you know I can pleasure a woman just as well as I can a man. The women at Basgiath are just too controlling, I like to be in control," Ridoc smirks, leaning back in his seat. Why did he have to talk about this... now that's all you could think about. Your memory shifts to when he challenged you, his hands pinning your wrists, his body on top of you. You shake your head to try to clear the thoughts, this was your rival for god's sake! Why were you thinking like this?

"Really? You're the controlling one in bed?" Sawyer scoffs in disbelief.

"Don't sound so shocked. From my experience, everyone needs to give up control every once in a while, and the bedroom is an excellent place to do it when you have someone like me to be in charge." Oh. Fuck. You try to take a drink of water to cool your burning nerves but all it does is cause you to choke on it. You sputter trying to catch your breath, "You okay there, princess? Not scaring you off am I?" Ridoc winks at you. Okay. That's enough. Time for a cold shower and bedtime, surely you wouldn't feel like this in the morning. You ignore his comment and excuse yourself from supper before rushing to the showers.

It was late when Violet and Rhiannon returned to the barracks, you lay there pretending to be asleep. Even when Violet brought up the fact that you seemed off at dinner. Fuck, you really had to pull yourself together before threshing next week, or Ridoc was going to make your life miserable with his teasing.

You managed to make it through the week without drawing too much attention to yourself, though Ridoc was still relentless when it came to teasing you. But the morning of threshing was...rough to say the least. Everyone's nerves were on fire, even the ever-confident Ridoc was vomiting behind a tree. You grimaced feeling sorry for him, he might not show it but he wanted to succeed, just as you all did. Professor Kaori advised on what to do when approaching a dragon, he also said that if a dragon had already chosen you they'd be calling you. Okay, what is that supposed to feel like? You snark internally. You had no idea what to expect when entering the valley. It was happening too fast, you heard Ridoc instruct the rest of your squad to stay alive and you all went your separate ways.

You'd been walking through the valley for hours now, and the sun was falling low on the horizon giving you one maybe two hours maximum. If you were any other person you'd be wondering if there were even any dragons left out here, but you felt in your bones that your dragon was still out here, you just had to find them fast enough. You neared the ends of the boundaries only a few miles left within them, you'd managed to avoid other dragons thus far and only ran into one other cadet–a girl from Third wing–who looked so frightened that you would kill her that she ran off right away, like a dragon would choose that. The further you walked the stronger the hum in your body felt, you were getting close. The setting sun shone through the trees illuminating the path and if it weren't for the sun, you would've entirely missed the glint to your right side. You turned, hand ready on your dagger, but once you met her gaze you knew the beautiful creature wouldn't hurt you.

The red scorpiontail stepped out of the shadows of the forest, the sun glinting off her scales making them look like rubies. It was the dragon from presentation. You couldn't help the smile that grew on your face as she walked closer to you, she was alive. You stood, watching her in awe as she circled you sniffing you and feeling you out before a warm grumble sounded in her throat.

"Will you come with me?" her voice echoed in your head, elegant but firm, she was not asking you, she was telling you to come with her, or you would not return.

"If you’ll have me…" You didn't want to scare her off so you held your palm out to her, letting her run her face along you, the warm scales felt so naturally under your hand. She turned to the side in a silent order to climb on her back. You made the movements and took your seat. This was unlike anything you'd felt, you were a rider.

"Now hold on, squeeze your legs, and keep your grip," you don't know if you'd ever get used to hearing her voice in your head. You do as she says, you keep your grip and hold on. The wind through your hair is like nothing you've felt before, tears sting your eye from the brightness of the setting sun. As you climb higher into the sky you look around you, you're a good five miles from the field where all the new riders are landing their dragons. Over the wind, you're able to hear the loud shouts of someone all too familiar. You look to your left and see Ridoc on the top of a brown swordtail, again the same one from presentation. What are the fucking odds?

"Look at us, princess! We're riders!" the joy in his tone is infectious and you can't help but smile as he risks throwing one of his hands in the air to feel the wind. Despite your joy, you feel grumbles beneath you and look down to see your dragon shooting sideways glances at Ridoc's dragon.

"Are you alright?" you shout over the wind, "Do you not like that dragon? We saw you two the other day!"

"Not so loud girl, I can hear your thoughts just fine. I know you saw me, dragons remember much better than humans," Her tone is short, clearly she's irritated.

"That's Ridoc, he hates me." you give the whole 'mental talking thing' a go.

"Don't be stupid, girl, I said I saw you two that day, he was begging for me not to kill you."

"Well I saw you two that day too, you're practically shooting fire through your eyes at his dragon now but the two of you were rolling around in the grass together the other day..." Shit. Maybe you shouldn't have said that, red dragons are known for being notoriously angsty. A grumble reverberates through her chest as she flies faster, and out of range from Ridoc and his dragon.

"Aotrom has been trying to mate with me since we were adolescents, we're both still too young to mate but he doesn't seem to give up,"

"Oh so he likes you, that's what this is about."

"Yes but he's insufferable about it, you saw him, he laid on top of me!" her body seemed to grow even hotter with the annoyance running through her. This conversation was all too familiar.

The two of you continued talking until you landed most of the cadets already back. It was odd but strangely comforting talking to Cairistìona, the two of you feeling the same things.

Ridoc had landed just after you, running over and pulling you in a hug before spotting Rhiannon and doing the same to her. He was too excitable, you don't even know if he noticed it was you he was hugging. Rhiannon came over to you and gathered you in her strong arms.

"I'm so happy!" She squealed. "Fierge told me that's the same red you saw in the field the other day."

"Yeah, Cairis," You return her embrace and turn your head to look where you left her. Aotrom–Ridoc's dragon–was rubbing against her like a cat and chortling, she whipped her head around and blew a small cloud of fire at the brown dragon.

"Hey!" you hear Ridoc shout, running over to Aotrom. "Tell her to back off!"

"Oh he's fine," you defend Cairis walking to where she bares her teeth at Ridoc. "Dragons are fireproof, and besides, he was in her personal space."

"He likes her, can't you tell her that!" he cries, Aotrom lowering his nose to receive attention from Ridoc, gods these boys were going to be menaces.

"Tell the boy I already know and don't want to talk about it." Cairis turns her head in a pout.

"She knows Ridoc, and she doesn't care, maybe you should tell him to leave her alone!" you fold your arms across your chest, watching Ridoc as he walks closer to you.

"Oh please, he's not going to give her up, she's his mate!" your voices arguing carried across the field, and out of the corner of your eye, you see Sawyer and Rhiannon approaching and you briefly worry about Violet.

"Not yet she's not! And I pray to Amari they never do mate because that means I'll have to spend the rest of my life miserable!" the two of you are inches apart now his warm brown eyes staring into yours.

"Woah, woah, calm down guys," Sawyer says as Rhiannon pulls you back.

"You have no idea, princess I'd rock your world," he smirks and you're sure your face blooms red, out of anger or because he flirted. You had not a clue.

"Want me to torch him? He reminds me of a certain dragon, maybe they can burn together..." you hear Cairis' voice in the back of your head.

"NO." Your response is too quick and you know it.

"Oh...you don't like him do you?"

"No, I just...he's still my friend...I think. He just annoys the ever-loving shit out of me. And don't pretend you'd kill Aotrom too, we both know you could've killed him already."

"Don't forget your place little one," Cairis' voice looms louder before she turns with a whip of her tail, the poison barb inches from Aotrom's face. "Now go to your friend she just returned, the Empyrean has much to talk about now."

Violet was certainly a force to be reckoned with, you'd learned that early on. But bonding two dragons? And one of them being one of the most powerful...gods, she was something. The Empyrean discussed while the rest of your squad sat in the grass and waited. Rhiannon and Sawyer separated you and Ridoc before you got into any more arguments. This was good because Ridoc was going on and on about how hard he was going to be celebrating tonight with the rest of the new rider cadets, as well as deciding who he wanted to take to bed. You couldn't help the annoyance (jealousy?) that came from it.

"Yeah right, Gamlyn, like anyone wants to go to bed with you after the long day we've had," you scoff, not able to hold back your comment.

"I can be relaxing, want me to show you, princess?" He retorts. How does he always have something to say back?!

"Down boy," Rhi jokes, "she already has to deal with you and now she has to deal with your dragon too, give it a rest." You throw Rhiannon a thankful gaze before your dragons approach you again.

"Time for you to sleep girl, we start flight maneuvers this week, rest up." You stand to greet Cairis and her head nestles in your hands. She seemed to have a bit of a temper but you knew she would do anything to protect you now. You were bonded. So you watched her launch into the sky before heading back to the caves of the Vale, Aotrom following behind her like a love-sick puppy.

The next few weeks grew harder, all your free time thrown into school work and flight maneuvers, and since Violet was attacked Dain has ordered squad hand-to-hand combats every Tuesday night. You could tell that even Ridoc was getting weary, his comments to you had just turned to eye rolls. He would still throw one in now and again during flight, Cairis and Aotrom's petty snaps at each other made it difficult for you not to fight with one another. You'd managed to talk Cairis into being gentler with Aotrom–at least when you were around–if only to give you a slight sense of peace. But just like his rider, Aotrom was untamable.

It was a Tuesday night, you were in the training room and everyone began to spar with one another. Ridoc had tried to convince Liam to join him but Liam refused now that he was Violet's guardian so Imogen stepped in. You and Sawyer worked on your blocks with one another when Xaden and Garrick walked in. The two stripped their shirts off and began to spar with one another. You hear a low whistle as Violet and Rhiannon, even Imogen from where she held Ridoc in a headlock had their heads turned to watch the bulky, chiseled men fighting each other. To be fair it was boiling in the training room that night, the heat was cranked due to the cold December snows, and nearly every man had his shirt removed, including Sawyer across from you and the girls all in their training vests. Ridoc taps in fast succession before Imogen releases him and you're all dismissed by Dain for a water break. You chug from your bottle as Rhiannon approaches next to you.

"Did you see those two?" she asks you, talking about Xaden and Garrick. They were sure something to look at, their winding rebellion relics and dragon relics covering them. "Makes me feel way too straight looking at them..." she draws off and you giggle at her, looking over to see Violet who is practically drooling at Xaden.

"I don't know if I want to be them or be with them," you hear Ridoc speak from the other side of you. You turn to see him drinking his water, small dribbles falling down his chest–his now bare chest–as he pants heavily. You thought Xaden and Garrick were something sure... but Ridoc...holy Dunne. You knew he'd gained some muscle since he'd gotten here, but you didn't know he was fully jacked now! His body was fully carved by the gods. Maybe he wasn't as chiseled as Xaden or built like an ox like Garrick but he was...perfect. Your body grows hotter than it already was your mind racing. Why were you reacting like this to Ridoc of all people? Sawyer was just as attractive and way nicer. It had been happening way too often for this to just be a one-time thought.

"Ever occur to you maybe you like him?" Ciaris asks, listening to your thoughts.

"Not now," You reply quickly before putting up your shields and blocking her out.

"Hey, princess, want a rematch?" Ridoc asks, a grin plastered on his face. "No weapons this time?" You're sure your face was bright red at this point, your whole body at that. You just shake your head before gathering your stuff, haphazardly throwing your flight jacket on. You had to get out of here now.

"Hey where are you going?" you hear Violet call to you as you leave to ask Dain if you can leave early to finish homework.

"I have way too much homework, gonna see if Dain'll let me off 30 minutes early," you respond, still walking to your squad leader. He gives you the okay, and you go to walk past the rest of your squad before leaving the training room.

"I thought we were studying tonight for the math exam tomorrow?" Sawyer asks and you halt your steps. Oh shit, you'd forgotten, and Ridoc would have to be there, he was the best of you at math.

"Oh...um-yeah! Just wanted to shower first, just come to my room, we can study in there." Right a cold shower, would help. Then it would be fine to see Ridoc again, with his shirt on.

The cold water sprayed over you and you quickly cleaned yourself and washed your hair, rinsing away all your impure thoughts with the water. Once back to your room, you run oil through the ends of your long hair, still not having cut it since parapet, though now you'd kept it safely tied back. It was so much nicer to have your own room after being in the barracks for months. You sit at your desk and look over your workload, deciding to get some history done before the others come to study.

You hadn't realized how much time had passed before there was a knock at your door. You leap up from your chair, a smile on your face ready to greet the rest of your crew, but when you open the door your smile falls.

"Really? Are you that disappointed? I thought you were lightening up, didn't realize you were still a brat," Ridoc walks into your room and shuts the door behind him, flopping on your bed like he lived in there–at least he was clean, you could tell by his damp, tousled hair.

"Where are the others?" you ask turning from where you still stand by the door in your loose black sleep pants and a vest.

"'Hi Ridoc, hello, nice to see you' would be the appropriate response," he taunts, tossing his bag on the ground before laying back on your bed, his hands behind his head. You don't even respond to him, only giving him an annoyed look before he rolls his eyes and answers your question. "Sawyer took a fist to the face from Aetos, Rhiannon is taking him to the healers, broken nose. And Violet has whatever she has going on with Riorson...I don't even want to know. They said to go without them, that you'd need the most help with math anyway." He sits up again on your bed scooting to the edge, seemingly not able to sit still.

"Whatever, I'll just fail, you can go back to your room," you complain heading to your desk and shutting your history books.

"No, it's okay, princess. I can help you."

"I don't want your help, Ridoc, just go," You turn and face where he sat on your bed, his face unreadable.

"Seriously? You're that proud?" his words strike you across the face, his mouth turned downward in a frown as he stands and takes a step towards you.

"I'm not proud!" you fumed, "I just know you're going to tease me for being so shitty at math!"

"You think that little of me?" he takes another step forward, "Sure, I like to tease you but don't mistake me, I wouldn't tease you over something you struggle with!" this is the most serious you've seen him. But you still have some confidence left.

"Really?! Because you've already done that!" you shout back at him, thankful that you have a sound shield on your door so no one hears you seething at each other.

"When?!" he retorted, throwing his arms to the side in confusion. You wrack your brain, looking for the right words to describe how it had made you feel.

"Every-fucking-day Ridoc! It's constant taunting and I just don't know how to respond! With everyone else, you're nice and funny but you just have it out for me! I know I started it when I slapped you, and I know I don't make it easy with how I respond, but I thought at least when you humiliated me after challenging me you would let go!" tears are welled up in your eyes from the amount of anger you feel. You thought you'd get Ridoc with that, you thought he'd break and apologize like the nice guy you know he is, but a terrifyingly playful smirk grew on his lips.

"Ever take a moment and think it's cause you're always acting like a brat, princess?" he takes another step towards you and another, and another, until he's hovering over you, your back pressed against your desk, his face only inches from yours. "Yes, I tease you, I tease all our friends, but you're the only one who stays acting like I'm some sort of fucking villain when I stop." You think about it. Truly think about it. Were you the only one? He was an over-confident smart-ass he made comments to everyone, so why did it bother you so much?

"Ah, cat got your tongue?" your breath is caught in your throat and you watch as he raises a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. "Y'know, I saw you staring at me tonight, you're not nearly as sly as you ought to be..." he was fucking teasing you again. But the way he was doing this...gods your body was on fire.

"I don't know what you're talking about," you lie, your voice barely a whisper. You look up and meet his eyes, his warm eyes, pools of chocolate that you could just melt in, and he is looking at you, really looking at you. In this moment you felt as if he could read your soul on a piece of paper.

"We both know that's not true," his voice dangerously low and confident. "And I think we both know that all you need..." his hand that tucked your hair behind your ear moves and he begins to trace your neck with the backs of his fingers, "is to give up control." You know your heart is beating out of control now. His hand now moved to grasp the side of your neck tightly, his other hand braced on the desk behind you. You were trapped against his body, the same way you were trapped when he held you against the mat, and it felt so good.

Before you could ask him for more, or surge up to kiss him like you may or may not have thought of doing while you were in the shower, he moves away and your body slinks in disappointment.

"Wanna know why I tease you?" he asks, his back turned to you as he picks up the trinkets on your bedside table.

"Desperately," you sigh out, hoping for an actual answer. He turns again a smirk on his face as he looks at the absolute mess he'd made of you already. He backs up and sits on the edge of your bed again, his legs spread wide before he answers you.

"Because it riles you up."

"Well I think I gathered that," you roll your eyes and look down at your hands.

"That first day after the parapet, I couldn't get over how fucking sexy you looked with that annoyed face," Oh. You knew this was heading somewhere, but for him to flat-out call you sexy made you press your legs together, "I can't get enough of it, even now." he looked away, all of his confidence suddenly gone. "And I wanted to see if once, once, you'd lose it."

"Lose it?" you question, and he laughs at you before running a hand through his dark hair.

"It happened once when you slapped me, and I thought it was going to happen again when I challenged you, but instead, you melted in my hands like a fucking puddle," he shakes his head and you can feel the heat rising to your cheeks again, embarrassment evident on your features, "Awe, don't be embarrassed, princess." Gods, why was every fucking word he was saying making the wetness pool in your core?

"Ridoc?" You ask him, taking a step away from the desk and towards him, he hums in response, looking you over from head to toe, studying every inch of you. "You said that night, after presentation, that if you wanted to get a girl, you'd just 'tease her' and 'tackle her to the ground' like Cairis and Aotrom," you felt a bit silly saying his same words over again but continued, your voice still quiet, "is that...what you've been doing with me?" You take another step forward, "all the taunting, then challenging me...was that you trying to tell me you like me?" You were close enough to him now that he could just reach out and grab you, and he did.

Ridoc grabbed your arm and pulled you straight between his legs, the largest smile you'd ever seen from him taking up his entire face.

"Took you long enough to figure that out, princess," and there you were, in the arms of Ridoc Gamlyn, the man you'd argued with and fought with for the past several months, and it felt incredible. He seemed like a completely different person, but he wasn't. It was you and your perspective that changed, you were feeling what it felt like to just give into him, letting him tease you and taunt you for his pleasure, giving up your control.

"And do you remember what I said after that?" your breath caught in your throat at the memory. He liked to be in control, in charge. You nodded shyly from where you stood between his legs, all your confidence now lost. His hands that held your arms moved up to cradle your face, and you melted. "Look at you," he hummed, "Tell me. I want to hear you say what I said." you gathered all your courage and looked him in the eye.

"You said that everyone needs to give up control at some point..." your voice still low and quiet. "and that in the bedroom with someone like you is a good place for it."

"Seems like someone remembered well. The look on your face after I said that, gods...made me so fucking hard to see you that flustered." you couldn't help but press your legs together at his words, thinking of him getting so worked up over your reaction to him. "I knew after I challenged you just how easily you'd give in, but that was when I realized that it was me and my words that were getting you so fired up and you just don't know how to respond other than with anger." he was reading you like a damned book. How had he gathered all this when you couldn't even realize the capacity of your feelings?

"Y'know you're a lot smarter than everyone gives you credit for, Gamlyn," you smile a bit, opening yourself up.

"Yeah? I think that deserves a kiss," your instincts take over and you roll your eyes at his comment. One of his hands that held your face moved lower, his long fingers wrapping deftly around your throat and applying slight pressure, the annoyance in your face dropped and you felt your body submitting to him, a whine leaving you at the feeling of his hand on your throat. "Really, princess? I thought you were done with the attitude?" His voice is deep and raspy and he licks his lips as he watches your expression. Oh to feel that tongue on your body.

"I'm sorry...I just..." you trail off, your body practically quivering at this point in anticipation.

"'Just-just' what?" He mocks you. Fuck it. You couldn't wait any longer. You surge forward and capture his lips in yours. He's taken aback for a moment but it doesn't last long before he's devouring you. It's a mess of tongue and teeth as he pulls your body against him, his fingers tangling in the hair at the base of your neck, "Still got some fire left in you? We'll see about that..." he mumbles out between kisses.

You're desperate for more, your hands moving all along his body before he picks you up as if you weigh nothing switches places with you, and pushes you back until you're laying against your bed. Your hands reach the bottom of his shirt and you begin to tug wanting more than anything to feel his skin on yours, but he stops you. Oh. Was he upset? You thought he wanted this...

"Huh uh, princess..." he drawls out, his voice like honey. Okay, he's still turned on, what was this about?! He takes a step back from you, his eyes raking over your body that was on the precipice of convulsing. "I've wanted this for too long, and once I have you...gods, I don't think I'll ever be able to keep myself away from you." your face scrunches in confusion, was he asking you to be his girlfriend right now?

"What do you mean?" you ask, looking for clarity.

Ridoc runs his palms over his face in exasperation before raking them through his still-damp hair. He seemed almost stressed. Whatever control he held just a moment ago, he was letting go of, showing you his full, raw, emotions. "I mean that I like you. A lot. Probably more than I should. And I don't want this to be a one-time thing. I want you fully and wholly. I'll even stop teasing you if that's what it takes for you to say yes! Even though you look so damned cute with your little frown." he smiles at the end of his sentence as if remembering the specific look on your face. You couldn't help the smile that grew on your face, as if only now you'd recognize the capacity of your feelings. You'd been drawn to him before but your inability to give in to him was what was holding you back. But you were ready to let go.

"I don't want it to either..." You look him in the eye and reach out to pull him into you again, placing a small kiss on the tip of his nose before continuing. "I want you to have me, I'm done running away from you. Take me, Ridoc." You took his hands that were still nervously tangled in his hair and place them on your waist, a physical way of showing him what you just told him.

"I want you to be sure, sweetness. I don't know if I can hold myself back from you, I can get prettyyy...excited." He grips your waist harder, testing the waters.

"I want you to take charge, Ridoc, I want you to do whatever you want to me, I'm at your mercy," you're all but begging him at this point to just give you everything he's teased to you.

"Fuck..." He groans out, leaning down and burying his face in your neck causing the flesh on your arms to rise at the feeling. He places sloppy kisses there, searching for the spot that will drive you nuts. Once he hears your little moans as he kisses the spot right behind where your jaw and earlobe meet he begins to nip and suck, marking you for everyone to see. "Y'know when I pinned you to that mat, I was about certain you were going to finish right there, sadly I was mistaken. But I learned that you seem to really like being beneath me." Even then he could tell that you were lost in him, and he took this opportunity to put you in the same position he held you in that day.

You lay with your head at the top of the bed, Ridoc's hands pinning your wrists to the pillow behind you, his legs tangled in yours. You moan lightly at the sight above you as he works kisses down your chest and to your cleavage where your shirt cuts off. You try to move your hands to reach down and take off your top, but his grip on your wrists is firm. You hear him laugh at your attempt pathetically against your chest, the heat of his breath causing a shiver to run down your spine. You whine at the loss of your ability to move, your body on fire for him to touch you more, but he keeps lingering with his hot lips all over your neck and chest.

"What? Want more?" He looks up at you through his lashes, eyes glazed over and lips swollen. He looked utterly sinful.

"Please..." you beg, attempting to move your arms again to see if his grip has loosened.

"I think that's the first time you've ever used that word with me," he ignores your plea and licks down your chest, his teeth nipping the edge of your top, pulling it down slightly.

"Ridoc, please, you said you wouldn't tease!" your voice raises slightly a sliver of shame entering your body with how you were begging him.

"Well that wouldn't be as much fun," he states but removes his hands anyway and moves them to the bottom of your top moving it up inch by inch, feeling your warm skin beneath his hands, "you're so fucking hot when you beg for me." his hands reach the bottom of your unbound breasts and his fingers creep up tauntingly. Your now free hands shoot out and reach for him, you sit up your mouth going straight for his, you couldn't get enough of how good he tasted. "Slow down there, princess, mm-wanna take my time," he murmurs through your lips.

"You've made me wait long enough...please just take me," he seems to let go at your words, his hands fully enveloping your breasts and squeezing, a hum sounds from his throat at the feeling. His fingers move to pluck at your hardened peaks, and you move yours to the edges of your top, breaking the kiss to remove it.

"Oh, gods, knew you'd look this good," Ridoc says, his voice just as desperate as you felt. But you waste no time, as soon as your shirt is removed you start pawing at his to take it off. Once it's off you wrap your arms around him mouth moving to his neck to taste him just as he did to you, the feeling of your hot skin together driving you mad. He grunts at the sensation of your mouth on his neck, only giving in momentarily before grabbing you by the waist and pulling you to the edge of the bed as he stands up. As soon as he stood he reached for the waistband of his pants and removed his belt in one motion and undoing the button. He takes off his pants quickly, his painfully hard cock bouncing up to hit against his toned stomach. Wow. Ridoc talked a big talk when it came to his dick. You'd always thought it was a part of his jokes, but the evidence was here in front of you and he was not joking.

"Oh gods..." You moan out at the sight, not being able to hold back from sinking to your knees in front of him as he tugged at himself, "Please let me taste you."

"Hmph, not today," He says and reaches down to help you off your knees and shove you back onto the bed, "I'm about to finish just seeing you on your knees, and I want to cum inside you first." His words are filthy and it spurs you on more. You sigh dejectedly, your mouth watering at the sight of his leaking tip, you can't help but reach a hand out to try and feel him, but he slaps your hand away, pushing on the middle of your chest until you're lying flat against the bed. "I said, not today, or don't you want me to taste you first? Don't you think you deserve it? You've been so patient...but I can always take it back and wait till tomorrow to fuck you..."

"No! Please! I'll be good, I'll stay put!" you sit up on your elbows, an acute fear growing in your body at the thought of him leaving you here until tomorrow.

"Hm, that's more like it," Ridoc approves, removing his hand from his cock and to your pants, dragging them and your panties down far too slowly. You do your best to be patient and hold back your whines, you know that it's a test. He kneels in front of the bed and spreads your legs open his calloused fingertips running along the inside of your thighs, drawing up closer to your center. "I really did get you worked up didn't I?" Ridoc remarks before dragging a fingertip through your dripping wet core. You don't hold back your sounds knowing he's about to make you feel incredible.

Ridoc's mouth on your pussy is unlike anything you'd felt, he meant it when he said he knew how to pleasure a woman just as well as a man. Your hands moved and threaded through his mop of hair as he licked and sucked, hardly letting up at all. One of the hands that held your thighs tightly moved to your lower stomach and pressed down to keep you from squirming, a hard grunt coming from his throat in warning. The other hand moved lower and rubbed at your clit in slow motions. It was all too much, the pleasure coursing through your veins, the realization that Ridoc was the one making you feel that good. You were a mess.

The fingers on your clit slipped lower and teased at your entrance a finger slipping in at a slow pace. You whine, trying to buck your hips forward in an attempt for it to go deeper.

"Ah ah, what did I say?" Your whines echo through the room at his words but you comply anyway, stopping your squirming. He makes a noise in approval before continuing his ministrations, adding another finger and pumping them gently, all while switching between long strokes and little licks with his tongue on your clit. Your body convulses when he curls his fingers into a spot that makes you see stars. Ridoc doesn't move fast in this process and doesn't try to bring you to your peak immediately. His strokes are consistent and thoughtful, he notices your reactions to every single one of his movements and plays to them. He's deliberate with his motions and brings you to peak gently, continuing his gestures throughout.

"Please, fuck me now, Ridoc, I don't want to wait," You tug at his hair trying to bring him up to kiss you. But he stays, lapping up your release before pressing kisses to the insides of your thighs. Then your stomach. All along your hips. No place is untouched by his lips. "Ridoc!" you beg louder, pulling harder at his hair. His hands grip your waist tighter, fingers digging with a pressure that you were sure to feel tomorrow. But he doesn't stop peppering your body with kisses, ignoring your words. "Baby please..."

"That's enough," he scolds, pulling on your hips and flipping you onto your stomach. He grabs your ass roughly before bringing his other hand down on it in a slap. You squeal at the act but pleasure runs through your core all the same. "You want to be fucked? Hm?" His voice degrading. "Let's see how you handle it then." He says before slapping his hand on your ass again and plunging into you in succession.

"Fuck!" your voice pitches at the feeling of his cock stretching you out.

"Yeah? You begged for it, princess. Now take it," Ridoc's voice was rough and demanding, the sound of it made your mind reel. You let your body and mind give in to the feeling. The sound of his hips slapping your ass and the feeling of his balls hitting your clit with the angle made your head go foggy. All it was was you and Ridoc. Your bodies were one as he pounded into you. He fucked you hard, a contrast from just minutes ago when he was gently licking into your cunt, and you couldn't get enough of it.

You lean back and face Ridoc, watching the fucked out look on his face took you to a new level. You reached back to grab the back of his neck and bring his lips to yours. You needed him everywhere. "Please," you risk your words, "I want to look at you." His controlling guise fell for a moment as he gave in to your plea.

"Alright, sweetness" he listens, pulling out momentarily to turn you onto your front before plunging back into you. Moans tumble out of your mouth as you revel in the new angle, his cock pushing deeper into you. His head falls to the crook of your neck and he presses sloppy kisses all along you. You grasp at his face, needing to feel his lips on yours as you feel the resistance at your core pulling tighter. Your sounds get louder as you get closer and Ridoc's hand reaches down to play with your clit. "That's it, you're taking me so well." He groans out, his face turning up in pleasure. He was just as close as you were. It reaches you faster than it did the first time, the orgasm peaking quickly and hard. Ridoc fucks you through it, his thrusts growing sloppier as he gets closer. He looks at you with a questioning gaze.

"Fill me up, Ridoc, please," you answer his unasked question, knowing you were both on the fertility supplement that Basgiath provided. That was all the permission he needed before he thrust a few more times and spilled inside of you. The warm feeling almost brings you to finish a third time. His head falls to your chest as he breathes deeply, trying to catch his breath. You comb your fingers through his hair and press a kiss to the top of his head, a smile gently growing on your face.

He catches his breath for another moment before pulling out and standing. He picked through his clothes on the ground and slipped on his boxers and loose pants.

"Are you leaving?" you as suddenly, your voice tinged with fear. You sit up and try to cover yourself with your hands. Ridoc stands up straight, his long-sleeved shirt in hand.

"No, princess, don't worry," He smiles and hands you his shirt to put on before taking a tissue from your desk and moving closer to you. He gently pushes you to lay back again and brings the tissue to clean between your thighs. A soft gasp escapes you from the sensitivity, "Shh, sh, it's okay." Ridoc's voice was so soft, so thoughtful. Your heart melted as you thought of his earlier comments. He's liked you for so long now, more than he should in his words. You let him finish cleaning you and lay back in your bed, finding the covers and crawling under them, holding out the edge for Ridoc to come under as he walks back from turning off the light.

The moonlight that shined through the window barely illuminated your room as you lay next to Ridoc, he lay against your chest, arms wrapped around your waist. You rest your head atop his as your fingers trace the relic that Aotrom left him on the top of his muscular arm. He buries his head deeper into you before speaking.

"I don't think Cairis will be very happy about this," You laugh at his comment but know it's true, you let your shields down just slightly letting her presence flow through you.

"I'm not," her voice deadpan and sharp. Well, you can deal with it later.

"She'll get over it," You respond, letting your eye drift closed.

"Maybe, she'll learn from you and let Aotrom in," Ridoc thinks aloud, "He's very convinced that she's his mate and that she's going to give in soon enough. You did with me..." You smile, thinking of your dragons and the similarities you all share. You'd noticed it before, everyone had. Maybe it was just a matter of time before Cairis would give into Aotrom's relentlessness. You sort of hoped that she would if her feelings were anything like yours.

"Don't get your hopes up..." Cairis enters your head again, clearly annoyed.

You woke the next morning far too late, the early morning sun was shining through your window. Fuck. Your math exam. You sit up out of your bed quickly, noticing that Ridoc had already gone and you briefly remember him kissing you on the forehead before he left for his early watch duty before classes. You smile to yourself at the memories of last night, but only give yourself a second before rushing up and gathering all of your things for class and running straight there, knowing you'd already missed breakfast.

At least the math exam was first thing this morning so you could get it over with, but unfortunately, you were most definitely failing after not studying last night. The class was about to start as you entered and Violet waved a hand over to where she and the rest of the first years of your squad were sitting. Ridoc smirks at you and scoots over to make room for you. Your friends could tell by your panicked look that something was off.

"You okay?" Rhiannon asks from the other side of Ridoc.

"Yeah, you look tired. How was studying last night?" Sawyer says, turning from his seat in front of you to join the conversation, his nose only healed and not mended telling from the bruises. Before you had the chance to respond Ridoc interjects.

"We uh...didn't get much studying done last night if you know what I mean," he swings his arm over your shoulder and draws you close, planting a kiss on your cheek. You push him away out of annoyance.

"Ridoc!" you chide. "We didn't even talk about if we were going to tell anyone!" you say lower talking only to him.

"What the fuck?!" Rhi shouts, gaining the attention of the rest of the class before grimacing and quieting down.

"They were gonna find out sooner or later, princess, I can't keep my fucking hands off you," he explains, diving in again and pressing another kiss to your neck this time. Shivers run down your spine at the feeling before you remember where you are and push him off of you again.

"What happened?" Violet asks leaning in on the other side of you, Ridoc's hand now moving to grab at your thigh, she looks away in disgust at the sight, "Never mind, I don't want to know..." she fakes a gag, and Rhi and Sawyer look to each other with a mass of confusion before breaking out in laughter.

"They fucked, obviously," Liam says casually from the other side of Violet where he's working on a wood carving.

"Thanks, Liam, like they hadn't gathered that already..." you say sarcastically and bury your head in your hands.

"I'm scarred," Sawyer says, barely able to contain his laughs. You groan in embarrassment as the professor walks in and starts giving directions on the exam. Yep. You were failing. Ridoc caught the worry in your face and he leaned into you.

“You’ve tried,” you deadpan, mentally cursing yourself for caving and responding; he’s like a fucking dog with a bone. 

“And yet,” he whispers, leaning in like he’s telling you a secret. “We’ve yet to do anything about it.”

“There won’t be anything done about it.”

“About what?” 

You pause to look at the idiot. He stops too, smiling at you unbothered by the bodies of other cadets who have to navigate around the two of you in the hallway. 

“About the undeniable chemistry,” you drawl. 

It was clearly a trap—the bastard's brows rising victoriously. “So, you feel it too, huh? I knew it. You like playing hard to get, gorgeous?” 

“For the love of Amari, you are unbelievable,” you groan, barely restraining yourself from stomping your foot petulantly as you pivot and continue towards the classroom. 

Ridoc seamlessly falls into step with you. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

“It sure sounded like one.”

You shoulder your way through the door of the lecture hall and descend the stairs to find a seat. Your shadow is hot on your tail and ready to take the empty seat beside the one you stop at, only to come up short and frown down at your bag as you unceremoniously dump it there. 

“What do you want, Gamlyn?”

You hear the telltale huff of a thoroughly unimpressed dragon in the back of your mind—which you translate to something along the lines of don’t play dumb, Stubborn One—that you do your best to ignore.

“Uhm, to act on this thing going on between us, obviously.” A man truly has no right looking so good while being so obnoxious.

“There’s nothing going on between us.”

Ridoc’s dark eyes flash in excitement, a dimple appearing as he smirks at you. “Not yet, maybe.”

“Get over it,” you huff, slamming down into your chair and readying your notebook for class to start. “It’s not happening.” 

He heaves a sigh as he steps around you and takes the seat on your other side. 

“Fine, but can I at least ask why?” 

You look over at him, really look. 

There’s an unruly curl that insists on hanging over his forehead despite him constantly pushing it back, still a touch damp from whatever shower he took after sparring this morning. His tanned skin looks like it’d be warm to the touch, as though perpetually sun-kissed despite it being notoriously cloudy lately. His lashes are dark and long and, dammit, Ridoc is pretty. 

He’s pretty and distracting and insistent and strong and loyal and you have no doubt he’d be so much fun. 

But…

“You don’t get told no a lot, do you?” 

His eyes flash down to your shoulder for a moment before they return to your eyes. “No, not really.”

“Fine.” You turn your focus to the front of the room, watching as Professor Devera enters and sets up at the podium. “You want to know why it isn’t going to happen?”

“Please.”

Fuck, and now he’s begging. 

“Because I have no interest in being just another notch on your bedpost.” 

The silence that meets you leaves you thinking the conversation might finally—blissfully—be over. 

So why does that thought leave your stomach feeling hollow? 

“Oh,” Ridoc hums. “I see.” 

You let out a sigh, still not looking at him. “Yeah.” 

“So you want to be a notch, just not another.”

“I- what?”

“Hey, no judgement, I can work with that.” He’s smiling again; one dimple mocks you as he too moves his attention forward, watching Colonel Markham enter the room to join the professor at the front. “I have to admit, I’m not usually a relationship kind of guy. But for you? I can make an exception.”

Your mind has stuttered to a complete halt, only a faint sound of amusement coming from your dragon among the eerie ringing that has replaced the sound of the quickly filling classroom. 

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Ridoc turns and grins—grins!—at you. “You don’t want to be just another notch on my bedpost? I’ll replace the whole frame. Brand new, just for you. I’ll take up fucking carpentry and build it myself if that’s what you’d like.” 

All you can bring yourself to do is shake your head, as if rattling around Ridoc’s words in your brain will make them settle into something that makes sense. “You’re crazy.”

His grin grows impossibly wider. “Crazy about you.”

“Ew.”

“What? Too cheesy? Okay, I’ll dial it back. Sorry, new to this whole exclusive thing.”

 “Who’s exclusive?” Rhiannon asks as she takes the seat on your other side.

“We are!” Ridoc answers for you, slapping a hand on your thigh.

You flick his hand away, turning towards your new seatmate to deny it all when Rhiannon sighs happily. “Thank gods! Fucking finally, he hasn’t shut the hell up about you in weeks, you know?”

What…the fuck? 

“Oh, Ridoc?” Violet chimes in from Rhiannon’s other side. “His dorm room’s been so disturbingly quiet lately, I thought we were going to have to do a wellness check.”

Rhiannon snorts. “For the love of Loial though, please learn how to sound proof your room.”

But your brain must have taken some serious damage during sparring that you can’t remember because not only have you still not figured out how the hell this conversation ended up here of all places, but the only thing you manage to focus on—and parrot weakly—is, “weeks?” 

Ridoc’s thigh presses into yours as Devera calls the class to attention, the rider’s grin downright wicked as he leans over and whispers loud enough so only you can hear.

“Oh, haven’t you heard? The roster’s been cleared for weeks, babe. I’ve been waiting for you.”

I can't take it anymore. They are actually driving me insane.

It was cute at first. Sweet. And sometimes a bit funny. A welcome distraction from everything going on in the quadrant. But once I joined their squad, it became. Way. Too. Much.

Before, it was every other class, and maybe sometimes when we crossed each other in the halls that Ridoc's thoughts would invade my brain space. They were loud and I'm pretty sure that even if I could control my inntinnsic abilities, it would still be impossible to ignore. His thoughts bully their way into my head no matter what I do.

But it was fine, I didn't mind. Ridoc was funny and being in his head was, for the most part, quite pleasant. It was easier to focus on one person's mental traffic than it was to block out everyone else's. It was especially easy to focus on Ridoc's, purely because of how loud and obstreperous it was.

This however, was just... overwhelming. It was no longer 'every now and then' it was Every. Single. Day. Obviously, being in his squad meant we shared all our lessons. To make matters worse, that also means I share every lesson with Violet AND Sawyer. I quickly learned that while Sawyer is quiet, he has a sharp tongue that is politely kept under wraps. It doesn't help that he seems to share Ridoc's sentiments about me, even if they are quieter.

Violet makes it onto the list of annoyances, not because of who she is, but because her thoughts are a whirlwind. This woman thinks at a hundred miles a minute and if I get caught in the currants, it's easy to be pulled under. What happens when you get pulled under, I don't know, and I don't intend to find out.

But, she's not too bad. Her mind is unobstructive. It's not that her thoughts are meek, they're just... easy to step around, if that makes sense.

The absolute worst part about being on Violet's squad, is that Xaden is constantly popping up. I know, I know. I'm a marked one, he sacrificed a bunch for us, I should be grateful, blah blah blah. And I am, don't get me wrong, but he scares the shit out of me, and I've so far done an excellent job of avoiding that man like the plague. If I really need to get word to him, I will talk to his cousin, or Garrick, thank you very much. (Not Imogen. She also scares me.) That becomes really hard when he is now everywhere Violet is. I know that's an exaggeration, but still.

But that's not my biggest problem. Violet? Fine. Xaden? My abrupt and shit excuses to be anywhere he isn't gets me weird looks, but it's manageable. Ridoc and Sawyer on the other hand? I am one stray hair from throwing myself off the parapet.

At this point, it's more distracting than just letting everyone's thoughts clamour over each other in my head.

For example, we were taking a test the other day. I had made the grievous mistake of sitting in front of the two boys and it was just a constant stream of me. You can't be telling me that you think my hair is absolutely gorgeous, and that you bet it would be so soft and nice to play with. Like, what do you mean you're certain I'd look amazing kneeling for you and begging? I'm not about to disagree with you, but could you not think about it during our physics pop quiz? I'm trying to calculate the specific heat capacity of dragon scales over here.

Now, you might be thinking, 'Why not tune into Sawyer's thoughts or anyone else's?'

Great question! Allow me to explain, Sawyer, is a 45/45/10 gamble. 45 percent chance he's thinking: 'I want to brush her hair back and kiss her forehead', another 45 percent chance of: 'I want to bend her over the desk and use her hair as a handle', —there is no in between— and a 10 percent chance of: 'Oh, I know this formula'

Not good odds. As for someone else, my telepathic abilities only reach so far and I did not trust the theoretical physics knowledge of the people who sat around me. It is safe to say, that was the last time I ever sat in front of Ridoc and Sawyer. Never. Again. I'm pretty sure I failed that test because not even 5 minutes past, and I was in desperate need of a cold shower.

I would really love to go one day without feeling an incessant need to take care of myself at the end of every lesson. If it's not Ridoc, it's Sawyer, and vice versa. One thing I learnt very quickly in the first few days of my signet manifesting, is that any thoughts people have about you present louder than any others.

I need to change squads direly, and I am about a hairs breadth away from murdering half of another squad just for the slightest chance to make it happen. Or I could ask Garrick if he could do anything, but that conversation would get very messy, very quickly. No one knows I'm an inntinnsic, not even another marked one. We have to do some illegal shit to get by, but this? This is another level.

I just hope that my second signet presents soon like my dragon says it will, because the length of time I've gone with no signs of signet manifestation and yet simultaneously no signs of spontaneous combustion either is starting to raise some eyebrows. Especially with the other marked ones.

'You know you are missing the most simple solution with your boy problem, right?'

I'm not going to bed them, I insist for the umpteenth time. It is not the first instance my green scorpion tail, Nyalahrahck (Nyla for short), and I have had this argument.

'Why not? You want it, they want it, either of them would be a fine choice for some release. It's one night, not marriage.'

It's not about that. It's the principal of it

'You know what I like the principal of? Not having a rider so riddled with need that she falls off mid-flight'

That happened one time!

'Yes, and that is one too many'

She blocks any attempt I may have had as a come back, leaving me to stew in my thoughts. For most people, this would be a bad thing, but here, in my dorm, is the one place where I can actually hear myself think, and I revel in it.

All five seconds of it.

*knock knock knock*

What now?

I reluctantly get up to check who it is. Classes are done for the day, and the marked one meeting isn't for another four-ish hours.

Opening my door reveals Violet and Rhiannon standing there.

"Hello?" I ask, it's not in an unkind way, we're just not very close. I was only added into their squad under a month ago, so it could still change.

"Hi Y/n. We have an impromptu training session, Aetos's orders. Sorry," Violet says, grimacing.

I give her a tight-lipped smile in return. I think she's figured out I hold my alone time close to my heart, and she respects that, which I appreciate, "Not your fault, just give me a moment. You guys can go on so long if you want, I'll be there in a bit"

They nod and I close my door again to quickly get ready. I grab a few daggers and braid my hair then pin it firmly into a bun. When I walk out, they are still there waiting for me. I can't help but smile a little at them. It's a shame that I'll need to find a way to switch squads. I'm really starting to like them.

When we all get to the training room, the rest of the squad is already there. Sawyer and Ridoc are sparing while Aetos takes mental notes, and Liam looks extremely concentrated on the match, but he's actually thinking about the meeting tonight.

Just as we enter, Sawyer pins Ridoc, and he yields.

"Nice one Sawyer!" Rhiannon comments. He nods his head in thanks before helping his sparing partner off the ground.

"Perfect," Aetos starts, "Sawyer with Rhiannon, Liam with Y/n, and Ridoc with Violet"

No hello? No 'sorry, I know it's late and this is completely unexpected, but I think that the squad could benefit from some extra training', nothing? Asshole.

We all move to a mat nonetheless. I face down Liam, staring into his eyes, trying to get a read on his next move. You'd think being a mind reader would make that easy, but Liam's been training for a while, so his moves are pretty much second nature to him. He is almost always thinking about anything other than the fight at hand unless he's facing a second or third year. It makes it even more difficult to fight him.

What was on his mind during today's sparing match was my least favourite topic: "Why has Y/n not manifested her signet yet?"

The concern is sweet, but the thoughts themselves gives me anxiety. How long can I keep this up? When are they going to find out? Who will figure it out first, the marked ones, or the other riders? What happens to me when they do?

Liam strikes first, feigning a hit to my right and quickly redirecting to my left. I duck, and using his direction of motion to my advantage, I grab his arm, and pull him forward. It only sets him off balance for a second, but that's all I need.

I kick at the back of his knees, the small hiss of pain as they hit the mat does admittedly bring about a wave of satisfaction, but the feeling is soon erased. Liam is back on his feet in an instant, guard up as he circles me.

Light shining in from the window skews my vision, exactly what he planned, I should have seen it. He chooses that moment to throw a strong punch to my kidney. I barely get away fast enough, the air around his fist moving with the force. My heart is racing, and in a lapse of attention, I miss his non-dominant hand coming toward me.

Liam lands the blow to the bottom of my jaw, it hurts like a bitch, as well as knocking me down onto my back. In a moment fueled by pure adrenaline and luck, I manage to hook my foot around his leg and yank, hard, so he too comes toppling down. Admittedly not the best choice of action, as he almost fell on top of me.

The second his back hits the mat, I'm on him, pressing my forearm to his throat despite the spots still dancing in my vision from the previous impact. He bucks his hips to get me off, but the dragon riding must help because his efforts are futile. After a few more seconds slip by with no change in odds, he taps out.

I get off and help him up. He gives me one of his smiles, but he is still worrying about when I'll manifest. To be honest, so am I.

Sparring rotates until we have all gone up against each squad member. Twice. The urge to smack Aetos upside the head is strong, but the urge to not have cleaning duty is stronger.

Our Squad Leader finally calls it a night, and I was just about to go straight to my dorm and collapse into my bed before Dain asks me to clean up.

Should've smacked him

The rest of the squad leaves. All accept for Ridoc and Sawyer.

"You guys really don't have to help me"

"We know," Ridoc replies.

"But we want to," Sawyer finishes for him.

I decide I'm too tired to argue, and let them help me wipe down the mats to put them away.

Unfortunately, in the silence their thoughts invade my head way too easily. They're filled with their fawning over my fighting style, and I swear it's like they share a brain, because they both obsess sullenly over how Liam got to be under me, and how good his view must have been. It all becomes too much, too fast.

"Oh my gods, will one of you please just fuck me!" I freeze instantly. There is no way I just said those words. I slap my hands over my mouth, eyes wide.

Sawyer just looks guilty, a light pink dusting his cheeks. Ridoc on the other hand, smiles from his inconvenient position by the door.

"What was that, sweetheart?"

"Nothing," I squeak, rushing to put the last mat away and get out the hell out of this room, away from them so I can ridicule myself in private.

'That's certainly one way to get them into bed with you'

Shut up!

Ridoc catches my arm before I can bolt out, pulling me in and pinning me to his chest.

"Did you say you wanted one of us to be your bed mates? Getting lonely in your dorm, hmm?"

"I-"

"How about both of us?" Ridoc has a salacious smile painted across his face while I stand there short circuiting because what the hell did he just offer me?

He scans Sawyer who, despite his blush deepening, looks very much intrigued. Ridoc's rich brown eyes dart back to me once he's sure he's got Sawyer's interest and consent.

"Well?"

My gaze bounces between the two, unsure if this is even real. This is a dream. It has to be.

"Yes? Or no?" he drawls, head tilting from one side to the other. It's like he's taunting me, and it shouldn't be hot, but it is. I can already feel the slick gathering between my legs.

My heart is beating faster than it was during sparring. They can't be serious, they just can't be.

"You're joking," I say, but it sounds more like I'm trying to convince them —and myself— more than an actual statement.

"We're not," I almost jump out of my skin at the sound of Sawyer's voice so close. I was too distracted by Ridoc to notice the other rider had gotten right behind me.

I stare up at Ridoc, my chest heaving as if I'd just run a marathon.

"I- Yes. I want—," I gulp, "I want both of you."

He wastes no time, lifting me over his shoulder and eating up the distance from here to Amari knows where in long strides, Sawyer hot on his heels.

"Whose room are we going to?" the older boy questions.

"No one's"

It takes me a while to notice we're on the second year floor. I don't get the opportunity to say anything before I'm whisked inside a random dorm, and the door is shut behind Sawyer, leaving us in darkness.

One of them activates a mage light, casting a warm glow over the room.

"Whose dorm is this?" I ask.

"Like I told Sawyer, no one's"

Oh. It was someone's, but said someone died, and all their stuff has since been cleared out. I try not to think about it. It's kind of a mood killer.

The breath is knocked out of me as I'm basically tossed onto the bed. Ridoc practically leaps into action, kissing up my neck, caressing my sides while simultaneously —albeit very slowly— undoing our leathers.

My hands find his chest, frantically scrabbling for anything to grip so I can get these clothes off of him. It doesn't help that they are specifically designed to be impossible to grip.

I can feel him smirk against my skin. He's enjoying my struggling. Asshole. I'll show him.

I reach for the back of his head, tugging harshly on his curls. He grunts, but any complaints are silenced when I crash my mouth against his. He sinks into it, grinding down onto nothing, his body hovering too far above mine.

He emits a small whine and I smile. Ridoc loses his patience with our clothing, ripping himself away to grapple with the tough material. We must look ridiculous.

After an embarrassingly long time flailing to get out of our confines, we set eyes on each other. Both breathing heavily and gloriously bare. Ridoc begins another onslaught of kisses rapidly moving down. I buck my hips up, begging for him to put himself where I really need him.

Annoyingly, he does not. In fact, it feels like the closer he gets, the slower he goes.

"Ridoc," I grit out.

"I know, I know, love. Patience"

I want to smack him upside the head. What do you mean 'patience'? You dragged me here. You're the one who has been fantasising about me for months, I've been fucking patient.

An idea comes to mind. I can barely smother the smirk.

"Fine. If you're not going to do anything," I trail off and turn my gaze to the other cadet, "Sawyer?"

Immediately he rips his shirt off, as if he was waiting for an invitation before now. He practically shoves Ridoc away from me and clambers onto the bed to connect our mouths. The ice wielder yelps at being displaced and stares slack-jawed at his friend.

Sawyer doesn't seem to notice at all, too occupied with me to concern himself with anything else. I smile against his lips, letting my eyes flutter closed.

My nails scrape lightly over his back, drawing oblong patterns across the pale skin. Out of the corner of my eye, with my tongue still entangled with Sawyer's, I meet Ridoc's gaze, and smirk.

His mouth falls open as if I've offended his ancestors. I just might have, actually. Who knows what reputation the Gamlyn's have back home? The man above me still seems entirely oblivious to everything around him, and peeking into his thoughts, I can confirm he's thinking of nothing but me. It warms my body in a way I'm unfamiliar with, but completely open to. It feels good. Amazing even, to have two gorgeous men entirely enamoured with me unconcerned with anything else.

It isn't until Sawyer finally comes up for air to start fiddling with the clasp of his belt that Ridoc is shaken from his outraged stupor. He crawls back over to us and begins fondling my boobs from the side, thumbs stimulating the nipples. He slowly brings his mouth back to mine, balancing precariously on his haunches at my side.

Sawyer lets out a small disgruntled sound when he has to temporarily get off the bed to remove his pants and boxers. The ice wielder seizes the opportunity in record time, using to climb on top of me once again. The metallurgist looks positively distressed when he returns to the mattress, and he no longer has access to me.

He tries to shove Ridoc off me a second time, but the other rider is prepared this time, and doesn't budge. "Ridoc, move. You're hogging her," Sawyer complains.

Ridoc responds in true childlike fashion, "You did too. It's my turn."

"I barely had any time at all," he retorts, reaching an arm across my body and under Ridoc, then leaning sideways to make room for himself. They fight each other like that, and if I wasn't so needy and wet, I'd laugh. But that was not our current reality.

"Stop fighting," I whine, dragging out the syllables, "Need you"

This immediately grabs their attention.

"You need who, sweetheart?" Ridoc asks in a quiet, almost patronising voice.

"Both. Need both of you," my breathy words are emphasised by the arching of my back, tempting them further. As if they weren't already tempted enough.

The riders look at each other, then back to me, seeming to have made a silent agreement. Ridoc shimmies down while kissing every inch of skin he can reach. Sawyer goes back to kissing me, but this time it's slow. Full of worship.

His hands dance over my chest, caressing the skin with the same reverence as his tongue laved at mine.

Ridoc's fingers were dangerously close to where I needed him most, skimming the entrance but never dipping inside. I almost cried out when he removed them, however I was quieted by him adjusting his position so that his warm breath fanned over my centre. He used two deft fingers to spread open my folds for his viewing pleasure, and smirked.

He was about to dive in. Like, he was literal milliseconds away from plunging his tongue inside of me when Sawyer pulled away from my mouth, and reached down to yank Ridoc back by the hair with more force than what was strictly necessary.

"How come you get to eat her out first?"

He responds while his hair is still held in Sawyer's firm grip "I'm the one that got us in this situation, it's only fair I get to—"

"Stop! Please just— please," I don't even care how whiny I sound right now, I just need someone to give me an orgasm before I combust.

Sawyer reluctantly relinquishes the other man's curly locks, while Ridoc sports a mocking grin. He is finally, finally allowed to drag a long swipe through the gathered slick. The air is pushed out of my lungs, my eyes rolling back slightly.

It definitely has been way too long since I've gotten laid if just this is rocking my world.

Once he collected as much arousal as humanly possible, he retracts the muscle, savouring the taste of me. A low rumble emanates from his chest.

"You know, you're really missing out, Sawyer. She tastes—"

Ridoc's taunt is abruptly cut off due to his hair being grabbed roughly once again. He is shoved right against my heat, nose sitting between my lips.

"Either eat her out, or I'll show you how it's done"

The challenge sparks something within Ridoc, eyes igniting at the prospect of losing this new contest. Their gazes stay intertwined while the ice wielder makes a meal of me with renewed vigour.

It feels like no time at all has passed before I'm dangling off the edge. Ridoc has his tongue working away whilst his thumb rubs little circles on my clit. Despite Sawyer's earlier complaints, he appears to have no problems just watching his friend devour me. I can't say I blame him. Ridoc has turned into a performance. Not only is he playing my body like a fiddle, but his is moving fluently with him. Almost like he's more liquid than solid. If I could actually lift my torso long enough to really see him, I'm sure I too would be mesmerised.

Release crashes down upon me with no warning. Ridoc doesn't mind though, dutifully lapping up every last bit.

Both of their arousals' are prominent and on full display. I'm breathing hard, Ridoc is donning a dazed smile, his chin glistening, and Sawyer is rubbing circles with one hand on my stomach, and the other on Ridoc's back to help calm us down.

We bask in the stillness for a moment. A very short moment, of course. Ridoc doesn't really do silences after all.

His thumb is back inside of me, just barely penetrating. My walls flutter around the intrusion nonetheless, causing the corners of his lips to curve.

"So eager. So insatiable. What do you want, hmm? Tell us."

At this point, my mind is still muddled. Forming full sentences is daunting. And they'd have to be somewhat coherent too! Fuck that.

"Both"

"You have us, both of us," Ridoc says, like he's trying to console a child, which, honestly? It's not an unfair comparison right now.

"No! Both," I reiterate.

Realisation dawns on them simultaneously.

"At the same time?" Sawyer asks, surprise and shock evident in his tone.

I merely nod, not being able to manage much more. (I could, but I don't want to. Being taken care of feels nice.)

Once more, they communicate with each other, assumedly asking if the other consents and is on board. An eternity passes before the riders subtly nod. First at each other, then me.

"I don't have lube," Sawyer states, addressing a problem I hadn't even thought of. Not that I'm doing much thinking.

Ridoc rushes to his leathers and begins rifling through the pockets, cock swinging between his legs at each jerky movement. We could see him getting increasingly frustrated, but eventually he ripped out a small one use tube of lube and two condoms with a face splitting grin.

"uh uh, no condoms. I'm on the fertility blockers. I wanna feel all of you"

"Fuck me, I was hoping you'd say that," Ridoc groans. However, the ice wielder and I glance at Sawyer to garner his opinion.

He shrugs, "Fuck 'em"

Ridoc throws them down and clamours toward us.

"I was expecting tonight to be fun, but I had no Idea it would turn into this," he says, his eyes appraising my body head to toe.

He connects our mouths, his hands wrap around my waist, lifting me so our bodies are pressed together. Only once we've run out of oxygen does he stop and look to Sawyer.

"Have you ever done anal before?" he turns to me, "Have you?"

Both of us chorus different forms of no.

"Alright then, Sawyer, you take the front, I'll take the back," they move to their positions in tandem. We're all lying on our sides; Sawyer gently starts nudging a finger in, quickly upgrading to two just because of the sheer amount of wetness already there.

They both coo at me as small whines escape. After at least a good five-ish minutes of stretching me out with his long fingers, Sawyer props the bulbous head of his flushed cock at my entrance. Despite our compromising positions, he still has this boyish innocence about him. At least in terms of looks. Inside his head is complete filth, shattering the shy-boy act.

Ridoc's thoughts are no better, but he's never tried to hide it.

Sawyer pushes in just a bit, likely relishing in the sharp exhale it awards him. Gently, he coaxes the rest of his length inside. It fills me perfectly that I have to take a moment to just breathe before commenting.

"So big," it's nothing more than a breath, lighter than mesh, however their sharp hearing, honed for battle, pick it up anyway.

His chest swells almost imperceptibly. The smug look he shoots Ridoc —to which the rider in question no doubt rolled his eyes at— on the other hand, was less so.

"Yeah yeah, whatever, you just keep her still, okay?"

Ridoc squeezes about half the small tube of lube out onto his hand. He warms it up and then fucks it into me, starting right off the bat with two long fingers. A breath is punched out of me, the stretch unfamiliar, yet not unpleasant. His voice is right beside my ear, quietly praising me.

"Good girl, that's it. You can take it," the warm air tickles my neck causing shivers to run down my spine.

After he's satisfied, fitting four digits inside the tight ring of muscles, he squeezes the rest of the tube's contents directly onto his erect dick. Ridoc pumps himself in a way that seems like he's trying to tease me, but is too impatient to actually do so.

"You sure you wanna do this?"

"Uh huh, I'm sure. Promise"

He notches his tip between my cheeks, then stops momentarily to whisper in my ear: "Deep breath for me, okay sweetheart? It's gonna be a big stretch"

Sawyer rolls his eyes so hard, he moves his entire head in an attempt to fully convey his exasperation.

"If we weren't having sex right now, I'd hit you"

"You should do it anyway. I might like it," Ridoc counters.

With that, he thrusts his hips forward, enveloping at least four inches into me.

"Fuck!" I exclaim, scrunching my eyes shut.

"Shit, was that too much at once?"

"No... no, I just. I need a minute"

He accepts my answer, burying his face in the crook of my neck to cover the area in kisses. Sawyer plays with my hair, and mumbles affirmations I can't truly hear, but I like the sound of his voice either way.

I calm down enough to think somewhat clearly. Usually their thoughts would be annoying, but right now, it's just a steady stream of infallible devotion coming from both of them. It's almost too much. Like I need a distraction before the warmth suffocates me.

"Okay, keep going," I murmur.

His hands reposition themselves to curl around my waist. This time, he eases himself in little by little. Even then, sharp exhales escape me periodically causing him to pause. He helps me take him in further by encouraging me to inhale deeply every time he's about to sink in another inch.

It's not long until Ridoc is fully sheathed. He sighs in relief, his body melting into the coverlets as his grip on me tightens. It's grounding in a way I haven't felt since before the executions.

Sawyer leans forward, pressing our chest together and I think he's going to kiss me, but instead his arm snake behind my head to grasp Ridoc's jaw. He pulls him forward so that my back is flush against his chest and their lips collide in a searing kiss. They've crowded me in and I've never felt safer. This is what I want to be waiting for me when I meet Malek.

Sawyer pulls away and his eyes soften as they land on me.

"You ready angel?"

I bite my lip, the anticipation of what's to come roiling around and wreaking havoc on my insides.

Sawyer mimics Ridoc's earlier ultimatum, "Yes, or no?"

I'm tempted to tease them with silence, but decide otherwise.

"Yeah. I'm ready"

"Alright, we'll start with what's familiar," Ridoc declares, signaling Sawyer to move first. He begins with a slow rock and yet even those small movements make me want to moan like I'm being paid to be on camera.

They both try to make it so I just feel Sawyer for now, but it's impossible not to notice Ridoc's girth prodding at my insides, even if it is just by a minuscule amount.

One of my arms reaches for the metallurgist, nails leaving red marks streaked across his freckled skin as I try fruitlessly to bring us even closer. My other arm reaches blindly behind me toward the other man. I hook my fingers around the back of Ridoc's neck to coax force his head down, and turn my head to the side so I could kiss him.

He puts up a net force of zero newtons to dissuade me, eagerly allowing my tongue access. He groans, and I can feel the vibrations reverberate through my skull. He separates us, a thin string of saliva stretching across the distance created.

"Please. Please say I can move, I need to move. Need to feel you," he begs, face pressed against the underside of my jaw. It comes out in pants, as if the act of restraining himself was more strenuous than his daily work outs.

I scan his expression, taking note of the undiluted need in his eyes. I don't know if I'm ready for the pace he'll set. And if I asked him to slow down? I'm not sure he could.

So, I make a compromise.

"Stop," I command. My voice isn't loud, but Sawyer hears it, and obeys without question.

"Keep still. Both of you," Ridoc lets out a whimper. It sounds like he's about to cry; if his face was in view, I think I might actually be able to see tears forming.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," Sawyer consoles his friend, "I know you're desperate, but we gotta be patient for her."

I can't help but smile to myself. I mean really, the dichotomy of the Ridoc before entering me —suave, confident, the picture of a sex god taken form— and this puddle of desire is truly priceless.

I put them both out of their misery and start rocking back and forth. It feels heavenly. Constantly being filled and empty at the same time is an experience I never knew I needed. The best part? The very evident struggle on Sawyer's face which I'm sure Ridoc mimics ten-fold from having to remain motionless.

Sawyer's hand on my waist trembles with the effort not to leave bruises. Ridoc has thrown caution to the wind, he has one arm under me that curls up just under my breasts keeping our upper bodies together, while the other has a death grip on Sawyer's shoulder.

I want to turn the tables, want to tease them. I want to tell them how well behaved they're being for me but the sensations pouring throughout my body from my own ministrations render me speechless.

"Oh fuck, FUCK! Ple-please don't stop moving. Sweetheart, please, 'm begging you," Ridoc rambles under his breath while Sawyer has his eyes scrunched in effort not to make any sounds. If it weren't for my inntinnsic abilities, I'd think he's in pain, but no. He's just trying really hard not to cum too fast. I'd smile if I wasn't fighting off an orgasm myself.

I can feel them pulsing inside me. Mine and Ridoc's moans synchronise, filling the room's air with a symphony of sounds.

The coil inside me tightened unbearably. Every second that ticked by was a fight to hold on. I could practically hear Ridoc's teeth grinding, both of them clenching their jaws in restraint.

More helpless pleas fell from the ice wielder's lips, however unnecessary they were; I had no intention of stopping.

I couldn't take it anymore. I clenched around the both of them, loud, lewd moans ringing out across the room as I came. I can only manage slight rocking as I come down from my high. Breath still uneven, I realise neither had cum with me. My brows pull into a furrow until I feel warm air skitter along the sensitive skin of my neck, causing shivers to run down my spine.

"You didn't think we were done, did you sweetheart?" Ridoc questions. His voice is taunting, almost cruel, but still sends heat shooting through me.

Fuck. That's the kinda shit I'm attracted to? Oh well, I guess I did always fall for the villain in books.

"Now it's your turn to stay still," Sawyer chimes in, and the gravely tone to his voice surprises me. Who knew he had it in him?

A whimper escapes me, and my thighs clench. Sawyer takes one hand, placing it under my chin to lift my head. He plants a gentle kiss on my nose before whispering; "Hold on darling, this is gonna be a lot, but I know you can take it, huh," he uses his grip to nod my head for me, "Yes, you can. Our good girl"

"Your good girl," I echo dumbly.

"That's right. Nice and loud for us now. Let everyone know"

I didn't get to process that comment before they both pushed in to the hilt simultaneously, effectively rearranging my insides. I (unintentionally) do as told. I let them know, let everyone hear it. Amari, I hope no one finds out it's us. Sex is one thing, no one'll bat an eye at that, but news of a threesome just might pique some interest, and I really don't need extra attention on me.

I shudder at the image of all those thoughts bombarding me. Would it hurt? Would I finally crack? Would people find out I'm a—

My line of thinking is rudely interrupted by them pulling out and Fuck, I think they took my soul with them. Sawyer and Ridoc are so in sync with each other and it's absolutely ruining me. I can't breathe with the practically inhuman pace they've set. It's impossible.

My moans don't have the chance to be loud with the way I can't take a full breath. Lewd wet clapping sounds take their place, along with the other rider's groans.

Their movements are becoming frantic, less precise; they're close.

"Ridoc. Ridoc!" Sawyer gasps in between gulps of air with increasing urgency.

"I know, Sawyer. Believe me, I know. Me too. Are you ready?"

The question clearly isn't for me, yet I scrape together an answer in spite of it, "Wai- wait for me. I'm almost there," I pitch roughly two octaves higher than my usual tone half way through, I am, however, unable to find a fuck to give.

"Help her," Ridoc commands, and yet before he even opened his mouth, Sawyer got the memo to reach down, rubbing my clit in tight figure eights. I thought I was the mind reader.

Everything is too much, as it often is with them. I bite down on the metallurgist's shoulder, hard, certainly much harder than I'd meant to. Sawyer and I are the first to fall, Ridoc following just seconds after.

Gradually they slow their thrusts. helping me come down from the high gently. I watch them kiss each other reverently through bleary eyes, and smile. This really was the best night ever.

I try to fight sleep. Try to find the energy to go again because I don't know what will happen once we leave this room. If the spell will be broken. And if so, I want this to last as long as possible. Unfortunately, I am bound by my own physical limits, and by the looks of it, so are they. We drift off just like that. Still huddled together, gripping each other like it's the last time.

In here, it just might be.

Part 2

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"You’re staring," Ridoc said, tipping his head back to drain the last of his drink. The ice clinked against the glass as he set it down on the small, weathered wooden table between you. His grin was lazy and sun-warmed, the kind that made your stomach do a slow little flip.

You hadn’t realized you were staring. Or maybe you had, and just didn’t quite care. The beach was quiet this late in the afternoon, most of the squad scattered; some napping in the shade of the palms, others still splashing in the turquoise shallows further down the shore. The Isle of Hedotis stretched around you like a postcard, all golden sand and swaying grass, but your attention kept snagging on the way Ridoc’s damp shirt clung to his abdomen, the way his fingers drummed absently against his muscled thigh.

"Just thinking," you said, stretching your legs out in front of you. The sun had painted your skin gold, and the salt air had left your hair in wild, wind-tangled waves.

"About?" Ridoc leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His eyes were bright with amusement, but there was something else there too, you'd realized. Something that hadn’t been there even a week ago, back at Basgiath, when the two of you were still just squadmates, just... friends.

Now?

You weren't sure what to call how you felt.

"About how you're burning," you lied, reaching out to flick a bit of peeling skin on his forearm. His skin was warm under your fingertips, and you lingered a second too long before pulling back.

Ridoc snorted, rubbing at the spot where you'd touched him.

"Bullshit. You were definitely thinking something else -- known you long enough to see all your little tells, Y/N."

He stretched, the hem of his shirt riding up just enough to reveal a sliver of tanned stomach, and you caught yourself tracking the movement before forcing your gaze back to his face.

His grin widened, like he'd noticed. "Spill it, Y/L/N."

You hesitated, picking at a loose thread on the edge of your shorts. The words stuck in your throat; how do you tell someone you've started noticing the way their laugh sounds different in the mornings, or how their knee feels pressed against yours beneath the table?

Before you could answer, a strong sea breeze sent Ridoc's drink toppling. The glass hit the sand with a dull thud, and he swore, lunging to grab it before the last of his drink could spill. You both reached for it at the same time, fingers brushing, and the contact sent an electric jolt up your arm.

"Shit," Ridoc muttered, fingers closing around the glass just as yours did. His palm was rough against yours, warm from the sun, and neither of you pulled away immediately. The silence between you stretched, thick with something unspoken, until Ridoc finally cleared his throat and sat back, glass in hand.

"Guess I'll need a refill," he said, but his voice was lower than usual, his gaze flickering to your mouth before he looked away again.

You swallowed, suddenly hyper-aware of the space between you -- too much and not enough all at once. The wind had died down as quickly as it had come, leaving the air still and heavy, and you could hear the distant laughter of your squadmates down the shore.

Ridoc tapped his fingers against the glass again, the rhythm uneven, like his thoughts were elsewhere.

"You know," he said after a beat, "you never actually answered my question."

"Which one?" you asked, though you knew exactly what he meant.

"The one where I asked what you were thinking about." He tilted his head, sunlight catching in his tousled hair. "Before the drink disaster?"

You exhaled slowly, tracing the condenastion on your own untouched glass. The truth perched on the tip of your tongue; how you'd been thinking about the way his stubble scraped his collarbone when he stretched, how you'd memorized the exact shade of brown his eyes turned in the late afternoon light.

But admitting that felt like tipping over an edge neither of you had named yet. An edge you hadn't realize you'd come so close to, had it not been for this vacation.

"Maybe I was thinking about how you still owe me for that bet last week," you deflected, nudging his foot with yours.

Ridoc barked a laugh, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, that's rich. You're the one who-"

He cut himself off abruptly when you lifted an eyebrow, daring him to continue. The silence stretched until his grin softened into something quieter.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

The way he said it, so low and almost intimate -- it sent a shiver down your spine, despite the heat. You watched his throat work as he swallowed, the pulse flickering beneath his skin. When he spoke again, his voice was rough around the edges.

"Just tell me already, you know how the suspense kills me."

Your pulse skittered beneath your skin like one of the island's crabs. Ridoc's gaze held yours, and you realized that he wasn’t going to let you deflect this time.

"Go on," he urged, quieter now. The intensity in his voice was new, a low thrum that settled somewhere deep in your stomach. You swallowed, your mouth suddenly dry.

"You first," you challenged, though your voice wavered.

Ridoc exhaled sharply through his nose, a laugh that wasn’t quite a laugh. He set the glass down carefully, then leaned forward, closing the space between you until his knees brushed yours again.

"Fine," he said, his thumb tracing the rim of his glass absentmindedly. "If I'm being honest, I’ve been thinking about how you taste."

Your breath caught in your throat, the words landing like a brand against your skin. Ridoc didn’t look away, didn’t even flinch; he just held your gaze with a certainty that made your pulse thrum wildly.

The confession hung between you, raw and electric, and for a heartbeat, the entire world narrowing to the space where his knee pressed against yours.

"You..." you started, then stopped, your fingers curling into the fabric of your shorts. The admission was so blunt, so Ridoc, that you couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up, nervous and breathless.

"That’s not fair," you managed, shaking your head. "You can’t just say things like that."

"Why not?" He tilted his head, his grin sharpening at the edges. "You asked."

His thumb left the glass to trace idle circles on the table between you, close enough that you could feel the heat radiating off his skin. "And I’m tired of pretending I haven’t been wondering."

The honesty in his voice unraveled something in your chest. You’d spent the last week cataloging every accidental brush of his fingers, every time his laughter had curled warm and low in your ears; but hearing it laid bare like this, so unapologetically, made your stomach swoop.

"You could've just kissed me," you murmured before you could stop yourself, the words slipping out like a secret you'd been holding too tight. Ridoc's fingers stilled against the table. You focused on the space between his thumb and your wrist, close enough to feel the warmth, but not close enough to touch.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"Would you have let me?"

His voice was barely above a whisper, sandpaper-rough, and you realized then that he'd been holding back just as much as you had. The thought sent a thrill through you, that this tension hadn't been one-sided, that every lingering glance and accidental touch had been as deliberate as your own.

You didn't answer with words. Instead, you reached across the table, your fingers brushing his wrist, tracing the his sun-warmed skin. His pulse jumped under your touch.

The wind picked up again, sending a palm frond skittering across the sand behind him. Somewhere down the beach, Garrick whooped as Imogen shoved him into the shallows, their laughter carrying on the salt-stained breeze. But here, under the faded wooden canopy of the beach bar, it felt like you were the only two people in the world.

Ridoc’s gaze flicked from your fingers on his wrist to your face, his expression unreadable for a heartbeat -- then his hand turned, catching yours, his fingers sliding between yours with a certainty that made your breath stutter. His palm was calloused from years of wielding daggers, but his grip was rather gentle.

"No answer is not an answer," he murmured, though the way his thumb traced the inside of your wrist suggested he already knew.

You bit your lip, watching the way sunlight caught the gold flecks in his eyes.

"Would you really have kissed me?" you asked, your voice barely louder than the waves lapping at the shore. The question felt dangerous, but the way his fingers tightened around yours sent fireworks off thorugh your veins.

Ridoc didn’t hesitate.

"Every damn day since we got here." The admission was raw, like he’d been holding it back for too long. His free hand reached up, brushing a wind-tangled strand of hair behind your ear, his knuckles grazing your cheekbone. The touch was fleeting, but it burned like a brand. "Especially when you look at me like that."

"Like what?" you breathed, leaning into his touch without thinking.

"Like you're trying to memorize me," Ridoc murmured, his thumb lingering at the corner of your mouth. His gaze dropped to your lips, then back up with a slow, deliberate drag that made your stomach clench. "Like you're afraid I'll disappear if you blink."

The honesty in his voice unraveled you further. You had been memorizing him -- the way the sun caught the dark stubble along his jaw, how his shirt clung to the dip of his collarbones where ocean water had pooled. The realization that he'd noticed, that he'd been watching you watch him, sent heat crawling up your neck.

His fingers tightened around yours, pulling you forward until the edge of the table dug into your ribs. You could smell the salt on his skin, the faint tang of citrus from his drink.

"Tell me I'm wrong," he challenged, but his voice was softer now, almost pleading.

You couldn't.

Ridoc exhaled sharply through his nose, a sound caught between a laugh and a sigh, and then suddenly his free hand was cupping the back of your neck, fingers tangling in your wind-knotted hair. The kiss wasn’t gentle; it was desperate, hungry, the kind of kiss that felt like finally catching fire after weeks of smoldering.

His mouth was warm as he pressed it to yours, and you melted into him before you could think better of it, your fingers tightening around his like you were afraid he’d pull away.

But he didn’t. Instead, Ridoc let go of your hand only to grab the edge of the table and push his chair back, pulling you with him as he stood. The sudden movement sent his glass toppling again, this time thudding against the sand and spilling out the remaining ice, but neither of you glanced down. His other hand slid from your neck to your waist, tugging you flush against him until you could feel the hammering of his heart through his shirt.

"You have no idea," he muttered against your lips, his voice ragged, "How long I’ve wanted to do that."

You’d spent the last week drowning in stolen glances and accidental touches, but this -- the solid weight of him against you, the way his fingers dug into your hip... this was it. This was your peak.

"Try me," you breathed, tilting your head to catch his mouth again, and Ridoc groaned low in his throat, his grip tightening.

Somewhere down the beach, Garrick let out another whoop, the sound distant but jarring enough to make Ridoc stiffen. He pulled back just far enough to glance over your shoulder, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"We should..." he started, then stopped, his gaze flicking back to your mouth. "Fuck. We should go somewhere. Unless of course you want an audience."

You didn’t answer, you just grabbed Ridoc’s hand and tugged him toward the line of palms swaying further down the beach, their leaves swaying in the wind.

His fingers laced through yours again, and the way he followed without hesitation sent another ping of excitement through you. The sand shifted underfoot, slowing your steps, but Ridoc’s grip tightened, following you forward like he couldn’t bear to wait another second.

✧･ﾟ: *

The shade of the palms enveloped you both as you stumbled into the quiet space between two leaning trunks, the air thick with the scent of salt. Ridoc didn’t give you time to catch your breath; his hands found your hips, pressing you back against the rough trunk, his mouth crashing into yours with a hunger that made your knees weak.

You gasped into the kiss, your fingers tangling in his shirt, pulling him closer until there wasn’t an inch of space between you.

"Be honest, Y/N," Ridoc murmured against your lips, his breath ragged. His thumbs traced the bare skin above the waistband of your shorts, sending shivers up your spine despite the warmth. "Tell me you’ve been thinking about this too."

You didn’t need to answer. The way you arched into him, the way your nails scraped lightly against his scalp as you kissed him again, deeper this time, was answer enough. Ridoc groaned, his hands sliding up your sides.

"Fuck," he muttered, nipping at your lower lip before pulling back just enough to meet your gaze. His eyes were dark, pupils blown wide, and the want in them stole your breath. "I’ve been losing my mind watching you in that tiny swimsuit all week."

Ridoc’s words curled hot against your skin, and you laughed breathlessly, the sound swallowed by his mouth as he kissed you again, deeper this time. His hands slid from your waist to the small of your back, pressing you harder against the rough bark of the palm tree, the friction sending sparks up your spine.

"You’re one to talk," you managed between kisses, fingers tugging at the hem of his shirt. "You’ve been walking around shirtless since we got here like it’s your job."

He grinned against your lips, teeth catching your lower lip in a teasing nip.

"And you’ve been staring." His hands slid lower, gripping the backs of your thighs as he lifted you effortlessly, your legs wrapping around his waist on instinct. The sudden shift knocked a gasp from your throat, and Ridoc took advantage, slanting his mouth over yours with a hunger that left you dizzy.

The world narrowed to the heat of his body, the salt-tang of his skin, the way his fingers dug into your hips like he was afraid you’d vanish if he loosened his grip. You barely registered the scratch of bark against your back, too focused on the way Ridoc’s breath hitched when you tangled your fingers in his hair and tugged.

He groaned, the sound vibrating against your lips, and suddenly his mouth was on your neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin below your ear.

"You have no idea," he muttered, his voice rough, "how many times I’ve imagined this."

His lips trailed lower, pressing open-mouthed kisses along your collarbone, and you arched into him further, your pulse thunderign in your ears.

His words sent a shudder through you, the heat of his mouth branding you. You could feel the hard press of his hips against yours, the way his breathing had gone ragged, each exhale warm against the damp curve of your shoulder.

"Show me," you breathed. The challenge in your voice was barely there, but Ridoc caught it, his grip on your thighs tightening as he lifted you higher against the tree.

Ridoc pulled back just far enough to meet your gaze, his lips swollen from kissing, and his eyes darkened.

"Fuck Y/N, you're going to kill me," he muttered before his mouth crashed into yours again, swallowing your gasp as his hands slid up your back beneath your shirt. His palms were rough against your skin, but the way they traced your spine was achingly deliberate, like he was mapping every inch of you.

The distant sound of waves and laughter faded entirely when Ridoc’s thumb brushed the edge of your swimsuit top, his touch feather-light but electrifying. You arched into him instinctively, and he groaned against your lips, his fingers hooking under the fabric.

"Tell me to stop," he murmured, though the way his breath hitched betrayed how little he wanted to.

You didn’t. Instead, you nipped at his lower lip, relishing the way his grip tightened in response. Ridoc laughed, a rough, breathless sound before his mouth found yours again, his hands finally slipping beneath the fabric. The first brush of his fingers against bare skin drew a sharp inhale from you, your nails digging into his shoulders.

His touch was searing, every brush of his fingers sending sparks skittering across your skin. You gasped into the kiss as his palm slid fully under your swimsuit top, his thumb tracing slow, maddening circles over your nipple. Ridoc’s breath hitched when you rolled your hips against him, the friction drawing a ragged groan from his throat.

"Gods above," he muttered against your lips, his free hand sliding down to grip your thigh tighter. "You’re..."

The rest of his sentence dissolved into a hiss as you agian bit down lightly on his lower lip, your fingers twisting in his hair. He responded instantly, his mouth slanting over yours with renewed hunger, his touch turning bolder, more insistent. The rough bark of the palm tree dug into your back, but the discomfort was distant, secondary to the heat of Ridoc’s body pressing into yours, the way his heartbeat thundered against your chest.

When his fingers finally tugged your swimsuit top down, the warm island air ghosting over your bared skin, Ridoc pulled back just far enough to look at you, really look at you. His gaze was molten, but there was something tender that made your breath catch.

"Beautiful," he murmured, his voice rough, like the word had been torn from him.

Before you could respond, his mouth was on your collarbone, his lips trailing lower and lower until his tongue flicked over your nipple. You gasped, your back arching off the tree.

“F-fuck, Ridoc-“

Ridoc chuckled against your skin, the vibration sending another jolt of pleasure through you.

"Sensitive," he mused, his breath warm against your damp skin.

His tongue circled your nipple again, slow and teasing before his teeth grazed the sensitive peak, just enough to make you whimper. Ridoc hummed against your skin, the sound vibrating through you, his hands tightening on your thighs to keep you pinned against the tree.

"You make the sweetest sounds Y/N," he murmured, his lips brushing your heated skin with each word. "Been imagining that, too."

You barely had time to process the confession before his mouth was on yours again, swallowing your moan as his fingers traced the waistband of your shorts. The rough pad of his thumb dipped beneath the fabric, skimming your hipbone, and your stomach muscles clenched. Ridoc grinned into the kiss, clearly pleased with himself, and you nipped his lower lip in retaliation.

He laughed breathlessly before shifting his grip, one arm hooking under your thighs as he turned, pressing your back into the sand instead of the tree. The sudden movement knocked the air from your lungs, but Ridoc was already leaning over you, his knees bracketing your hips, his gaze dark.

"Much better," he declared, brushing a streak of sand from your cheekbone with an unusual gentleness before his mouth descended on yours again.

You could taste the salt on his lips and the lingering tang of citrus from his cocktail. His hands roamed freely now, tracing the curves of your waist and the dip of your ribs like he was memorizing you by touch. When his fingers finally slipped beneath the hem of your shorts, teasing the skin of your inner thigh, you gasped, your hips lifting off the sand.

"God's above Ridoc," you chided, your eyes squeezing shut. "Are you just going to play with me all day, or do something for real?"

Ridoc's fingers stilled against your thigh, his breath hitching as he felt the way you arched into his touch.

"Someone's eager," he muttered against your lips, the words strained. He swallowed hard, his thumb tracing slow circles just above the hem of your shorts, the touch feather-light but searing. "Tell me you want this, just as bad as I do."

The plea in his voice undid you. You didn't hesitate, you just caught his wrist and guided his hand higher, your fingers trembling in his.

"Yes," you breathed, and that single word seemed to shatter whatever restraint he had left.

His mouth crashed into yours again, hungry and desperate, as his fingers finally slipped beneath the fabric. The first brush of his touch against your wet heat drew a ragged moan from your throat, and Ridoc swallowed the sound greedily.

"Good Gods," he gritted out, his fingers sliding through your slick with a slowness that made your toes curl into the sand. "Fucking tight-"

You cut him off with a roll of your hips, urging his fingers deeper, and Ridoc groaned, his forehead dropping to your shoulder as he obliged. The stretch of his fingers was perfect, just enough to make your breath stutter, and when his thumb found your clit, you nearly lost it.

"Ridoc," you gasped, fingers twisting in his dark hair.

His name tore from your lips like a prayer, and Ridoc shuddered against you, his breath hot on your collarbone.

“Say my name again,” he murmured, his fingers never slowing their torturously perfect rhythm. "Sounds so pretty coming out of your mouth."

You obliged, whispering his name like a curse, a plea -- and felt the growl vibrate through his chest as he kissed the ligth skin beneath your ear.

His thumb pressed harder against your clit, the pressure just shy of too much, and your vision blurred at the edges. Ridoc’s free hand slid up your ribs, his callouesd fingers tracing the curve of your breast before his palm settled over your racing heartbeat.

“You’re so fucking beautiful like this,” he breathed, his lips brushing your jaw. “All flushed and...” He swallowed hard when your hips bucked against his hand, your thighs tightening around his wrist. “...and wrecked, just for me.”

You gasped as his fingers curled inside you, hitting just the right spot. “You're a cocky bastard.”

Ridoc laughed and nipped at your throat.

“And you’re about to cum,” he countered, his thumb circling faster, his fingers dragging against that spot again; and Gods, he was right. The coil in your belly tightened, your back muscles clenching as the pleasure crested. Ridoc’s mouth found yours just as you toppled over the edge, swallowing your cry as you trembled beneath him, his fingers slowing but not stopping.

When his fingers finally stilled inside you, his breath was ragged against your lips as you came down from your high. His thumb brushed one last, tender circle over your clit before he withdrew, his touch lingering like he couldn’t bear to pull away entirely. Ridoc’s gaze darkened as he brought his glistening fingers to his mouth, his tongue sliding out to taste you off of them. The sight sent a fresh wave of heat pooling low in your belly yet again.

“Shit,” he muttered, his voice quiet like he hadn’t expected you to taste so good. His eyes found yours, and for a heartbeat, the only sound between you was the soft crashing of waves in the distance.

Then his hands were on your hips, flipping you onto your stomach with a growl that made your pulse spike. The sand was warm beneath your palms, grains sticking to your clammy skin as Ridoc settled over you, his chest pressed against your back, his hips slotting against yours with a friction that drew a whimper from your throat.

His lips brushed against the shell of your ear, his teeth grazing your skin as his hands slid down your sides, gripping your waist.

“We're not done,” he murmured, more command than request. His fingers hooked into the waistband of your shorts, tugging them down just enough to expose the curve of your ass, and you shivered as the warm air ghosted over newly bared skin.

Ridoc’s groan was unfiltered as his palm smoothed over the swell of your ass, his grip tightening for a fleeting second before his hand left you again, instead moving to untie his own bottoms. The first brush of his cock head against your slick heat drew a gasp from you, your hips canting back into his touch on instinct.

“Someone's eager,” he teased, but his voice was strained, his own hips grinding against you in a way that betrayed how badly he wanted this too.

You whined when he finally granted you the pleasure of slipping the head past your folds, his girth beginning the delicious stretch you admittedly hadn't had in quite some time. Ridoc sighed as he inched forward, his free hand gripping your ass as he pressed himself further inside of you.

"So fucking tight," he commented again, working to control his breathing with every inch of him that disappeared inside of you. Once he'd fully sheathed himself, he drew back, slipping his length in and out of your hole once more.

You meweled at the sensation, the past few days of surpressed desires finally bubbling to the surface as Ridoc began fucking you, right there on the Hedotis sand.

"So... b-big," you babbled, your vision blurring as his pace quickened. He growled lowly, both hands resting on your hips as he brought your ass flush with his pelvis, mesmerized by the way your butt bounced with every thrust. "Gods, Ridoc -- feels so good-"

"Yeah? You like the way I fuck your tight pussy, baby?" He said softly, leaning over you once more and kissing just below your ear. You let out a sharp cry as he began moving faster, his cock ramming into you more forcefully with every passing second. Your fingers gripped at the sand beneath you, desperate for anything to hold on to -- but he didn't let up.

"Shit, so so sexy, baby," he went on, his balls slapping against your clit as he fucked the life out of you. When the feeling became too much and you felt too full, unable to hold back your desperate moans anymore; Ridoc's hand reached around, clamping down over your open mouth.

"I promise I respect you, Y/N," he uttered, his hips stuttering. "But for the next few moments, it's going to seem like I don't."

Your eyes went wide as he tugged you up off of your hands, causing you to balance yourself on only your knees as he pulled you against him. Your back was pressed to his chest, the new angle driving him deeper into your cunt and making you see stars with the way he was forcing his cock up into you. Moaning against his hand was no use; the sounds were muffled as he drove into you with all he had, his breath coming hot and ragged as his mouth pressed against your shoulder.

"Fuck," he swore, his other arm moving from your hip to wrap around your waist. "I'm filling this pussy-"

You trembled as your second orgasm ripped through you, your walls clenching around Ridoc's throbbing cock as he slowed. He grunted low and breathy as he released, warm seed painting your inner walls as he softly thrusted the last of his efforts up into you.

After a few quiet moments, he removed his hand from your mouth, instead brushing your wild hair from your face and tucking it behind your ear. You slumped against him, his dick still half-hard inside of you as you sat back into his lap, welcoming his comfort as he held you against him. His soft kisses to your cheeks, nose, and then mouth again weren't anything to complain over, either.

"I... can't believe you just let me do that," he said, a soft smile playing at his lips. Despite yourself, you couldn't help but to bark a laugh at his words.

"I didn't let you do anything," you teased, eraching up and toying with a strand of his dark hair. "I told you, I don't know what's happened this vacation, but... I've been thinking about you differently, too."

This had him blushing, in that cute, boyish way you were stunned that you hadn't noticed before. It wasn't until after he'd helped you off of him and gotten you back into your clothes properly that he spoke again, his fingers threading through yours as the two of you made for the beach and your squad yet again.

"Stay with me tonight," he offered, subtly glancing at the palace where your group had rooms occupied for the next week. "I... I would like it if you'd stay the night. In my room. Only if you want to, of course."

You couldn't surpress the grin creeping onto your lips, not caring even when Garrick and Imogen halted their beach volleying to gape at the two of you. Instead, you did what felt like the most natural thing in the world; you leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his awaiting lips.

His shock alone would've usually done it for you, but when his hand slid around your waist and found the small of your back, you knew that whatever was happening, was right.

"I wouldn't want to spend my night anywhere else."

Xaden Riorson did not lose his composure.

He didn't.

He simply... recalibrated his expectations.

Because when he walked into the Riders Quadrant courtyard expecting to meet Garrick for patrol, the last thing he expected to see was Ridoc Gamlyn spinning his little sister around like she weighed nothing before kissing her forehead.

"...Again," Ridoc grinned. "One more spin."

She laughed. "Ridoc, put me down before I throw up."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

Xaden stopped walking.

Garrick followed his gaze.

"...Oh."

Silence.

Ridoc looked up.

His smile disappeared.

"...Huh."

Your smile disappeared too.

"...Hi, Xaden."

Xaden spoke with terrifying calm.

"Explain."

Ridoc looked around as if another Ridoc might appear to take responsibility.

"No?"

Three hours later...

Every single rider knew.

Mostly because Ridoc had spent those three hours running for his life.

"HE'S TRYING TO MURDER ME!"

"I'm trying to correct a mistake!" Xaden shouted after him.

"YOUR SISTER ISN'T A MISTAKE!"

"You are!"

Ridoc vaulted over a table in the mess hall.

Bodhi watched him sprint through.

"...How long has this been going on?"

You sighed.

"Six months."

Bodhi blinked.

"Six months?"

"We were keeping it quiet."

Ridoc burst back through the doorway.

"I NEED A PLACE TO HIDE!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Xaden walked in a heartbeat later.

Ridoc immediately pointed at Bodhi.

"He encouraged us."

Bodhi's mouth fell open.

"I absolutely did not—"

Xaden glared.

"...Traitor," Bodhi muttered.

The sabotage began the next morning.

Ridoc woke to find every piece of clothing he owned hanging from the tallest tower.

He looked up.

"...Really?"

Xaden leaned over the edge.

"I missed one boot."

Ridoc sighed.

"I appreciate the honesty."

That afternoon...

His saddle disappeared.

His daggers vanished.

Someone had replaced all of his shirts with ones two sizes too small.

"Why?" Ridoc asked.

"You'll be uncomfortable."

"I already am!"

The following day...

Ridoc entered his room.

There was a note.

Stay away from my sister.

He flipped it over.

There was another note.

Seriously.

He checked under his pillow.

Another note.

I can keep doing this forever.

Ridoc sighed.

"...That's honestly impressive."

You found Xaden sharpening a dagger later that evening.

"Are you done?"

"No."

"You stole his boots."

"He has other boots."

"You dyed his blanket purple."

"He looked good with it."

"You told Sgaeyl he called her 'slightly intimidating.'"

"...That one may have been too far."

Ridoc refused to surrender.

Instead...

He doubled down.

Every morning he greeted Xaden cheerfully.

"Good morning!"

Silence.

"Beautiful weather."

Silence.

"I kissed your sister."

Xaden threw a knife.

Ridoc ducked.

"Little aggressive before breakfast."

"You know," Garrick said over dinner, "most people would've broken up by now."

Ridoc smiled.

"I know."

"So why haven't you?"

Ridoc looked across the room where you were laughing with Violet.

His expression softened immediately.

"Because she's worth it."

The joking disappeared from his voice.

"I'd let her brother kill me a hundred times."

"...That's probably going to happen."

"Probably."

You finally cornered Xaden two weeks later.

"You like him."

"I tolerate his continued existence."

"You like him."

"He breathes too loudly."

"You smile when he annoys you."

"I smile because I imagine pushing him off cliffs."

"You've stopped trying."

"...I got tired."

"No," you said gently.

"You realized he wasn't going anywhere."

Xaden didn't answer.

Unfortunately...

He was right.

Ridoc wasn't.

Not after months.

Not after sabotage.

Not after being threatened daily.

Not after Xaden had "accidentally" assigned him every unpleasant patrol possible.

Because every single night...

Ridoc still found you.

Even if it meant climbing walls.

Sneaking through windows.

Or bribing Bodhi.

"I am not accepting payment anymore," Bodhi informed him one evening.

"What if it's pie?"

"...Continue."

One rainy night...

Xaden returned unexpectedly.

Ridoc was halfway through climbing your window.

He froze.

Xaden stared.

Ridoc smiled weakly.

"...Good evening?"

"You climbed."

"Technically I'm still climbing."

"You couldn't use the door?"

"You usually threaten me at the door."

"...Fair."

Ridoc blinked.

"...Fair?"

Xaden sighed.

"You make her happy."

Ridoc stayed very still.

"So I've noticed."

"You treat her well."

"I love her."

The words came out so easily that neither of them seemed surprised.

Ridoc looked toward your window.

"I didn't mean to."

Xaden folded his arms.

"It just happened."

"It usually does."

"I know I'm an idiot."

"You absolutely are."

"But she laughs."

Xaden looked through the window where you were pretending not to eavesdrop.

She looked happier than he'd seen her in months.

Comfortable.

Safe.

Ridoc noticed his gaze.

"I'll spend the rest of my life making sure she keeps smiling."

For the first time...

Ridoc wasn't joking.

Xaden was quiet for a long moment.

Finally...

"If you hurt her..."

Ridoc nodded immediately.

"You'll kill me."

"No."

Ridoc frowned.

"No?"

"I'll let her do it."

You called from inside.

"I heard that!"

"You were supposed to," Xaden answered.

Ridoc laughed.

"So..."

Xaden sighed the sigh of a man accepting defeat.

"So."

"I have permission to use the front door?"

"No."

"The window?"

"No."

"The roof?"

"...I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

Ridoc grinned.

"I'll take it."

As Xaden walked away, Garrick—who had apparently been hiding around the corner the entire time—stepped out with a smirk.

"You gave up."

"I accepted reality."

"They're disgustingly in love."

"They are."

Ridoc leaned into your window with the biggest smile Xaden had ever seen.

You immediately reached for his hand.

Xaden watched the two of you laugh over something incomprehensible.

He rubbed a hand over his face.

"...I hate that he's good for her."

Garrick patted his shoulder.

"You'll survive."

"I won't enjoy it."

Across the courtyard, Ridoc spotted him.

With absolutely no sense of self-preservation whatsoever, he waved enthusiastically.

"GOODNIGHT, FUTURE BROTHER!"

A dagger embedded itself in the wall an inch from Ridoc's head.

Ridoc looked at it.

Then back at Xaden.

"...He's warming up to me."

From somewhere behind Xaden, Bodhi snorted.

"You are going to die with that level of optimism."

Ridoc just smiled, squeezed your hand, and kissed your forehead.

"Worth it."