by Katie Reus
“I’m a half-demon. My mother was injured in a hard battle. She’d managed to escape her attacker, but she was weak, healing from the long battle. My…sperm donor took her without her consent. He raped her.” He remained preternaturally still under the stroking of Fiona’s fingers. Which he realized hadn’t stopped.
He’d assumed that she would shove him away in disgust once she knew what he was.
“I’m so sorry your mother had to go through that.” Still she continued stroking through his hair as if what he’d said didn’t matter. Or maybe not that, but she wasn’t horrified by it at least.
“You don’t care about my heritage?” he asked carefully.
“Of course I care. I care about where you come from. But if you mean do I think differently of you? No. Your father sounds like a monster. But you are clearly not. Is that why you fight so much? I don’t know much about…half-demons.” Her words were hesitant. She cupped his face then, her palm soft against his skin.
That vise around his chest loosened more than a fraction and he realized he’d been holding his breath as he let one out in a huge rush. Shifting slightly so he could look up at her, he nodded. “Yes. The urge to fight is always strong inside me. The fights allow me to take out my aggression.” There were two ways for half-demons to let out their aggression. Fighting and sex. He’d always chosen fighting as his preferred method. As a half-dragon he had to be careful with his partners and fighting was simply easier.
Unless of course sex with Fiona was on the table. Then he’d choose that every time. But they hadn’t crossed that line yet. He respected her too much and wanted to wait until he’d talked to her family. The truth of it was that what they said about his relationship with her wouldn’t truly matter. He’d mate with her if she would have him. But it would be nice to have their blessing. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure that would happen once they found out his full nature.
“I love watching you fly,” she murmured almost absently. “You’re the most beautiful dragon I’ve ever seen.”
He growled low in his throat at the unexpected compliment, at the surge of hunger her words sent through him. She always did that—told him how wonderful he was. He didn’t feel that way. Never had. But she made him believe that just maybe he had a chance with a female like her.
Pushing up, he moved lightning fast until he had her pinned flat on her back against the soft grass. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, automatically arching into him. Her dark hair splayed around her face as she looked up at him, hunger and heat in her gaze.
“I’m not letting you go, Fiona,” he murmured before brushing his lips over hers. She tasted like heaven. And his.
Only his.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Truth was in every word.
He stroked his tongue against hers, needing more of her. Always more. He cupped the back of her head as he pinned her to the earth. He could feel the wild beat of her heart, the prick of her claws as she dug her fingers into his back. He wasn’t sure how long they lay there kissing.
Time had no meaning when he was with her. Nothing else did.
Nipping at her bottom lip, he savored the groan she made when he slipped a hand under her flimsy top. She wasn’t wearing a bra, something he was certain she did to make him crazy. Whatever the reason, he was glad for it. He’d been imagining what color her nipples were and tonight he planned to find out. She’d been shy about undressing in front of him before their flights and he’d respected her need for privacy. Something told him tonight was going to be different between them.
Her skin was smooth, perfect. When he cupped a full breast, she tightened the grip of her legs around his waist. He ran his thumb slowly over her hard nipple and groaned into her mouth when the wild scent of her desire permeated the air.
The past couple weeks he’d been holding back but tonight it was just the two of them in the vast spread of forest. He was going to taste more of her. As he nibbled his way along her jaw a gold and pale violet smoke surrounded them.
His mating manifestation. He was helpless to stop it. Which was why they had to be careful when they became intimate.
Right now in the middle of nowhere it didn’t matter. No one was around to see. He’d sense any intruders.
He pushed up slightly and started to lift her shirt up, but she grasped the hem and tugged it over her head, moving faster than him. Her nipples were pale brown.
Growling softly, he leaned down and took one in his mouth.
She let out a gasp of surprise as he ran his tongue over the already hard bud, teasing and tasting her. As she slid her fingers through his hair, holding onto his head tightly, he palmed her other breast.
“Ian.” The way she said his name was like a prayer.
It only urged him on and her scent was drowning him. It was a sweet, wild ocean scent that made him crazy, made it hard to breathe.
He moved to her other breast, circling her nipple with his tongue. He still couldn’t believe he’d met this female, that she’d agreed to dinner with him weeks ago and that they’d been spending all their free time together. More than that, he couldn’t believe she was here with him now.
She was out of his league, with an established clan that had immeasurable worth, yet she was here with him.
“Gotta taste all of you,” he murmured against her breast before moving lower.
Her fingers tightened against his head, but he kept going until he reached the button of her jeans. They’d taken off their shoes before their last flight so all he had to do was unbutton them and tug them off.
He glanced up the length of her long, lithe body as he sat up between her spread legs. Her breathing was erratic, her eyes dilated. Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he slowly tugged the button out and pulled her zipper down.
Her breath hitched slightly, a pale blue fire dancing in her gaze and enfolding them just as his smoke did. It wasn’t hot though, just a consuming presence. The smoke and fire were so thick he couldn’t see beyond the two of them. Not even the stars above.
All he saw was her.
She was all that mattered anyway.
When he tugged her jeans down, she lifted her hips so he could get them off easier. Not bothering to pull off the little bit of lace she had covering her mound, he shredded the material at her hips so that it fell away.
She gave him a heavy-lidded look and lifted her hips to him as he bent between her open thighs, her fire growing brighter around them, consuming them.
He’d wanted to draw this out, to tease her more, but hell, he needed to see her climax. To taste it. To hear his name on her lips. To know he’d given her that pleasure. Him. Not some asshole her family wanted her to mate with.
“Ian…”
He froze at the hesitant way she said his name, and lifted his head. Heat was still there in her bright gaze, but she looked almost worried.
“I’ve never had anyone do this,” she whispered. The normally confident female bit her bottom lip, her uncertainty clear.
“We can stop.” His cock kicked against his pants once, but too damn bad. If she wanted to stop, they stopped.
“No!” She cleared her throat. “No. But…I just wanted you to know.”
That was when it registered she meant… “You’ve never been with a male at all?”
She shook her head.
Fuck him. He’d guessed she was inexperienced but…a virgin. He nodded slowly, digesting that. The most primitive part of him was glad that he’d be her first. Not tonight, but soon. He knew he should walk away. He wasn’t remotely good enough for this female, but he couldn’t. Not when he knew she was his with a bone-deep certainty. Still, he wasn’t sure about taking her like this in the middle of a forest. She should have silk beneath her body for her first time.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t bring her to climax, bring her toe-numbing pleasure. “We’ll go slow and if you don’t like something, tell me. We stop when you say we do.”
She pushed out a sigh and nodded, relief m
ixing with the hunger in her gaze.
Moving down a little farther, he lifted her leg and kissed her inner ankle. If she’d never been with a male, he was going to give her everything she deserved.
He glided his lips over her soft skin, smiled against her ankle when her entire body jolted at the soft touch. Her fire and his smoke were out of control now. He wasn’t sure how far they’d spread and didn’t care.
Not when the scent of her hunger was driving him, urging him to mate her. His dragon rippled beneath the surface. Not with the need to shift, but his other side was telling him to claim this female.
Now.
He rolled his shoulders once as he lifted her other leg, dropped soft kisses up her ankle and calf. She shuddered each time his lips touched her skin. Taking his time, he kissed all of her until his face was directly between her legs.
“You’re killing me,” she rasped out, rolling her hips with clear intent.
The urgency in her voice eased the vise around his chest. He wanted everything to be perfect, but knew that was impossible. The only thing he could do was give her so much pleasure that she was exhausted with it. And keep giving it to her until she never wanted to leave him. Until she wanted to bond with him.
His demon half had no problem binding her to him with sex. Not at all.
He buried his face between her legs, growled against her slick folds when she gasped out his name. “Oh…Ian.” She repeated his name over and over as he flicked his tongue up the length of her, teasing and learning her body.
She tasted like his. All sweet, honeyed perfection.
When he focused on her clit, she arched her back off the ground and dug her fingers into his head. “Right there!”
She was so damn reactive. He lifted his head for only a moment. “Cup your breasts. Stroke your nipples.” He wished he had more hands, wished he could watch her as she touched herself, but all his concentration was on the tiny bundle of nerves guaranteed to bring her pleasure.
He increased pressure when she let out another moan, and kept stroking her clit, even when she tore her hands from his head. He heard a ripping sound even as she cried out in pleasure.
“Yes, yes, keep going, ah—” She broke off as her climax slammed into her.
Her scent rose, filling the air as she continued writhing against his face. He licked and stroked, savoring her taste, her cries of ecstasy, until finally she fell limp against the ground. He wanted to keep teasing her, to fill himself with her essence.
Though he was loath to move, she let out a small moan of distress. “Too much.” Her voice was a whisper.
Pushing up, he stared down at her stretched out like a goddess. Her blue fire flickered all around her, calling to him like a siren’s song.
“You’re the most beautiful sight.” His words were raspy, unsteady. And true.
“I don’t know about that,” she murmured, reaching for him. “You’re incredibly—”
“Don’t say beautiful,” he growled before covering her mouth and body with his.
She stroked her tongue against his and he wondered if she liked her own taste, if this was too much for her.
When she slid her hand down over the front of his jeans, he stilled, lifted his head. Oh how he wanted her hands on him, stroking everywhere. He wanted to come in her hands, on her stomach, inside her. But… “I’m not taking you out here. You deserve better.”
She frowned. “I want—”
“No.” He just couldn’t do that. “Let me give you something more. My bed, for your first time.” Because he wanted to see her in his bed, stretched out, naked. Begging for his touch.
After a long pause, she nodded, but ripped the front of his pants open all the same and grasped his cock. Her grip was tentative at first until he groaned, rolling his hips into her hold. Maybe he didn’t have as much control as he’d thought.
That was all the encouragement she needed. He covered her mouth again as she started stroking him, over and over, the feel of her hands on him about to push him over the edge.
It had been a long time for him, but stamina had never been an issue. Apparently until Fiona, because damn, she was actually touching him. Fiona. His female.
He savored the sensation of her gripping him, stroking him, until he couldn’t take it any longer. He came in long, hard pulses, his come covering his stomach and hers until they collapsed against the soft ground.
He belatedly realized she’d torn out some of the grass and dirt earlier, which must have been that ripping sound. His smoke and her fire slowly abated, revealing the same night sky splashed with a billion stars. Everything was quiet around them, as it had been before.
Ian wrapped an arm around her as she snuggled against him. This had to be what heaven was like. Fiona in his arms, with his scent marking her.
“That was amazing,” she murmured against his chest.
“You’re amazing.” He stroked a hand up and down her spine and cleared his throat. “I want to meet your family. I want to tell them about us. No more hiding in the dark.” On this he would not bend.
She stiffened in his hold and moved slightly so she could look at him. “That’s not a good idea. We should just leave.”
Leave? What was she talking about? “Why? Because I beat your brother in a fight?” It would just show his family how strong he was. Sure, Colm might have issues with him, but that was something the male would get over.
“No. They want me to mate with a male from another clan.”
At her words he growled low in his throat. No one would be mating with Fiona but him. His demon side was in agreement, ready to rip off the head of anyone who thought they could touch her. But she’d never even met the male. It wouldn’t be happening. Once her family knew how serious they were, surely they’d get over it.
“They want to unite our clans. You don’t understand what my family is like and that’s my fault. I didn’t want to tell you how awful they are because it’s embarrassing. To them I am nothing. They only care about the heirs I can have and how strong I can help make the clan. I have no rights, no value. It’s always about the males and the stupid clan.”
Another growl tore from his throat. “You are worth everything.”
She gave him a sad smile before she laid her head back on his chest. “Not to them.”
He was silent for a long moment as he thought. She knew her family and how they would react. It went against his nature to run off into the night and escape as if they were common criminals. She deserved more than that. But if it was what she wanted, he would give her anything. All she had to do was ask. “Will you leave with me?”
She sat back up. “Yes. Just name the time.” Her blue eyes were bright with an emotion he wasn’t sure he quite comprehended.
“I need to set up a couple things and we’ll leave within the week. Unless… No one hurts you, do they?” She’d never mentioned it, but the way she described her clan made him wonder—and shoved his dark nature right to the surface. If someone was hurting her, they’d die.
She snorted. “No. Not physically. I don’t matter enough.”
“Will they follow us?”
Fiona paused, then nodded. “It’s likely. I’ll leave a message letting them know I left voluntarily but they won’t like it.”
The wheels in his head were already turning. “I know a place we can live for a few years if we need to stay off the grid. They won’t find us there.” Once they were mated it wouldn’t matter anyway. Because dragons were literally bound even in death. If one mated dragon died, so did the other. He doubted her family would bother with them then since she wouldn’t be able to mate with someone of their choosing, but he would cover every option. Keep her safe.
“I’ll go anywhere you are.”
He brushed his lips over hers, immediately deepening the kiss. She was a drug, his addiction. He forced himself to pull back when he started getting hard again. She gave a slight protest, but laid her head back on his chest with a soft sigh.
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��Why did you never search for your clan?” she asked after a few minutes.
“I had nowhere to start. And my mother never spoke of them so I didn’t know if they’d rejected her, since it was too painful for her to speak of.” There’d been no way to find them. No way he’d been able to figure it out anyway. “I wasn’t even certain if others like me existed. I knew they must since I came from somewhere but…”
“Maybe we can search for them together.” There was a note of hope in her voice.
“Do you need a clan to feel whole?” It wasn’t something he’d considered. Because she was all he needed.
She shook her head quickly and met his gaze. “No. I’ve been alone most of my life anyway. It doesn’t matter that I have a clan. Not when they treat me like an object to be used or discarded. They’ve given me everything and nothing at the same time.”
He hated them for the way they’d treated her and vowed that he’d always keep her safe and treat her the way she deserved. “When I get back tonight I’ll reach out to some of my contacts. Get everything in motion. We’ll be gone by Friday.”
Smiling contentedly, she laid her head back on his chest. For the first time in forever, everything inside him was settled. Calm.
Chapter 10
“For a wolf who’s housebound, you seem pretty damn smug.” Ophelia eyed her only patient. Stretched out on the bed, shirtless, with his hands behind his head, Gray looked smug and sexy. Way too sexy.
“Of course I’m happy. I get to spend more time with you.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. Everyone in the pack who’d met Gray in the past had described him as surly and a loner. But for some reason he seemed to have a permanent little grin whenever he was around her. The cheeky pup had even tried to cage her against the wall earlier and go all Alpha on her, as if he thought she’d what—like that display of dominance? And okay…her wolf had been very, very interested. It probably should have annoyed her more than it did, dang it.