Dragon Redeemed (Reclaimed Dragons Book 2)

by Terry Bolryder

  “The truth?” He reached into his bag. “I’m dirty too. I want things.”

  She turned in his arms and stared up at him. “What things?” Her hands rested on his chest, and her whole body began to tingle.

  “Bad things,” he said in a low voice as he pulled a hat just like his out of his bag and moved back slightly to plop it on her head. “Like this naughty desire to see you in a hat as ugly as mine.”

  She laughed as she grabbed at the hat, attempting to pull it down as he jokingly held it on.

  Finally, she took it off, put it on again, and then threw her arms around him, unable to resist reaching up for a kiss.

  His lips lowered over hers, then paused so close she could almost taste him.

  “And for what it’s worth, I want to take you to the nearest hotel and fuck you senseless all night long.” He pulled back, leaving her teased and aching, his hands still on her hips. “But before that, I want to do one thing.”

  “What?” She looked up at him, lips parted, heart still hammering, waiting for the kiss that hadn’t come.

  He pointed. “Bowling.” He grinned. “I’m not done with our date.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her across the empty road with him, and she laughed, feeling like her heart was freer than it had ever been.

  She could wait a little longer for this dragon.

  Her heart had been waiting a lifetime.

  That was almost dangerous, Ryder thought as he kept his hand in Kira’s and walked them into the rundown but quaint-looking bowling alley he’d just seen across the road.

  The urge to just throw her over his shoulder and take her to the nearest hotel was still pounding through him, and with the dragon’s natural propensity for size in the reproductive area, he needed to calm down his thoughts if he didn’t want anyone looking at them.

  As they walked to the counter, he made himself focus. Then he paid, and they put on their shoes and went to pick out balls.

  Ryder picked the heaviest just because they all felt pitifully light with his dragon strength.

  But it was tougher for Kira to find a ball because the ones with finger holes small enough were all little pink or purple balls that weighed nothing.

  She smiled at him, waving as she moved to another rack, slowly getting slightly farther away as he watched, lost in his thoughts. He leaned against a rack with the ball he’d chosen and just enjoyed watching her move.

  Kira was so sweet, so funny. And her obvious embarrassment over wanting him as much as he wanted her made it impossible not to tease her.

  Just a little.

  Damn, he wanted to do it in bed.

  He was a sexual person. He’d known when he found the one for him, his need for her would be voracious. He’d been so voracious for Kira the other night that he hadn’t been able to think past wanting her.

  But today it was different. The wanting was deeper. More about her than the desire.

  He’d never known he was the type to fall so hard. Perhaps her freeing him from the electric trap had been the final straw for him.

  His eyes narrowed as he noticed a group of humans in the only other occupied lane pointing and jeering at Kira, though they hadn’t gotten up to move closer just yet.

  “Hey, girl!” one yelled. “Come over here and let a real man teach you how to bowl.”

  Kira looked up, more curious than worried, and then over at Ryder who was already striding over as quickly as he could.

  He got there before the men did, only shortly because they were closer.

  They’d been drinking and smelled of sweat. The unwashed kind, not the honest kind that came from fighting for truth in underground labs.

  Kira turned to Ryder, subtly coming closer, though there was a rack of heavy bowling balls between them. “They want to help us learn to bowl,” she said, looking like she wasn’t understanding what they were saying.

  But Ryder did. And he heard it in their filthy thoughts. “Come on. Let’s go,” he said, reaching out a hand to guide her along the racks to where they could meet.

  “We saw her first.”

  One of the humans stepped up between them, breaking their hand contact. Ryder sucked in a breath, but Kira’s eyes snapped to his with a firm warning.

  And he heard her thoughts because he knew she wanted him to hear them. We can’t hurt them. They’re just humans.

  Her gorgeous eyes were pleading, so despite Ryder’s need to line up these humans like bowling pins and get some strikes of his own, he forced himself to stay calm.

  The human was still blocking Kira from going around, and Ryder felt his patience snap as the man put his arm on her shoulder.

  Ryder reached down for the rack that wasn’t right next to Kira and lifted it with one hand, not caring how the humans were goggling at him for doing it.

  He didn’t know if lifting a rack of bowling balls with one hand was within typical human strength limits.

  He just knew he needed Kira right beside him. Now. Where he could protect her.

  With nothing blocking him, he reached for her hand and jerked her back through the gap, holding her against his body.

  “She came with me,” he said, setting the rack back down carefully. “Anyone got anything to say about it?”

  There was silence as the men stepped back, frightened.

  “And you’re all going to sit back and let the lady and me have a peaceful night?”

  There were eager nods.

  “Good,” he said, keeping his arm around her waist and guiding her back to their lane as his heart pounded.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, rubbing her arms and looking her over. “Did they touch you? Did they do anything?”

  She smiled up at him. “You know they didn’t. You were keeping watch.” She folded her arms. “For what it’s worth, I wasn’t worried. I knew I could stop anything they would do. I’m stronger than them, after all. But it was fun seeing a big bad dragon get all protective.”

  He felt his cheeks heat because he’d never thought a fae could talk about a dragon with such respect.

  It made him feel pride in who he was.

  Perhaps that was why he was falling in love with her.

  Shit, love?

  He shook his head, pulling her in against him despite her teasing, just wanting to hold her close.

  “I’m glad you’re all right,” he said.

  “I’m fine,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder for a moment. “Thanks for not getting violent.” She reached up to run a hand through his hair, looking at his face again.

  He always felt so seen when she did that. No one else had made him feel that way.

  “It’s no problem. And you’re right. Intimidation is always the better option.”

  Though, once she was asleep, he might just go visit those guys, make sure they were too afraid to ever think about cornering a woman like that again.

  “You look like you’re thinking sneaky thoughts,” she said.

  “Am I so transparent?” He smiled. “What I’m thinking is how many strikes I have to bowl to get this hot little fairy I’m seeing into bed.”

  She paused, looking up at him. “Are we seeing each other?”

  “I see you right now,” he joked. Then he took a deep breath. “I know we’re just supposed to be partners. I don’t know what this is between us. But when I’m with you, despite all odds, it feels like we were meant to be together. Like we just… fit, you know?”

  He could see her pulse racing at the base of her neck, her soft body cradled against him as she looked up into his eyes.

  Something about the pink there drew him in. Something so honest. Something so worried.

  “Ryder,” she said nervously. “There are still things I should tell you, things about the past…”

  “No—”

  “I want to just let myself get caught up in the moment,” she said, getting out her words and not letting him interrupt her. “I like you more every day. But I don’t want to hurt you�
��”

  “No,” he said, cutting her off. The guilt was back in her eyes, and he didn’t want to see it.

  There was nothing she needed to feel bad about but also nothing good that could come from knowing more about a shared past that had been filled with so much turmoil for both of them.

  If certain things came up, they could never be buried again.

  He took a deep breath, pushing one black curl behind her ear. “Please, let’s just take this by the moment, okay? Right now, I just want to have the day with you. And I swear it’s fine. I know we have a shared past. One that’s full of only pain.”

  She winced at that slightly, though he didn’t know why.

  “But the future…” He took her hand. “Could be better. Sometimes I think that at least. When I’m with you.”

  Hope and happiness shone in her eyes as she looked up at him, and something hit him deep in his soul. Something he’d never felt before, or if he had, he’d forgotten.

  Something that seemed like love.

  But not the kind you feel for a friend or an admired co-worker. The kind you feel for someone you’ve wanted your entire life.

  Deep, soul-searing love that leaves a mark.

  Was that because she was his soul bond? Or his mate?

  She leaned up on her toes to kiss him, and for once, she seemed much more unleashed than ever before. Whatever he had said had made her free to not hold back with him.

  “Whatever you want, Ryder. I just never want to hurt you.”

  “You couldn’t hurt me,” he said, pulling back from her lips and trying to calm his dragon. “I know that much for sure. It’s not that I’m ignoring the past because I don’t plan to keep going with you. It’s because I like you so much that I want this to keep going, and I don’t see why the past should ruin a good thing. Now let me go before I decide to take you right in this bowling alley, humans be damned.”

  She nodded, nipping at his lips for one more kiss with a little giggle.

  Damn, this woman just melted him.

  He let out a deep sigh as he picked up his bowling ball and walked to the approach. “How many strikes, fairy?”

  She grinned. “I don’t know. You’ve already gotten a strike in my heart. That’s all you need probably.”

  Dammit.

  His throw was a gutter ball, but a few seconds later, Ryder was too busy kissing Kira to care.

  How were they even going to make it through one game together?

  12

  “This is quaint,” Kira said, holding Ryder’s hand as he led them toward a small log cabin nestled deep in the woods outside town.

  Ryder had insisted on staying somewhere other than the rundown motel from last night and found this rental online.

  “I wanted to see what humans rent for their vacations in places like this,” Ryder replied, fingers tightening around hers slightly as he unlocked the door with a code. “We can pretend we’re on vacation as well.”

  She squeezed his back. “Just for a little while. Not that I’m not focused on finishing the mission. But this… this is really nice.”

  All day and evening, they’d been orbiting each other like stars, getting closer and brighter until she could barely hold back anymore. Not just attraction, but something deeper, more intense.

  Like there was hope for a real future even if he wouldn’t address the past.

  Ryder opened the door and let them both inside, shutting it behind them and dropping their bags to the side before turning around and propping both hands against the door, caging her against it. His tall body leaned over her, his yellow and orange gaze roving down and up, heating her insides with his nearness.

  “I think I could get used to this too,” Ryder said. And when she looked fully up to meet him, there wasn’t just want in his eyes. There was longing, a yearning she’d felt for him for a long time that she now saw echoes of in his expression.

  Was he remembering her somewhere deep inside? Or perhaps he didn’t need to.

  Sometimes she didn’t know if she had made too much of what they were back in the lab. After all, there wasn’t room for a real relationship.

  Just hopes and dreams and late-night talks and wistful longing.

  But either way, they had time to do anything they wanted now.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” She brushed a finger up his chest, circling the spot on his pec where his heart lay, beating rhythmically.

  He nodded. “I am. I’m not someone who overthinks things. I go by instincts. I always have.”

  And in that moment, Kira could feel their fae bond pulsing, faint and deep in her heart.

  As she’d always suspected, he really was her soul bond. The one she was meant to be with. The only one she would want.

  “And right now, I want to chase this feeling between us,” he said. His handsome face was shaded by the dim light of the cabin, but his eyes were warm and soft.

  No matter what, she felt safe with him.

  “Let’s chase it, then,” she said.

  He growled possessively, then leaned down to kiss her, lips crashing over hers with a wave of pleasure and emotion that fell over Kira’s body like a downpour. And when his tongue thrust in to meet hers, she gave in completely, letting Ryder take his time as he claimed her wholly.

  She barely noticed as his hands clasped with hers, entwining their fingers and pinning her arms to her sides. It left her nowhere to go but further into this magical happening that defied their past with every second they spent together like this.

  Ryder was the one she wanted. And she could feel his want of her too.

  Wasn’t that enough?

  He licked along the roof of her mouth, going deeper with his tongue and making her legs clench together with arousal. And when he pulled away, he looked down at her, satisfaction and lust brightening his gaze.

  With ease, he whisked her into his strong arms, pulling Kira’s much smaller body in against him as he traversed the few steps from the front door to the bed at the back of the room.

  The rental was actually more like a one-room apartment, even smaller than her own back in the city. On one side, there was a little kitchenette with a fridge and prep area. To the other side, there was a small entertainment center with a TV and a single door that led to a connected bathroom.

  “Rawr, I’m a possessive dragon taking my mate back to my lair.”

  “You’re not just a dragon,” she replied, too aware of their bond to ignore how they connected so intimately, so well.

  “Well, my fae side is possessive too,” he replied, nuzzling against her ear, making her body shiver before he plopped her onto the bed.

  Thankfully, this bed was Ryder-size with a plush comforter on top. The view was amazing, a skylight directly overhead, framing the overhead branches and sprawling starlit sky.

  But as Ryder pulled off his shirt and kicked away his shoes, there was a much more delicious view that distracted her from the one overhead.

  He didn’t speak, just devoured her with his gaze while his hands caressed her sides, teasing the sensitive spots at the base of her hips. And when he pulled her shirt up a bit, his slightly rough fingertips playing along her skin, Kira felt little sparks moving up and down her body wherever he touched her.

  “So beautiful.” He marveled, even the brush of his hands over her belly, her arms, her breasts erotic. “So mine.”

  He leaned down to kiss her neck now, sucking and getting rougher as she let her hands feel along his painfully close body. And when he scraped his teeth lightly over her earlobe, a shock of sensation moved down her back, making her wet and aching to have all of him tonight.

  “Everything and more,” Ryder said, reading her thoughts and making her blush with the way his powerful muscles moved above her with expert precision to kiss and tease her senses.

  Her clothing felt suffocating by the time he pulled away her shirt and unhooked her bra, letting the cool air of the cabin wash over her skin.

  Ryder was practica
lly an expert now at squeezing her breasts as he covered her nipples with his mouth, the warm wetness of his tongue so hot her body arched against the bed. Her hands grasped at the sheets, not finding purchase as she squirmed beneath his onslaught.

  Last night had been fast. Like a landslide of pleasure.

  Tonight he was thorough, unstoppable. Like a waterfall pouring over her, covering Kira from head to toe.

  He pressed the tip of one nipple between his tongue and teeth, and the feeling was so intense she gasped loudly, interrupting the silence of the room.

  Ryder’s gaze flitted to her, irises more of a deep orange in the low light, and he gave her a wicked grin as he gathered both her hands in one of his and pinned them above her head. She tested her strength against his, knowing that if she ever wanted to be let go, he’d never trap her.

  But with Ryder, she knew in her heart she never wanted to be let go. Ever.

  “Don’t hold back tonight. Let me know exactly how you’re feeling.” And as his tongue laved over one nipple, then the other, she moaned loudly, the sensation so much more intense with nowhere to go, no way to move her body extraneously.

  For several minutes, he lavished her with love, moving to her belly and licking down her sides, then closer to her center while his big hand easily kept her trapped. And the harder she wriggled against him, the firmer his grip was, holding her steady amidst the overwhelming pleasure.

  And when Ryder undid the button of her jeans, his free hand sliding beneath her underwear to spread her folds while one finger teased her clit, Kira almost came immediately. She was so sensitive, so turned on by him. He made it difficult to not lose control.

  Instead, she focused on the shape of him above her, broad muscles gleaming with moonlight as it began to pour through the windows. His expression was intense, focused on only her as he watched each movement, each twitch of her body beneath him. As though she were the only person in the world that existed.

  For Kira, Ryder had always been the only person for her. If fate existed, if there was some cosmic force that brought together people in love in spite of odds or upbringing, she had to believe it was working for them too.