The Bride Hunt Box Set: Books 1-3

by Charlene Hartnady

  “Oh … so it really is possible.” She frowned, her eyes lifted in thought.

  “Yes,” he nodded. Maybe she was thinking about the possibilities, about them being together.

  “Don’t look at me like that and don’t get any ideas,” she shook her head. “Don’t fall for me.”

  “Fall?” Why would he fall? He was lying down. Coal frowned.

  Julie giggled. “Fall, as in, fall in love. Don’t fall in love with me.”

  Coal laughed. “Oh … love. I’ve never felt love before. I am not sure I am capable. Dragons do not mate for love. We look for someone we get along well with. Someone who interests us. Someone who is fertile.”

  She shook her head like he was nuts. “If you say so. I might not even be fertile. I’ve also been told I’m a bitch so there’s not much to like.”

  “A bitch is a female dog.”

  “A bitch is someone who …” She looked like she was in thought “Stands up for herself, is honest, is outspoken. Someone who generally says it like it is even though feelings might get hurt. I’m not a pushover. Some people don’t like that quality in a person.”

  “I like you and you interest me. If you are a bitch, then I like bitches.”

  Julie laughed. “You like bitches?” She was so beautiful. From her radiant smile to those full cherry lips. Her dark hair was spilled across his pillow. The smell of sex was heavy in the air.

  Coal grinned broadly. “I like you, Julie.”

  She licked her lips. “Back to the fertility part. I might not be … fertile that is.”

  “You are.”

  “How could you possibly know that?”

  “You were carefully selected. We looked for females who needed help but they also had to meet our criteria. A certain age, unmated, no children of their own and … fertile.”

  She rolled her eyes. “And you what? Experimented on me while I was sleeping? How would you know that?”

  “Whoever was watching you will have scented it.”

  “That’s crazy and just a bit creepy.” She pulled a face. “I was followed?”

  “Yes, but it was only to be sure. We needed the arrangement to be mutually beneficial.”

  Julie pulled a blanket over herself. Coal gave her some room. He sprawled himself out on the bed. His cock was still as hard as it had been before they’d had sex. The guy wasn’t lying about going at it all night.

  Thank god he spoke as if this was a business arrangement. It suited her just fine. She’d chill here for a few weeks as promised and then it was back to her old life. This was a retreat. Coal was seriously hot and great in bed. He might want her for a mate and to have his babies but he wouldn’t fall in love with her. That meant that he would let her go. He would move on. There were plenty of human women who would give their left arm for a chance with a guy like him.

  She felt a pang at the thought. The sex. She would miss the off-the-charts sex. That was why she felt this way.

  You will only crave me.

  His words rolled around her head as she watched him from under her lashes. Washboard abs, broad shoulders and lips made for kissing. His cock was made for other things entirely. His mouth lifted in a lazy, half smile. She feared he was right. She would be ruined. Those pasty white, nerdy types who tried really hard would never do it for her again. Coal didn’t have to try. Not even a little bit. He was naturally good. No, he was great.

  “Stop looking at my cock or I will be forced to rut you again.”

  “I’m not complaining,” she had to smile.

  Coal grinned right back at her. He was quite spectacular when he smiled. The gold flecks in his eyes became more pronounced. “I must feed you first.”

  Now that she thought about it, she was really hungry.

  Coal got up off the bed and headed for the kitchen area. Oh, that ass. And oh, those thighs. He grabbed a skillet and some meat out of the fridge. “How do you like your steaks done?”

  Her mouth watered. She wasn’t sure whether it was him or the thought of food that caused it.

  “You’re going to cook for me?” She rolled onto her stomach.

  There was a click as he lit the stove, placing the skillet on the flames. Coal nodded, he turned and leaned back against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. So freaking hot.

  “I most definitely am.” He raised his brows.

  Wow! Just wow. She looked down at his hard cock. “Naked?” She raised her own brows as she locked eyes with him.

  Coal nodded again, then turned and slapped the steaks onto the hot skillet.

  It was weird, yesterday she’d felt like the unluckiest person on the planet. Today she felt like the tables might be turning.

  “Are you going to actually feed me my food as well?” She could hear the suppressed laugh in her voice.

  Coal glanced back over his shoulder, he was smiling. One of those naughty grins. “No,” he paused, “you can feed yourself while I eat you. I think that’s a much better plan.” He licked his lips. Licked. His. Lips.

  Heat infused her cheeks. What was she getting herself into? This felt dangerous.

  Chapter 14

  One week later …

  His blood ignited. His veins caught fire. He shuddered as he pulled the moving sheet away.

  Julie.

  By all that was scaly.

  Her mouth was wrapped around his cock. Wrapped around. He could barely breathe. Couldn’t think at all. He shuddered again as he watched her full breasts sway as she sucked him deeper. One of her hands massaged his sacs while the other moved up and down his shaft.

  She made a slurping noise as she continued sucking on his dick. Up and down and up again.

  “What are you doing? Whatever you do,” he paused to moan, “don’t stop.” He quickly added: “Do. Not. Stop.” He threaded his hands into her soft hair then thought better of it. Coal grabbed the the blanket instead. He was gasping and grunting. He had to work not to thrust into her mouth. It was agony and ecstasy.

  No wonder females enjoyed a male’s mouth on them. If it felt anything like this, he could understand. As soon as she was done, he was returning the favor.

  He swallowed hard. He could feel the build-up inside him, could feel his balls pull up. Smoke curled from his nostrils.

  She looked up from under her lashes and smiled around his cock. Her little hand worked quicker on his shaft. Pumping him.

  “Female,” he growled. “I’m going to …” He thrust his hips just a little. Julie took him deeper, she took him right down her throat. It was the most sensual thing he had ever seen. “Female …” he growled again. “Julie …” It was a plea for her to stop and at the same time, it was a plea to carry on. Do. Not. Stop, he silently begged.

  Thank Claw she carried on. Pumping him harder still, sucking on his head with that sweet mouth of hers.

  He groaned her name as the first spurts erupted and threw his head back and roared as he all out orgasmed. He heard her swallowing greedily, which only made him come harder.

  She didn’t stop, dragging out his pleasure. He put a hand to her head as he watched her slow until she finally released him with a pop. Julie looked up at him with wanton eyes.

  “That was amazing,” he finally managed to choke out. His voice was thick and rough. “That was …” He didn’t know how to put it into words. His chest heaved and his eyes were wide.

  “You’ve never had a blowjob, have you?” She licked her lips.

  Coal shook his head. “I’ve heard the males talk of them but never believed that it could be as good as sex. I was wrong.”

  “You poor baby.” She climbed onto his lap. It was a strange human expression. Julie called him baby from time to time. She had explained that it was an endearment. One he still hadn’t gotten used to. Then she stroked his cock and he forgot all about strange human sayings.

  “I can’t believe that dragon women don’t suck cock.”

  “They are spoiled for choice. So many males …” he groaned as her hand m
oved up and down on his shaft. “They are the ones in the driver’s seat.”

  “Still, it’s a two-way street. It should be give and take.” She smiled. “More fun that way.” It certainly was.

  He loved the way her mind worked. Coal smiled in response. “I’m going to rut you and then we’re going out.” He kissed her softly on the lips. Julie immediately deepened the kiss and stroked him some more. She didn’t like it when he kissed her. It was fine if it was sexual, otherwise she froze or pushed him away or turned it sexual like she was doing right now. She hadn’t said much about herself even though they’d spent the last week holed up in this room.

  It was one rutting session after another. He wasn’t complaining but at the same time, he wanted to know more about her too. If they stayed here, it would end up with him buried in her several times over the course of the day. He broke the kiss.

  “No wonder you guys had to resort to kidnapping human women,” she smiled.

  “We didn’t kidnap you to suck our cocks, although maybe we should have,” he smiled back at her.

  She narrowed her eyes. “You have a dirty, dirty mouth.”

  Coal felt himself frown. “I still need to brush my teeth. I’m sorry, I—”

  She laughed. “No! Your mouth is fine. Very fine.” She kissed him, nipping at his lips. His cock went from hard to ridiculous. “Dirty mouth means you’re crass and caveman, which you are.”

  “You love it.” He cupped one of her lush breasts and raked a thumb over her nipple, to prove a point. Julie arched.

  Coal hugged her tighter. “We’re going out. I want you to meet my brother.” Blaze had summoned him more than once over the last few days and he’d ignored him. Coal needed to meet with the male before Blaze lost it. He wasn’t the most patient male around.

  “Ooooh … the king,” she feigned excitement.

  Coal sighed. “He is my brother and yes, he happens to be the king. I want you to meet him.”

  She tensed. “Why? I’m not staying. You know that right?”

  “I have two more weeks to convince you. You’ve seen my chamber and know what I can do with my cock.” He kissed her neck, nipping on the spot that he knew drove her wild. “You also know that I can cook, but …” he paused, looking into her beautiful eyes, “I want you to meet my friends and family … to see the rest of my kingdom. I want us to actually talk and to do things together.”

  “It’s not going to make a difference, Coal. I can’t stay.” She looked sad. Her eyes clouded and she frowned.

  “Maybe you can.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  She shook her head. “There’s a whole world waiting for me out there. I promised myself that I would explore it. That I would see it all. I can’t be tied down and I don’t want to be a mom.”

  He wanted to push for answers but he sensed that she still wasn’t ready to talk about why she felt the way she did. Especially about motherhood.

  Julie licked her lips. “It’s important that whomever you end up mating continues your bloodline?”

  He nodded. “Yes. It is of the utmost importance.”

  “There ya go.” Again with the extra upbeat attitude. He wasn’t buying it. “It so wouldn’t work just on that note alone.”

  Yes it could. Julie would be a wonderful mother. She was amazing. Not just for her beauty or how compatible they were but for who she was as well. He may not know much about her yet but he knew the essence of who she was.

  The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils. “Now, do you want my mouth or my cock?”

  She laughed. It came out in a short burst. “So dirty.”

  “Really now? Dirty?” He grinned at her. “The shower it is then.” Coal picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, being careful not to hurt her.

  He marched into the bathroom. Turned the faucets on and waited the few seconds for the water to heat, then he put her down under the spray. Coal spread her legs and positioned himself between them. Water cascaded down her body. She was a vision. He tongued her until she came … hard. Then he fucked her against the wall from behind until they both came … hard.

  Even as he pulled out, he wanted her again. Coal doubted he would ever stop wanting her.

  Shit!

  The king was formidable. She felt the need to hold Coal’s hand even though she wasn’t the handholding type.

  The green-eyed, stern looking guy eyed her like she had food on her face or her top. Maybe her hair was mussed. Then he sniffed at her. Sniffed. No freaking way. It was okay ‒ for whatever reason ‒ that Coal sniffed her. She even found it a turn-on, but not this guy.

  On top of all of that, he looked pissed. She didn’t know why. Had she done something wrong?

  He sniffed her again. His frown deepened. His mouth was a thin, white line of distaste.

  “Hey!” She felt herself tense up. “Stop that. What are you doing?”

  The guy straightened up. He completely ignored her. “You have rutted extensively although I can tell that you haven’t mated her yet.” His shoulders were tense. His neck muscles corded. The guy was shirtless so she could see all his muscles pop. Although he was built, she didn’t find him sexy like Coal. He was pretty but too mean looking.

  Then she realized what he had said and how he was ignoring her.

  “Hello, buddy. I’m right here. Maybe you shouldn’t talk about me like I’m not. It’s damned rude. I don’t like it. Stop!”

  The king ‒ big deal ‒ raised his brows. “Is she always like this?”

  Coal chuckled. “She’s a bitch. That means that she’s direct and honest in her approach.”

  Julie had to suppress a laugh. Coal said it like he was paying her a compliment. Such a cutie pie.

  “I know what it means.” The king was irritated.

  Coal cleared his throat. “Julie does have a point though. You shouldn’t speak of her as if she isn’t here. It is not polite.”

  The guy looked at her for the first time. Shit, his eyes were a stunning green. His gaze was intense. “Hello, human. Why has my brother not mated you yet? I want you pregnant at your next heat.” He sniffed.

  “Stop that!” she yelled. “I don’t like it. Coal and I are not going to mate.”

  “We are discussing it,” Coal quickly intervened.

  The king sighed. He played with his ring. “I can scent that her heat is coming. Another four days tops.”

  “What?” Julie felt all the blood drain from her face. She turned to Coal. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

  Coal’s eyes were blazing. His jaw was set. His whole stance softened as his gaze landed on her. “I was going to tell you. We are still safe. We will start to use rubber coverings tomorrow.”

  She folded her arms. “No way. We’ll start today. I trusted you. I’m an idiot.” Why had she trusted him with something so huge? He was planning on trapping her. Whenever she trusted someone in the past, they let her down. Every. Single. Time.

  Coal touched her arm softly. “You can trust me, I—”

  “No rubber coverings!” the king boomed.

  “Blaze, we are not ready to mate. We will use coverings this time.”

  “This time …” What the hell was he talking about? She’d explained about not wanting kids. There was no way she was messing up some poor kid’s life. No way! “I don’t want children. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “What?” the king roared. Smoke came out of every orifice. Okay, maybe it only came out his nose and mouth but he was so mad that she could swear it almost came out of every hole in his body. Idiot! She didn’t give two shits if he was angry. “Take her back to the human town she came from,” he said. “Why are you wasting your time with this female?”

  Her blood seemed to slow and cool, even though her heart sped up. The funny thing was, she didn’t want to go back just yet. The thought scared her. Why would it scare her? It didn’t scare her, it made her upset. She was having too much fun. She’d counted on having two more weeks wi
th Coal … two more weeks of relaxation. Two more weeks of no-strings fun.

  “No, I’m not taking her back,” Coal ground out. He put an arm around her shoulder. Even though she wasn’t one for public displays of affection, she leaned into him.

  “You have to.” The king was looking at her. “This female doesn’t want young. She is useless to us.”

  What a prick!

  Coal squeezed her tighter. He gave a tiny shake of the head. It was meant for her. Julie realized that she had sucked in a breath and was about to tell this bozo exactly what she thought of him.

  “She means something to me,” Coal said simply. The statement warmed her. It shouldn’t warm her. Maybe it was because she could count on one hand how many people had stood up for her in her life. She didn’t even need all her fingers on that hand at that.

  She felt like blowing a raspberry at the fuddy duddy king. Take that.

  Coal looked down at her. She only came up to the middle of his chest so it wasn’t hard. The king also looked down on her. He was just as tall but looked very different. They must each take after different parents. Blaze was very good-looking. He had the whole chiseled jaw and gorgeous eyes thing. There was a slight cleft in his jaw. He looked like a movie star with a stick up his ass. He was not quite as built as Coal and to her, not nearly as attractive.

  “I would like a quick word with my brother.” Coal smiled. It didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked stressed. “Would you mind waiting outside … or you could go for a walk? I’ll find you in a few minutes.”

  “I thought I wasn’t allowed anywhere without you.” The thought of some other Neanderthal grabbing her scared her.

  Coal grinned, this time for real. “I have fully claimed you. You have nothing to worry about. They might look and sniff at you but no one will touch you. I’ll be ten minutes.” His throat worked. “Please …”

  “You’re begging a female?” Blaze laughed. It looked feral and didn’t sound very humorous. “This is a first.”

  Coal ignored his brother and kept his eyes on her.

  Julie nodded. The tension left him. “Thank you. I will be able to follow your scent trail so don’t worry, I’ll find you.” He leaned in and kissed her softly. Panic welled in her.