by ERIN BEDFORD
Pounding Earth
Starcrossed Dragons Book 4
Erin Bedford
J. A. Cipriano
Copyright © 2018 by Erin Bedford & J.A. Cipriano
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
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Also by Erin Bedford
Also by J.A. Cipriano
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Thank You for reading!
Author’s Note
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Also by Erin Bedford
The Underground
Chasing Rabbits
Chasing Cats
Chasing Princes
Chasing Shadows
Chasing Hearts
Fairy Tale Bad Boys
Hunter
Pirate
Thief
Mirror
Stepbrother
The Celestial War Chronicles
Song of Blood and Fire
Visions of War and Water
The Mary Wiles Chronicles
Marked By Hell
Bound By Hell
Deceived By Hell
Tempted By Hell
The Crimson Fold
Until Midnight
Vampire CEO
Granting Her Wish
Also by J.A. Cipriano
The Pen is Mightier
The Pen is Mightier: Company Ink
Super Human
King of the Gods
World of Ruul
Soulstone: Awakening
Soulstone: The Skeleton King
Soulstone: Oblivion
Bug Wars
Doomed Infinity Marine
Doomed Infinity Marine 2
The Legendary Builder
The Builder’s Sword
The Builder’s Greed
The Builder’s Pride
The Builder’s Wrath
The Builder’s Throne
The Builder’s Conquest
Starcrossed Dragons
Riding Lightning
Grinding Frost
Swallowing Fire
Pounding Earth
The Goddess Harem
The Tiger’s Offer
The Wolf’s Hunt
Justice Squad
Miracle’s Touch
Her Angels
Heaven’s Embrace
Heaven’s A Beach
The FBI Dragon Chronicles
A Ritual of Fire
A Ritual of Death
Elements of Wrath Online
Ring of Promise
The Vale of Three Wolves
Crystalfire Keep
Kingdom of Heaven
The Skull Throne
Escape From Hell
The Thrice Cursed Mage
Cursed
Marked
Burned
Seized
Claimed
Hellbound
The Half-Demon Warlock
Pound of Flesh
Flesh and Blood
Blood and Treasure
The Lillim Callina Chronicles
Wardbreaker
Kill it with Magic
The Hatter is Mad
Fairy Tale
Pursuit
Hardboiled
Mind Games
Fatal Ties
Clans of Shadow
Heart of Gold
Feet of Clay
Fists of Iron
The Spellslinger Chronicles
Throne to the Wolves
Prince of Blood and Thunder
Found Magic
May Contain Magic
The Magic Within
Magic for Hire
Witching on a Starship
Maverick
Planet Breaker
The Shaman Queen's Harem
Ghosts and Grudges
1
“Oooh, right there,” I moaned, leaning into Raiden’s touch. His fingers dug into my shoulders, hitting just the right spot to make me squirm. I’d been waiting all day for this moment. The moment I would get to finally relax and sink my aching body into the bath tub. Raiden joining me had been a bonus.
“Like that, do you?” Raiden chuckled in my ear, making the water slosh around us. We’d taken refuge in my bathroom after spending all day in the training field. The North might be a frozen icy land, but they did have some killer training grounds.
“You have no idea.” I groaned again and shifted closer to him. “I’m happy you guys are helping me get stronger, but it’s killer on my muscles.”
“You shouldn’t overwork yourself.” Raiden turned me slightly to look at him. “You’re still pregnant.”
“So?” I arched a brow. “I’m pregnant, not weak.” I stroked my hand along my swelling belly. My second trimester had begun, and our daughter had done her best to make herself known. One day, I was staring down at a flat stomach, and the next thing I know, my belly button was several inches further out than it had been before.
It didn’t bother me, really. I wasn’t vain. Living with my father had taught me to have a tough skin and to accept myself the way I was born. In fact, the more my daughter grew, the less I cared about what I looked like, and the more I worried about getting stronger.
I couldn’t rely on the guys to keep me safe every minute of every day. There were too many enemies, and more being added by the day. The only people not trying to kill us were Firestar’s family. Though that might change if they ever figured out that we had lied about Firestar being my only mate.
“What’s wrong?” Raiden asked, dropping his hands from my shoulders.
I shrugged but didn’t answer.
Not accepting my silence, Raiden turned me in his arms so that I sat curled up on his muscular front. He brushed his thumb against the side of my face, pushing a stray wet hair away.
“Is it the baby?” The concern in his eyes made my heart warm more than I could handle. The guys had been so loving toward me, and that love had grown the farther along I got in my pregnancy. I partly suspected it was my unbalanced hormones that made them act so caring, but since I’d started to level out a bit more, they hadn’t let up.
“No, she’s fine.” I smiled, placing my hand on my stomach. “Getting hungry but fine.”
“Then what is it.”
“Aren’t you worried?” I finally asked, shifting so that I could sit more comfortably in his lap.
“About the baby?” Raiden raised a brow, and I shook my head.
I chewed on my bottom lip as I tried to find a delicate way to bring up his mother and father. Raiden hadn’t gotten better at hearing about the mother that betrayed him and his family, so I didn’t want to poke at him more than needed.
“Come now.” Raiden gave me his trademark grin. “There’s nothing you can’t tell me, Maya. I
love you. Nothing you could say would change that.”
Tell that to his mother.
Lady Nariko had all but obliterated her family with her lust for power. The moment she found out that I could give powers to my lovers, she had turned into a power-hungry monster. It wasn’t enough that her youngest son was benefiting from my powers, she needed all her sons to be the strongest.
Her sons and husband didn’t share the same opinion, and sadly, that led to Lady Nariko to stage a coup. She had thrown Lord Shen, Raiden’s father, into the dungeon and had tried to do the same to her sons. Fortunately, Raiden’s twin brothers were safe here with us in the North, but we didn’t know if Lord Shen was still alive.
Unable to hesitate any longer, I asked, “Do you think your father is okay?”
Raiden’s grin wilted on the edges, and then it came back in full force. “Oh, I’m sure of it. We Easterners are survivors. How else do you think I would have lived through my brothers growing up?” He laughed, but it was forced.
I couldn’t imagine how Raiden was feeling, what he had pent up inside of him. My relationship with my family had always been shaky, so I’d never had the close-knit, loving kind of bonds Raiden had with his. And for his mother to betray them all like that? Unbelievable. I would expect it from my father. He only had his own well-being in mind. But the heartbreaking way Raiden and his brothers looked when they found out their mother was not the person they knew? My own heart ached for them.
Now, all I could do was be there for him and help him save his father and his kingdom. For him and for our daughter.
“Do you think we’ll make a move soon?” I asked, running a hand through his black and white hair. He leaned into my touch, his eyes closing briefly. When they opened, they were hard.
“If we don’t soon, we are going to lose the few warriors we have.”
Things were getting tense around the Northern kingdom. The warriors we had procured for Raiden’s father’s rescue wanted to know when we would get started, something I wanted to know as well.
“Do you think we have a chance with the men we have?” I asked though I knew the answer.
Raiden sighed. “If we attack now, we’d be committing suicide.” He shook his head, making me drop my hand. “We are better off waiting for more supporters, but where we’ll get them, I have no idea.”
I slid closer to him, pressing myself against him as much as my belly would let me. “We’ll save him, Raiden,” I assured him, hoping my eyes showed the confidence I was faking. “We won’t let your mother win.”
“I know.” Raiden gave me a small smile, his arms wrapping around my waist. He drew me down for a soft kiss which ended sooner than I would have liked. “You just take care of yourself and our daughter and leave the worrying to us. After all, why else would you need three men?”
I smirked. “Oh, I know a few reasons.”
“Is that right?” Raiden leered at me, his hands moving up against my back. I could feel him growing beneath me, and it made me wiggle slightly. Raiden groaned and cupped my butt, grinding his erection against me.
Placing my hands on his shoulders, I rubbed myself against his length. Hot sparks of need shot through me, making my insides clench. One benefit of this pregnancy had been the increasing awareness of every nerve ending in my body. Just one slight vibration could have me orgasming on the spot. Helpful in the bedroom, not so much when in the middle of training.
Slick and hungry for more friction, I lifted myself up. Reaching between us, Raiden aligned himself with my wet folds. Even without any foreplay, I was still more than ready for him, but each inch I sank onto him stretched and rubbed me until I sighed in pleasure.
Swallowing hard, I enjoyed the feel of him inside of me for just a moment. Raiden didn’t move, his eyes trained on my face. I licked my lips and nodded when I’d had my fill.
Hands on my hips, he lifted me gently. My head fell back at the sensation and a low gurgling groan released from my throat. Every nerve jolted as if they had downed five cans of Red Bull. I chuckled slightly at the thought. My best friend Ryan from Earth would be appalled to know I had used his favorite drink as a sex reference.
“Laughter is not usually the reaction I’m going for when I’m inside of you,” Raiden reminded me, and I smiled down at him.
“Sorry, just had a funny thought.”
He quirked a brow. “Well, do tell,” I opened my mouth to do so, but he tweaked my nipple, making me yip. “Later. Tell me later. After I’ve thoroughly fucked you into oblivion.”
“So sure of yourself, are you?” I quipped and then groaned as he moved me along his length again. My fingernails dug into his shoulders, and I gasped.
Raiden grinned. “Yes, I am.”
Panting, I said, “Less talking, more moving.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Raiden thrust up into me, hitting the back of me with a sharp sting. I’d once worried our aggressive lovemaking might hurt the baby, but Trina had assured us that as long as we weren’t doing anything too extreme, she’d be fine. She was a dragon after all. Aggression was kind of our calling card.
Letting me control our movements for a while, Raiden cupped my breasts in his hands. They felt heavy even with Raiden holding them. He rolled the sensitive peaks in between his fingers, sending electric pangs of pleasure through me. I rotated my hips against him, clenching my walls around his length. Raiden paused in his ministrations to let out a heavy groan.
“You don’t play fair,” he accused, thrusting up into me with more force. Gripping his hair in my hands, I buried my face into his neck. I sought out the pulsing vein along the junction of his throat and skimmed my teeth against it.
The reaction was instant. Suddenly, I was lifted out of his lap and turned to face the edge of the tub. I gripped the side of the tub, my breasts now fully out of the water causing my nipples to harden tightly. I propped my knees up on the small ledge beneath the water’s surface, putting my ass up in the air.
“You’re going to pay for that,” Raiden growled, his fingers tangling in my dark tresses. He tugged on them slightly, arching my head back. His other hand moved slowly over the swell of my hip, teasing and taunting me.
“Please,” I gasped as his fingers dipped in between my thighs. As if he hadn’t heard me, Raiden kept moving in his own way, barely caressing my bundle of nerves before dipping inside of my entrance, none of the actions giving me much relief.
“I’m not sure you really want it.” Raiden’s length bumped against my butt. “You seem more interested playing around.”
“No,” I gasped just as he moved his fingers back to my clit. “I promise to behave.”
“Oh?” Raiden cooed. “So, you didn’t bite me? I thought you were aware of who held the control in this relationship.”
God damn him and his need for control. I had bitten him but not as a show of dominance. I just wanted him to get a move on. When you are constantly on the brink of orgasm, a girl could only take so much. If I had done the same thing to Jack or Firestar, they would have taken the hint and pounded into me until I was a pile of goo.
Not Raiden.
I wasn’t sure if it was because he was the youngest of three boys or if that was just the way he was wired, but Raiden always needed to prove something to me. It was funny, really. Out of the bedroom, I could boss him around, and he didn’t say anything. But behind closed doors, he needed me begging and pleading for my release.
Not that I was complaining. He made me work for it sure, but it was worth it. Every knee shaking, teeth clenching moment of it.
So, I gave him what he wanted, and he gave me what I needed. A good fucking and a mind-blowing orgasm. Win-win.
“You’re in charge,” I bit out and pushed my ass into him. “Please, Raiden. I need …”
“What do you need?” he asked, a demanding tone in his voice that made me gush down low.
“You.”
“Be more specific, pet.” Raiden removed his fingers from me, and I let out a keening moan.
“You know what I want to hear, Maya.”
The way he said my name did it for me. Like a delectable dessert, he wanted to gobble me up if only I would give him permission. Cause that’s what this was all really about. My permission. My surrender. I had to surrender myself to him, and he would take care of me. In all ways.
“I want you to fuck me.” I snapped, my patience growing thin at the play. I could blame my pregnancy, but really, I only wanted to be teased so much before I got grumpy.
“Ah,” Raiden purred. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” Releasing my hair, he spread my nether lips before positioning himself back at my entrance. Before I could take a breath, he sheathed himself inside of me.
He didn’t give me any warning as he thrust into me at a rapid pace. My breath came out in pants, and my fingers gripped the side of the tub so hard, I worried I might break it. I didn’t bother to hold back my cries of pleasure, I knew he’d want to hear them.
“That’s it, pet,” Raiden encouraged me as I moaned loudly. “Tell me just what you want.”
I closed my eyes tightly as my orgasm approached. It was almost there when a noise made my eyes shoot open. Firestar stood in the doorway of the bathroom, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes hot. Raiden didn’t stop moving, nor did shy away from Firestar’s gaze.
With my eyes locked with his, I was just this shy of orgasming when Raiden pulled me away from the side of the tub. My hands instantly went behind me to hold on to him as he arranged me in his lap. My legs straddled his, my back to his front giving Firestar a full view of my body and Raiden’s length moving inside of me.