by C. D. Gorri
There she sat, offering him solace and contentment. She was a haven all her own, someplace safe and warm. Something he’d sought for a long time after all his years fighting for that bastard, Chief Blackthorne. Did he deserve it? That was another question, probably best left unanswered.
“What is it, Edric?” Joselyn’s voice interrupted the dark turn of his thoughts.
“Huh? Oh nothing, I uh, was thinking of the past.”
“I guess Dragons have a long past. You must have a lot to remember, don’t you?” her gentle inquiry cracked something inside of him that made him want to tell her everything.
“Yes, but there is also a lot I’d like to forget.”
“Look, I know we don’t know each other very well, but you can talk to me, Edric. I’ll listen to you, and I won’t judge.”
He felt funny at her words, warm and sort of proud. Claim her. Es Meus. His Dragon’s roar thundered in his head as he looked at her. Edric fought the urge to take her for his own. If the rumble in his throat was anything to go by, he was losing the fight. Damn him.
“Are you okay?” Her soft question was damned near his undoing.
Was he okay? Hell no. Not when he considered her eyes. They seemed a bit purple just then, like sweet, berry jam. Edric’s favorite.
Would she be as sweet? He licked his lips at the thought of tasting her luscious lips. She was so beautiful. Impossibly so. Her aura was vibrant and powerful. Witch, beautiful, that much he knew, but that was all.
What did she do with her powers? What were her desires? He wanted to know her. He licked his lips again before he spoke, trying to ignore the demands of his body. It was not an easy battle.
“Look, I want to apologize for being rude earlier. It’s not you, Joselyn.”
“Okay, whatever that means,” she looked down, embarrassed and he rushed ahead with what he wanted to say.
“No, I mean, when I said I didn’t want you. I wanted you to know that it’s not that I don’t find you attractive. I like a woman with a healthy appetite-” Edric wished he could take back the words before they left his mouth. Fucking idiot.
CHAPTER 6
“Well, gee thanks, Mr. Dragon! Just for a second, I thought maybe you’re not that bad, but I’m pretty sure you just called me fat! You egotistical jerk!” A flash of magic flew from her hand to his and Edric yelped as he shook his wrist to stop the sensation.
Magic could sting. They both knew that. Joselyn stood up and refused to take any note of the pain she just inflicted on him. He deserved it, the idiot! Why did he have to go and ruin everything?
She tugged on the hem of her shorts, painfully aware of how tiny her pajamas were! She knew just how much of her body was on display thanks to her “healthy appetite,” and like always, she was totally humiliated!
She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment as she rinsed her cup and placed it in the dishwasher. She still had her manners, and even the low opinion of one stuffed up Dragon couldn’t make her forget them.
Healthy appetite! Puhhhleeeease, that was code for fat, and she knew it! She’d been deemed the “fat girl” since she could remember. Overweight for most of her life she’d thought she learned to handle criticism. In a world where models were a size negative zero, and anyone without thigh-gap was considered obese, it wasn’t always easy for Joselyn. And no, she couldn’t magic herself skinny.
Being a Witch couldn’t stop her from eating bread, or rice, or pasta, or rojoes a moda do minho, a Portuguese pork dish that was served with stewed potatoes and was her absolute favorite. Joselyn liked food. She liked to eat. She was making no apologies for it. Certainly not to some overgrown lizard! No matter how much his words hurt.
She was almost thirty years old, and she was finally comfortable with her size. Or at least she was before he walked into her life! Stupid freaking Dragon! Some Witches had the gift of glamour, but not Joselyn. She was just herself.
She wore anywhere from a size fourteen to a sixteen on any given day. Yes, she was overweight for her five-foot-six-inch frame, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had large hips, a plump ass, and big breasts. Her belly was soft, her thighs big, and her walk had more than some wiggle. She’d tried starving herself once, and it was so not worth it.
Joss was very conscientious of her health. She watched her diet and exercised regularly. It wasn’t all chocolate! She enjoyed fresh fruits and vegetables and yogurt smoothies as much as the next person. She even took yoga a few times a week. She just couldn’t seem to get down past a size fourteen. And that was when she worked really hard. She was just a big girl.
She concluded a long time ago that her body must love its curves. Especially since it wouldn’t let them go. And she was fine with that. Really. But past taunts were still painful, and this idiot brought it all rushing back. All those guys when she was a younger who told her she was pretty except for her being too overweight, and how she could be a model if she lost fifty pounds. Ugh.
“You know, I’ve heard this song before, Edric. I don’t need to hear it from you too. In case you don’t recall, I said I wasn’t interested in you either, cabrao!”
Before she could turn around and leave the room, she felt him close in just behind her. Damn, he moved fast! Even for a Dragon.
Joselyn turned to meet him head-on. She felt the beast within him stir, but she felt no fear. He wouldn’t hurt her. Even when his temper had been roused, and his eyes burned at her like fire.
The fates must have been drunk when they decided the two of them would suit! She looked up at him. She had to. He was well over six-feet tall, and his body was covered in rippling muscles. He was the very embodiment of athleticism. Even more so than his older brother Callius.
If they were a couple, they’d be beauty and the beast alright. Except she’d be the beast! Shorter, rounder, with brown hair and olive skin, she was hardly a beauty! She blew her curly hair out of her face and put her hands on her ample hips. She had enough of this already.
“Alright, lizard boy, move it or lose it. I’m going back to my room!”
“No. Not until you let me explain! Wait a second, did you just call me lizard boy?” He looked as if he swallowed a bug when he repeated the phrase and Joselyn bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“Explain what? Yes, I’m fat. I get it, okay, I know I’m overweight! Not everyone appreciates my body, but the hell with you if you think I’m going to listen to some drivel about how attractive I’d be if I could just lose the weight. I am sick of this song. Now, move aside, or I swear I will zap you again.”
“Damn it, woman, that’s not what I meant! The very sight of you has been driving me out of my mind since the second I laid eyes on you-”
“Well, if you’d just move, I won’t be in your sight anymore!”
“You want me to move?” He raised his voice to match hers, but she sensed no real anger behind it.
Passion sure, but it was just temper. Wasn’t it? Still, she should have backed off. All her senses were tingling, the same way they did when she was going to have a vision. Only they seemed stronger.
“Yes! That’s what I said isn’t it? I. Want. You. To. Move. NOW!” She yelled back at him, poking him in the chest with every word of her last sentence. She was hanging on to her control by a thread. Any second now she was going to burst. Stupid, stupid lizard!
Her chest was heaving, she could only imagine how she looked, braless with her thin nightshirt on, but she didn’t care. Frustration, hurt, anger, and more filled her. Something else too. Something she could not name.
Joselyn trembled all over. Her breath hitched in her throat. She wanted, oh, she wanted something, but she couldn’t identify it for the life of her.
“Fine! I’ll move,” he growled the last word just as his arms whipped out and encircled her.
He pulled her until she was fully pressed against him. Her eyes went wide, and he hissed through clenched jaws as the naked skin of his torso met with the thinness of her pajama top. His eyes darke
ned and his whole body seemed to vibrate against hers. Before she could protest, he claimed her mouth. His strong lips fastened themselves to hers.
Edric groaned low in his throat as his long tongue teased the seam of her mouth. Joselyn moaned, and he took advantage of the opportunity and drove in. The taste of him was heady, like raw power and desire.
Joselyn moaned, grasping his hair with her hands like she’d wanted to do since the first time she saw him. She allowed him to devour her mouth. Heck, she actively participated using lips, tongue, and teeth against his. She sucked his tongue deeper into her mouth, relishing the taste of him.
Edric’s mouth devoured hers with a mad sort of desperation making her entire vibrate pulse with desire. He growled as his lips stamped his claim on hers, a sexy sound that had her gasping for air. It was like no kiss she’d ever had. For the first time in her life, Joselyn felt her pussy throb in need just from the way he kissed her lips. Maybe she shouldn’t have doubted the Fates? She was practically having an orgasm from one kiss!
Joselyn arched into him, wrapping her hands around his thick neck and pressing her body even more fully against him. The hard bar pressing against her belly told him he desired her too.
Heat from his body seeped into hers through the thin cotton of her top. He was like a furnace. Piping hot as he gripped her waist and lifted her. He ran his hands over her ass and squeezed. Joselyn moaned and ground herself against him.
Lust and bone deep need hit her like a tsunami. The force was stronger than anything she’d ever experienced, unbalancing her, causing her to throw caution to the wind. She wanted him. Now.
Joselyn threw her head back and moaned as he licked his way from her mouth to her throat and back up again. Her mind went blank as his hands and mouth and tongue teased her senses. She wanted them all, everywhere at once. So good, so hot, burning, everywhere, more, harder, touch meeeeeeee…
As if he read her mind, she felt him move to her every desire. Touching, feeling, groping, kissing, licking... Everywhere she wanted him to. When she thought she couldn’t stand anymore, he walked with her in his arms. His strong hands fastened firmly to her ass, placing her core right over his hardness. He lifted then slammed her down firmly onto his engorged cock. He hissed her name as he rubbed against her pussy, feeling the wetness there through the thin cotton fabric of her shorts and his sweatpants.
“Mmm, you taste like heaven, minha bruxa, my sexy, little Witch,” he said as he locked his mouth over one plump breast over her thin cotton shirt.
“I need you. Joselyn?”
“Edric,” she moaned pushing her breast further into his mouth. He growled as he sucked the pebbled tip through the fabric. She frowned when he stopped.
“Joss, fuck, baby, I want you so bad,” he growled.
He was asking her permission, and she knew she should refuse, but it had been so long since anyone had wanted her this way. So long since she’d felt passion. How could she refuse? Not when she wanted him just as much.
“My room is down the hall.”
CHAPTER 7
Edric met her eyes and nodded his head. He couldn’t find the coherency needed to speak. He never imagined he’d ever feel such passion as to wipe every coherent thought out of his mind. Gone was his determination to stay away from this Witch and whatever games the Fates had in mind for him.
Hell, he couldn’t stay away from her if he tried. His attraction had grown to epic proportions. He wanted to shake her for thinking he thought she was fat and at the same time he wanted to plunder every inch of her sassy little mouth for calling him lizard boy.
Fuck yeah. She rubbed her luscious body against his and he grew, if possible, even harder for her. He was losing his mind for sure. His only desire to claim this sexy Witch. Sweet Joselyn. The woman was tempting as all hell, luscious and full figured as a woman should be. A perfect fit for his rather large hands.
She smelled fucking fantastic to the man and to his Dragon both. And she tasted even better. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and licked his way down her neck to the cleft between her ripe breasts. Divine. He couldn’t wait to get the full experience of her without barriers. Pesky clothes.
He kicked the door shut behind them, carrying her the entire way to her bed. She weighed next to nothing compared to him. Not that he’d notice if she weighed a ton with the way she gyrated wantonly against him. For fuck’s sake.
As a warrior he’d pushed himself to the physical limits with weight training and various forms of hand to hand combat. His body was a certified lethal weapon whether he was man or beast. Right now, battle was the farthest thing from his mind.
Sure, he was near three-hundred pounds of rock-hard muscle and he stood almost six and a half feet tall. Big as a damn house. But right then he planned on using every single inch of him to bring the most sinful pleasure he could imagine to her. His maiden.
He groaned as he ran his hands over the luscious curve of her ass. Joselyn was perfection in his arms. He could’ve kicked himself for making her think she was fat. Fat? Not in this fucking lifetime. She was full and round, soft and firm, everything a woman, his woman, should be. Wondrous.
Her lush softness complimented the hardness of his body. He wanted to dive right in and ravish every single dip and swell of her delicious body. This was why he’d been born. To make love to her as frequently as possible. Fuck yeah.
Her olive toned skin complimented his own bronzed skin. Her long hair curled softly over her shoulders, almost black in color, like ebony silk or obsidian glass. So different from his own burnt red locks, and so much more beautiful. His very own treasure. Precious.
Edric wanted to bury his nose in her soft tresses and breathe in her essence. He longed to pull her flush against him and bask in her embrace. He wanted to memorize the sounds she made as she slept. Beside him. Yes. Later. He had other things to see to first. Tantalizing things that promised heaven.
His heart damn near stopped beating in his chest as he peeled off her shirt revealing her perfect round globes. Her breasts were heavy and tipped with dusky nipples that hardened under his gaze. Oh yeah, he noticed that. The scent of her ardent arousal made him groan as it reached his nostrils. He tossed the flimsy shirt across the room and reached for her with trembling hands.
“Beautiful, minha bruxa. You are a vision, sweet Joselyn,” he spoke softly and reverently as he gazed at her splendor.
Her breathing grew shallow and she arched her back, slightly thrusting her naked breasts with their puckered nipples forward. Mmm. Berries. Heat surged through him.
Was she picturing his lips on her skin the same way he was? Could she possibly imagine just how good it was going to feel when he finally got his mouth on her? She dragged his head down towards her body. Edric was surprised, but he didn’t resist. How could he?
“Oh, Edric, yesss,” she hissed as he gripped her by the backs of her knees and pulled her closer to him.
He wanted to tread softly, but he couldn’t wait. He forgot himself as she clung to him, her body splayed beneath his, tempting and more than willing. Edric groaned as his mouth closed over one peak, then the other, suckling and nipping lightly with his teeth.
He pushed her further down into the mattress, his mouth firmly latched onto her skin. His pulse sped up as he feasted on her. Edric pressed his hips against her still covered sex and felt himself grow even harder.
He burned where he touched her. A fire that only she could tame. She tasted of her magic, a sweet and spicy flavor that was like ambrosia on his tongue. Her breath hitched, and he sucked harder.
He removed the remainder of their clothing while he kissed and licked his way down her soft belly to the apex of her creamy, supple thighs. He was desperate for closer contact, but he held himself back, allowing only his hands and mouth to touch her body.
He needed to go slow, to ready her body for his. The open invitation in her soft gasps and moans nearly drove him insane. But he was no dragonling. Still, he wanted to savor her, to memorize
every curve, every freckle, but his Witch would have none of that. Just as his mouth was this close to tasting her sweet woman’s honey, she slipped out from under him and took control.
He growled as his Joselyn knelt on the bed. She was no longer self-conscious of her nudity, no, now she was proud. She beckoned her almost lover forward, and he obeyed. Fuck, he’d crawl over shards of glass to get to her.
As it were, Edric moved across the bed and nuzzled her head with his. He kissed her hard on the lips, but only when she allowed it. She turned her head, and he followed, licking a trail down her long neck to the hollowed space between her clavicle and her breasts.
The teasing gestures were both playful and maddening. Oh, how he wanted her! She moved, and he followed, a willing slave. His lips closed over one ripe berry and, once again, she stopped him. Edric obeyed her every command. He’d do anything she asked. Anything.
He’d never wanted to be vulnerable again. He’d never wanted to feel desire or lust after Theodosia’s betrayal, but this was different. He was no longer interested in controlling his feelings. Not when his Dragon was right there too, in his mind’s eye, urging him onward.
He’d never imagined how it would feel to allow someone to have control over him. Instead of feeling helpless, he felt empowered by her obvious desire for him. She looked at him appreciatively, running her small hands over the expanse of his chest. Tracing his muscles and bending now and then for a kiss and nibble.
But two could play at that game. They explored each other with caresses and sweet kisses until he thought he’d expire from anticipation. He felt her skin against his like a firebrand, marking him forever as her own. Yes.
His ruby rose itched and burned on his chest. The enchanted marking hummed with new life as he touched her. His entire body vibrated with power, thrilled with the renewal of his rose. There was no doubt in his mind, this was his maiden, his one true mate. The dazzling Witch in front of him was his.