Dragon Burn

by Donna Grant

  Her eyes moved lower to the arousal that stood straining between them, a drop of pre-cum already formed on the head.

  “You’ve had me in this state since I lifted your skirts earlier,” he said.

  She could look at his body all day. Even his legs... Her thoughts came to a halt when she saw the tattoo. She’d been so intent on his muscles that she’d somehow missed the dragon head on his right side that came over onto his abdomen.

  Her fingers ran over the open jaws of the dragon that had fire coming from his mouth in a curious mix of black and red ink. She traced the tattoo of the flames to his navel. But that was only a part of the tat. She spread her palm at the head of the dragon once more and leaned to the side to find that it wrapped around him. Unable to resist, she walked around Sebastian, following the tat partially over his right ass cheek before moving down his leg.

  To her shock, the body of the dragon—including its tucked wings—wrapped around and around his leg. She returned to stand in front of Sebastian to follow the tail that ended atop his foot.

  There was something different about this tattoo. She didn’t know what it was and couldn’t place her finger on it, but she was sure of it.

  Then she saw her right foot beside his. Atop her foot was the dragon tat she had regretted getting for years. Odd how she no longer felt that way. Then again, there were a lot of unusual things happening since Sebastian walked into her life.

  She slowly lifted her gaze until she met his. “Do you believe in Fate?”

  “I didna. No’ until I saw your tat.”

  Was it just coincidence that she had a dragon tat? Granted, Sebastian’s tattoo was much different than hers, but there was a connection there. She could feel it.

  It was a tangible thing.

  “Are you frightened?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  A small frown formed on his forehead. “Do you want to leave?”

  “No.”

  His fingers grasped her hair, which had fallen over her shoulder. He wound it around his finger, and then his fist. “My Ice Queen is following the fire.”

  She kept her gaze locked with his as she unhooked her bra. It fell to the floor unheeded. When his eyes sparked with desire, she reached for him, needing the contact of their bodies.

  “Come walk in the fire with me,” he bade as his other hand slid around her waist.

  That’s when she surrendered herself to him. She knew then that she would follow Sebastian anywhere.

  He was fire.

  She was ice.

  But with him... She burned.

  Chapter Eleven

  Desire raged. Passion flared.

  The only thing he craved, the only thing he hungered for, was the mortal in his arms. Sebastian moaned as their tongues tangled, enflaming their need.

  From the moment he’d brought her to climax on the balcony, he’d been past the point of no return. He recognized that now, accepted it.

  Welcomed it.

  There was nothing that could tear him out of her arms. A force had bound them, and he had no interest in severing it—even though he realized that every second he spent with her only tightened their bonds.

  He continued to kiss her in the moonlight, holding her hair in one hand and her in the other. Her inspection of his dragon tat had touched something deep within him.

  “I need you,” she whispered between kisses.

  Sebastian backed her to the bed with measured steps. Once they reached it, he pushed her backward, following her down onto the mattress.

  He rose up on his hands as he ended the kiss to look down at her. Slowly he unwound her hair from his fist and spread it around her. Her green eyes watched him while her hands roamed over his chest and back.

  When he released the last fiery lock, he let his gaze run over her amazing body. His hand followed his eyes from the slim column of her throat over her collarbones and between her breasts.

  He paused and leisurely cupped a breast before bending to take a turgid nipple into his mouth and swirl his tongue around it. He moved to her other breast and repeated his teasing.

  The sound of her quick intake of breath made his balls tighten. Though he longed to continue playing with her sensitive breasts, he continued his exploration down to her stomach.

  He circled her navel twice, her responding grin making everything worthwhile. His hand caressed from one hip to the other as he rolled to the side to better see her.

  As soon as he glimpsed the patch of red curls, he moaned. Then he slid his fingers down her stomach to the triangle of hair that covered her. As soon as his hand was there, she rocked her hips.

  He glanced up to find lips parted as her breath came in gasps. Her half-closed eyes watched, silently begging him to move his fingers lower. To delve into her wet heat as he had done on the balcony.

  But he had something else in mind.

  Sebastian rose from the bed while he stroked down the outside of her limbs to her feet before smoothing his palms upward along the inside of her legs.

  Her eyes were closed now, her fingers fisting the comforter. He watched her as he knelt before the bed and pushed his hands out, spreading her legs—just as he’d told her he would. His mouth hovered over her sex as he blew softly. She whimpered, her fingers tightening in the covers. There was nothing frigid or frozen about his Ice Queen now. She was liquid fire—inside and out.

  He blew again, focusing on her swollen clit. She began panting, her body tensing. He rubbed his hands along her inner thighs, allowing his thumbs to brush against her sex.

  Only then did he put his mouth on her. She jerked at the contact, a cry falling from her lips. He kept his gaze on her face as he began to flick his tongue over her clit. Her back arched off the bed as a moan filled the room.

  To see—and feel—her letting go of all her restraints, surrendering to the passion that shrouded them, made something within him shift. It was subtle, but profound.

  He savored the taste of her desire. The louder her cries, the more he continued his assault. He swirled his tongue around her clit until her head was thrashing back and forth. When her body tensed, alerting him that she was close to peaking, he rose up and over her.

  When she arched her back, his lips were waiting to wrap around her nipple. As he suckled at her breast, his fingers delved deep inside her, thrusting in time with his tongue.

  He massaged her small, pert breast with his free hand as he moved from one nipple to the other. Her arousal and cries of pleasure were only pushing him to bring her to greater heights. He wanted to shatter the ice around her so that she would only know fire—his fire.

  His dragon fire.

  He groaned at the thought of her standing within his fire. He knew it wasn’t possible. Dragon fire was the hottest thing on the planet. Nothing and no one could survive dragon fire other than a Dragon King.

  But the fantasy was already implanted in his mind.

  “Please,” Gianna begged hoarsely.

  He lifted his head to kiss along her neck as his fingers continued to thrust inside her. “What is it you want?”

  “I need to... I can’t take any more.”

  He smiled against her skin and licked her neck before increasing the tempo of his hand. “What do you need? Tell me.”

  “I need to come. So...close. P-please.”

  Sebastian nipped at her earlobe and whispered, “As you wish.”

  He shifted his thumb to rub against her clit as his fingers plunged inside her. This time when her climax took her, he didn’t cover her mouth. He watched the sweet release cross her face as pleasure consumed her.

  Her walls clutched around his fingers for a second time that night. No longer could he wait to be inside her. With her body still shuddering from her orgasm, he moved her farther up on the bed.

  Her lids lifted and green eyes met his. She pulled him over her and between her legs. Then she reached between them and wrapped her fingers around his cock. He groaned at the feel of her stroking up and down his
length. His hips began to rock forward, the hunger for her clawing at him.

  With their gazes locked, she took the head of his arousal and brought it to her entrance. He clenched his jaw at the feel of her wetness. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d craved a woman so. The more he thought of it, the more he began to suspect he hadn’t truly felt this kind of passion before.

  He pushed his hips forward, sliding inside her slick walls gradually so she could take all of him. When she had taken every last inch of him, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist.

  She was wonderfully tight and hot. It was everything Sebastian could do to hold onto the last shreds of his control. He wanted to claim Gianna, to mark her so that everyone knew she was his Ice Queen.

  Her nails lightly scraped up his spine to his neck before her fingers threaded in his hair. She placed the palm of her other hand on his side and urged him forward.

  He began rocking his hips, his cock sliding in and out of her in a slow, steady rhythm with short strokes. With every shift of his hips, of entering her, of filling her, he could almost feel the links connecting them tighten, strengthen.

  Tomorrow would bring a new set of problems, ones he refused to think about right now. Not when he had a woman like Gianna in his arms and his bed.

  “More,” she demanded.

  He smiled at his greedy lover and gave her what she wanted. His hips pumped faster. Pleasure crossed her face as her eyes rolled back in her head.

  She lifted her hips to match him, sending them spiraling down an abyss of desire. Their harsh breaths filled the room as their bodies rocked against each other, slick with sweat. He drove inside her deep as her cries grew louder. As he felt himself drawing closer to his own climax, he didn’t stop it. Not that he could have even if he’d wanted to.

  Gianna had seeped into his soul, his very being. He was attuned to her in a way that he’d never been with another individual. He could feel her heart beat, sense her breath as it left her.

  With long, hard thrusts, he stroked her body into a fever pitch that matched his own. They were on a precipice, clinging to each other right before they fell.

  It was the walls of her sex clutching around his cock and her shout of desire as she climaxed that sent him tipping over the edge. He gave one last thrust and felt his seed fill her. For that moment, it was more than their bodies that connected.

  When their breathing calmed, he rolled onto his side and brought her against his body. In the aftermath of their frenzied lovemaking, they simply held each other.

  An untold number of minutes passed before Gianna drew in a breath and said, “My ex-husband wasn’t cruel. He never beat me or cheated on me. He simply refused to see me.”

  Sebastian couldn’t fathom her words. How could anyone not see the beautiful, fiery woman that she was?

  “I shouldn’t have married him, but he let me do whatever I wanted while we dated. I knew he would never stop me from pursuing whatever I wished. And I was right. He didn’t. Because he didn’t care. When I finally came to that conclusion, I filed for divorce. I thought he would be as indifferent about it as our marriage, but he wasn’t. He contested it.”

  Sebastian tightened his arm around her as he felt the pain of her words.

  “He fought me on everything, and it just grew too painful. I gave in to whatever he wanted just to get out of the marriage. He’s one of the reasons I fled New York. I wanted to put the past behind me,” she said.

  He kissed her forehead. “I think that was wise. Do you still have contact with him?”

  “I changed all my numbers so he couldn’t find me. Have you ever been married?” She looked up at him and wrinkled her nose. “I probably should’ve asked if you were married before I let things go this far.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “I’m no’ now, nor ever have been married.”

  “Afraid of commitment?”

  “In a manner.”

  “That’s either a yes or a no.”

  He glanced at the dark beamed ceiling and put one arm behind his head. “I’m no’ afraid of giving myself to the right person.”

  “I find it hard to fathom that a man who looks as good as you is alone.”

  “But I am.”

  She rested her head on his chest as her arm draped across him. “I can’t stop thinking of Oscar and his interest in you. It’s just so odd.”

  “Have you brought many men around him?”

  “No,” she said hesitantly. “But he’s never cared about my private life before.” She raised her head and looked at him again, resting her chin on his chest. “Why do I think this has to do with you?”

  Sebastian smoothed a lock of hair out of her face and behind her ear. “I believe your employer might be a connection to helping me find Ulrik.”

  For long moments, she stared at him. He could see her piecing it all together. He wasn’t sure if she was going to explode in anger or become frozen with outrage.

  She surprised him by merely saying, “You sought me out.”

  “I could lie, but I willna.”

  “So you used me.” She sat up and looked around the room before focusing on his face once more. “Yet you never asked me anything about Oscar. Not once.”

  He shook his head, studying her. “Nay.”

  She nodded as she snorted in derision. “You wanted to go to the party and you didn’t even have to ask me. I gave you the invitation.”

  “The party allowed me to see him, which I needed to do.” He pulled his arm from behind his head and licked his lips. “I’m sorry.”

  “What’s the connection between Oscar and Ulrik?” she demanded.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gianna waited for Sebastian’s answer. She was hurt to realize that she’d been used, but she couldn’t say she was sorry. What he had given her was worth his deception.

  Going forward, however, was going to be another matter.

  “I believe Oscar is doing things and putting the blame on Ulrik,” Sebastian said.

  She frowned at his words. “What do you mean? What things?”

  “Killings.”

  Sadly, she wasn’t as surprised as she probably should’ve been. Perhaps it was because Oscar was so secretive that she could imagine such events going on.

  She blew out a breath. “Is Ulrik being charged with these murders?”

  “No’ exactly.”

  “You’re being vague. I don’t like that.” She turned to crawl out of the bed when Sebastian’s arm looped around her and dragged her back.

  “Wait,” he murmured against her ear from behind. “Let me explain.”

  She contemplated his proposal for a minute before nodding her head. Since their first encounter she’d been drawn to him. Even if she should leave, she couldn’t. There was no other choice for her but to agree. As soon as she did, he released her. She turned to face him, catching sight of the dragon tattoo on his abdomen again.

  “I have to be ambiguous. There are things you shouldna be a part of,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes in frustration. “What is it? Drugs? The mob? Guns?”

  “What?” he asked in confusion. Then he gave a firm shake of his head. “Nay, none of that.”

  “Then what is it that I can’t know?”

  “Gianna, please,” he said. “Already you’ve brought Oscar’s attention to you. Leave things alone.”

  She raised her brows. “How, when you want information from me?”

  “No’ anymore,” Sebastian said and slowly lay back.

  His words should’ve appeased her. Instead, she grew agitated. “Too bad. I’m already involved.”

  “I was wrong to bring you into this. I’ll find another way.”

  She shook her head. “If there had been another way, you would’ve taken it. You had to have a plan in case I didn’t fall for you.”

  “I’ll find another way,” he repeated. “Besides, should you no’ be protecting your employer?”

  That drew her up short. Yes,
she should. Any other time she would, but there had been something in Oscar’s voice, something in the way he’d stared at her with those unusual gold eyes of his that night that had sent a warning through her.

  “We looked for you,” she said, rubbing the spot on her arm that Oscar had grabbed. “He wanted to meet you. He took me all over as we searched.”

  Sebastian’s topaz eyes burned with anger as he sat up. “Did he hurt you?”

  “He was...forceful. He’s never laid a hand on me before. Not even a handshake. His reaction to you was unusual, but it was his treatment of me that makes me want to help you.”

  “You’ll likely lose your job.”

  She thought about that and shrugged. “With my skills, I can get another.”

  “You doona understand,” Sebastian said in a voice deepening with worry. “You know too much about Mikkel.”

  “Mikkel?” she asked with a frown. “You mean Oscar.”

  “Mikkel is his real name. Oscar is one of many aliases he uses.”

  It seemed it was a night of many eye-opening things. “I want to take your word for it, but—”

  “You want proof,” he said over her. “Unfortunately, giving you that information isna something I can do.”

  “Because of whatever it is you’re part of, but don’t want me involved in.”

  He gave a nod. “Trust me, you’re better off.”

  Was she? She had never been an overcurious child. She was probably the only kid in the history of the world who didn’t go snooping for her Christmas or birthday presents. She had somehow known that finding them would ruin things.

  Why, then, did she feel the need to dig into Sebastian’s past and discover whatever it was he was hiding, the thing that he kept pushing her away from—the thing that her employer seemed to be smack in the middle of?

  “Stop thinking,” Sebastian said.

  She cut him a look. “I know every part of Oscar’s schedule. I know where he was on any given day because I make the travel arrangements.”

  “Ah, lass, if only it were that easy. The many aliases, remember? Mikkel most likely has other personal assistants.”

  “But I traveled with him,” she argued.