by Cara Bristol
“I can’t believe it!” Rhianna squealed and threw herself in K’ev’s arms. He caught her in a hug and whirled her around, inhaling her happy scent, and her warm, womanly aroma. Her natural fragrance was enticing enough, but Rhianna happy was almost irresistible.
“This is wonderful,” she said when K’ev set her back on her feet. She wound her arms around his neck. Her pillowy breasts pressed against his chest. “The king will have to halt the aggression, won’t he?”
“The chances have never been better,” he said. In predicting his mercurial father’s reactions, he had to allow for a margin of error. Still, the withdrawal from Elementa was the very best they could have hoped for. With the added benefit of Rhianna being his mate and the blessing from the priestess, K’ev was cautiously optimistic the king would relent.
Elementa would be back under full Draconian control, his mate’s people would be safe, and he and Rhianna could focus on making baby dragons. The future had never been brighter.
He kissed her, teasing her lips apart with his tongue. Where he would have been gentle, she responded with fervor, capturing his bottom lip between her teeth and moaning into his mouth. She dug her fingernails into his shoulders. Desire arced, and he kissed her hard, her arousal a decadent enticement to the taste receptors in his mouth. He combed his fingers through her hair. It looked like fire but felt like liquid flowing over his hands.
Extending his talons from his fingertips, he shredded her jumpsuit from nape to buttocks. It fell away to puddle at her feet. Resheathing his claws, he cupped her breasts, uplifted and presented for his pleasure in the support structure called a brassiere, one of Earth’s better inventions. Naked was best, of course—and in a few moments he would get her there—but the way the brassiere provided a glimpse of creamy flesh through the concealing lacy fabric inflamed his lust. He stroked his thumbs over the tips.
He yanked the straps off her shoulders, bent, and drew a nipple into his mouth. He suckled on the bud. Rhianna’s back bowed, and she moaned. He kissed her neck and licked at his mark, pride and possessiveness swelling his cock more. My sweet mate. Mine. Like the treasures he’d collected, he guarded his possessions. He would fight anyone who tried to steal her from him. Even his father. Fyre was primal. Fyre was supreme. The king had no choice but to accept Rhianna into the royal court. K’ev pushed aside vestiges of concern.
Rhianna tugged at his clothing, and he obliged her by removing his jumpsuit. He kicked it away, and she wrapped both her tiny hands around his shaft and began to stroke him. Pure, sweet fire licked at his loins as she traced the ridges. His essence pearled at the crown. She swirled her thumb in the fluid, and then, with a glint in her blue eyes and a sly smile, she bent and drew his cock into her mouth.
His fyre blazed, exploding in a burst of heat, and he feared he might expel flames. Silky hair caressed his thighs as her head bobbed. Her lips were tight around him as she drew him deep to the back of her throat then pulled away in a slow, tormenting slide. She hummed, and the vibration rippled throughout his body clear to the tip of his tail.
Breathing raggedly, he dragged her off him, and hauled her into his arms. He kissed her, his oral glands secreting his ester. Then he swept her up into his arms and into their private chamber where he laid her out on the circular bed. Her blazing hair splayed across white fabric, the vibrant contrast reminding him of hallowed Eternal Fyre against nacreous alabaster. But there was nothing holy about her seductive, wicked kiss-swollen smile.
He removed her bra, hooked a talon into the scrap of fabric concealing her mound, and pulled the panties down her legs. He tried to obey her wishes and not destroy her clothing. He got her panties off in one piece, and sniffed the scrap, filling his senses with the tantalizing aroma of her arousal. He growled in enjoyment.
“Oh my god, K’ev!” She blushed. Embarrassment wafted off her, but so did another surge of arousal.
Awash in her allure, he couldn’t resist the source. He sank to his knees and spread hers. Holding her gaze, he bent and treated himself to a taste. She jerked. Her hips came off the bed as he indulged his appetite, dragging his tongue across her clit, delving among her folds and into her passage to capture every drop of her sweet arousal.
Ensuring his claws were retracted, he slipped two digits into her pussy, pumping into her wet depths while fluttering his raspy tongue across her erect little pearl. She climaxed with a loud cry, her face contorting, her walls squeezing his fingers.
He groaned, his pleasure at her enjoyment almost more than he could stand. His cock throbbed and ached, fluid beading at the tip.
She lay panting, but she had more pleasure in her. They were just getting started. He kissed his way up her body, nuzzling her abdomen, suckling her erect rosy nipples, burying his face in her neck. Her throat was so soft, so smooth. He couldn’t resist a tiny bite.
She arched and, with a shudder, climaxed again.
K’ev shoved his hands beneath her and, palming her buttocks, lifted her to meet his thrust. He plunged deep, bellowing his pleasure as her body gripped him. He pounded hard, deep, and fast, and she met him stroke for stroke. Heat and tension coiled, building, building.
Fyres joined as one. A fireball exploded, but he kept his eyes open to watch pleasure contort his mate’s face. His body jerked in a paroxysm of ecstasy. With a great surge, he came as Rhianna convulsed with rapture.
He held her, breathing in her fragrance, their mix of scents. “My mate. Forever mine,” he said, as he stroked her hair.
“Your mate. Forever yours,” she murmured sleepily. “It doesn’t sound so daunting anymore.”
“Daunting? You found the idea of being mated to me daunting?” he said, but he was unalarmed. Her love for him smelled like warm spice.
“Not being your mate. It was the eternity part that was difficult to accept.”
“One day less than eternity wouldn’t be enough time with you,” he said. He pressed his lips to her hair, damp with perspiration. Wispy tendrils tickled his face.
“You say the sweetest things.”
“I mean the sweetest things.”
She squeezed him. “I’m so happy.” Yawning, she patted her mouth. “Sorry.” She gave a wry smile. “I can hardly keep my eyes open. Three orgasms wipe a girl out.”
“Three? That’s all? I promise I’ll do better next time,” he quipped with a straight face.
Her droopy eyes widened. “More than three might kill me.”
“Nah, ’cause you’re immortal, now, remember?” He hugged her close and caressed her face. “Sleep for a while.”
“I’m afraid I won’t wake up in time to meet the king.”
“I’ll wake you in plenty of time. Don’t worry.”
“Okay.” She snuggled close. In minutes, she drifted off. He lay awake holding her, absorbing her presence, the gentle sound of her breathing, her fragrance, the softness of her body and hair against him. Her nearness stirred his desire again, but he let her sleep.
Aching hard, his body burning, he awakened her with enough time to bathe. There, in the shower, with his passion hot enough to convert the water to steam, he lifted her against the wall, assuaged his aching need, and brought her to another climax.
“I told you another orgasm wouldn’t kill you,” he said afterward.
They dressed and then left to meet his father.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rhianna’s knees wobbled as they approached the pavilion where she would meet King K’rah of Draco. It wasn’t every day a girl met the monarch of an alien dragon world—who happened to be the father of her new mate. Does this make King K’rah my father-in-law?
“Am I presentable?” she asked.
K’ev’s eyes glowed with appreciation. “Beautiful.”
She doubted the king would think so. K’ev aside, dragons probably thought humans were unattractive. But she needed to make a good first impression. Instead of her Earth clothing, she’d donned the Draconian jumpsuit to demonstrate her willingness to assimil
ate, but accessorized with the chain belt Helena had recommended. Her friend had been right, of course; the belt dressed it up.
The pavilion was located across the compound from K’ev’s living area. He had wanted to fly there, but she’d insisted on walking so her hair wouldn’t get messed up. The cooling effects of the jumpsuit had kept her from perspiring too much. Draco’s temperature was less severe than Elementa’s, but a summer heat wave was still more temperate.
She hadn’t been this nervous since she’d boarded the ship and Helena had abandoned her. But look at how well that had turned out. Becoming K’ev’s mate had been the best thing to happen to her. Meeting the king scared her a little, but K’ev was at her side, and they had great news.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said.
She’d forgotten how well he could smell. The king would be able to tell how scared she was, too.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said.
Did that mean something could happen to her?
She forced a smile, trying to remain calm.
“We’ll wait in the receiving gallery. The king’s personal aide will announce us, and then father will come out. I’ll introduce you. And then you can tell him about Elementa.”
“You think the news is best coming from me?”
“Yes, because he will pick up on your sincerity.”
They entered through wide-spaced pillars into the domed pavilion. The front half of the ballroom-sized circle opened to the air. At the far side of the other half, which was surrounded on three sides by walls, rested a large, intricately carved stone riser. Mounted atop it was a massive throne, the back split down the middle like the chairs on the spaceship.
She and K’ev crossed a jeweled floor inlaid with a mosaic of a fire-breathing dragon to stop before a real demiforma dragon standing at attention in front of the riser. He didn’t glance at them but stared straight ahead.
“Please inform the king that if it pleases his Majesty, Prince K’ev ulu K’rah Qatin, and his mate, Princess Rhianna Montclair wish to speak to him,” K’ev said.
Princess?
“Certainly, Your Highness.” The man looked directly at K’ev but didn’t so much as glance at Rhianna.
As soon as he departed, Rhianna said, “Princess? I’m not a princess.”
“You’re my mate. I am a prince, therefore you are a princess.”
“I didn’t realize that.” She had a lot to get used to, and the title was the least of it. The formality awed her. As the daughter of the president, Helena always had close contact with her father. Sure, there were times when he couldn’t be disturbed, but usually, if she needed him, she could drop in. He’d always had time for her. That’s the difference between an Earth leader and a dragon monarch. K’ev was the king’s son, and he had important information. You’d think he could pop his head in the door and say, “Hey, Dad, got a sec?”
“How much contact did you have with your father growing up?” she asked.
“Not a lot,” he replied. “Mostly I stayed in the royal nest.”
“The nest?”
“What you would call a nursery. Once a day, the dragonmaid would bring my siblings and me to visit with the king for a few minutes.”
She was appalled. “If we have children, I am not leaving them to be raised in a nest!”
“Never,” he agreed. “I don’t want that, either. I intend to be an active, involved father. I did have more contact with my mother, and both my parents are more involved with their granddragons than they were with their children.”
“That’s some progress, I guess,” she said. She shouldn’t criticize the man before meeting him, but her advance impression wasn’t favorable. They’d arrived about a quarter hour early. She wondered if the king would book a little power trip and make them wait.
She eyed the bejeweled throne. Deep grooves, almost like gouges, marred the gilded arms. “Why is the chair so far back on the riser? Is it to keep people from approaching?”
He shook his head. “For space, in case the king appears in dragon form.”
She gulped. She’d assumed he’d be in demiforma.
The aide reappeared. In a loud voice, he announced, “Introducing His Royal Draconian Majesty King K’rah Qatin…”
She gulped. Right on time. He was punctual, anyway.
K’ev dropped to his knees and bowed his head. Rhianna quickly did the same, but peered through her lashes for her first glimpse of the monarch.
Two guards preceding him, two others following, the king strode in, his thick, muscular barbed tail snapping. Although in demiforma, he was as close to dragon as he could get and still be able to walk instead of hop. An oversized frill framed a triangular head, and his mouth and nose were more snout-like than flat. He wore the gray one-piece that seemed to comprise the entirety of the Draconian wardrobe, but a cape flared out from his massive shoulders like wings. A radiant-cut diamond, double the size of the one worn by the priestess hung around his neck attached to a thick gold chain.
A head shorter than K’ev and stocky, the king’s sole genetic resemblance to his son came from his yellow eyes. He marched to the riser and assumed the throne. The guards stood at the rear. “Rise,” he commanded.
Gripping her elbow, K’ev stood, helping her to her feet.
“Father, thank you for meeting with us,” K’ev said.
“I had expected regular reports from you.” The king’s nostrils flared. He was probably taking in a whole lot of information in that one sniff, Rhianna thought. Her knees shook.
“I had intended to file them, but I encountered the unexpected.” K’ev paused. “May I present my mate, Rhianna Montclair.”
What was the protocol now? Did she speak? Did she remain silent until spoken to? “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.” She chose her words carefully to avoid having a lie slip out of her mouth. She couldn’t honestly say it was a pleasure to meet him. Not when zero warmth or welcome radiated from his piercing gaze. His eyes were nothing like K’ev’s, she decided.
“Yes, your mate,” he said, his tone and scent sour. He zeroed in on the mark on her neck, and she had to resist the urge to rub the spot. With a dismissive curl of his lip, the king shifted his attention to K’ev. “That would have been something to include in the reports you failed to deliver. This is not the Earth woman who was supposed to be your consort.”
He hates me. She hadn’t expected a big hug and an invitation to dinner, but a “nice to meet you,” or a “welcome to Draco,” would have been appropriate. This introduction might have been premature. K’ev should have come alone, let the king warm up to the idea of having a human around then broken the news of the mating.
“No, sire,” K’ev said. “The other decided not to come.”
His eyes flashing with barely contained fury, the king dug his claws into the arms of the throne, demonstrating how the gouges got there. Rhianna’s stomach churned with dread. Coming here had been a mistake. She’d assumed she could handle it, but that was before meeting the monarch. He made her nervous as hell. “And what is the status of Elementa? Is there a colony or not?” he demanded.
Rhianna gulped and rubbed her sweaty palms on her sides.
K’ev reached out and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Or maybe he feared she would bolt and was trying to keep her here. No doubt, his senses had picked up on her fright.
He squeezed and released her hand. “There is, but—”
A flicker of fire shot out the king’s nose.
“It’s going to be removed!” K’ev said quickly. He nudged Rhianna. “Tell him what you heard about the settlement.”
“The president promised to withdraw the colony. I spoke to his aide. It’s a done deal.”
“When will that occur?” the monarch said in a hard, scary voice.
“As soon as they can get the ships there. I’ll be in contact with the president for an update soon.”
The king’s nostrils flared. “She believes her words, but that
doesn’t mean they are the truth.”
“I don’t just believe it, it is the truth,” Rhianna defended herself.
The king snapped his head around to glower at her. “You speak Dragonish?”
“No, I don—” Rhianna’s jaw dropped. He had spoken in Dragonish, and she’d not only understood him, she’d answered him back! “I speak Dragonish!” Her gaze flew to K’ev. She realized now the sweet nothings he’d uttered during sex had been in his language, too.
“Our fyres merged,” K’ev said. “I didn’t know it was possible, either.”
The king stood and pointed at K’ev. “I wish to speak to you privately.”
“I should go back to our apartment,” Rhianna suggested. Her presence only seemed to incense the king. K’ev could better manage him if she wasn’t around.
K’ev touched her shoulder. “You don’t need to go. I won’t be long. Promise.”
The king emitted another puff of fire. He really hates me. Hates that K’ev likes me.
She inched toward the exit. “I think it would be better if I waited for you in our chambers. Then you can take your time.”
“Please stay. You’re an important part of this.” He smoothed his hands down her arms and smiled reassuringly. Don’t be afraid, he mouthed. “It will be all right. I promise.”
“All right,” she agreed because he obviously wished for her to stay, and she knew leaving would only delay the inevitable. She and the king were going to have to interact. Putting it off wouldn’t make it any easier the next time.
He pressed a quick kiss to her mouth and followed the king, who flounced out of the gallery. The four guards went with them, the door sealed, and the demiforma aide planted himself in front of it.
Well, that went…terrible. Rhianna expelled a deep sigh and rolled her tense shoulders. At least the king hadn’t toasted her. Actual flames had shot out his nose. At this point, her presence seemed more of a hindrance than a help, but she wouldn’t desert K’ev. The king was plain scary. She’d recalled being appalled that K’ev, as a child, had only visited with his father for a few minutes a day. In retrospect, that seemed like a positive thing. The king would terrify a child.