Dragon Temptation (Crimson Dragons Book 1)

by Amelia Jade

  All her mind could do just then was dredge up memories of the kiss they had shared in the city streets. Her skin burned as it remembered the way he’d touched her. This was a different sort of branding, one that she found herself craving. She was facing away from him, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t picture what his hands looked like, or how they held her smaller frame with a tenderness that a giant of his stature shouldn’t possess. Of the heat that had infused her body, drawn inward everywhere his skin touched hers.

  Elin had fought against the attraction for nearly as long as she’d known him. Once she’d gotten past the rough, cocky exterior and seen the truth of the man inside she’d known that he would be trouble. His face had haunted more than one of her dreams, leaving her awakened and breathing deeply, blood flushing through her body as it reacted to his imaginary actions.

  Now she had a chance to find out just how close her dreams were to reality. After all, where was the harm now? She was being relieved, and she was going to hand in her resignation as well. In a day, two at most, she would be a civilian again for the first time in fourteen years. It was remarkable how little she suddenly cared about what some blind old men with far too many rank insignia and not nearly enough medals thought of her.

  Whether he was her mate or not, she didn’t know. That still sort of struck her as nonsensical, but right then, who cared?

  Fuck it, she decided. It was time she did something for herself. Past time. The army was kicking her out anyway, so she had precisely nothing to lose anymore. It had already been lost.

  Walking back across the room, she stopped in front of him. Her hands were cold and clammy, shaking slightly while she worked up the courage to say the words. The pit of her stomach sucked in on itself, twisting and turning as nerves tightened their grasp. Elin opened her mouth to start speaking and wondered if her heart was going to explode from the pressure before she got the words out.

  “You started something in the city, something I stopped.”

  The dragon nodded once. “Yes.”

  “Now is the time to finish it,” she told him.

  Kallore just stared at her.

  Elin’s head tilted sideways quizzically when he didn’t move. “If you don’t lock that door and get over here, I’m going to change my mind before you do.”

  There was a blur and suddenly she was flying backward. No, not flying, but held in his arms. She gasped as her shoulders hit the far wall roughly, but it didn’t matter—she was thoroughly distracted by the flames that erupted between her legs as Kallore covered her mouth with his.

  She gasped with a desperate need born of years of denial. All of it was meaningless now as Kallore’s hands moved over her body with a surging, pulsing hunger. He was both gentle and rough at the same time. Making her feel sexy and wanted with his power, yet managing to never hurt her at the same time.

  “Kal,” she moaned as he slid his hands up her sides, encountering skin.

  Goosebumps rose in his path, the heat of his passing mixing with her chilled flesh. It was exquisite agony, a blissful solace that was but the first drug he would feed her. His teeth bit down on her lower lip, tugging on it with an urgency surpassed only by her own.

  Clothing flew everywhere as he set her back on her feet, the pair taking turns disrobing each other and themselves at the same time. This wasn’t about slow, passionate lovemaking. It was a frenzied lust as the dam separating them finally broke and their hormones and pheromones warred with each other to see who could be the most carnal, most animalistic.

  She nearly tore his clothing as she ripped his pants and underwear off in one motion, tugging it right down to his ankles. At some point his boots had gone missing, and with several sharp pulls he was finally naked. Elin was still wearing a bra and her underwear, though it was doubtful either would last much longer.

  Sliding her way up his leg and body, she left one hand behind to wrap around his solidness. Unable to contain her delight at the feeling, she found herself biting her lower lip. Kal saw this and she swore that flames began to dance across his eyes. Not passion, but true, literal fire. It had to be a dragon thing, but wow was it intoxicating. She got drunk off it, watching as they grew and brightened as her hand moved slowly back and forth. Elin slid her fingers down and underneath to cup him, and this time Kal hissed in pleasure.

  Grinning from ear to ear so hard it hurt, she let go, bringing both hands up and playing it across his chest and arms. His biceps were so big she couldn’t fit both hands around one. His stomach was filled with rippled muscles that flexed and twisted with him in a dance that made her want to do anything he said. Ugh, he even had the V-lines that would disappear into his boxers…if he was wearing any.

  “Kallore.” Her voice was throaty and lustful.

  “Yes?”

  “Take me to bed. Now.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kallore

  Her wish was his command. Lifting her off the ground and holding her tight to his chest, he walked into the little side-chamber where her bed was contained. He lowered her down into the silky purple-colored sheets, admiring the way they molded to her body. It accentuated the curves that he’d noticed beneath her uniform, and now his eyes devoured them, searing the image of perfection in front of him into his brain forever.

  “Flawless,” he murmured, descending over the top of her to kiss her some more.

  “Flattery will get you anything.” Elin paused and then nipped at his ear while he draped himself against her skin. “Well, just about anything.”

  “All I want is you.” He slipped his head to the side and kissed her neck, lightly sucking and biting it in intervals as well.

  Elin arched up underneath him, moaning and saying his name softly as he built the anticipation of what was to come next. One arm at a time he lifted them above her head, pushing his fingers through hers as he held them down. His legs slipped inside hers, and she obediently spread them, raising her knees so that he could rub his shaft against her. Her arousal was obvious, the dampness soaking through her black cotton underwear, providing a sharp contrast as he slid against it.

  “You can take those off, you know,” she whispered, giving him the ultimate permission.

  “I know, and I will,” he promised. “But I’m not quite done kissing you first.”

  One side of her mouth quirked upward. “Well, you’d better not leave anything unfinished then, had you?”

  “Absolutely not.” My mate, he finished in his head. Kallore didn’t want to put more pressure on her than was already there. He could see it in her shoulders and the tenseness of her body. She wanted this, but there was so much else in play that she couldn’t truly relax into it.

  It was time he helped change that.

  Without a word he rolled her onto her back, unhooking her bra in the same motion. Strong fingers then dug into her stress-filled shoulders, working the skin back and forth, kneading it between them. Starting high and working low, he covered all of her back, taking his time and not moving on until he felt her relax a little more.

  The pause in their rapid drive for the bed caught both of them off guard, but neither fought it. It was going to happen how it happened, and they were just along for the ride. Kal reached the small of her back, his fingers slipping lower until they found the soft round hump of her ass. Not pausing, he worked his magic some more, eliciting a groan of delight from Elin.

  Once he was good and confident that she was properly relaxed, he gave one of her lovely rounded cheeks a playful smack, letting her know it was back to business. She rolled over, exposing herself to him completely. The gentle swell of her breasts and perfect curves of her hips killed the smart-ass remark he’d had primed, capturing his attention and holding it perfectly.

  “Are you just going to look?” Elin purred, her voice thick like honey.

  Grabbing her arms, he pinned them to the bed at her sides. Ignoring her mouth completely, he started to kiss her everywhere else. Neck. Jaw. Shoulder. Collarbone. Chest. Nipple
s. Ribs. Stomach. Sides. Hips. Inside of her legs. Kallore pressed his lips to ever arch, bow, bend, and curve of her body that he could find.

  Elin’s steady breathing became ragged as he moved between her legs, still gripping her wrists in his, holding her down, preventing her from using them to cover her face or otherwise as he explored her body. She’d resisted a little at first, but as he’d shown his plan, she’d let him take control.

  He watched his mate even as his tongue rolled across her outer folds and found her clit, circling it gently, inching ever closer until she shivered at the lightest flick. A smile permanently affixed itself to his face as he took in the rise and fall of her chest as he pleasured her, noting the quickness to it that indicated her need. He contemplated teasing her some more, but decided against it.

  Finding his rhythm, he paid heavy attention to her breathing and the pace of her cries. If he changed something and she quieted he reverted to what he was doing until he tried something else.

  “Oh. Oh fuck. Right there!”

  He didn’t change a single thing after she spoke. Less than a minute later her eyes, closed all this time, finally flew open. She yanked her arms so hard he was caught off guard and let them go. They flew to her breasts and she began to play with them as her back flexed, arching her up off the mattress as every muscle in her body tightened around him.

  Wordlessly, but certainly not noiselessly, his mate exploded under his touch, experiencing the first of what he hoped to be many orgasms that day. Running his nails up her sides brought a smile and another shiver as the last throes of ecstasy assaulted her brain while he watched, drinking in the arousal of his mate.

  At last she sank back into the bed, a happy smile paired with warm, glowing cheeks. He slid up alongside her, noting the dilated pupils. Not that he couldn’t have known she was enjoying the effects of it from where he’d been, but he enjoyed being closer to her.

  “That was…that was pretty good,” she said dreamily, one hand idly sliding up and down his chest, playing with the outline of his pecs.

  “Pretty good.” He frowned. “Just pretty good?”

  “Pretty damn good,” she teased, her finger moving to his jaw. Then she hooked it under and pulled.

  He rolled on top of her, sensing that she was ready for him now.

  Biting her lower lip, she spread her legs, pulling her knees up toward her chest as he slipped his arms under them.

  “I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” she said with a giggle as he leaned in close to kiss her while he entered.

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  “Absolutely not! I just…I always had this rule. Didn’t think you would be the type I would break it with, but if you stop now you’re definitely going to be in my bad books.”

  “Well we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” he murmured, pressing his lips against her even as he pushed inside of her for the first time.

  Both of them inhaled at the same time. He struggled to maintain his composure. She was so warm! And tight. He could feel that it was going to take some time before she was fully able to accommodate his girth.

  “Slow.”

  He nodded. They stayed like that, moving back and forth against each other as she relaxed into him, taking him in inch by inch in a slow, sensual dance that finally ended when their hips met in the middle.

  Eyes of striking electric blue met golden amber-brown, and he knew right then that any doubts he may have had were no longer relevant. This was absolutely his mate, the woman he wanted for all eternity.

  By unspoken mutual agreement he lifted himself up off his elbows onto his hands, still bent over her. But now he could control his hips better, pulling back and thrusting forward as Elin craved more, and harder.

  He worried that her cries would be heard out in the hallway, but she didn’t seem to care, so he lost himself in the moment, letting passion overwhelm common sense. They would deal with any consequences after the fact. For now there was only him and Elin, two parts of a whole joined together.

  The room grew warm, and in time both of them started to get sticky. A droplet splashed from his forehead on her chest, and Kallore froze in horror. He’d tried to discreetly wipe his brow clean, but apparently he’d failed.

  Elin laughed it off, her nails digging deep into his back. “Don’t you dare think you get to stop just because of a little sweat. Since when did you become such a wuss?”

  Her attitude brought a grin to his face and he resumed his thrusts. At one point she convinced him to roll over, and her hips rocked back and forth against him as she took him deep. They moved through various positions, but eventually settled into lying on their sides with Kallore thrusting in from behind. He enjoyed the feel of her body as it conformed to him.

  Knowing that he was close, Kal pushed a hand between her legs, playing with her clit once more, feeling the heat pouring out from between her legs. Elin gasped and moaned louder, throwing her head back. Unable to resist temptation, he bit down on her neck a split second before she clenched tight around him, another climax ripping through her body. Before she was done he went over the edge and they finished together, body fluids dripping everywhere, both of them completely drenched.

  Exhaustion set in swiftly, and they both fell into a half-dazed light slumber for a few minutes, basking in the elixir of hormones and chemicals infusing their body and limbs with happiness.

  “Wow.”

  One of them spoke. He wasn’t sure who. Probably Elin. He didn’t feel up to it just yet, but the sentiment was strong enough that he forced his head to move up and down in agreement. Wow was right. That was unbelievable.

  Swallowing and forcing his brain to concentrate, he spoke at last. “So you’re telling me we get to do that again?”

  Elin giggled, and in that moment, that instant of time, Kallore realized he’d never heard a more beautiful sound in his entire life.

  Perfect. She was absolutely perfect. Now all he had to do was ensure he didn’t lose her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kallore

  When he awoke the next morning, the first thing Kal became aware of was the warm presence curled up to his side. Elin lay fast asleep, devoid of clothing and snuggled up to him for shared bodily warmth. Her arm draped across his thick chest, and every so often one of her fingers would twitch against his skin as she dreamed.

  He willed the image and sensations into his memory, working to preserve it for all time so that whenever he was down or in need of a reminder, he could relive it over and over. There were no windows for sunlight to come streaming in, but he could imagine the warm breeze wafting in through a crack, tickling his nose with the smell of freshness, like clothing right out of the laundry.

  Sighing contentedly to himself, he looked up into the darkness at the gray ceiling, uncaring of how much time passed while he waited for her to awake. She could lie there for hours, and it would only continue to make him happier. He finally had his mate, and she was more perfect than he could have ever imagined. Even he’d designed her from the ground up, his construct would pale next to the real thing. Elin was everything he wanted, needed, and more.

  The lights in the room slowly rose to full brightness, Elin’s preferred way to wake up. He used the extra light to admire her still form, enjoying the way she looked in the light just as much as in the dark.

  “Good morning.”

  He twisted his head back up to see her staring up at him, the golden flecks in her eyes particularly bright in the morning. It was entrancing, and Kal lost himself in them until she giggled and squeezed him tight.

  “Good morning indeed,” he rumbled happily, kissing the top of her head. “And good evening and good night,” he added, lifting his eyebrows.

  “I mean, it was okay.”

  Kallore snorted loudly. “You and I remember it very differently then. It’s a shame there’s no video in here to back up my claims.”

  She swatted at him, propping herself up on an elbow as she did. “Not for yo
ur lack of trying!”

  “It’s your fault really.”

  “Mine?”

  He nodded vigorously. “Yes. You introduced me to the internet. Did you know it’s nearly eighty percent pornography?”

  Elin cradled her head in her hands. “Asleep for centuries, and yet he already knows the internet is for porn. I’m a failure as a teacher.”

  They both laughed at the joke, and he tugged her closer until she was forced to straddle him.

  “Not this morning,” she told him as she felt what he was after poke her. “I’ve got to pack.”

  He frowned. “Pack? What do you mean?”

  “I’m going to be reassigned today.”

  “No.”

  One eyebrow lifted questioningly.

  “You are staying,” he elaborated. “Nobody else is going to be my liaison. Not if they wish me to fight. It is you, or it is nobody.”

  “Kal,” she began. “Think about this. Think about all the people that will die if you don’t fight. We need you.”

  He stood his ground. “And Elin Mara, I need you.” He used the exact same tone against her.

  “What about your treasure?”

  “I want that. Slightly different. I can live without it. You, however, I cannot.”

  “Because I’m your mate?”

  He could sense the skepticism that lay within her regarding that, but he didn’t fault her. She would understand in time that when he said she was the only woman for him, he meant it. Nobody else would bring his heart to life like she did. His soul was finally feeling complete now that he had her. All that was necessary now was for Elin to believe, and then he could truly make her his mate.

  “Yes.”

  “I see.”

  Kallore smiled, pulling her head down so he could brush his lips against her. “No you don’t, but you will in time. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

  She smiled at the kiss but looked away, unsure about it all. He let her go. Now was not the time to force her to stay close. Elin had to find her own way, to learn to open the paths in her heart, and then trust them. After so long being closed off, it was going to take time, and patience on his end. While that wasn’t normally a strong suit of his, when it came to his mate, he felt like he could do anything. Even wait a little longer for her.