by Alice Brown
He then brought his head around and rubbed his nose against Meldamiriel’s face. “Love, you don’t look so well. Move over to my nose and allow me to gently lift you down to the ground.” Her legs were weak and wobbly as she hit the ground and she tried to stabilize herself the best she could by leaning against her big dragon. Once she found her footing and could stand on her own for a moment, Ivormantis took a step back and Dominic rushed to the forefront, eager to take care of his mate. He barely reached Meldamiriel again before her knees completely gave way and she started to sink. He gathered her up in his arms, cradling her trembling frame against his body. He turned back to Edmond, narrowing his eyes at the wolf as he caught the other man staring at his mate.
“And for gods’ sake, put some damn clothes on!” Neither he nor his beast was happy with the werewolf standing before their mate stark naked.
All Dominic heard as he turned and started toward the castle was Edmond’s laughter. He knew walking around naked was natural to shifters and they were accustomed to doing it regularly. Although he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the shoe was on the other foot? Would the alpha wolf be so open about letting his mate see others naked? He had heard that wolves were very protective of their mates. Apparently, the poor wolf didn’t realize that dragons were just as bad.
Dominic buried his nose into the side of her hair and took in a deep and calming breath of her scent. “Are you unharmed, my love?” he whispered quietly to her, not wanting to spook her after all she had just witnessed.
Meldamiriel nodded. “I’ll be okay,” she replied, curling into his chest a bit more.
He didn’t miss the tremor that ran down her body. He brought one hand up and smoothed her hair a bit. “It’s over, love. It’s over.” They both knew he meant today’s attack only. Neither was dumb enough to believe that there wouldn’t be another attack.
Chapter Four
Dominic carried a much shaken Meldamiriel into the castle and straight upstairs. He barely stopped once to inform the guards of what had taken place, why there were werewolves camped out on the front lawn, and why the vampire was still alive. He waited until they had reached her door to speak.
“Baby, are you going to be okay?” He and Ivormantis understood the need to keep one of those bastard leeches alive to try to obtain information, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
As shaken up as she was, he also hated the fact she knew her sworn enemy was being held two floors below her. Although he knew Blain had taken every precaution when he had the interrogation room built to ensure no prisoner escaped, she didn’t know that.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes that nearly broke his heart. He reached up and caught one with his thumb.
“Dominic, please don’t leave me tonight. I…I just don’t want to be by myself after…” she trailed off there, but Dominic knew precisely what she was talking about. Her enemies knew exactly where she was and she no longer felt safe in the castle. Not when they had been so close to her tonight.
He gave her a short nod and opened her door. He wasn’t fooling himself. She hadn’t asked him to stay because she was ready to mate with him. No, she was asking for his protection. And he would give it to her in spades. Just like Ivormantis did.
“Would you like me to draw you a bath? It might help you relax?”
She was about to answer when Natasha came rushing into the room, not even bothering to knock beforehand. “Oh my God, hon, are you okay? I am so sorry we weren’t there for you.” She enveloped her friend in a tight embrace. Meldamiriel’s reply had Dominic’s chest puffed out with pride.
“I’m okay, just shaken up. Ivormantis and Dominic protected me very well. I was never really in very much danger.”
“I’m so glad to hear you’re okay!” Natasha squeezed her friend just a bit tighter. “Do you need me to stay with you tonight?”
Dominic held his breath, waiting for the reply. His precious little mate surprised him yet again by reaching over and grabbing his hand as she replied to her friend. “Thanks for the offer, but Dominic has already agreed to stay with me.”
‘Yes! She is accepting us!’ Ivormantis chortled in glee from within him.
He looked down and realized how dirty and naked he was standing in front of the two women. Not wanting to leave Meldamiriel any longer than necessary, he quickly excused himself and rushed across the hall, throwing on the first pieces of clothing he came to. Besides, he had no desire to push his mate into something she wasn’t ready for.
He waited until Natasha said goodnight and had walked back out the door. Holding her hand, he led her to the bathroom and sat her down on the closed toilet seat. He then walked over to the tub and started filling it with warm water.
He was surprised when he turned around a moment later to find his mate standing in front of him, naked. She reached over and started pulling his shirt over his head.
Amused, and a bit in shock, he let her have her way, watching as she tossed his shirt in the corner. Next she leaned down and pulled off his shoes. Standing back up, she told him, “Okay, big man, let’s get you out of the rest of those clothes.”
His hands automatically went to unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans without him even thinking about it. “And what do you plan to do with me after I’m naked?” he teased.
“Well,” she hesitated and bit her bottom lip while watching him step out of his jeans. “I could use my back washed. And I thought maybe you might want yours washed also….”
She gazed up at him with trusting eyes. “Baby, can I kiss you?” Never had he been this cautious around a female. He never had any reason to be. However, this was his mate standing before him. His mate who knew nothing but fear most of her adult life. He waited and watched her face as her cheeks turned pink as she nodded her consent.
He gently wrapped his hand around the back of her neck as he drew her near him. As he neared her lips, he wondered what, if any, experience she had with men.
Right before his lips touched hers, he felt her tiny wee fingers skating across his bare chest. Oh, just that one touch felt like pure heaven. He swore his already hard-as-a-baseball-bat cock had grown even bigger and harder, as it was soon smashed up against her rib cage as he brought his free hand around to her back and held her tightly to him. His lips descended gently on hers, just a feather light teasing touch at first, and then gradually, he started to apply a bit more pressure. When he swiped his tongue across her bottom lip, she opened for him, her little tongue peeking out to come play.
As in almost everything she did, she started very cautiously, and he held back, wanting her to be comfortable. Only after breaking away to lightly nibble on her chin, then rain tiny kisses down her throat and back up to find her lips to reclaim, did she seem to find her footing and wrap her wee little arms around his neck to bring him down closer to her.
He had a better idea. He leaned down and moved the arm that was across her back on down further to right below her ass. He picked her up as if she weighed nothing, because honestly, to him she didn’t. She wrapped her little legs around his big torso.
This new position brought her pussy lined up almost perfectly with the head of his dick. He tried every self-restraint method he could think of not to push upwards and sink his dick into what was sure to be heaven.
Her arms were locked around his neck as he continued to deepen the kiss and explore every crevice of her mouth. Finally, knowing he had to let her come up for air, he forced his lips to break the seal they had made and veered off to the side, raining kisses down her jaw line.
“Sweetheart, maybe we should get in the tub before all of this water gets too cold to bathe in.”
She opened her eyes at him and grinned. “That would probably be the smart thing to do.”
He carried her into the tub, releasing her only long enough to sit and then reached up to turn her around before bringing her down in front of him. This position lined his dick up against her ass and lower back, and he pulled he
r back toward him to recline against his front.
Using his large hand, he cupped water into it before bringing it up and letting it gently pour out onto her creamy skin.
He watched in awe from over her shoulder as her nipples hardened with just a bit of water on them. He couldn’t help but wonder what they would be like when he sucked them into his mouth and laved the hard points with his tongue.
Wrapping his free hand around her torso, he stopped only inches away from her breasts. With just a barely-there touch, his fingertips skated across the skin of her ribcage, down her belly, and then back up again. His fingers skated up as she reached up and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. This caused her pointed little nipples to stand straight up and he watched her face as he continued his fingers upward until they were circling one breast.
She leaned her head back against his shoulder and sighed as he continued circling all around her breast with just the lightest of touches, watching with awe as her face took on a blissful, peaceful look as she closed her eyes. She gave herself over to his touch and he watched as her nipples turned darker and harder until they were like pebbles.
He loved that she had relaxed enough to enjoy his touch, and he didn’t want to ruin the moment. Very carefully, he reached over and grabbed the bottle of soap. Quickly pouring some in his hands, he began at her neck and washed her entire body.
She let him. Meldamiriel was tired of being all alone in the world. She was fed up of never being able to go out and enjoy herself like normal people did. Girl things that, for the most part, were vacant in her life, unless Natasha was free and went with her to help protect her. The little things most people took for granted was what she craved, like shopping, movies, and going out to dinner. She missed not being able to have a normal life.
Oh, she knew even if she took Dominic as a mate, she still wouldn’t be able to have an ordinary life, but at least she would have someone to do things with. And after the last few days, there was little doubt he loved her.
She lay back on him and let him tend to her bath. It felt wonderful having someone else take care of her for once. Even if his touch was driving her to the brink of insanity, she wouldn’t want to change a thing. She was ready to accept this man into her life. There was just one small hiccup in the road. The mating.
When he finished bathing her and rinsing all the soap off her body, she grabbed the bottle of soap and poured a generous amount into her hands. He was a big man and she wanted to do the job right, even though she had never bathed another soul in her life.
As she started, she found it hard to concentrate on cleaning him, as her fingers didn’t want to leave him. She allowed her fingers to learn his body from his neck down. Her fingers skated over his broad shoulders, well-defined pectoral muscles, and his muscular arms as she memorized his body. His chest was a treasure unto itself, and then she traveled downwards to his belly. Heaven help her, the man had a body she could worship for days. She moved on down to his well corded, large-as-tree-trunk legs, running her fingers downward, learning every inch of him.
Then she came back up, poured more soap into her hands, and started exploring his manhood. She caressed and lightly massaged his balls while she watched his engorged cock bob back and forth as if waving hello to her.
She wrapped her little hand around his thick stalk, her fingers not even able to meet. With her soapy, slippery hand, she attentively slid her hand up and down his cock a few times. A drop of fluid appeared at the slit on top and her mouth watered for a taste.
He helped her rinse all the soap off him and then she turned around to sit sideways in his lap. Her hand went between their bodies and she lightly skated her fingertips just over the very head of his dick.
She chewed on her bottom lip and kept her head down, as she glanced up at him through her lashes. “I have something to tell you, that you need to know.”
Feeling her distress, he lightly wrapped his arms around her and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “What is it, baby?”
“Well, I know you want to mate me, and I would like to mate you. However, we have two situations that may stand in our way.”
Ivormantis immediately picked his head up and howled, while rolling over on his back, kicking his feet up in the air. ‘I knew she loved us. I knew it! There is nothing we can’t do!’
With a deceptive calm voice, which was anything but what he was feeling, he replied, “And what might those two things be, sweetheart?”
Her eyes were cast downward as if she were ashamed of what she was about to say. Then Dominic realized her eyes were on his cock, watching as she continued to torture him through her light, barely-there touch.
“First, I am a virgin, and second… I don’t think that it is going to fit inside of me.”
After drying her off, Dominic carried Meldamiriel over to her bed, laying her down ever so gently. He gave her a quick smile as he brushed a few loose hairs away from her face. Climbing into bed next to her, his heart soared when she didn’t hesitate to snuggle up to him.
“Baby, first of all, I will go just as slow as you need me to. However, make no mistake. We are mates. Which means, you were made for me. I know I am a big man, but you have my word, I would never hurt you.
He stopped and looked her over for a long moment. “Would you like to join me in a nightcap?”
“A nightcap?” she questioned.
“Yes, a drink; it would help calm you down more. Blain keeps a well-stocked bar. We could go down and grab a drink, then come back to bed.”
She looked down at her nude body and blushed. “I think I’d better put some clothing on first.”
He chuckled as he watched her rise from the bed. Glancing back over her shoulder, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Um, you too, buddy. You’re not going downstairs like that.”
“Well, I would, princess, but I didn’t bring anything clean in with me.”
She turned around and frowned down at him as she wrapped a robe three times her size tightly around her body. “This robe looks big enough to fit you. There is another one on the bathroom door. You can borrow it,” because she certainly wasn’t going to let him go downstairs in the buff. She knew as shifters, he and Blain were probably very comfortable walking around naked, but he was her mate. She’d be damned if another female was going to see him in all of his glory.
The two quietly walked downstairs, happy to see no one else seemed to be around. She sat down on the loveseat, while Dominic walked over behind the bar and grabbed a bottle.
A maid appeared in the doorway, startling Meldamiriel. “Is there anything I can get the two of you this evening?”
Dominic glanced over to Meldamiriel. “Do you like hot chocolate?”
“Sure,” she replied.
He turned his attention back to the maid. ‘Could you see if someone in the kitchen could make the lady a cup of hot chocolate?”
“Certainly, sir, I’ll bring it right in.”
She left and Dominic grabbed the bottle and two small glasses before heading over to sit next to his mate. He sat the glasses and the bottle of liquor on the table in front of them.
Meldamiriel couldn’t help but chuckle as she noticed a red dragon on the bottle label. “Is this a dragon drink?”
“Well, it is one humans developed and made. It is a cinnamon whiskey, so it has a bite to it.” He picked up the bottle and studied it for a moment. “The humans get a kick out of coming up with stuff like this. I think it’s funny because they have no idea we come here and export cases of it back to our homeland. This stuff is very popular in Dragonose at the tavern.”
The maid came scurrying back in with a steaming cup of hot chocolate in a tall mug. Dominic took the beverage from her, thanked her, and then dismissed her.
Turning again toward Meldamiriel, he sat the beverage down on the coffee table and picked up the bottle of Fireball. “You are welcome to try a sip straight up, but I will warn you, it is pretty potent. I think you would like it better mixed in with
your hot chocolate, but the choice is yours.”
She smiled at him, falling in love with her mate even more, little by little, each moment they spent together. He didn’t try to rule her or demand she do anything. However, he was there to protect her when danger came knocking, such as it had earlier that evening. He protected, but not belittled her. And that was what made him special in her book.
“I’ll take it mixed with the hot chocolate, thank you.”
He poured a healthy shot into one of the small glasses and then dumped it in the hot beverage sitting in front of him. He handed the tiny glass over to her. “There is still a drop or two in there if you want to taste it by itself.”
Meldamiriel turned up the small shot glass and watched as a drop rolled out and onto her tongue. The minute it hit, she felt the burn. Eyes watering, and with a healthy cough, she turned to Dominic who was pouring his own shot.
“How in the world do you drink that stuff straight?”
He chuckled at her antics. “I warned you that it was potent.” He raised his own glass and swallowed down the fiery liquid in one gulp. “Ivormantis loves this stuff.”
He handed her the cup of hot chocolate, waiting to see her response to drinking that. He had added a healthy shot, in hopes it would relax her. He bedded more than a few maidens in his day, but none as tiny as his precious little mate.
He watched her take a sip and thought he was going to spill all over himself like some untried teenager when she closed her eyes and moaned in bliss.
“Is it good?”
“Umm-hmm,” she moaned in reply. If he didn’t get her in a prone position soon, he was going to erupt.
“You know, we could take our drinks upstairs and relax on the bed,” he suggested.
“Okay, will Blain mind if you take his bottle?” she verified.
“No, he has a couple of cases of this stuff downstairs in the cellar.”