Cadmium Dragon (Dragon Guard of Drakkaris Book 2)

by Bolryder, Terry

  “Mercury,” Cobalt said, a warning in his tone as he nodded to Casey. “This is our guest, Casey. She delivers packages here and was trapped by the storm .”

  “My personal friend,” Cadmium said, voice ringing out boldly as he stepped into the kitchen, glaring at Mercury .

  “Friend, huh?” Mercury said, taking a plate that Chromium handed him and eating it rather rudely. “Interesting .”

  Casey felt awkward, unsure what to do around one of these men that didn’t seem to care at all about making her feel more comfortable. Cadmium came over to stand by her protectively, one hand resting gently on her shoulder .

  Still, his posture was rigid, and protectiveness emanated off him in waves .

  “Oh, save it,” Mercury said. “I’ve no interest in causing drama. I need to go find my wife.” Then he set down the plate and stormed out of the kitchen and into the living room, leaving the room in awkward silence .

  “Always knows how to make an entrance, doesn’t he?” Cadmium said, looking down warmly at Casey .

  “Don’t worry about him,” Brittany said. “He’s just grumpy because his wife is busy right now, and both of them keep popping in and out .”

  “Ah, so they live here normally?” Casey asked .

  “Not exactly,” Brittany said .

  Casey was even more confused about where she was now. Gorgeous men lived here and now more than one couple? And all the men were named after metals? Was it some kind of cult ?

  And then Cadmium’s hand squeezed her shoulder, and everything felt right once again. As long as she was looking up into his warm brown eyes, her suspicious mind couldn’t override her heart .

  “Put on your coat,” he said. “I want to show you something special .”

  She smiled at the others and went to do as Cadmium said, hoping some time alone with him would settle her spirits .

  She was still weirded out by whatever was going on here, and she knew she should continue to protect her heart, but somehow, whenever Cadmium smiled at her, that all went out the window .

  Oh well .

  * * *

  A s Cadmium walked to the small door that led up to the roof, he felt himself already calming just being around Casey .

  He was the one who always set everyone else at ease, but she was the only one who did it for him .

  When he’d walked in and seen her looking nervously at Mercury, he’d wanted to tear the other dragon apart, despite considering him a friend .

  His protective instincts were stronger than they’d ever been, and he knew if he didn’t figure out a way to claim her soon and she left, a part of him would be broken .

  Sure, he knew how humans should do things. He should let her go, and they would “date” over a period of months or years, trying to convince her he was the one for her .

  But his heart had known since he’d seen her, and it was hard not knowing if she would ever catch up .

  He would just have to do his best .

  She followed him up to the roof, and he opened the door for her to walk out onto it. There was a large, flat space with a railing around it so they could spend time up here .

  It was a cold night, but the snow had stopped falling and the sky was sparkling with stars .

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked as she walked forward, wrapping her arms around her. There were two outdoor heaters plugged into an extension cord and two chairs set up with a small table between them. He’d set up two mugs and a thermos of cocoa for them both .

  He helped her into her chair, pulled a blanket over her, and then made sure she was warm. Her breath still came out in little puffs, but her cheeks were rosy and she looked happy .

  He was glad they’d installed lights up here, originally so they could easily see the house if they’d been flying and were coming in to land in dragon form. It made it easy to get him and Casey situated. He poured both of them cocoa, then moved the table so he could pull his chair close to hers .

  “Mm,” she said, looking out at the snowy landscape. “This is amazing .”

  His heart glowed at any compliment from her. It was so nice just being with her. He turned off the lights with the click of a remote and left them with just one lamp he’d brought up and the glow of the heaters .

  And the glittering stars .

  Still, it was easy to see her luminous face in the light from the moon, her petite profile lit up, her dark hair around her like a soft halo .

  She turned to him, and his breath caught in his throat as he realized just how much he wanted her. Wanted this for the rest of his life .

  She was right for him. She was his. How long would it take for a human to understand that ?

  She smiled and took a sip of her cocoa. “I missed you downstairs, but this totally makes up for it.” She stared out at the sky. “I love it out here.” She gave him a smile. “You’re amazing. You know that ?”

  “You make me feel that way,” he said quietly, looking out into the night. The stars always made him feel a little homesick. He knew this was his home now, but he couldn’t help looking up and wondering how things were going on Drakkaris and whether he would ever see that place again .

  “You should always feel that way,” she said, setting her mug down on the roof and reaching over to put her mittened hand in his. “Because you are .”

  “Thanks,” he said. Sometimes he didn’t feel amazing. He had lured her here under false premises with his packages, he wasn’t healing Zinc fast enough, and he was letting the other dragons down, being selfish and taking a mate behind their backs while claiming to let Casey stay for unselfish reasons .

  Yet he felt the best he ever had in his life .

  “I always lived in big cities,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It was always smoggy. I thought I would really miss my home, but I am definitely seeing the benefits of living somewhere more remote, even if it’s nothing like I imagined .”

  “Sometimes the world outside of what we know can be really… magical,” he said, thinking that Earth had never been more beautiful than it was on this snowy night with his mate by his side .

  “Mm, true,” she said, giving him a kind smile. “I’m really glad my van broke and I got to meet you and the others. You’re my first friends here .”

  “I’m glad I got to know you better, too,” he said, nervousness swirling in him as he looked at the snow-covered pines below them. He needed to go further with her, needed to somehow help her understand what she was to him, but he didn’t know how .

  “What about you?” she asked. “I still don’t know much about you. Where you came from. What was it like compared to here ?”

  “Warm,” Cadmium said, allowing nostalgia to take over as he recalled his planet. “We had mountains, but they were different. My home is very green, very colorful. We never had snow .”

  “Interesting,” she said. “So somewhere tropical, then? Except you said mountains , so — ”

  He cut her off, leaning forward and capturing her lips in a kiss. When he pulled back, he could feel her warm breath mingling with his, heating up the dragon inside him .

  He needed to have her, now. He needed to feel at home with her. To not think about Drakkaris or anything but holding his mate .

  She leaned in and kissed him this time, swiping her little tongue over his bottom lip in a way that made him shiver .

  Oh damn .

  His hand curled behind her neck and pulled her in possessively, and his tongue demanded entrance, sweeping deep inside her and plundering her utterly as she let out a soft moan that woke the beast inside him .

  Last time, he’d let her take the lead, wanting to make sure she was comfortable. Let her practically ravish him, wanting to know that it was her decision. This time, he couldn’t resist the urge to take control, to show her how much he wanted her, to give in to his possessive, base urges to make her come .

  “I want you,” he growled into her ear, as his hand moved to the zipper of her jacket. They w
ere alone up here, and he’d brought blankets for warmth that he now intended to use for something else .

  She nodded. “Me, too.” She arched back as his hands pushed her coat aside and his lips sucked voraciously at her neck, intending to mark her .

  He didn’t care who saw it. He wanted everyone to know she was his. He couldn’t stand the thought of her going back into the world without belonging to him .

  He was the one who could make her happy. After just a few days in his life, she looked healthier than ever. He didn’t know how he was ever going to let her walk away, even temporarily .

  She shrugged out of her jacket, letting him help her, and he pushed the chairs back and layered two of the blankets on the ground, making an impromptu bed .

  “Nice,” she said, curling up on the blankets and looking up at him. He loved this woman. Loved her sense of adventure. Her ability to just go with things, to not question them. Her dark hair and those ever-changing hazel eyes that right now were green with desire .

  That button nose and those pouty lips and the freckles that spread over her cheeks. The little lines that showed she’d laughed and lived. The plumpness of her figure that turned him on .

  Everything about her was just perfect for him .

  He shrugged out of his own coat as he came over her, wanting their bodies to be close. For a second, he just took in her heat, her heartbeat, her rapid breathing as her hands trailed over his back. Then he came up on his knees, straddling her, and looked down at the most beautiful woman in the world as snow began to fall .

  “Shit,” he said, looking around him. “Maybe we should — ”

  But then she jerked on his collar, pulling him back down into a hot, demanding kiss, and he smiled against her lips .

  His mate was the best creature in the world .

  Chapter 10

  W hen the snow had begun falling, Cadmium had looked so lost for a moment that Casey hadn’t been able to resist pulling him back into a kiss and the hot moment they’d been sharing just before .

  It was so like him to worry about her and the cold, but they were finally alone together. After he’d set up such a beautiful little date for them here on the roof, he was crazy if he thought he wasn’t getting some action .

  Not to mention he was hot and she might not have that much more time with him .

  Her hands were urgent and searching as she pulled at his clothing, wanting to see more of his skin. It didn’t matter that it was snowing. The warmth from the heaters and the heat of their bodies would be just fine, and she intended to make love to her Cadmium, right there under the stars .

  He groaned as she kissed his neck, and the sound lit her upside, knowing she could have any effect on this strong, powerful man .

  She wanted all of him, and she wanted him over and over. She didn’t know how she would cope when he was gone .

  She knew it was crazy to be thinking such things after so little time knowing him, but somehow, it felt he cared about her like no one ever had before .

  Benny had made gestures, but he’d definitely never set up a snowy date, watching stars on the roof of a mansion with delicious hot chocolate. And he definitely never would have thought about delaying sex because he was worried about a little snow making her cold .

  Everything Cadmium gave her made her want to give back to him a thousand percent, and as she wrapped her hands around his back and sucked hard at the skin of his neck, she hoped she would mark him as he had surely marked her .

  Perhaps it was unwise to fall so suddenly, but she just knew she couldn’t help it .

  “I like you, Cadmium,” she said as he rose up, fumbling with his buttons. “So much more than I thought was possible this quickly .”

  “I like you, too,” he said, and his voice was hoarse as he tossed away his shirt, now bared to the cold night, silhouetted by moonlight. Little sparkles of snow fell and melted on his tanned, smooth skin and rippling muscles, making a more beautiful sight than she’d ever seen in her life. “More than you even know .”

  Her thoughts were too heady to make any sense of that, so she just ran her hands over his muscled abs and enjoyed the hardness there .

  He reached down and picked her up, setting her on her feet as he went to work on her shirt, stripping her down to her bra. Then he undid the button and zipper on her pants, sliding them down to the ground .

  She should have been cold, but she wasn’t with his hands on her skin and the heaters around them. Not to mention, there was a kind of heat emanating from him that was almost otherworldly, as if something were burning inside .

  Perhaps that was just how muscular people felt .

  He sat back on the camp chair he’d brought up and pulled her onto his lap, just in her bra and panties. It felt naughty being outside in so little, yet she knew she was safe and they were alone, and he wouldn’t allow it any other way .

  “Mmm,” she said, nipping at his shoulder as his hands cupped her breasts and her hips straddled his, her legs falling on either side of the chair. He was surprisingly comfortable to sit on, and he seemed to really like the position, as it gave him access to her breasts and her soft stomach, which he lovingly graced with a low moan as she relaxed in his arms .

  His thighs were so hard and muscled beneath her, and she could feel his length pressing against his jeans, so she flicked open the button and pulled down the zipper and smiled as he sprang free .

  She ran a hand over the velvety softness, and he froze and stopped running his hands lazily over her body. His brown eyes met hers, shimmering like tiger’s eye stones, and the heat there took her breath away .

  Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a foil packet holding a condom, and slid it onto his length .

  Then his hands moved down to cup her hips, and she squirmed lightly, already wet and ready to be one with him. He pulled her panties aside and lifted her so she was over him, slowly sliding her down and seating himself inside her .

  She felt warm, wet tightness at the place where they were joined, and as she looked all around them, she felt a shiver of anticipation at what was to come .

  She rested her hands over his shoulders, shifting slightly to get more comfortable, though she wasn’t sure she could ever be comfortable with someone of his girth inside her .

  Then again, maybe comfortable was overrated. Her entire body felt filled beyond capacity, and every nerve was alight inside her. She felt her heart could burst with how right everything was .

  She looked out past him at the stars littering the sky and let out a small sigh. “Beautiful .”

  “You are,” he said, reaching up to unhook her bra and let it fall away as his lips dipped to take her nipple. She bit her lip and arched back, loving the feel of his warm lips in contrast to the cool night air .

  It felt as if they were making love in a bubble of warmth, with the cold world all around them. She felt safe and encapsulated, like nothing could reach them at all .

  He suckled at her nipples, first one then the other, letting her get wet and even more aroused, letting her tight sheath relax around him and then tighten as tension began to build again .

  He hadn’t even moved yet. Hadn’t shown any interest in doing so as his hands lazily moved over her shoulders, cupping her breasts as he sucked them. Then his hands grazed her waist, playing at the inside of her belly button, then went down to her hips, playing with the soft skin there in a way that made her crazy .

  She squirmed, moving slightly on him, and one hand went to settle her hips, his eyes taking on a playful glare .

  “Not yet.” Then one hand reached around to support her back as the other dipped to touch her just above where they were joined, playing at her already swollen clit .

  She arched again, biting back a scream, unable to stand the strength of the sensation of him already inside her, stretching her .

  He played with her clit a while longer, making her writhe as his other hand pushed her forward so he could capture her nipple in his mouth and suc
k lightly. He took turns kissing her lips then her neck, then sucking and biting at her earlobe, leaving her breathless as his hard length stayed still inside her and his finger played at the apex of her thighs .

  Damn him and his multitasking. She was going to come apart right here under the stars .

  “Good,” he said against her shoulders, almost as if he’d heard her. Or was he just approving of the way she was shuddering in his arms, unable to hold back much longer ?

  She didn’t know how he managed it, but he began to move carefully, one broad hand still propping up her back, the other still playing at her sensitive center as he began to move in a slow, grinding circle that made her feel she was losing her mind .

  “Oh my hell, Cadmium. Please .” She grabbed his shoulders and ground into him, unable to take much more of this slow torture .

  She’d been looking forward to him taking control, but she’d never guessed it would be like this. So careful, so languorous, so… smooth .

  Yet the heat was building inside her, making it hard to think, to breathe. His hands finally released her clit, leaving her in aching, nearly-there agony, and he grabbed her hips, digging his fingertips lightly into the sensitive flesh there .

  Then he lifted her and set her down fully on him, and she had to stifle a scream to not alert the whole mansion to what they were doing .

  “Do you see the stars?” he asked quietly as he lifted her and thrust into her again, slowly and controlled, setting every inch of her body on fire .

  She nodded .

  Another thrust. It felt even deeper. She felt more at one with him with every move. She loved the way their skin came together, how she felt they were one being as the tension rose inside .

  “Good,” he said, biting down on her shoulder as he began to thrust faster, lifting her as though she were nothing, taking her to the precipice and then always pulling back until she felt like she wouldn’t be able to breathe if she wasn’t allowed to come .

  “Cadmium,” she gasped out, desperate, as he withdrew once again .

  “That’s where I’m from,” he said with quiet intensity. “One day, I’m going to take you there , too .”