A Mate for Kai (The Program #6)

by Charlene Hartnady

  There was sweat on his brow and his eyes were so dark, so intense. “No shit.” He gasped. His mouth was what dreams were made of. His lower lip just a tad plumper than the top. He was a beautiful specimen. A vampire. A brute. A savage. A blood drinker.

  She fought for air and then cried out as her body spasmed around him. Although it had been building inside her, the intensity of her orgasm took her by surprise. Her eyes dropped to where their bodies were so tightly joined, to where his cock plowed into her…over and over. He stiffened and groaned, his hand clutched at her thigh. The other ripped at the covers. His eyes were wide. Laden with pleasure. His beautiful mouth tight. His breath rushed through his nostrils. The muscles on either side of his neck corded. His thick biceps roped. “Motherfucker.” He groaned, his body falling onto hers. Her chest heaved against his. Her own perspiration slick against his. The male’s weight was crushing but it felt good. It wasn’t going to last long, but right now, she felt sated.

  “I’m a dragon shifter,” she whispered, between ragged pants.

  He tensed. His breaths grew silent for a second before picking up again. He pulled himself up onto his elbows. His shaft was still inside her. He was still hard. “What?” He frowned. “Fuck!” His eyes widened. He was panicking just as she had been earlier. “But you don’t exist. You don’t. Your scent”—he scrubbed a hand over his face, the stubble catching—“your blood. Fuck! Your name. It’s not Corona is it?”

  She shook her head. “No. I read that off the label of one of the drinks.”

  “Corona, as in the beer?” He gave her the ghost of a smile before turning serious. “What is it then? Why are we…why is this?” He looked down between them. His cock throbbed inside her. “No,” he growled. “Not again. What is wrong with me?”

  “I’m not sure.” She said, glancing away from him. Ruby was not a liar. Not normally. “I was told that the reason we stay away from the other species is because of the severe attraction that can develop. This type of thing can sometimes happen. It’s rare.”

  “Rare. We’re attracted to each other and it’s making us aroused to the point where we can’t think straight. As in…we’re stuck here for the foreseeable future? Doing this?” He rocked into her and they both groaned.

  Ruby nodded. “Yes…we won’t be able to get enough of each other but it will pass. We just need to ride it out.”

  “Ride it out.” He frowned. “As in literally?” He moved again.

  Ruby bit down on her lower lip. She was feeling a bit tender, but it was also good. Her nipples tightened underneath his touch. His skin was warm against hers. His breath hot.

  “I can’t be here.” He groaned, his hips continued to move. His shaft wasn’t as deep inside her as it had been earlier. She ached for more. “I can’t seem to make myself leave though.”

  “We’re stuck here…together.” Her voice radiated tension and frustration. More. She needed more.

  “Why did you apologize earlier?”

  She looked down at his chest. A wide expanse of hard muscle. “I took you. I’m sorry.” There was so much more to it but she couldn’t tell him that he was more than likely going to be a father. It was something he would never know. Guilt flooded her. It was wrong but it was how it had to be.

  He drove in deeper and they both groaned. “My dick actually hurts but I can’t stop.”

  “I’m also a bit…tender.”

  “I’ll try to be gentle but I can’t stop just yet.” He kept moving. “For some strange reason, I want you on your back. I hope that’s okay?”

  Ruby nodded. He was being governed by his instincts right now. The need to rut, to dominate, to impregnate. Only, he didn’t seem to realize it. He appeared to buy her story. The male thrust deeper and her breaths became a little unsteady.

  “What…did you mean…by…” He swallowed hard. His voice was thick with arousal. His hair clung to his forehead. Sweat dripped off of him. He was beautiful. “You took me?” He groaned as he thrust a little deeper. Pleasure with the slight edge of pain. She could feel it too. Both sensations intertwined.

  “I took you away.” She was panting hard. “I shifted.” She struggled to get the words out. The sensations too much to focus on anything else right now.

  He frowned, his lower lip firmly between his teeth. And there they were, his fangs.

  “Beautiful,” she moaned. Who knew vampires were beautiful? They had been described as vile creatures. As monsters. Blood drinkers. “You’re beautiful,” she repeated.

  He gave her a tight smile as he continued to move inside her. “Thanks…I think.” She’d hoped the slower pace would stave off her orgasm for a bit longer but that was not to be. Everything was tightening…yet again…her muscles hurt. Her thighs burned. Her throat felt raw.

  “Took me. How did you do that?” His pupils were dilated. His voice was so rough, like his throat had been worked over with nails.

  “I shifted into my dragon form.” She struggled to catch her breath. Another hard moan broke free. “I picked up your vehicle...”

  “My SUV?” There was an edge of doubt.

  “Yes,” a drawn out cry. “Ohhhh yes.” Then she was reaching. Her throat closing. Her muscles tightening up to the point of pain. Her back bowed. This orgasm was even stronger than the last. Her body shook from head to toe. It hurt. It was exquisite. She hoped they would be able to rest now. Please.

  “Christ,” the male growled. His body also tensed. “So tight.” He groaned, his face was in the crook of her neck. His body jerked against hers. “Fuuuuuck.” He groaned as his body continued to jerk against hers. Her spasms began to die down. Pleasure still coursed through her. Her lungs ached. Everything ached.

  He growled loudly as he pulled free from her. Ruby moaned. She hated the feeling of emptiness. The loss. At the same time there was relief. Things were very tender between her legs.

  His eyes flashed red and his lip curled away from his gleaming fangs. So beautiful in his anger. “I still want you.” He punched at the pillow next to her. “How the hell can I still want you? This is insane. I need to leave. You had no right to take me. My people will be looking for me. I will be missed.”

  One of his hands was still on her hip, his thumb drew circles on her skin. He didn’t seem to know he was doing it. His touch was soft and tender. This would be her last time with a male. The thought saddened her. She was such a romantic at heart. It was something her brother had always teased her about. “I am sorry,” she whispered. “More sorry than you will ever know.” It came out choked. Don’t cry. Don’t.

  His gaze softened ever so slightly.

  “I didn’t want to…” She swallowed hard. Her mouth was dry. Her tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth. She licked her lips. “I didn’t have a choice. It was already too late.” Not a total lie.

  His demeanor softened some more. “You were already too aroused?”

  She nodded. “My need was…is still…intense. I couldn’t help it. I saw your car and…picked you up.” She stopped there.

  He snorted. “You picked up the whole SUV?”

  She nodded. “You hit your head. Sorry.”

  He clenched his jaw and sucked in a breath. “I can’t believe you actually picked up an entire vehicle.”

  She nodded. “It’s true. I took you here. Your car is safe.”

  He sucked in a breath. “I’m going to be thrown in the dungeon for this. My kings will have my balls.” He moved back on top of her and slipped between her legs, as he spoke. They both winced as his shaft made contact with her slit.

  “Tell them I took you. That you didn’t have a choice.” She rubbed herself up against him. Ruby didn’t care about the pain. The rawness. She needed more. She needed this male.

  He tipped his head back and laughed. His eyes twinkled and a dimple appeared in one cheek. She had the ridiculous urge to kiss it. To kiss him. This wasn’t about intimate actions. This was about saving her people. Forcing Blaze’s hand. It was two people rutting
. Nothing more.

  Her heart felt heavy as he looked back down at her. A smile still graced his lips. “No…” He shook his head. “I can’t tell them that you took me. I doubt they would believe me even if I did. A dragon shifter? A female, abduct an elite male?” He paused. “No way. I would be the laughing stock. I’d rather be lashed. Rather be locked away in the deepest cell. We’re here now…I’m going to have my fill of you.” He gently eased himself into her. “Even if it hurts.” His expression turned pained. “You should tell me to stop.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t. Take me…please.”

  He cupped her chin in his huge hand. “What is your name? I’m—”

  “No!” She practically yelled. “No names. No details. We’ll rut, we’ll sleep, we’ll eat and then we’ll do it all again. In a few hours, days…whatever…we’ll part ways and never look back. Never speak of this again.”

  He kept his gaze locked with hers. For a frozen moment, he contemplated her words. Ruby almost hoped he would refuse her. Then he nodded once. “I hope we survive this…this attraction…this craziness. I can’t believe something like this could happen. Has it happened to you before?”

  She squirmed beneath him, loving the feeling of being filled but she needed him to start moving. “No. Never.” The truth. Well sort of. It had never been like this though. She’d only ever endured alone.

  Then he growled and pulled out of her. His eyes glowed and his jaw was tightly clenched. He sniffed loudly. “Are you in heat?” His shaft pushed up against her opening. He didn’t move away. He couldn’t. The drive to rut her was too great.

  Ruby tried not to react in any way. “No. We very rarely go into heat. I would know if I was…in heat. It’s happened to me before.” Using every reserve she had, she forced herself to feel anger. “Do you think I would actually purposely seek out a vampire to rut, with the intent of becoming pregnant? That’s crazy.” She meant the last. It was crazy.

  He huffed out a breath and pushed back into her. She cried out, her head falling back. The feeling of relief was immense. “Rut me, please. I don’t want to talk any more. I want you to move…now.”

  “You are showing all the signs of being in heat.” He rocked into her as he spoke. “Every single one. You smell good. Really good. Different to what a vampire or human would scent if they were in heat but the signs are there. You’re driving me crazy.” He grit his teeth as he drove into her.

  “I’m not. This is what happens when another non-human is attracted to one of our kind. I should never have left our territory.”

  “Why did you?” A rough growl.

  Her back pushed down into the mattress with each thrust. Slow and deep. He was good. Really good. He did this often, unlike their males. Ruby could tell. He worked her without having to think about it. Knew exactly how to touch her. Not that she needed too much coaxing right now.

  Ruby groaned. So darned good. “It was an act of defiance. Against my…” She chewed on her lip. “No details…remember? It was stupid of me.”

  “Yeah…fuck…” His face contorted, his eyes squeezed shut for a second. When he opened them they were glowing. He was about to lose it. His eyes glowed a beautiful golden color at that moment. “Oh god! I need you to come for me.” His jaw was tense. His fingers sought her bundle of nerves and she cried out, bucking against him. Her fingers…make that her nails…dug into his back.

  He sucked in a ragged breath and gave a strangled growl. The spurts that erupted from him were less this time. It seemed she had milked him dry. The male groaned loudly and continued to rock into her. The spasms that racked them both slowly eased. The big male collapsed on top of her. By the sound of his breathing, she could tell that he was asleep. She tried to get out from under him and failed.

  This was his instinctual way of protecting her while he slept. Keeping her trapped under him. Still impaled on him so that no other could have her. Although Ruby could hardly breathe, she still fell asleep as well. She was more exhausted than she’d ever been in her life. They wouldn’t rest for long. Desire would soon overtake them…again…and again.

  Two nights and two days. They barely stopped, they barely talked. It was one rut session after another. They bathed in a nearby pool…rutted in the nearby pool. They ate, they slept in short snatches but mostly they rutted. Ruby had never been more thankful for their enhanced healing ability. They couldn’t seem to get enough of one another. Desperate was a word she would use. Another was insatiable. The nameless vampire took her to places she had never been, would never go again. He never once kissed her or tried to take her any other way besides on her back. One thing was for certain, she had to be pregnant after this. Had to be. The knowledge gave her untold joy, at the same time, her heart broke into a million pieces.

  Chapter 5

  Gleaming scales. Greens and blues in every hue under the sun. The beast’s breast was so bright, he almost had to look away. Pure, liquid gold. The same amethyst eyes as her human form, only slitted. Her wings were wide. They seemed delicate, paper-thin. Yet, he could see that they were powerful. Could feel the air they displaced with each hard flap. Her tail was forked and long. It swept gracefully from side to side behind her muscular body. She might be a female but she would be a force to reckon with. Her teeth were long and sharp. Her talons looked deadly. Deep groves marred the earth at her feet, where she had landed moments earlier.

  Within three seconds, she was the female he had come to know. She shifted easily. If he hadn’t seen the change with his own eyes, he would never have believed it. Dragon shifters were real. Not just a thing of legends but living and breathing.

  They hadn’t talked much so he couldn’t say he really knew her. Her body. Now that he knew, inside and out. His groin tightened at the thought of their time together. The way she felt beneath him. Her legs around him. Her cries of ecstasy. The way her eyes widened as he thrust into her. How her lips parted as she was about to come.

  “You are fucking beautiful…do you know that?” He couldn’t help the words as they tumbled from him.

  “Really?” Her amethyst eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled. “You think my dragon pretty? Or were you referring to me in this form?” She glanced down at herself.

  He shook his head. “Not just pretty…beautiful. So are you...now I mean. You’re beautiful in both forms.” His eyes moved to her plump breasts, to the exquisite designs that adorned the area below them. Golden tattoos. Much like the one that wound its way around his own arm. His was black. It folded itself around his right bicep and down the back of his forearm in curves and sharp edges. He was an elite. One of the ten. The ink was a symbol of his achievements. At least he hoped he was still part of the ten. That this whole thing with the dragon shifter hadn’t messed things up for him.

  It was time to face the music. Time to find out.

  It had been worth it. Every second with this female was worth it. “I’ll miss you.” He blurted. It was true so he didn’t regret admitting it.

  By the tightening of her jaw, he could see she didn’t like that he had said it. “You don’t even know me.” She smiled. There was a sadness there. Was she also apprehensive about leaving? About their agreement? Did she also regret having made it?

  “I know we agreed not to contact each other after, but I…” He was still attracted to her. He still wanted her. Not in the same way as before. Their initial attraction had made him more than a little crazy. This was different. More real. Kai still wanted this female. It made him want to change her mind. It wasn’t rational. His kings would never allow…

  “No!” A harsh growl. Her eyes flashed with fear. “We are too different. My brother... It would never be permitted. I enjoyed my time with you but it has come to an end. I’m sorry about the scratches on your car. And about your back.” She blushed. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

  “My back is long healed. The car…” He shrugged. “It’s just a car. It will be repaired.” The SUV was pretty banged up. There were deep
grooves on the hood. The door on the passenger side was dented. She had picked it up with her sharp claws…twice. Once to take them up the mountain and again to bring them down. No wonder it was a bit worse for wear. “No worries.”

  “Will you tell them what happened? Your kings?” She licked her lips.

  He shook his head. Not a fuck. “No. I haven’t changed my mind about that. Even if they were to believe me, it might cause shit for you…for your kind.” It wouldn’t be right.

  She smiled. “You would do that for me? For my people? Even after I adducted you?”

  Kai nodded. “I guess so.” He had to grin. “You did take me so that you could have your wicked way with me. It was intense…it’s never been like that for me before. Not with anyone else.”

  Her eyes moved away from him. They darkened. She crossed her arms, almost in an attempt to cover herself which was crazy since they had been naked the entire time they were together. He knew her body inside and out. She looked nervous and…guilty. She still felt bad for taking him. “Don’t.” He gripped her elbow, pulling her to him so he could hook an arm around her shoulders. She softened against him but not completely.

  This female felt good in his arms. Too fucking good. “Don’t do that. I will admit that I was pissed, but I understand…I felt it too. I’ve never felt that way before, it was special. What we have…make that, what we had…” He swallowed thickly. He didn’t want this to end. “It was special. I don’t know your name.” He cupped her chin and tilted her face up. “I don’t need to know your name or anything about you to know that it was different…I will never forget you.”

  Her eyes were wide. “I won’t forget you either.” They welled with tears.

  What the fuck?

  Then she blinked them away and pulled in a breath through her nose before continuing. “What will you tell them?” She blurted, clearly trying to change the subject. “You’ve been missing for days and they’ll scent me…on you.”