And he had made her cry.
It was a good, relieving cry. It was the kind of cry she’d needed for a long time, but had never been able to get.
“Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to come tonight?” He asked, stroking her hair. He still hadn’t kissed her yet. He just held her, embraced her.
“I thought you didn’t want me here,” she admitted. “I thought you had hidden it from me because you were ashamed of me or because you had someone else.”
“I didn’t tell you I was coming here because I was working on something for Anthony, love. I hadn’t even planned to come into the dungeon area until he spotted you on the security tapes.”
“Oh.”
“Oh indeed.” He lifted her chin and kissed her then, reminding her who was in charge. “Ashley, I like you a lot. I want a relationship with you. It needs to be based on honesty, though. No sneaking away.”
“I like you, too,” she admitted. “I think we could have something special, it’s just…”
“You think you’re too damaged?”
She nodded.
“You think I won’t want you because you can’t have kids?”
She nodded again.
“Baby, the only thing I want is for you to trust me with everything you’ve got. If that means telling me your deepest, darkest secrets, that’s fine. If that means admitting you’ve got the hots for me and you want my cock, that’s fine, too.”
She giggled.
“The hots?” She whispered. “This isn’t the 90s.”
“Ashley, this is whatever I say it is.”
She nodded, feeling an overwhelming sense of security. No wonder people liked this submission stuff. When Kade was with her, everything felt forced and cold. She knew Lindsey loved him, but Ashley didn’t feel the same way. Kade had been kind to bring her, she thought, but she hadn’t wanted to submit to him.
She had been thinking of Theodore the entire time they’d been in the club. Every dragon she saw touching a submissive suddenly morphed into Theodore in her mind. Even the silver-winged dragon getting the blowjob had somehow transformed into Theodore. What would it be like to be on that stage with him? What would it be like to be the one touching and playing with him? What would it be like to perform for an audience?
“Tell me that thought, beautiful,” Theodore’s voice brought her back. She had such a bad habit of allowing herself to drift off and daydream about the most random things. He anchored her, though. He kept her solid.
“I want to suck your dick on that stage sometime,” she told him. “Is that honest enough for you?” Now it was her turn to touch his cheek, to gently feel the roughness of his 5 o’clock shadow, to wonder what secrets his eyes held.
“Ashley, tell me you want this,” he said. “Because the only thing I want to do right now is spread you out on this bed and devour you. If you tell me you don’t want it, I’ll leave right now and things will go back to normal between us, but if you’ll give me a chance, I’ll make you feel better than you’ve ever felt before.”
She couldn’t answer him, couldn’t speak.
Was this what she wanted?
Was she ready for Theodore, dragon extraordinaire?
Was she ready for what this meant?
Was she ready to walk away from her pain and embrace her future?
“Yes,” the answer was easy, after all.
15
Oh, this was so not how he thought his night was going to go, but Theodore wasn’t about to give up his moment to show Ashley what she’d been missing out on. He’d been taking things slow between them, easing her into a relationship with him, trying to make sure she was comfortable.
Obviously, that approach had been a huge failure.
When he saw her with fucking Kade, Theodore had almost turned twelve shades of red. That was until he had gotten close enough to sense Kade’s emotions. Even dragons sometimes wore their hearts on their sleeves, and Kade, for being a master of control, had been sending out some very strong distress signals.
He hadn’t wanted to punish Ashley. He’d been relieved when Theodore showed up and took over. As Kade left the stage, he had whispered to Theodore. “It’s not what it looks like and we’ll talk later, but she wants you, brother. She wants you.”
Theodore knew what Kade meant. He knew Kade would never have fucked Ashley without permission or even kissed her. He wouldn’t have demanded anything sexual of the little uncollared submissive. He would have asked for her obedience and that alone.
But now Theodore knew that Ashley needed a firm hand and a loving heart.
She was the kind of woman who needed to be disciplined, but who needed to know the man doing it was in love with her.
And oh, Theodore was in love with her.
As soon as she whispered, “Yes,” he laid her out on the bed.
“You’re a delicious feast just for me, do you know that?” He began to slowly and painstakingly unlace her corset. He could have easily shifted his fingers and used a claw to release her from the binds, but he liked to take his time. Besides, she looked beautiful when she wiggled impatiently.
“Hold still,” he said. “Or have you already forgotten your spanking?”
“No, Master,” she breathed. The word went straight to his cock. He’d never asked her to call him “Master.” He wouldn’t have dreamed of asking her until he’d collared her properly or even married her. The fact that she so freely gave it made him want her even more, made him desire her even more deeply.
Ashley had the biggest, most giving heart of anyone Theodore had ever met.
He freed Ashley from the corset and slipped it away, revealing her soft, luscious breasts. Her nipples were hard and pink, poking up sharply from her breasts.
“You have beautiful breasts, Ashley.” She bit her bottom lip and smiled shyly.
“Thank you, Master.”
“Do you have any idea what wicked things I want to do to these breasts?” He asked her. Ashley shook her head and he didn’t think she was playing coy. She really didn’t know. She had no idea how many different ways he could make her feel things in her nipples. He could bite her, lick her, pinch her. He could use clamps to decorate his little prize. He could even use a claw to gently trace her breast. It wouldn’t hurt her, not the way he’d do it, but it would get her nerves firing.
It would make her wet.
“I want to bite you, Ashley,” he lowered his mouth and kissed her, devouring her mouth with his own. His cock ached from being hard all night, but he didn’t care. He would make this good for her. He would take his time.
“Oh,” Ashley moaned as Theodore took her mouth, reminding her who she belonged to.
She would never belong to anyone else.
He would keep her.
She was his.
He moved slowly down her neck, kissing each and every inch of her pale pink skin. She was soft and lovely: everything he was not. Theodore hadn’t had a terribly hard life, but he had scars and calluses and he was edgy where she was not. His body was lean and hard. Hers was perfect. He imagined that Ashley probably had some fears about her weight or some such nonsense, but he planned to show her tonight that there was nothing wrong with the way she looked.
Ashley was an angel and Theodore was the devil.
He would take what he wanted, but oh, he’d do it in a deliciously nasty way.
He’d make her sin sweeter than she ever had before.
He’d make her forget everything but his own name.
Theodore licked down her body until he reached her breasts. He licked around one nipple, gently tracing her skin with his tongue until she moaned, then he bit down hard with his teeth. Ashley arched her back up into him, reaching for his hair, pulling her into him.
“Oh, none of that, little sub.” Theodore couldn’t have her trying to control the situation. She’d had way too much of that during the last few years. No, this was Theodore’s time. Ashley wanted a Dom? He’d be the best fucking Dom she’d ever seen.
He placed her arms above her head, pinning them with one hand as he kissed her mouth again.
“Don’t move,” he murmured against her mouth. “Or there will be consequences.”
“Yes, Master,” she breathed heavily. Ashley was trying so hard to stay still. Sweet, sweet Ashley. She’d never been fucked like this before, that much was obvious. She was already soaking wet. Theodore hadn’t even touched her pussy yet, but he could fucking smell her arousal.
Fuck, his dick was going to explode if he didn’t get inside her, but he couldn’t rush this. She hadn’t been with anyone in so long. He had to make it good for her, had to make her remember just how important she was, had to make her understand just how much he wanted this for both of them.
Theodore played with her other breast until she was begging him for more, then he moved lower. Ashley obediently kept her hands above her head as Theodore slid her tiny miniskirt off her body and took a good, long look at her sweet pussy.
“Mine,” he whispered, sliding a finger through her wetness. “This is mine, Ashley.”
“Yes,” she murmured. “Yours. All yours.”
She was so far gone he had a feeling she’d come as soon as he began licking her. Still, he couldn’t resist playing with her a little.
Or a lot.
He didn’t know how long they’d been in the privacy room, the name of the song that was playing, or what he was going to do when they left The Dungeon. He didn’t know anything but that Ashley was here and she was naked and she was his.
So fucking his.
He leaned down and slid his tongue up her slit.
“Master,” she cried out, lifting her hips to meet his mouth. He couldn’t even slap her away. She was too sweet. Theodore leaned down and sucked her clit into his mouth, eating her so hard she exploded beneath him.
Theodore hadn’t felt this way about a woman ever. There was something so perfect about Ashley that he couldn’t put it into words. Her body went limp beneath him as the final waves of orgasm ceased, and she opened her eyes.
“That was…” she started to whisper, but then he was above her and kissing her again.
“Perfect,” he said. “You’re perfect.”
Then he was inside her.
Theodore had always considered sex to be a fun way to pass the time. He was good at it. He enjoyed it. He liked bringing pleasure to a woman, whether not she was submissive. He liked playing with other dragons and he liked playing with humans, but no one made him feel the way Ashley did.
He thrust in her, enjoying the way she held him tightly, wondering how he’d lived without her touch for so long. She arched beneath him, silently begging him for more, but he wasn’t going to let her get away so easily.
Theodore bent his head down and bit her nipple until she cried out.
“Theodore,” she moaned. “I need…”
“What?” He asked. “What do you need? Tell me.” He bit her other nipple.
“You! I need you!” She cried. “More.”
He sucked her nipple, running his tongue along her soft skin. He could stay with her forever, he thought, and moved up to kiss her mouth again as he continued pulsing in and out of her.
With Ashley, he was home. Nothing felt as good or as perfect or as lovely. Nothing came close to making him feel as complete as she did in this moment.
When he couldn’t hold on a second more, Theodore reached down and flicked her clit, setting off an orgasm so strong that she screamed. His own pleasure followed shortly behind and then he was spent, exhausted, and satisfied, resting in the arms of the woman he loved.
He loved her.
16
Ashley barely paid attention on the flight home. She couldn’t. The only thing she actually cared about was getting inside and falling into bed. She was exhausted. Theodore had completely taken her by surprise and shown her exactly what she meant to him.
She couldn’t be happier.
How had she gone so long without this kind of affection? How had she gone so long without him in her life? She had spent so many years in mourning. Somehow, she had fooled herself into thinking it was normal, that she was being respectful to her husband’s memory by refusing to move on.
In retrospect, she had been doing the opposite. She had basically been saying his death was in vain because she refused to move forward. She had refused to live. Theodore had taken her cold, icy heart and shown her that she was still worth loving.
More importantly, he had shown her that she had something to offer to him. She wasn’t worthless because she couldn’t have kids. She wasn’t an empty shell of a woman who had lost her one chance at love.
Ashley was a good, sweet person. She had so much love to give. Theodore felt good when he was around her. He felt strong and brave and courageous. That was all her. She had the power to make him feel those good things.
And she never wanted to stop.
He stopped in front of the house and shifted back to his human form. Before Ashley could blink, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
“Little pet,” he whispered. “You are so perfect.”
“I feel the exact same way about you,” she pressed her head to his chest and just stood with him in the moonlight. They were both naked beneath the empty sky. Somehow, her clothes hadn’t made it out of The Dungeon and neither one of them had noticed.
“We should get inside,” he murmured, but neither one of them made any effort to move. They would go inside soon, pay the sitter, and go to bed. They would fall asleep together and when they woke up, tomorrow would be the start of their new life together.
Everything had changed tonight.
Suddenly, the front door flew open and Emerson strode out of the house.
“Good,” he said. “You’re home.”
“Emerson?” Theodore suddenly released Ashley and turned to the clan leader. “What are you doing here?”
“Becky called me,” he said. “I figured you were already on your way home from The Dungeon or I would have called you there.”
Ashley’s heart dropped. There was only one reason Becky would have called Emerson. The clan leader wasn’t exactly known for his willingness to make middle-of-the-night house calls.
“It’s Stuart,” Emerson told Theodore. “He’s gone.”
**
Theodore felt the world go silent as Emerson’s words sunk in.
“What do you mean, ‘he’s gone’?”
Emerson ran a hand through his hair. His eyes shifted from Ashley and back to Theodore, obviously devastated by the situation at hand. Anyone would be. No one wanted to be the one to tell a father his child had disappeared.
“The sitter said he shifted and raced out of the house. She tried to follow him, but he growled at her and she flipped out. She’s never seen a child shift before and didn’t realize he would.”
“He wasn’t chained up,” Theodore said, the realization forming a knot in the pit of his stomach. He glanced at Ashley, who had turned completely white. Oh yes, his little sub knew she had completely fucked up.
“Theodore, I’m sorry,” she said in a rush. “I didn’t realize I’d be gone so late and I didn’t even think to tell the sitter to chain him up since we haven’t done that in awhile and I-“
“Save it,” Theodore held up a hand and took a step away from Ashley. He didn’t want to be close to her right now, didn’t even want to think about her. How could she? Not only did she go against his desires and show up unannounced at The Dungeon, but she hired a random babysitter to watch his son. His only son. And if something happened to Stuart, it’s not like Ashley could give him another baby.
The thought struck him in the gut and he fought back a wave of nausea. Nothing was going to happen to Stuart. He was going to be fine. He had to be fine because Theodore couldn’t live without him. He was going to be fine because if he wasn’t, the world would stop spinning and Theodore’s cold heart would finally die. He was going to be fine because there was no other option.<
br />
He was going to be fine.
“Where would he have gone?” Emerson said quietly.
Theodore just shook his head. He should have been there. He should have been home. He couldn’t accept that Stuart was gone. What would happen to him out there in the darkness? He was all alone out there. He was all alone and Theodore should have been home with him.
Ashley should have been home with him.
Realistically, Theodore knew it wasn’t her fault, but he was so enraged at that moment that he couldn’t focus.
“Maybe he-“
But Theodore didn’t want to hear another word. He held up a hand, cutting her off.
“Go,” he gritted through his teeth to Ashley. “Get away from me.”
Her mouth opened and closed and for a brief moment, Theodore thought she would protest, but then she simply slumped her shoulders and turned, walking off into the darkness. Where would she go? They were in the middle of nowhere, but Theodore didn’t – and couldn’t – worry about her just then.
Emerson raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Theodore silently begged him to tell him not to be an asshole, but the clan leader did no such thing.
“We’ve searched the house, just in case he managed to sneak back in, but he’s not here. I got here just before you, so we’re about to start looking seriously in the surrounding woods. Can he fly?”
“Not really. Only a few feet off the ground. He mostly just hops and jumps.” At least they had that going for them. Stuart could shift and he could fuck things up, but he couldn’t fly very well. That meant he couldn’t get far.
“Can you scent him?” Theodore asked, running a hand through his hair. Some dragons could smell others and track them very well. Contrary to popular belief, not all dragons could track others. While Theodore could easily tell what someone’s emotions were at any given moment, he couldn’t follow their smell once they’d left an area. That wasn’t his gift.
Dragon Isle Book Bundle 1-3: My Lord and Dragon, The Dragon Fighter, and A Dragon's Bite Page 33