“Understatement.” Understatement of the freakin’ century, Kate thought as her body lit up in places she never thought could feel this kind of arousal.
Then Liam came out and thrust back into her, slow and steady like before, and Kate felt a strained moan come from her lips as she tried desperately to hold back the tidal wave of pleasure inside her. Her hands grasped his thick hair, wet and soft, and she bit down on her lip to distract from the sensation of it all.
But the small, sharp pain she felt was like a pebble flying around in a tornado of desire, entirely lost amidst the rest of her body’s response as Liam worked into a rhythm, pumping into her as she held on for dear life.
And every inch, every centimeter coming in and out was so slick, so overwhelming and hot, that her body begged for more even as it attempted to resist the power of her imminent release.
Kate could tell Liam was feeling it, too. As he went faster and faster, matching her body as she began to thrust into him for added speed, his jaw clenched and his muscles tightened. She could sense both of them drawn to their absolute limit, like a rubber band either ready to break or fly into the air.
And then it was too much, and Kate came with earth-shattering force, everything in her coming together and releasing outward with incredible pleasure.
A moment later, Liam came with her, and she could feel him throbbing inside her, pulsing and stoking her own release even further.
Kate couldn’t keep herself from crying out in ecstasy as wave after wave came over her, the release so good she wished it could last forever. But even as it slowly abated, leaving her warm and exhausted and satisfied, Liam was still there with her, holding her. Making her feel oddly cherished.
It was a strange sensation indeed.
After several long moments, Liam lowered her and turned off the shower, got towels for them to dry off with, then carried her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed.
And despite the fact that she would normally protest missing her nightly routine before bed, so much heat and pleasure all at once had completely exhausted her.
“Am I still invited to stay the night?” Liam asked as he stood next to the bed, his blue eyes catching glimpses of the moon rising in the sky through the bedroom windows.
“Sure.” Kate wouldn’t want it any other way. He’d given her the night of her life. And tomorrow was her day off anyway, so getting up on time wasn’t going to be a problem.
Almost noiselessly, Liam slipped into bed next to her, wrapping his warm arms around her as Kate drifted quickly to sleep.
Maybe this would get complicated in the morning.
But at least for now, it felt right.
9
“Okay, I think it should run fine now,” Magnus exclaimed as he closed the hood of Liam’s old-world truck with a thunk.
Liam had called Magnus early that morning, and he’d come over without a single complaint to help work on the faulty vehicle. And it had led to more than a few not-so-subtle inquiries on his part into the nature of Liam’s overnight stay with Kate.
He didn’t want to share too much for fear his carefully laid plans could backfire.
Things were already going so well. Last night had been amazing, incredible. The beginning of the kind of forever Liam had only hoped for long ago but had now found him in the most unlikely of places. And in spite of the slight awkwardness of waking up together, Kate had taken everything in stride, and their friendship seemed to go on like normal, with the added benefit of the sizzling sexual chemistry they shared.
Granted, there were still a lot of hurdles to overcome. Like telling her about his true nature as a dragon. And mating her officially. And explaining his past and the fact that he had a trove of treasure.
But as he looked over at Kate sitting on the porch of her house, watching him and Magnus work on installing the pump and electronics for the sprinkler system, pride welled inside him. And happiness.
Now he just had to make sure to not screw things up.
Snap out of it, lover boy, and help me set this up, Magnus said, thankfully not out loud.
Liam came over and joined his crew mate as they removed a small plastic box from its packaging and began mounting it on the side of the house.
It was a good thing Magnus was better with modern technology. Granted, all the metal dragons had an innate knowledge of the workings of things. That same knowledge that had helped them build and operate ships and machinery many centuries ago now helped them navigate the modern world. But Magnus’s curiosity and sheer brains meant there wasn’t a thing he couldn’t fix or make given the proper time and equipment.
And everything was coming along nicely. Liam would be able to put the sod in soon, then hopefully be able to do some more work on the exterior of the house. Anything as an excuse to be around Kate. By then, he could ask her on a formal date, go somewhere nice, as Opal had told him women liked. There he would tell Kate everything and ask her to be his mate.
Once she was in love with him, then the truth would hopefully be easier to swallow.
Granted, he’d never done this before. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t work things out.
He’d do whatever it took to win his mate.
Even take it slow.
Kate was having a relaxing day off, for the most part, as long as she didn’t think about what she and Liam had done the night before. She was a little relieved when he rolled out of bed early in the morning, at first light, and kissed her on the cheek before heading out to get started.
He needed to call someone at his company for them to come fix the car, and he seemed focused on staying on schedule with the sprinklers as well, since the sod was already scheduled to arrive.
What a man.
She sighed as she sipped her coffee at the table, thinking what a luxury it was to just enjoy quiet time in the middle of the day.
It wasn’t that a day in bed with Liam wouldn’t have been interesting, but everything had happened so fast, been so intense, that it was kind of nice to let things cool down. Her heart needed to adjust to the fact that that man out there had made love to her.
It still seemed too good to be true.
She walked to the front door and peeked through the small window on the side of it to see the two men working together outside. She’d seen the friend, a man with dark-red hair named Magnus, working on the truck earlier. Liam had brought him to the house to introduce him, and she appreciated that effort to make her comfortable with whoever was on her property.
It was fun to watch the two men together now, arguing and pointing at the pipes, Magnus gesturing passionately, Liam shaking his head.
She laughed as she went to the kitchen to prepare some sandwiches in case they were hungry. From what she’d seen when she’d gone over to peek at them today, they were making really fast progress.
They almost looked odd out there, two men with extremely tall bodies, handsome faces, body builder muscles, working in the dirt with regular jeans and work shirts in neutral colors. Magnus, with his striking, dark-red hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail with hair escaping around his face, looked especially out of place.
When she was done fixing lunch, she looked at the clock and wondered if the men would be interested in food yet. From what she knew about guys, they could generally always eat, and men like this who worked with their hands probably had crazy high metabolisms. Especially with that much muscle to support.
She opened the door, a tray in her hands, and walked down her front walk, stopping in front of the dirt that made up her yard.
Liam looked up first, his eyes warming as he saw her, and he ran a hand through his hair the way he always did when he looked her over, an intense expression on his handsome face, almost as if he were drinking her in.
She flushed, but the tension of the moment was broken when Magnus stopped flailing and turned around to stare at her. His mouth broke into a wide smile, and he headed over, Liam jerking on his arm to put the other man behind hi
m so he could get to her first.
When he did, she could tell he was just as aware as she was of what had happened last night. She just hoped it wasn’t that obvious to Magnus.
“I thought the two of you could use something to eat,” she said. “You’ve been working so hard out there.”
“Dragons can always use sustenance,” Magnus said, grabbing one of the sandwiches and biting into it.
“Um, you can wash your hands inside if you want,” she said, looking at Liam, who was stifling a laugh.
Magnus shrugged. “No, this is good, clean dirt. Plus, I have to get back to the castle. Just about done helping here. This guy can handle it.”
She smiled. “Yeah, he’s doing a great job.”
Liam excused himself to wash his hands, and she sat on the steps with Magnus just below her, sitting with his long legs crossed as he leaned back on one of her brick pillars and closed his eyes thoughtfully.
“That’s good stuff,” he said. “Liam’s a lucky man.”
“Oh,” she said, flushing. “He told you?”
Magnus opened one eye and then the other, sitting up slightly. He pushed his hair off his forehead, revealing his pale blue-green eyes in sharp relief. Creamy, bright jade. “Why would he be doing this otherwise?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dragons work extra hard for their mates.” He gestured to the yard. “He’s taking care of this home because it’s yours.”
“But I’m paying you,” she said.
“Are you?” Magnus said. “I mean, that’s the idea, right? We can’t just say, ‘Hey, we’re dragons, but we’re pretending to be handymen to get access to human women.’ That wouldn’t work.”
Her jaw dropped.
Magnus just went on, oblivious. “I mean, I’m not supposed to be saying it now, but since Liam has obviously claimed you, it’s not a problem anymore. Welcome to the family.”
She felt frozen all over. What family? What welcome? What ‘pretending to be handymen?’ She felt as if the world were falling apart around her, to the extent that she actually felt dizzy.
She stood up and stumbled toward the house. She had to ask Liam what Magnus meant.
Magnus stood, catching her by the wrist. “Wait,” he said. “Did I upset you? I’m sorry if I did.”
Liam appeared at the door, his ocean-blue eyes narrowing on Magnus’s hand on her wrist. “Release her.”
Magnus dropped her hand, stepping back and scratching the back of his head. “Uh, brother, I may have. Uh…”
“He was saying… He was saying the craziest things,” she said, stamping a foot as she came up to glare into Liam’s eyes. “About dragons pretending to be landscapers. About me being part of the family. Like it’s all settled. What the hell is settled? Someone explain what’s going on, right now.”
Magnus looked at Liam with a guilty expression, but as he didn’t look like someone who held on to guilt long, he just shrugged and took a few steps away, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t think you would… mate her without telling her about us. My bad.” He gave Liam a wry grin. “See you at home.”
Liam made an angry move, as if to go after him, but Kate stepped in front of him.
“This is about us now,” she said, grabbing the front of his shirt. “What’s going on? What was he talking about? He’s crazy, right? You guys don’t really believe you’re dragons? He was yanking my chain.”
“Chain?” he asked, running his hand over a small, chain bracelet she hadn’t noticed before. It was dull, made of some darkish metal, unpolished and antique-looking.
But she had other things to focus on now.
“You know what I mean. Was he teasing me?”
Liam rubbed his hand over the short hair at the base of his head. “No. Magnus isn’t like that. Well, he can tease, but he doesn’t lie. In fact, he is honest to a fault.”
She sat down on the step with a huff, feeling overwhelmed. He sat across from her, leaning on the pillar on the other side of the steps. “I need you to explain it to me. Right now.”
“Does it change things?” he asked. “It felt right last night. We’ve been having fun together. Does anything else matter?”
“If you think you’re a legendary, mythological creature, yes, that matters.” She set her jaw. “In fact, I think I would want you off my property.”
A muscle ticked in his cheek. “You must be the one joking now. You can’t mean that.”
“I mean it,” she said. “I already accepted there was a super-hot handyman who wants me. How much craziness am I supposed to put up with?”
“You think too little of yourself,” he said. “I don’t like it.”
“And I don’t like that you’re dodging the subject. What was your friend talking about?”
He sighed. “I don’t want to lie to you, but I don’t want you to throw me away.”
“I’m not throwing you away,” she said. “You aren’t some object I decide what to do with. You shouldn’t give me that much power over you.”
He scooted forward until they were eye to eye, and he took her hand and held it over his chest. “Too late. You have that power over me. You always will. That’s what mates are.”
She jerked back from him, scooting away until her back hit the pillar behind her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why are you ruining everything? It was fine before.”
“When you didn’t know who I was?”
“When I didn’t think you were out of your mind!” she said. “Say it. You can’t honestly believe you are a dragon.”
“I am a dragon,” he said. “I’m sorry if it’s hard for you to hear it. I wasn’t going to tell you until I had to.”
“I sort of think it’s something you should have brought up before we slept together,” she screeched, knowing she was starting to sound hysterical.
This had to be some kind of dream. Everything had been going so well. She would just wake up and be back in that world where Liam was just a sweet, sexy guy she was getting to know. Someone totally sane, from a normal company.
A company where they all lived in a castle…
Good heavens, they were all insane. She should have seen it sooner. They called themselves dragons.
“You’re just a landscaper,” she said, feeling like her heart was frozen. “A handyman. A nice guy named Liam who happens to look like a model.”
“Dragons are known for being handsome.”
She put her hands up to her head. “Stop saying dragons. Please.”
He looked hurt, and for a moment, she regretted stopping him. But what was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to react? It felt like everything was falling apart in the worst way.
“What did Magnus mean about being part of the family?”
“I suppose he thought that since we’d been… intimate, we were mated. He misunderstood. I’ve marked you just by being with you, but what we did is by no means permanent. My plan was to court you like a normal human.”
She stood, backing toward the door. “Which means you don’t consider yourself to be a normal human.”
“I’m not,” he said, standing and following her slowly, hands outstretched at his sides, showing he was harmless. “But is it so bad that I’m a dragon?” He looked around the yard. “I can do this for you. I look better. I’m stronger. Isn’t it better than being a human after all?”
She shook her head and hid behind her door, slamming it before he could come in.
What the hell? How could she have had sex with someone who actually thought he was a dragon?
“Kate, let me in. I can explain. We can talk.”
“Tell the truth,” she said. “Were you really going to let me pay for the work out there, or was it all just a part of winning me over?”
His silence said everything.
“And you really only started handiwork to get access to human women?”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “To meet them. To find our mates.”
Oh
gosh, she’d attracted a crazy person. Not only that, he was all over her yard, doing work for free because he thought she belonged to him or something.
“It’s fate,” he said. “We’re meant to be together.”
She guessed it made sense. No one should be that good in bed. That hard of a worker. That sweet and kind. Every man she picked out had to have a fatal flaw. The last one had been lazy and expected her to do everything.
This one thought he was a dragon.
“I want you to go, Liam. I want you off my property. I need to hire another contractor.”
“Why?” he asked, sounding frustrated. “How does that fix anything?”
How was he sounding so nonchalant about thinking he was a lizard?
“I’ll go,” he said. “But this isn’t over. I need a chance to explain. I’ll be back.”
And then he turned and walked off the porch, and she let out a sigh of relief.
And heartbreak.
Because even with her heart pounding, she wanted to call him back. Wanted to say it was okay to pretend to be a dragon and just go back to how things were when they’d been eating dinner and slowly building something together.
He’d said weird things before. She should have picked up on it. She felt bad for sending him away now, but he’d scared her with his words about mates and the reason he’d been on her property.
She had a right to step back, take some space, and heal over this.
She had a mind to call Rent-A-Dragon and give them a piece of her mind, tell them their delusional employees were starting to think they were actual dragons.
But then again, were all of them in on it? She put a hand over her face and silently fumed as she sank down against the door. Thank heavens it was her day off.
10
Liam parked a little way down the street after driving around the block so she would think he was gone.
He was parked in a place where he was pretty sure she couldn’t see him, even if she walked out and looked around, but with his superior dragon sight and hearing, he would be able to keep watch.
Steel (Rent-A-Dragon Book 1) Page 6