by Cecilia Lane
“Are you sure, little bit?”
Lola’s eyes met Rafe’s and what she saw there thrilled her. The brown color simmered with heat as he waited for her reaction.
Her cheeks blazed hot. She could see how little he wanted to wait. The desire was written clearly on his face and in the tension of his body. Arousal poured off him in waves and mirrored her own.
Her body was desperate for him. Her pussy was aching and heavy with need. But there was one, tiny problem that he needed to be aware of. She feared he wouldn’t want her inexperienced hands on him.
“I’ve never even been kissed.”
“Never?” He nearly purred and stepped closer.
The heat of him was staggering. Her nipples tightened in her shirt and a shiver worked its way through her body.
It was desire, plain and simple. She'd only felt crushes and the most rudimentary beginnings of need, but Rafe ignited it inside her. He should be branded by her skin, she was so hot for him at that moment.
His thumbs grazed over the blush on her cheeks and his fingers tilted her head upward. He towered over her, but she couldn’t imagine a more perfect height. His nostrils flared with his next breath and a growl tumbled out of his chest. Before she could feel any fear or hesitation, he was on her.
His lips sealed against hers and his tongue slipped into her mouth. He tangled his tongue with hers, dancing and twining. She wasn’t sure who moaned first, but they were soon consumed in dark sounds as they tasted one another.
His huge hands left her face and trailed down her body, his palms sliding over the skin of her arms and around to the small of her back. She pressed closer even without pressure from him. She needed to be closer to him. She was desperate enough that she nearly wrapped her legs around his waist to climb him like a tree.
Only his fingers at the hem of her shirt kept her still. In slow increments, he slid her shirt higher. A small hint of claws scraped against her soft skin and she moaned into his mouth again.
Rafe broke their kiss only long enough to pull her shirt up and over her head. Lola took the moment to suck in a breath. For a first kiss, it hadn’t been bad. Downright amazing. And she wanted more.
His lips were hot on her neck as he trailed kisses down and over her shoulder. His fingers found the clasp of her bra and her heavy breasts soon spilled into his hands. She shivered at the first, naked touch between them. Her nipples hardened into peaks at the first warm pluck of his fingers. There was something utterly wicked in his eyes as he watched her every reaction.
“Gorgeous, little bit. Just… perfect.” The features of his face sharpened and the brown of his eyes darkened to black. It was easy to forget sometimes that he wasn’t entirely human. But the dragon side of him excited her. She had no fear of him, only hunger.
Lola let herself be herded backward until her knees touched the bed. Then Rafe was on his knees, kissing her soft stomach and teasing the waistband of her jeans with his fingers. She tangled her fingers in his hair and held on for dear life.
Rafe popped the button and lowered the zipper in one swift movement. Then he pushed downward and exposed inch after inch of her thick thighs. Lola froze, unsure of how he would view her. Would he still want her, when he saw her entirely nude?
But she shouldn’t have worried. Rafe’s growls and hot kisses were appreciation enough, even if she had no idea what to do now that she was naked and he was still dressed. The magazines and videos jumped straight into the action, never showing the beginning.
“Lay down,” he told her, his voice rough and uneven.
Heat coiled inside her as she perched on the edge of the bed. Rafe didn’t follow her, remaining on his knees in front of her. His hands toyed with her legs, running up and down her thighs. He gently nudged her legs apart and his eyes filled with wicked playfulness.
“I’m going to taste you, little bit.”
Her lips quirked into a smile. “Just a little bit?”
He growled and nuzzled her thigh. “Just my little bit.”
His. Oh yes, she was his. Absolutely. She’d tried to ignore the attraction between them and she still wound up spread out before him like a feast he couldn’t wait to consume. Her entire life had been a lie. He was no monster. He was someone she needed.
And she was what he wanted at that moment. Rafe leaned forward and flicked his tongue across the seam of her pussy.
Lola gasped and dropped back against the bed. The singular touch was enough to make her stare up at the ceiling in a daze of wonderment.
But Rafe didn’t stop with just one lick. He purred, the noise vibrating through her body and spreading across her nerves. Her pussy clenched with need and desire rolled into one, formidable urge. She wanted more.
Rafe growled and struck. Like their kiss, there was no practice. There was no gentle easing into his actions, just an all out assault on her heat. His fingers spread her open and his tongue delved into her.
He sucked on her clit, pulling the little nub into his mouth and dancing his tongue over the tender skin until she writhed under him. Pleasure speared its way through her, giving her no mercy. Her muscles couldn’t decide to tighten or relax and she shuddered in the waves of bliss his mouth gave her.
His stiff fingers teased her opening. She whined, wanting him to fill her. Nothing had entered her before, not even her own fingers, and she needed him there.
“Taste so good. Smell so good,” he murmured between licks and moans.
Slowly, he pushed a finger inside her. She opened her legs wider for him to urge him on, but he took his sweet time. Lola huffed and bit her lower lip to contain the growing frustration inside her.
Rafe returned to her clit, licking and sucking with equal abandon. He teased her with small penetrations, easing his way until his finger was deep in her heat.
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she held. He felt… wonderful. There were no other words to describe it. Heat shot through her body when he pulled out and slid back inside her with two fingers.
“So tight. Can’t wait to be inside you, my little bit.” His voice sounded thick and rough in her ears again and a quick glance showed her that he watched her with pure black eyes.
He did something inside her and Lola collapsed back on the bed. Pleasure flowed through her, racing between her nipples and her pussy and back again like an arc of electricity. She trembled and writhed under him, seeking out even more of the pleasure he promised her.
“Rafe, yes!” Her hands shook as she dug her fingers into his hair again and tried to hold him against her. He growled, his tongue lapping at her clit and his fingers pressing into her pussy. The torment continued until she felt something hot sliding through her veins and coiling in her core.
She rocked her hips, searching for the last bit of pleasure that would send her careening over the edge. Ecstasy burned through her, coating her in flames as surely as if Rafe’s dragon had burned her alive.
Then she was there. The solid ground was yanked out from under her and she hovered in midair. She floated on the bliss he’d given her even as molten lava coursed through her. Her pussy clenched around his fingers, milking him as she felt the first release with him.
Slowly, surely, the pleasure ebbed as Rafe pulled his fingers from her. He popped them right into his mouth and sighed with pleasure as he licked them clean.
His eyes were dark when they found her own. “My little bit is delicious.”
Lola felt her blush consuming her. The hot rush surged again inside her and her pussy clenched around the empty space he’d left. She reached her hands out for him. “More.”
Rafe growled and tore at his clothes until he was just as naked as her. She sucked in a breath and tried to count the stacks of muscles on his abs once they weren’t hidden by a torn shirt or jeans. She desperately wanted to run her fingers over the many indentations and taste him as surely as he’d tasted her.
But Rafe had other ideas. He placed a knee between her thighs and urged her higher up the bed. L
ola’s heart fluttered when he caged her between his legs and arms. The reality of her situation crashed down on her.
He studied her face and her sudden increased breath. The black of his eyes faded back to his human brown. “Are you sure, little bit?”
She licked her lips and nodded. She couldn’t turn back. She didn’t want to. She wanted to feel him. All of him. “Want you now, Rafe.”
His dragon rushed forward and nearly yanked Rafe’s control away. It wanted to sink fangs into the curvy beauty and mark her as theirs. He tried to reason with the beast, give it all the good reasons why that wasn’t an option. She didn’t know what mating involved. She needed to know and make her choice with full knowledge.
The dragon roared and clawed at his mind. It didn’t want to acknowledge anything but Lola’s status as their mate. Everything else could be resolved after she bore the mate mark on her shoulder. After she was branded as dragon hearted. Part dragon and all theirs.
He’d make her his all the same. The mark could come later.
He lowered between her thighs. Her pink pussy called to him and he wanted nothing more than to slide inside her and hear her scream out his name in pleasure.
His cock settled between her folds. He flexed his hips and the head nudged against her clit. She gasped and he jerked his attention to her face. Her cheeks were still flushed from the pleasure he’d given her with his mouth and hands. Her eyes were heavy, but what he could see of her honey colored eyes made his dick twitch.
Need. Desire. Want.
She rocked her hips against him and bit her lip when he nudged against her clit again.
Little bit didn’t want to play. She wanted the real thing.
His dragon surged forward again and Rafe held it back. Barely. He pressed his nose into the crook of Lola's neck and inhaled deeply. If he couldn't sink his fangs into her, he could at least let her flavors roll over him. The sweet scent of her cream beckoned him to continue.
Balancing on one hand, he gripped his cock in the other. He rubbed the head up and down her slit, gathering her juices and tormenting them both.
“So big.” Lola’s eyes fluttered closed.
“It’ll fit,” he sucked in a breath when he sank an inch into her silken heat. “It’ll hurt the first time.”
She nodded. “Don’t care. Need you.”
He worked his way into her slowly, one tiny inch at a time. Her pussy stretched around him and he inhaled sharply. She was so wet, so tight. His small thrusts and retreats were enough to pull his balls tight against his body.
Lola moaned and her knees further butterflied open. Rafe pushed forward, slowly sliding into her sheath. It was agony, torture, to move so slowly when he wanted to push inside her and feel her heat around him.
She was his, totally and completely. No one had touched her with lips or hands. He was taking her virgin flesh for his own and he was determined to make it as painless as possible.
He gave her more of himself until he finally bottomed out. He held still, afraid he’d hurt her, that he was too big, that she wouldn’t want to continue. Her features were tight and the color of her full body flush had faded away.
Then her eyes snapped open and the heat inside reassured him. Her unused walls clamped down on his cock. She whimpered under him.
“Steady, Lola. Steady,” he breathed into her ear. It was more for him than for her. He needed to calm before he embarrassed himself. She needed a man to show her what loving felt like, not some boy who finished before they’d even begun.
Her hands wound around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. He growled and slid his tongue into her mouth. He could still taste her cream on his lips and knew she’d have a taste as well. She didn’t pull away and instead sucked on his tongue.
“More,” she moaned when she tore her lips away from his.
Rafe wasn’t about to deny her anything. He retreated from her heat and then pushed back into her. He adjusted his position and caught her clit between their bodies at the top of each thrust.
Lola’s winces were replaced with pleasure. He watched, mesmerized, as her breasts bounced with each thrust. She caught her lip between her teeth and arched her back for more.
More. More. That became her demand of him. It was a demand he was happy to meet.
He increased his pace with each thrust, sending her inching up the bed. Her eyes flew open again and he saw something wild had taken hold of her.
“Yes!” She groaned. Her nails dug into his back, stinging him when she dragged her hands over his skin. His dragon roared with triumph at the little beast they’d brought into their lair.
Rafe withdrew almost completely from her pussy then shoved back inside her. The headboard slammed into the wall, but there was still no pain on his mate’s face. Her head thrashed against the pillows and she demanded more.
“Fuck me, yes.” Her nails dug into his shoulders once again.
Rafe set a punishing pace, slamming into her again and hitting the headboard against the wall. Her body jiggled under him in the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. His gums ached to let his fangs come out to play even more when her cunt started to tighten around his length.
He pressed his hands firmly into the mattress by her head. Her hips tilted to meet each thrust. Each whimper he dragged from her, each pant that came from his own chest, brought his dragon closer to taking control. His fingers stretched and the nails turned to dark claws. A simple flex of his hands sliced through sheets and mattress.
She was beautiful and she was his. No one would take her from him. He’d claim her. Make her dragon hearted. Bind them for a long life together.
“Yes, please.”
Her words answered a question he hadn’t asked. He pressed his nose into her shoulder. He could mark her, there. So simple. So quick.
Her pussy clamped down on him and he growled. “Fuck!”
His balls drew tight against his body and his release threatened to spill over. Her tight sheath milked him, clenched around him until he could barely breathe. She was close, so damned close, that it briefly pushed thoughts of marking her out of his head.
Rafe slammed forward, rocking into her over and over until Lola tensed around him. Her pussy spasmed around him and lured his pleasure forward. Her thighs clamped around his hips, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and her back arched into him.
“Rafe!”
His own release rushed forward, as did the temptation to seal their bond with more than just a good fucking. He stiffened his arms and pushed away from her, out of bite range. She was too tempting, too perfect. She needed to belong to him.
He bellowed with the force of his climax and let the pleasure rush around him. His cock jerked inside her, bathing her insides with his cum. And still, he thrust inside her, wringing the last bit of pleasure from her that he could.
She was everything he should hate. She was everything he should want to kill. Instead, he wanted to stay wrapped around her forever.
Mate.
He lowered next to her and rolled her to face him. He brushed the strands of hair out of her face and planted a kiss on her forehead. “How do you feel?”
She breathed out a small laugh. “A little sore. I don’t regret anything.”
“Good.” He kissed her again and pulled her across his chest. The weight of her was perfect. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the feeling. The complications could come later. Right then, he just wanted to lie with his mate.
Chapter Eight
Rafe stared at the ceiling above him. Lola had fallen asleep across his chest. While he wanted to do the same, his thoughts kept him awake.
She felt so perfect against him. She smelled perfect. His scent mingled with hers and tempted him to stay in bed with her all day. He could make her comfortable if her body ached, treat her to some soft touches when she awoke. It all sounded too good.
And, of course, it was. He had his duties to attend. He’d already slacked off for the morning when he should have gone to se
e the construction site. The hollowed out space in the mountains needed to be checked before he was comfortable allowing the King and Consort—and by extension, his charge—into the area.
The coronation was only days away and the final touches needed to be completed. No one had expected a dragon slayer to show up on their doorstep or for one of their own dragons to be murdered. The distractions had blown the schedule to bits.
Lola shifted against him and murmured in her sleep. He brushed a hand over her hair and tried to soothe her back into peaceful dreams. Meanwhile, his own discomfort returned.
His king’s words rang in his ears. “It’s imperative we know everything she knows, Rafael. Do whatever you need to find out.”
Would she consider sleeping with him following his orders or his desire for her? He knew the truth, but would she believe him?
He’d been pressed again and again to find out where her family’s compound was located. Each time he had to say he had no information.
Dragons were covering the surrounding areas in grid flight patterns, but it was difficult to tell farms from undercover dragon slayer operations from the air. None were stupid enough to approach and ask the residents if they were killers intent on eradicating the shifter races.
And what of the compound? Even if he could pry the secret from her, would it do any good? From the little she said, he knew there were women and children living there. How many were there because they knew no other way of life? Would the dragons burn everyone to ash if someone said the wrong thing or made the wrong move?
The more he mulled it over, the more he found himself agreeing with the Consort. They couldn’t kill. Not Lola, absolutely. And none of her people. The dragons needed to take the high road. They needed to change. It was one of the reasons for moving the dragon population to their new home in Azra Valley: they needed to become part of the new world.
That meant leaving behind old animosities. It meant learning to live with their enemies, not killing them.
Rafe glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand. It wouldn’t be long before he needed to leave the snug warmth of his lair behind. He would be needed to watch over Cassandra. He had intended to visit the construction site and return before his guard shift, but the scene in the cafeteria had ruined that plan.