by Shannon West
When the pure-bloods finally noticed what was happening to the dragonets, they stepped in, but by that time it was almost too late. The Wyvern had almost been exterminated. The few that were left retreated to the far reaches of the known and unknown world and after a while, most Dragons forgot they ever existed. Except, apparently, for Eldor, who had obviously read up on Merlin’s prophecies.
When I started this hunt for the dragonet, I was mostly doing it to fuck with old Eldor the Red. He’d tried to keep his search quiet over the years, but in a population as small as ours, that was pretty much impossible. Everyone knew the story of his son and the Wyvern, and because Eldor was hated by large numbers of people—pretty much everyone who had ever met him—it was a source of entertainment for most of us. But the story of the little Wyvern Rosamund was tragic. And nobody was laughing about that.
Somehow, and the story was never clear on this point, Eldor got his hands on the little Wyvern when she was only seven years old. Maybe he killed her parents or maybe he found her abandoned somewhere. No one ever knew. But she was the last remaining Wyvern on the planet, according to Eldor and she was all his. And once he found her, he hoarded his “treasure” deep in the recesses of his mansion and never let her see the light of day. We had all heard stories about his plans for her, some of them so shocking they were difficult to believe. Even for a Dragon, they were unbelievably cruel. But whatever his plans were, they didn’t quite work out for him. The best laid schemes and all that.
Eldor had a son. His name was Auric and he was a handsome boy, who must have taken after his mother. Even though Eldor had forbidden him to go down to the rooms where he kept Rosamund, Auric apparently disobeyed. The day finally came when Rosamund was fifteen years old and nearing the time for his father’s plans to come to fruition. Auric somehow spirited her out of the mansion, got her on a plane to America, and they were never seen again.
Or at least, Rosamund was never seen again by any of the pure-bloods. Later on, we heard rumors that Rosamund had died, leaving Auric alone with his infant dragonet. One of the amazing things about Wyvern was that even when they mated with another species, their DNA was so dominant that the babies still came out mostly Wyvern, with only a little of their father’s contribution to the mix.
Eldor searched for his son all over America after he left with his Wyvern bride, but his son was nowhere to be found. I had forgotten about Auric, to tell the truth, and I was surprised to hear not long ago through the rumor mill that Eldor had received a letter from him, finally giving Eldor his location and offering to sell him the boy. It wasn’t all that surprising in a way. There’s an old saying among Dragons—treasure is good for three things—hoarding, spending or trading for something that means even more to you. I guess Auric’s treasure, in the person of his son, was only good for whatever he could get for him in the end.
The only problem was if Eldor got his hands on the boy, not only would he hoard him by hiding him away, but he might even follow his previous plan, and that would just be unacceptable. He might still do it, though, to gain power, even if he wasn’t exactly sure how the power would come to him. Then he might even make a bid to become the ruling Dragon clan, ousting my own family, which had ruled for many centuries. And that was completely unacceptable too. The only solution was to get to the boy first and add him to my own treasure.
I never expected to become completely entranced by the maddening creature the first moment I laid eyes on him.
For one thing, he was absolutely beautiful. He had some pretty patches of red and black scales on his neck and probably other places that I would have liked to trace with my tongue. And his body was perfect—not too big, but well-formed and compact. He had dark curly hair, just long enough to hold onto, and eyes that were sapphire blue with the most ridiculous eyelashes. His lips were full and pouty without his even trying and for a moment when I first met him, I had to make my voice gruff and act unfriendly toward him to hide what I was feeling.
People say there’s no such thing as love at first sight, and that’s no doubt true. For humans. I’m not even saying love—all I knew was that once I saw him, I wanted him. Maybe it was all mixed up with coveting him as treasure, or maybe it was just for himself. I really didn’t know. But the idea of losing him or letting Eldor get his hands on him made me physically ill. So from that first moment, I knew I had to make him mine.
Since then, of course, he’d been nothing but trouble, fighting me every step of the way. I couldn’t wait to get him home, because, make no mistake about it, the boy belonged to me. I cared about his value now mostly because it would deny Lord Eldor any gain. But first I had to keep the Spawn gang, run by Artie Samboa and backed and paid by Eldor, from kidnapping him. I needed to get him safe.
I knew he’d be furious about all the lies. But the plans to take him before Eldor got to him had already been set in motion before I’d ever seen him, and there was little I could do to change things now. My family was fully involved in this for my sake, but once I got Luca home, I could explain the situation, and they would back off. Until then, I couldn’t tell Luca the truth.
My cousin Sebastien had accompanied me on this journey and while I wasn’t too worried about leaving him to face the Spawn on his own—I was confident he’d make short work of them—I was more worried about how he’d react when he learned that I was keeping Luca. There would be time enough for all that, though, when I got the boy to safety. Then I’d make Luca understand and gain his forgiveness with a few kisses. I’d noticed the way he looked at me and I was sure my plan would work.
****
We finally arrived at our rental vehicle and I got off the bus to take Luca to our car, a huge GMC Yukon. I attached the handcuff that had been on my wrist to the armrest of the SUV and then strapped Luca in the seat, never once even glancing at his pretty face, though I was aware of his eyes flickering up to mine a couple of times. I threw my small carry-on in the back, got behind the wheel and headed out, still not talking to him. I didn’t trust myself not to tell him everything. After I pulled out on the Interstate, headed south, though, he tried talking to me.
“So where are we going now?”
I decided silence was the best way to handle the situation. At this point, I couldn’t tell him much.
“Seriously, you’re not speaking to me?”
I glanced over at him and was tempted to pull over, take him in my arms and make him forget everything, including his own name. “I don’t like being cussed at, Luca.” That asshole remark still stung a little. “Especially by you. I suggest you don’t do it again.”
He opened his mouth to deny it I suppose or say something smart again but with a little huff, he turned to stare out the window. After a few minutes he tried again.
“Why me especially?”
“What?”
“You said you didn’t like to be called names, especially by me. Why is that? What’s so special about me? And why does Artie Samboa want me so much?”
“I can’t tell you right now. Can you just try to trust me until I get you to safety?”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “Trust you? What have you done so far to make me trust you? I’ve been kidnapped and handcuffed and dragged around like a sack of potatoes. You keep saying you want to get me to safety, but where is that exactly? And why should I just believe everything you say?”
I didn’t have much answer to that, so I growled a little and he shrank back against the seat and went back to staring out the window. I felt like an asshole for scaring him, but I really didn’t know what to say. I concentrated on my driving again and tried not to notice the occasional little sniffle that came from his side of the car, though each one bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
American interstates bore me to tears—miles and miles of nothing except other cars and nothing worth looking at on the sides of the road. Luca must have felt the same way because he put his head against the window and closed his eyes. I guess he fell asleep right away beca
use he started snoring softly beside me. When I woke him up in the motel parking lot some fifty miles below Atlanta, he had to wipe the drool off his mouth. I found it unbearably charming. I leaned over him to take the cuff from the armrest and snapped it back on my wrist. I had gotten another strong whiff of him when I leaned over him and the butterflies had started up in my stomach again, stronger than ever.
The kiss we’d shared had been way too brief, and I’d really hoped for more. But so far, he hadn’t shown any signs of wanting me to kiss him and since he already hated me, I had no desire to make it worse. I pulled him out of the car and took him into the hotel. Check-in was quick, as I suppose it always is when you flash enough cash at somebody. The man behind the desk didn’t even flinch at the sight of Luca wearing handcuffs. I got our key and took him up the elevator to the room. I stepped inside behind him and uncuffed him.
“Now what?” he said, looking around the room.
“Now we wait. You can relax—take a shower if you like. Your scent is strong.”
He shot me a look as if what I said hurt his feelings. No one likes to be told they smell, I guess. But I didn’t want him to see that I paid any attention to what he thought. And it wasn’t that he smelled bad—it was that he smelled so damn good.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he said, trying for cockiness and raising his chin defiantly.
“I didn’t say bad. Just strong.” I took a deep breath then because I couldn’t help myself.
Of course, he probably knew he wasn’t exactly as fresh as a daisy. He’d been working all day before the shit hit the fan at the store. Even though there was air conditioning inside, it was an old relic and it had to fight pretty hard every day against the Georgia heat. The fight with the Spawn gang had pumped both of us full of adrenaline too and no doubt made him sweat even more. At least a shower might cool him off some.
“Okay, a shower it is,” he said and sauntered toward the bathroom.
I lay down on the bed and turned on the TV, trying not to think of Luca naked in the other room. I could hear the shower running and I spent some more time trying not to imagine his beautiful little body standing under the spray. Then he opened the door and walked out. I was lying on my back with my hands behind my head, and my gaze immediately dropped to his body. He worked hard every day, so even though he was small by pure-blood standards—or human ones for that matter—he still had a hard little body that was glistening with droplets of water from his shower. He came directly over to the bed and stood there, looking down at me, his towel tenting out toward me.
“Damn you,” I growled at him and pulled him down on top of me, then rolled over on top of him, covering his body with mine. There was only so much I could stand. He didn’t struggle at all. In fact, he put his arms around my neck to hold on tighter. My hands dropped to cup his ass. I didn’t seem to have any defenses when it came to Luca. I took his mouth with mine and he moaned into it.
He was breathing hard, but from excitement, not fright. I think we were both more than a little surprised at the interesting turn of events. I’d already kissed him once before, sure, but after that, I had to walk away from him. So if he’d wanted to make me notice him when he came out in the towel, he more than got his wish.
He ground his cock against me, a delicious drag of friction and heat. He drove his tongue deep in my mouth, sweeping across the inside of it, tasting me, so I brought one hand between us to wrap around his sweet cock, stroking it a little frantically. He wasn’t all that long, but he was thick and well-formed. He filled my hand nicely.
“Please,” he said against my mouth.
“Please what, baby?”
“Fuck me,” he said moaning into my mouth.
I nipped at his neck, breaking the skin and bringing the blood to the surface. I licked at it hungrily and nuzzled my nose into his neck. I pulled him back into a lingering kiss. He had raised his face up to me for it, and I was more than happy to oblige him. I kissed his lips, his eyes, his cheeks and even his nose before moving down to bite his lips and then kiss them again. God, my cock felt swollen and heavy. I reached down to free it from the tight confines of the clothing that covered me. I pushed my cock against his again, desperate for more friction against it. He ground back into me, rasping his jaw against mine and whispered something to me I didn’t hear. My cock responded to the sweet, submissive tone, though, and I felt it twitch hard and strain even harder against him.
Chapter Four
Luca
His hand slid along my ass, palming me. I have to admit I squirmed a little because it felt so good and it started up a little ache in my balls. I struggled for another minute or two before I gave in, sagging down with a little sigh. Dmitri stroked my ass, easing a finger into me and massaging and stretching. All the while he kept murmuring soft words to me, calling me his sweet boy, his pretty baby. The words should have made me feel embarrassed and no doubt would when I had time to think about them later on, but just then I liked them. Nobody had ever given me endearments before, not even my dad. Especially not my dad.
“I-I usually don’t do this,” I said, to warn him to go slow. I’d actually never had anal sex at all, but I didn’t want him to know that. He flipped me over on my stomach and I spread my legs, knowing what was coming. Or I thought I did. I was shivering some—not because I was cold, but in anticipation and because I wanted him so much. I heard the rustle of cloth, the sound of him fumbling with his bag and then the sound of a wrapper tearing. After a few more seconds, Dmitri’s broad finger breached me again, and this time it was slippery with some kind of lube. He must have brought it with him in his luggage. He struck me as the type who was always prepared.
Dmitri was breathing raggedly by this time. His slick fingers danced down my crease and massaged into me again. “Spread yourself for me, baby,” he murmured, and I blushed like hell, but I reached behind myself and grabbed my hips, spreading myself. “Let me in. I’ll go slow. Push out a little. That’s it.”
The pressure began to ease for a moment and then a second finger joined the first. This time the stretch made me groan—I’d never had a finger in my ass before, let alone two, but I didn’t want to tell him that in case he stopped what he was doing. The fingers slipped in and out for a while as the other hand smoothed across my ass and my thighs. He touched something inside that lit me on fire and I pushed back for more.
“There?” His voice was thick with arousal and for the first time I noticed a touch of a foreign accent.
“Oh God, yes. More—harder.”
He obliged me with even more rubbing hard against my prostate. I knew about the prostate, of course, and had even tried to stimulate myself there a few times, but it had never felt like this.
He pulled his hand back and I felt the head of his big, thick cock, bumping against my hole. He nudged it inside, stretching me way more than his fingers had and it hurt. I clamped my mouth shut though, and gradually I felt my muscles finally give way. I did as he said and pushed out and then he was sliding inside me. I’d never felt anything like it. My body was still adjusting around him, but he stroked in a few times and found my prostate again and I arched against him and thought I could come from this without even a touch to my cock.
“You feel so good around me. Such a sweet ass—so beautiful.”
My cock stiffened at the dirty talk. The burn was finally easing away a little more and I felt stuffed and full but not in a bad way. He rocked against me over and over, and I was surprised at how excited it made me. I’m pretty sure there was begging involved, and some cursing and more pleading, as I pushed my ass back against him, asking for more, harder. My head fell back on his shoulder as he pulled me up to him, and I couldn’t seem to get close enough to him. He kept up a steady rhythm, pounding into me now. He reached around me and stroked his hand over my cock and I shivered hard. He squeezed me tighter and I came, the white spurts shooting out of me and painting my chest. It felt like I was dying, it felt so good. I reached around a
nd held onto his hip as I felt him begin to come hard inside me.
Finally, his climax began to fade and he sagged forward, totally wiped out, his body still reacting with little jerks. I could feel the heat of his cum filling my ass and dripping out of me. He was tall enough that his lips were by my ear and I couldn’t resist turning my face to get another kiss. He opened his eyes to stare into mine and we just looked at each other until he gave me a little smile.
“Are you okay?”
“I-I think so.” I was panting a little. “That was pretty intense.”
“Yes, it was,” he said, smiling at me. I think he looked a little smug. I kind of wanted to hit him. Or kiss him again—either way.
“I don’t usually bottom for anybody.”
“But you will for me.” He said it kind of cocky, like there was no question of it, and again I got a little pissed off and turned on at the same damn time.
“And maybe you will for me a little later. After I catch my breath.”
He smiled and traced a finger over my lips. “So not going to happen, baby,” he said.
It flew all over me and I started to get up, but he pulled me back down. “Feisty. It was the first thing I noticed about you, along with all this curly hair and these ridiculous eyelashes. Not to mention these lips.”
“What’s wrong with my lips?”
“They’re pouty. And right here on the top they make a little bow,” he said, tracing a finger over them. “They make me want to bite them and then kiss them afterward.” He illustrated by doing both. After a while, he lay back on his pillow and his eyes started drifting closed. “I’ll see to you again in a few minutes. I need to take a little nap right now. Sex always makes me sleepy.”