Dragon Splendor (Immortal Dragons Book 3)

by Ophelia Bell

  Looking down into his strange, green-shot eyes sent an odd spark of recognition through her, but it was obliterated by the feel of the head of his cock breaching her opening and slowly pushing up into her.

  Her eyelids fluttered closed at the intensity of the pleasure that coursed through her when his thick cock stretched and filled her. Their mouths melded again and Nicholas cupped both hands around her ass, driving her down onto him. Nothing else in the universe mattered but the water-muffled grunts and cries they made as they fucked. The water protected them from all their cares, providing a barrier between their bodies and the loss they shared.

  This was for him, she kept telling herself. It was meant to help him, that was all. But in the middle of it, she knew it was as much for her. It wasn’t because she was on the verge of completely depleting her own power by waiting for Calder, but because she needed an escape from her despair, even if it was only temporary.

  If it were temporary, she may as well make it good.

  She clutched tighter at him, digging her nails into his shoulders and moving her feet to find better leverage on the smooth stone floor of the pool. She lifted herself off his cock and slammed down, riding him like her life depended on it. Nicholas stopped controlling her movements and let his hands roam again, exploring her body while she fucked him, letting his eyes wander her curves. His hips kept rocking up, meeting her every thrust with perfect, stretching friction.

  The water heated around them, its magic-leaching power at its limit as they hit their peak together. Aurum’s core filled to the brim and with one more solid, hard thrust, Nicholas threw his head back, his hand at her neck, holding tight while huge bubbles of air erupted from his mouth, his cry of ecstasy audible through the water between them. Her body shuddered with her orgasm, then a fresh tremor coursed through her when his energy flowed into her, along with hot jets of his semen.

  When the flood of his fertile power subsided, she sank against his chest. Her lungs ached from lack of air, but the fresh infusion of magic made it easy not to care.

  Nicholas did care, it seemed, and he rose up with her still in his arms, using his strong legs to propel them both to the surface again. He held onto her the whole way, even as he swam to the shore of the pool and strode up the slope to the grassy area that surrounded it. She remained in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder and his cock still hard and buried deep inside her.

  He fell to his knees and lowered her to the soft grass, slipping out of her and sitting back on his heels to stare down at her. She was relieved to note that his despair had dissipated a bit. Still, his expression was serious and tinged with hunger.

  He pushed her legs apart and slid his hands up her thighs, exploring slowly, caressing her wet skin up and down. They traveled up the fronts of her thighs, over her hips, where his fingers spanned her pelvis and gripped her, his palms nearly wide enough to encompass her entirely. He brushed his thumbs over the golden fringe that adorned her mound, parting the swollen flesh he’d so recently been buried inside.

  His gaze heated at the sight of her and he swallowed. “I’ve had many females, but the master and the doctor never let me look before I serviced them. Is it all right if I just look at you?”

  Aurum stared back at him, astonished by his bare, open honesty and shocked at the reminder of where he’d lived his life so recently. What kinds of tortures had he endured at the hands of their enemy? Her heart went out to him and she nodded.

  “I am here for you, Nicholas. If what you need is to look, then look.”

  His gaze rose to meet hers while his thumbs slid lower, parting her more. “What if what I need is to stay buried inside you until I drown in your light? Because I wasn’t wrong before … now that I have your legs spread wide, I’m blinded.”

  He did look dazzled, and Aurum could only moan and arch her back as one of his thumbs found her clit and began to draw slow, tight circles around it.

  “Yes,” she murmured. “Whatever you need from me is yours.” Her body thrummed with fresh desire to have him fill her up again and she forced herself to hold her urge in check. She hadn’t been faced with such an adventurous partner in a long time, but in her old life, she would have been the instigator, taking the lead while her chosen partner followed.

  Instead, she lay as still as she could and let him explore her body. His focus remained locked to her aching core, his fingers sliding back and forth in the wetness that coated her. When he licked his lips and bent down, she shivered with anticipation, lifting her hips to meet his mouth.

  Nicholas inhaled deeply, his lips brushing over her mound before he darted his tongue out and traced a broad trail up through the center of her folds. He raised his head and froze, a startled expression on his face. His fingers dug into her hips.

  “Um, this may sound completely ignorant, but I didn’t just break the worst law in the world by fucking you, did I?”

  Aurum rose up on her elbows and frowned at him. “There’s no law against fucking me as long as I’m willing … Why?”

  “Because I came inside you, and Calder may have been wrong, but he was pretty clear on the point that I should never fuck a female I wasn’t mated to. I just … I needed you so much.”

  Aurum lay back and laughed, then forced herself to stop. She shouldn’t be so amused by his lack of experience. He’d had no other options.

  His cheeks flushed and he winced. “I mean, I know they made me fuck a lot of females inside, and I was never mated to them, but that was different. I didn’t have a choice, and neither did they, and I always swore—to myself and to Calder—that when I got out I’d never do it again. Why are you laughing at me?”

  “Dragons have different laws about sex, zhrihiva coro. If I were an ursa female you should probably be worried, true. But I’m not.” She rose up on her elbows and gave him a warm smile that seemed to make all the tension in his body disappear. “And the only rule we have in here, when it’s just you and me, is that you do whatever makes you happiest. If that means fucking me for the next two weeks nonstop, I promise you I can keep up.”

  The words were out before she could think. Fucking him once had been a bad idea, but for their entire stay?

  His gaze darkened and fell between her thighs again. “Good,” he said. “Because I fucking love the way I taste on you.”

  He bent again and buried his face against her wet flesh, his tongue sinking into her, lapping at their shared juices. He devoured her with such abandon she lost track of where the pleasure broke before beginning again.

  After giving her several delicious orgasms, he hovered over her, his scruff-covered chin wet from her. She kissed him, in love with the combined flavors of them both sliding off his tongue into her mouth as his cock sank into her again. Sweet Mother, it had been several lifetimes since she’d been fucked like this, except in her dreams. Easing all his pain was the least she could do for the favor he had offered her.

  Before she entered the Haven, she would have to make sure he was safely paired with someone who would care as much as she and Calder did.

  He pumped into her slowly this time, less frantic than he’d been in the water. He seemed to want to savor the experience, and Aurum let herself lie back and enjoy the way he expertly fucked her, pivoting his hips in just the right way to drive her wild with pleasure.

  He pushed her legs up until her knees were spread wide almost at her ears, and she wrapped her hands around the backs of her thighs, holding herself open for him while he leaned back and plunged into her deeper. Grasping her hips, he pulled her onto his cock over and over, each thrust hitting that deep, magical spot that was bound to make her come again swiftly if he didn’t slow down.

  But Nicholas seemed intent on her pleasure as much as his own, and soon she understood why. When her body quivered with the beginnings of another orgasm, he slowed and stared down between them, his thumb rubbing circles over her engorged clit.

  “Oh, Sweet Mother. Nick, that is so good. You’re going to make me come aga
in.”

  He let out a low growl, his eyes blazing with desire. “That’s right, Goldilocks. Let me see the sun.”

  He sped up his strokes, aiming his cock just right as his thumb worked her clit harder. Aurum shattered, crying out and clutching at her head while the orgasm flooded through her. She watched him watch her, mesmerized by the light in his eyes, and a laugh broke out of her when she saw he hadn’t lied. Because where they were connected, the glowing golden light of her power surged into him, her orgasm sending a luminescent flood of energy from her pussy straight into his cock.

  He let out a low chuckle in response and grinned at her, still pumping as the last of his own orgasm faded. “See? I wasn’t wrong. Sunshine.”

  He collapsed beside her, laughing uncontrollably now, and she giggled in his arms. The joy they shared made the previous despair all but disappear, and Aurum stared up into Nicholas’s eyes, overwhelmed by the most uncontrollable urge to mark this man and make him hers for good.

  She swallowed harshly, ending the laughter, and darted her gaze away. That was not a good urge to have under the circumstances. He wasn’t the one who was fated to be hers. There was nothing wrong with helping him until he could return to his home, but that’s where it would end—with her off to find Calder. Hopefully the dark-haired ursa male who visited her in her sleep along with the satyr would arrive soon after.

  Warm fingertips brushed her cheek and she glanced up at him again.

  “I hope you were wrong,” he said.

  “About what?”

  “About time passing faster here. Because I don’t think I can get enough of you in just two weeks, and I’ll be honest … I kind of like the thought of having had you first.”

  She raised an eyebrow. A darker flash of energy tinged his aura amid the golden glow of his happiness. Anger … at Calder for leaving, which bordered on vindictiveness, but for now was merely healthy competition, and perhaps even indignance on her behalf.

  Aurum’s belly somersaulted and she cringed inwardly at the inappropriate elation. Nicholas deserved to feel this way, but she shouldn’t enjoy it. She’d had hundreds of lovers in the past, so Calder would be far from her first, but for some reason it thrilled her that Nicholas had this one thing to hold over the satyr. If he were allowed nothing else out of this, he would have that.

  “We will just have to make it last, then,” she said. “Just promise me you won’t actually try to make him jealous when you tell him about us?”

  He gave her a sad smile and brushed a lock of damp hair from her cheek. “It won’t be me who has to tell him, Goldilocks. It’ll be you.”

  Chapter 12

  Nicholas

  Nicholas hated himself for bursting their perfect little bubble of banter. Seeing Aurum light up over his happiness fed back into his joy. And he had to go and ruin it by pointing out that he wouldn’t be there when she found Calder finally. He didn’t quite understand why she should care, but when her sadness filtered into him, he remembered what she was.

  “Shit, I’m sorry,” he said, pulling out and lying down on the grass beside her. He touched her wet cheek, aching at the sight of the tiny, glistening tear that had escaped the corner of her eye. Aching more because he was keenly aware of feeling like crying again himself, but had managed to keep it bottled up this time.

  “Never apologize for feeling what you feel, Nicholas. It isn’t your fault I happen to be a perfect mirror to your emotions right now. As long as it’s just the two of us, that’s how it will be, but it’ll help me gauge what will best help you overcome the sadness.”

  He turned onto his back and covered his face with one arm. “Fuck, I wish I didn’t feel this way. I wish even more that you didn’t have to be the one stuck in here helping me. It isn’t fair to you.”

  Her warm hand came to rest on his chest, fingers pleasantly stroking the dusting of hair across his sternum. It felt good, and he sighed, dropping his arm to look at her again.

  “Your entire life wasn’t fair, zhrihiva coro,” she said. “Is it true that your mother never had a chance to name you before you were taken from her?”

  Nicholas tucked his hands beneath his head and nodded, studying her face while she looked down at him, her fingers still petting him. “I was only a few hours old, but I remember that day. She was weak from giving birth to me, and the tribe who’d sheltered her were all chanting to protect us both, calling on Gaia and the Winds and all the elements to help. The hunters were too strong for them, though. The entire tribe was slaughtered—every last one. The smell of their blood is one of my earliest memories. After that, it was only Sayid and his Elites and the four walls of the dank little cell they stuck me in. At least until they moved me next door to Calder.”

  Her gentle stroking paused for a second, and he saw a brief flash of light behind her golden irises. Simply saying Calder’s name made her happier, but it did the exact opposite to him.

  “Tell me what that was like,” she said, resuming her mesmerizing caresses through the hair on his chest.

  “You really don’t want to hear about him, I promise you,” he said, putting his hand over hers to still her movements.

  She let out a soft breath and nodded. “All right, we can leave him off the table for now. What about your name? Where’d you get Nicholas?”

  “Sayid was the one who named me … Calder believes I’m his namesake. I guess ‘Nicholas’ is pretty damn close to ‘Nikhil,’ if you think about it.” Again, that flash of light in response to Calder’s name.

  Thankfully, she didn’t push to hear more about him this time. “Were they at least kind to you? You didn’t seem damaged by your captivity in any obvious way. Isolation itself can be punishment enough, though.”

  “As far as jailers go, I guess I can’t complain,” he retorted, giving her an incredulous look. “Are you fucking joking? No, I wasn’t overtly abused, but only because I was their prize stud once I came of age. Maybe it’s tough for a dragon to grasp, but except for … one person … I didn’t get to choose how or when or who I fucked. If anyone but Nikhil or the Elites were taking me from my cell, it meant I was on task to perform. They didn’t even let me see the female’s face, or touch her in any way aside from sticking my cock where it counted. Fuck.”

  He threw his arm over his face again and groaned, not because of the unpleasant memories, but because of the recent experience he’d had of sticking his cock where it counted, which he very much wanted to do again.

  Sensing her movement, he opened his eyes, disappointed to see her standing and clothed in a fresh golden gown once again, though this one was sheerer and shorter than the original. He could see the shadows of both her nipples through the fabric, and it draped over her hips just far enough to cover her ass, leaving her long, tanned legs visible.

  With another of her magical breaths, he found his own waist wrapped in a soft, silky sarong. She reached her hand down to him.

  “Come,” she said. “While dragons can certainly live on sex, it isn’t all that sustains us, as I’m sure is the case for you. I have plans to keep us sated in other ways.”

  Nicholas’s mood brightened. “Yeah? What did you have in mind? More of that stuff you fed me last night?” He took her hand and rose, surprised by the unexpectedly easy strength with which she helped him up. She was a head shorter than he was, but definitely a strong, sturdy female despite her soft, round, and delicate appearance.

  “More of that, perhaps. We can always repeat the things you liked most. Cooking is one of my favorite activities, so if you’re willing, I’d prefer not to repeat a single dish as long as I have you as my captive audience. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

  So far, the thing he’d liked most hadn’t been her food. His body still tingled from the flood of warm energy he’d absorbed when they made love. He had to admit that he’d experienced a similar aftereffect from the supper she’d cooked him the night before, but the power from their lovemaking was infinitely better. It left him feeling buoyant wit
h happiness, particularly at the prospect of the surprises she offered, which he hoped would include more of the same.

  At the moment, though, his stomach was as interested in her offer as his cock, and so he followed her eagerly, hypersensitive to the warm squeeze of her hand in his and the soft sway of her hips as she led him up the steep steps to her house again.

  “Sit,” she ordered when they reached her kitchen, and he obediently took his spot on top of her table again, but refused to release her hand. He tugged her to him, hungry for one more touch—one more kiss before he relinquished her to her mission. She laughed softly as she slid between his legs and he wrapped his arms around her.

  “What is it, zhrihiva coro? Don’t tell me you aren’t hungry. I heard your stomach growling all the way up here.”

  Nicholas nuzzled her shoulder, inhaling her sweet scent, tasting her bare skin. He sank his teeth lightly into her neck, pleased by the little moan that escaped her throat and the way she tilted her head and pressed against him. “Starving,” he murmured, nibbling and licking at her skin.

  Her hands stroked his chest and slid up and around his neck. She sighed and turned her head, lips brushing across his cheek.

  He captured her mouth, sinking his tongue deep and tasting her the way he wished he could have done the night before. This time, she didn’t run; she moaned and pressed tighter against him, her curves soft beneath his roaming hands, her breasts heavy when he cupped them, her nipples hard as little pebbles when he brushed his thumbs across their tips. She was so feminine and luscious. He never wanted to stop touching her.

  Aurum’s fingers slid up into his hair just as he went to dip his head to find her breast with his mouth. She tangled into his hair, tugging his head back almost painfully. He gazed into her golden eyes longingly.