by Mina Carter
They tumbled to the soft surface, her back hitting the cool satin and linens, but that sensory detail was lost as Sawyer braced himself over her. A prickle of dragon magic spiked in the air for a moment and he was as naked as the day he’d been born—hot, hard body skin to skin with hers. She whimpered, the sound lost as his lips crashed down over hers in a hard kiss.
Her hands curled around his upper arms as he pried her lips apart and thrust within. Tasting her. Claiming her.
A heat ignited between them hotter than any fire their dragons could breathe. She whimpered as she cleaved to him, wrapping her legs through his strong ones and pressing against him wherever they touched as their kiss went from torrid to supernova in a heartbeat. Her entire body ached, the need clawing at the inside of her veins as she kissed him back, demanding and then yielding in turn.
A deep growl rumbled in the back of his throat as he caught the hair at her nape in his bunched fist, holding her still as he kissed down her throat. He didn’t ask. He took. But she didn’t care. Their bond was almost complete, so what he wanted, she wanted. And right now, she wanted nothing more than to feel him over her, parting her legs and…
“Almost there,” Sawyer rumbled gruffly, looking up from his position between her breasts. “Impatient little bug.”
Holding her eyes, he swept his tongue over her nipple. She hissed, hands in his hair, as fire blazed a trail from her nipple to her clit. Her pussy clenched, the scent of her arousal on the air, and it was his turn to groan, his eyes darkening as his nostrils flared.
Then he shut his eyes, his expression one of near pain. “Slow.”
“You’re talking to yourself,” she realized, struggling to sit up. But he held her steady. Her answer was written into the tight lines of his body, a tiny shiver of muscles locked tight. She reached out to stroke his cheek.
“Sawyer… you don’t need to go slow. You won’t… can’t break me. I’m a white, remember?”
His eyes snapped open and she was ensnared in an ever-widening pool of blue and black. She saw the movement before he made it, the decision stark in his gaze. But still a gasp was ripped from her throat as he yanked her toward him, flipping her over onto her hands and knees in the same movement. There was a brief flare of magic and her panties were gone.
She didn’t have time to think about that as strong fingers snaked around her hip and found their way between her thighs. He stroked her, parting her pussy lips and finding her clit in the same movement. Pleasure washed through her and she bit her lip, pushing back against him in encouragement.
He didn’t need any, parting her legs further with a rough knee as he knelt behind her. His fingers moved in a rapid dance, sliding and stroking, circling and flicking over the tiny bud of her clit. Over and back. Teasing her. Tormenting her. Loving her.
But she still wanted more, pushing her hips back against his in a silent order.
The deep masculine chuckle filled the room, but it was one with a wicked little edge. A second later she found out why as he slid first one, and then a second finger deep inside her.
She swore, something, she wasn’t sure what, as her pussy clenched hard around him. But he wasn’t done yet. Pressing his thumb against her clit, he stroked the little bud as he thrust in and out. Fingers curled back, he pressed against the sweet-spot deep inside her and her eyes crossed.
She moaned and arched her back, moving with him to wring every little bit of sensation out of his touch. With each stroke and press, the tension in her body rose. Higher and higher. Tighter and tighter, until she thought she’d explode with sheer pleasure.
“Sawyer,” she gasped, her hand curled around his wrist. “I need…”
“I know,” he whispered by her ear, bent over her as he pleasured her. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you go…”
Kissing behind her ear, he moved. When he pulled his fingers from her she pouted in disappointment, only to tense in anticipation when they were replaced by the thick, broad head of his cock.
Biting her lip, she held still as he fit himself to her. They’d only been together one night, but that night was seared into her memory forever. Everything he’d done to her, every way he’d taken her, all there in second-by-second high definition replay. But one thing was constant through it all.
Sawyer was gifted in the cock department. Like hugely gifted.
Shivering in need, she held still as he pressed into her. The burn felt good as her pussy stretched around his girth, a prickly, slippery ache that stole her breath and any ability she’d had to frame a coherent sentence. All her attention was focused on that one spot where they joined.
He pushed forward, slowly but insistently, aided by the slipperiness of her arousal. A gasp hissed from the back of her throat as he slipped, sliding inside her a half inch. The hiss became a moan as he reached around to stroke her clit again. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. For him.
“Please…” she begged, trying to push back faster, but he held her still with his free hand in an iron grip she couldn’t break.
“Slowly,” he warned, pulling back, but the next second he was pushing into her again, sliding deeper. Forward and back, he worked himself into her more each time until, finally, he was seated in her to the hilt. She caught her breath. She felt filled, stretched, more than she ever had before. Which was impossible since they’d already…
He pulled back and slid all the way in again in one hard, fast movement and she groaned. It felt so good.
Like the movement had broken a dam, he gave her no break after that. As he drove into her hard and fast, the bed rocked with their movements, the headboard crashing against the wall. She didn’t care. All she cared about was that he kept doing what he was doing. Taking her, claiming her…
Mating her.
The need filled her as her arousal grew, and she arched her back, offering her neck to him. She wanted his bite, needed it. Her entire body ached to feel his fangs slice into the soft flesh of her neck and shoulder, piercing the skin and marking her as his mate.
“Al…most there, little bug,” he gasped and she nodded, moving mindlessly against him as her climax approached. She was nearly there… so close she could almost feel it.
The wave of pleasure rose up out of nowhere, taking her high on the crest to hang there for one, sparkling, perfect moment. Then it crashed down, sending her hurtling into pleasure. She gasped as she came in a hot, wet rush, her pussy clamping down hard around his cock. Sparks of magic and stars exploded behind her eyes as fire rolled through every cell in her body.
Sawyer bellowed, his movements harder and faster and then more erratic as he pressed her into the bed. She felt him start to come, cock jerking and pulsing deep within her. Her eyes snapped open but at the same instant she registered his breath on her shoulder.
His fangs sliced.
She screamed.
His name.
Over and over.
Pleasure became ecstasy, became something she had no name for. It seemed like an eternity before she floated to the surface. Her body was boneless as her soul, which she’d already thought was complete, meshed with his. A deep, male presence wound itself around her mind, welcoming and warm.
She gasped and opened her eyes.
Sawyer?
Aye, little bug, he replied mentally, staying seated deep within her as he moved them both to their sides, lying wrapped around her protectively. You’re mine now, our souls linked forever.
Chapter 3
He had his mate. Finally.
Sawyer woke early on Christmas morning, Cadeyra wrapped up in his arms. She was still asleep, mostly. When he pulled her closer, fitting her delicate little form tighter against his bigger one, she murmured in happiness. And tiredness.
A small smile pulled at his lips ruefully as he realized he was the reason for that tiredness. Their wedding night had been… amazing. He hadn’t been able to get enough of her. And she’d let him indulge the beast within... The male one, that was. Finally, just before
dawn, she’d begged him to let her sleep so they could enjoy Christmas morning.
Together.
The first of many, for the rest of their lives.
He smiled, dropping a kiss on her shoulder over her mating scar, the one he’d given her last night, and slipped from the bed. He didn’t have long. He knew that. Grabbing pyjama pants from the chair nearby, he headed out into the living room of their suite. She would wake before long, her dragon seeking his, but he would just have time to set up this morning’s surprise.
Heading to the door, he cracked it open and looked outside, nodding to the guard on duty there. After that the room was a flurry of motion, staff helping him as breakfast was prepared and the scene set. By the time Cadeyra popped her head out of their bedroom, he was the only one left.
Leaning back on the sofa, he grinned at her and beckoned. Her eyes were wide as she slipped into the room, pulling a thin robe ever her short nightdress. Her eyes widened further at the breakfast laid out on the coffee table in front of him.
“Chocolate?” she whispered, as though she couldn’t believe it.
And there was chocolate of every description, from hot chocolate in delicate silver mugs to chocolate pancakes and chocolate-filled croissants, right the way through to chocolate dragons in silver and gold foil, with bells around their necks. Christmas music played in the background, and in the grate, yule logs crackled, the scent of pine and orange in the air.
She looked around, and he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
“How did you know?” she whispered, leaning against him as he stood to take her in his arms. “I love Christmas… And this is… The Christmasy-est Christmas ever.”
He leaned down to kiss the end of her nose. “I had a little help. Your dragon seems to be very fond of chocolate… And Calan let me in on a few family secrets. He and Saskia would like to see us later. They have some presents for us.”
“Oh! Yes, I have presents for them too! And for you!” she exclaimed, making to pull away from him, but he held her firmly.
“Sit down. Have breakfast… Open presents,” he ordered with a laugh. “In that order.”
“But… Presents,” she argued, slipping out of his grasp to dive under the tree. For a moment Sawyer was sidetracked by the sight of his mate’s heart-shaped ass in the air until she backed up, a small box clutched in her hand.
“There are others,” she said, holding it out to him. “But this one is special.”
She looked so nervous standing there, his heart melted all over again. Taking the box, he sat down, pulling at the delicate ribbon. He was very aware of Cadeyra’s gaze on him as he unwrapped it. Discarding the paper, he was left with a little wooden box, heavily decorated. Curious, he cracked the lid and couldn’t stop the gasp escaping his lips at its contents.
On a bed of midnight velvet sat a large silver star. He’d seen them before, in the portraits that lined the palace walls. It was the star and ribbon that marked a member of the Order of the White, an honor accorded to those the monarch deemed worthy, and often only given to those who had been in service for many, many years.
“For me?” He reached a finger out to stroke the star, which was when he realized it was different. The center stone was not a diamond as usual. He frowned and tilted it upward, recognizing it finally. It wasn’t a diamond, but one of the rarest things on the planet…. A dragon’s tear.
His gaze shot to Cadeyra quizzically, and she nodded. “It’s mine. From when I thought I’d lost you, containing all my love for you.”
Her gift took his breath away. A tear was one of the most personal things one dragon could give another because it revealed all the emotion that created it. If this tear was created out of love for him, she was laying her heart open to him, baring it each and every time he touched the tear.
“Thank you…” His voice was strangled as he leaned forward to kiss her. It began as a mere touch of lips and escalated quickly to their bodies entwined on the sofa. After long minutes he broke the embrace with a ragged sigh. Leaning his forehead against hers, he smiled.
“How about we open the rest of the presents and get some breakfast… Before I carry you back into the bedroom and we don’t emerge for a month?”
She smiled, the pang of disappointment in her eyes good for his ego as she wriggled away and reached for a croissant.
“Sounds like a plan. But… I am so booking that month soon.”
* * *
His wife was awe-inspiring, scarily regal and intelligent, but also the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Sawyer stood in the lower palace courtyard, his head tilted back as he watched Cadeyra walk away from him. It was Christmas morning, and the palace was festooned with seasonal decorations. The staff were happy and jovial, calling out Christmas greetings as the couple had passed. There were functions this morning, court things they should be at, but his wife had pulled him away from the door, excitement in her large golden eyes. “It’s Christmas, Sawyer, let’s fly.”
His dragon had trumpeted in agreement, chomping at the bit to be let loose, to shed their human skin and soar through the sky with their mate at their side. Her soft kiss had sealed the deal, and Sawyer knew he was a goner. There was just no arguing with Cadie when she wanted something.
Which was why he was standing barefoot in the snow in the lower courtyard, still dressed in sleepwear as he watched his wife walk away from him. Her delicate little feet crunched the snow underfoot. The man in him watched in appreciation of her beautiful curves and graceful movements. They really should have gotten dressed properly but Cadie had been too interested in getting down here to fly. She was impatient, impulsive and more excited than he’d ever seen before.
It was adorable.
Cadie took a couple of steps, arms outstretched, and let the magic take her. It started small, a buildup and prickle of magic that washed over his skin, lifting the tiny hairs there. It grew, became pressure that pushed against his ears and that part of him that was undeniably dragon. His nose itched. It always did when someone in the vicinity was about to shift.
A shimmer of magic, gold to match her eyes, wrapped around Cadie’s slender form. There was a pop in the air, like when his ears equalized the few times he’d ever set foot on an airplane, and between one blink and the next she changed. Where before the petite form of a woman stood was now a large, white dragon.
She turned her head, neck snaking around, and he smiled as he looked into familiar golden eyes.
Her face, even as a dragon, was heart-shaped and delicate, those golden eyes dominating it. White scales covered her long, serpentine body, their iridescent sheen containing all the colors of the rainbow. Whites were never truly white… Like the spectrum of light, they contained all colors, which was why only a white could sit on the throne.
She shivered, shook her body from snout to the tip of her tail, and unfurled her wings. They snapped out to the side, massive canopies of delicate membrane that shaded the weak winter sunlight from his view.
Say something, she begged mind to mind, her mental voice rich in his head. He’d seen her as a dragon before, of course, and had spoken to her mind to mind many times. Now that they were bonded, though, he felt the emotion behind her words. She was nervous, fidgeting on massive paws with talons the length of short swords as she waited for him to answer. She was worried he wouldn’t find her attractive, he realized, catching a stray thought. Because she was bigger in this form than most females. Easily equal to his own size as a black.
The fact that she was nervous, that she was worried about being different from other female dragons, struck him deep in the heart. She was the queen, a white dragon, the rarest of the rare… Yet she was worried being different would mean he wouldn’t find her attractive.
“You are…” he stepped forward and reached up to run his hand down the front of her nose, leaning in to place a kiss on her scales, “the most beautiful thing I have ever… ever… seen, human or dragon, and I am blessed that you are mi
ne.”
I am the blessed one, she murmured softly, moving to wrap herself around him until he was encircled by her lithe, armored body. This is the best Christmas ever. I am no longer alone.
“You never will be again,” he promised, stepping back and letting the shift rip through him. His mind expanded, changing, altering… Shifting from human to beast, to the more primitive as his bones popped and cracked, scales pushed up and through his skin to cover his ever-increasing form. Within seconds, where had once stood a man, there was now a huge, black dragon.
His vision altered perspective and he looked down into Cadie’s wide eyes. I like you in this form, she admitted with pleasure as she pressed her draconic form against him. With her wings folded flat, she fit herself under his. But only for a moment…
Nudging under his chin with the top of her head, she pushed away from him, running across snow-covered ground for all the world like an excited ferret… If ferrets came in city bus size.
Come on, she yelled, opening her wings as she ran. Catching the wind, she pumped them to take her up into the air. It’s Christmas. Let’s see if we can catch Santa on his way home.
Really? You still believe in Santa? He laughed as he took off half a second behind her. Catching Santa was a popular game for dragonlets on Christmas morning. Even now as he took to the skies, he could see families already aloft, flying for the sheer joy of it. A pang echoed in his heart as he caught up with his love, already imagining their dragonlets flying between them in the years to come.
Cadie rolled in the air and he saw the smile in her eyes.
I never stopped believing. After all, who but Santa could give me what I asked for years ago? A mate to call my own.
The End
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