by Wolf Specter
The other dragon had laughed at my denial, swiping a large claw at my parents and making them cringe away in fear. I’d wanted to protect them, but when I’d moved toward them they’d cowered from me, too. They had been as terrified of the thing I had become as I was, and I’d roared in frustrated rage, a jet of flame shooting out of my jaws and arcing over their heads to engulf my sire.
He’d reared back, spreading his wings and shaking off the heat. “Silly boy,” he’d mocked. “There’s only one way to kill dragon, and it certainly isn’t fire. Now enough of this. I’ve waited twenty years for the day your dragon would stir within you. I tore you from the womb that grew you, and tasked these humans with your care. You have me to thank for your life, and I’m losing patience with your ingratitude.
“You need to learn that humans are disposable. Their only purpose is to serve us. They maintain our territories. They bear our young. Don’t let a misplaced attachment to them weaken you, just because you’ve lived in their form for a few short years.”
He’d lowered his massive head in front of my parents, his eyes flaring with heat as his tone shifted into something irresistibly compelling. “Be still,” he’d ordered them in a swirl of hot breath that carried the words over their trembling bodies, surrounding them in an echoing vibration that I’d instantly recognized as power.
My parents had frozen in place, only their terrified eyes moving between us.
“What did you do to them?” I’d asked fearfully.
“Humans can’t resist us. Never doubt that you are superior to these mortal beings. Your heat, your voice, your breath — these things were given to you to control them. It is your right to use them. Now, end these two and be done with it. I have much to teach you.”
“I won’t. I will never kill a human,” I’d vowed, desperately wanting to deny that I almost had when the change had come upon me.
He’d laughed at me again, but then his voice had hardened. “You’re young, but don’t think I’ll allow you to be weak. You are my legacy. Kill them now, or I will.”
His words had broken my self control, and with a roar I’d let the beast that I’d become take over. Launching myself at him, I discovered that my sire had been right about two things: there was one way to kill a dragon, and the true nature of my dragon was a killer.
But for four hundred years I’d kept my vow: I’d never killed a human.
This time, though, my dragon wouldn’t be denied. My other self had decided that Byrne’s brother was our mate, and the compulsion to claim the human as my own was literally irresistible.
And, God help me, even though I knew what it meant, a part of me didn’t want to resist.
3
~ Wesley ~
I hadn’t slept well.
By the time Ty had got me home the night before, I’d still felt hot and flushed, and it had only gotten worse the farther we got from the bar.
Ty hadn’t wanted to leave me.
“Go,” I’d insisted, the word coming out more like a croak. I’d appreciated my brother’s concern, but I’d needed him gone. I’d needed… well, I hadn’t known what I needed, exactly, only that it wasn’t company.
At least, not my brother’s company.
Ty had protested, of course. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Look at you, Wes! You can hardly stand up.”
He was right, but I’d held it together enough to get him out the door, somehow convincing him that I just needed to sleep it off.
But that hadn’t happened.
I’d gone to bed, but what little sleep I’d managed to get had been broken and feverish. As I’d tossed and turned throughout the long night, waking and sleeping had merged together in a blur of restless discontent and painful arousal.
My body had been wracked with intense heat, making it feel like I was burning up from the inside out, and my dreams had been filled with heat of a different kind. They were made of flames and hot, velvety skin that I could practically feel sliding across my own. It was a touch that scorched me, leaving me shamelessly writhing on the bed, desperately seeking a release that was always just out of my grasp and reaching for a hard body that wasn’t there, no matter how real it felt with my eyes closed.
By the time I heard a knock on my door the next morning, I was exhausted. I couldn’t even muster the energy to get out of bed — but it was Ty, and he let himself in. I managed to grunt in response to the greeting he called out, just loud enough to let him know I was alive, and then I closed my eyes again and let my head fall back on my sweaty pillow with a groan as I listened to him make his way through the apartment.
“Fuck, Wes, what’s wrong with you?” Ty said from my bedroom door. He sounded shocked.
God, just how bad did I look?
I lifted my head a little, cracking open one eye, and then widening both of them when I saw that the hot-eyed soldier from the bar had followed Ty into my apartment. He stood just behind my brother, his eyes locked on mine with the same intensity as the night before.
I struggled to sit up, not sure if it was because I was embarrassed to be sprawled out in front of a stranger or because of the crazy impulse I suddenly had: an overwhelming need to get closer to him.
I didn’t stop to wonder what he was doing in my home. Now that he was here it seemed… inevitable.
Ty noticed me staring over his shoulder and turned to follow my gaze. For a split second he looked almost surprised, as if he’d forgotten that the other soldier was there, then he turned back to me with a quick introduction. “Uh, Wesley, this is Bennett. Dane Bennett, the guy who’s leaving the unit this week. He came by this morning and… asked me to bring him to meet you.” Tyler’s brow crinkled as he said the last bit, and it came out almost hesitantly, as if he’d only just then remembered what had happened as he was saying it.
“You can go now, Byrne,” Dane didn’t take his eyes off me as he addressed my brother, and his deep voice echoed oddly as it swept over me like liquid heat.
To my surprise, Ty pivoted on his heel and started to walk out the door, but then he caught himself just before exiting with a hand on the doorframe.
“What the fuck, Bennett? What’s going on?” His irritation seemed to shake him out of his daze, and his voice started to rise with each word as he turned back to face the taller man. I recognized the obstinate, protective look on his face. Ty was in full big-brother mode. “Wes is obviously sick. I don’t mind making the introduction, but now is clearly not the fucking time.”
Dane looked surprised at Ty’s outburst. It took his attention away from me, and I felt the loss, like a sudden void that needed to be filled again. It didn’t make sense, but whatever this consuming fire was inside me, seeing Dane again left me with no doubt that he was the one I burned for.
I made myself get up, ignoring the fact that I was standing in front of a total stranger — a hot, sexy stranger who did strange things to my body and stranger ones to my mind — wearing nothing but a light sheen of sweat and my new Mack Weldons.
“It’s okay, Ty,” I whispered hoarsely. “You can go.”
“And leave him here?” my brother asked incredulously, jerking his thumb at Dane.
I nodded, licking my lips. Yesssssss.
Ty’s chin jutted out in a way that usually meant he wasn’t going to give in, but for once I was determined to make him. I knew it didn’t make any sense — Dane hadn’t said as much as a single word to me — but being alone with him right now felt as necessary as breathing. I took a shaky breath, ignoring the voice in my head that wanted to ask what the fuck I was doing, and instead just concentrating on how I could do it.
I needed Ty to leave, and then I needed Dane to fuck me.
Before my brother could protest, I made myself walk across the room — past Dane, even though everything in me wanted to stop and throw myself at him as soon as I got close — and take my twin by the arm. “Go. Please, Ty,” I said, leading him bodily toward the front door.
For the first time in my life, instead of letting
the twin-bond that Ty didn’t believe in just exist passively between us, I reached for it. It was instinctive, driven by the burning need raging through me. I needed Ty to feel the intensity of the all-consuming heat inside me, to realize how much I needed this so that he would leave.
It worked.
Tyler’s eyes widened, and he nodded jerkily, sucking in a sharp breath. “Uh, okay, Dub,” he said, giving in. And then, with a little explosion of air: “Bennett’s, um, a good guy but… this is a little fucking weird.”
“Yeah.”
My agreement took the wind out of his sails. Ty looked like he wanted me to argue, but I couldn’t. He was right. It was fucking weird.
“Fuck. Fine. You’re an adult. Just… take care of yourself, okay? I’m going to stop by tomorrow and see how you’re doing.”
“Sure.”
And, then — finally — he left.
I was burning up from the inside out. I could feel Dane behind me, silently fanning the flames just with his presence, and a little quiver went through me as I turned and walked back to him, pulled as if by a magnet.
“What’s happening to me?” I asked, my stomach coiling with both nerves and excitement.
Dane didn’t answer me, and I couldn’t read the look on his face. I could tell he wanted me, but there was something else there, too. It was something that tried to stir up all the insecurities inside me. It would have made me second guess myself if I hadn’t been so consumed with this crazy, overwhelming heat and the overpowering urge to throw myself on the brooding soldier and beg him to fuck me senseless.
I don’t even know this man, I reminded myself, suddenly struck again by how bizarre this situation was. I drew in a shuddering breath and desperately tried to give myself a little perspective, forcing myself to stop before I reached him.
“Come to me, Wesley,” Dane said softly when I hesitated. His deep voice rolled over me, gentle but commanding — and because I wanted to, that’s all it took to wipe out my token resistance.
His eyes were smoldering again, the heat licking at me like flames. As I got closer to him it almost looked like a real phenomenon rather than a trick of the light as I’d thought the night before. His hot gaze traveled down my almost-naked body and I sucked in a breath, feeling it like a physical touch. It had the same effect as when I’d seen him in the bar, instantly making my cock stiffen and tenting my underwear in an unmistakable response.
“Come,” Dane repeated, and for a second I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to move even closer or if he wanted to see me climax on demand. I would have readily done either — filled with an unreasonable need to please him — but then he crooked a finger and beckoned, and I obediently crossed the short distance that remained between us.
“What are you doing to me?” I asked breathlessly, but more because a tiny voice of sanity told me I should, rather than because I really cared.
Whatever he was doing, I wanted more of it.
Twenty-four hours ago I hadn’t even known Dane existed, but now I needed him, with an intensity that would have been frightening if it wasn’t so all-consuming.
“I’m claiming you,” he answered grimly.
His answer sounded kinky and domineering, and despite the obvious lust in his glowing eyes he didn’t look happy as he said it. It should have been off-putting, but when he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me in for a hot kiss, none of that mattered.
I was his.
“I’m going to fuck you now.”
It wasn’t a question, but I moaned my agreement anyway, gripping Dane’s shoulders as the promise made my knees go weak. His hands swept down my body, his touch making me shake with need, and pushed my boxer briefs down to my thighs.
My cock slapped up against my stomach as soon as it was freed, leaving a slick smear of pre-cum just below my navel. Dane’s hand came up to wrap around it, squeezing lightly and then stroking upward with the same unbearable heat that had filled me since he’d first turned those burning eyes on me the night before.
“Oh, God! Please, Dane, fuck me,” I begged shamelessly, pressing myself against him even as I tried to stop myself from spilling all over his hot hand.
I felt a little shudder go through him, and then Dane spun me around, pushing me down so that I had to catch myself with both hands on the bed. I arched my back, presenting my ass in a clear invitation to the man who’d just promised to use it.
I heard the sound of a zipper being lowered and had to bite my lip to keep from begging him to hurry. Another small, familiar sound, and then Dane’s hot fingers, slick with lube, reached for my hole.
“Please!” I panted, thrusting back against his hand when he paused at my entrance.
Dane groaned, his finger finally breaching me, and the sudden invasion made me wince even as I whimpered for more. He gave me another, and then started thrusting them in and out in a maddening rhythm that had me clawing at the bedspread within moments.
“You’re so tight,” he gritted out, even as my body relaxed to let him in. His fingers slid over my prostate, making me tremble and my mouth drop open. Oh God, it was so good. But then he withdrew.
“Are you ready?” he asked, grabbing my hips and spreading me open.
I was beyond ready. If he didn’t fuck me soon I felt like I was going to die. I tried to get the words out, but all I could managed was a breathless moan of supplication. I needed Dane to fill me with the thick cock I could feel pressing against me and then, oh thank you God, sliding inside me. It stretched me open with a stinging pressure that I welcomed eagerly, withdrawing and then advancing, each smooth stroke going deeper, until at last he gave me his full length.
“Wesley, fuck, I’m sorry, but you feel… so good,” he groaned.
The hot pleasure of being fully joined made my eyes roll back in my head. Dane had nothing to apologize for. Didn’t he know I wanted this? Needed him? But I couldn’t speak, my breath forced out in little gasps as he started pounding into me in a driving rhythm that tightened the coil of tension building inside me, forcing me closer and closer to an explosive release with every slap of his body against mine.
I could hear him breathing behind me, hard and fast and with a smooth sibilance that was almost-words, something I felt more than heard. He tightened his grip on my hips, his fingers digging into me like claws, and the room filled with the scent of sex and something even more primal that I had no name for, but knew was him.
My whole world became sound and scent and that hard, hot cock relentlessly plunging into me until everything else was blotted out. There was only Dane, fucking me, filling me, forcing me closer and closer to the edge and then finally, when his hand snaked around to grasp my shaft and stroke it in time with his thrusts, over it.
I came with a hoarse shout, pure ecstasy blazing through me like an inferno.
My ass tightened and pulsed around him, and then Dane slammed into me one last time, groaning something that sounded like my name. When he came, the hot flood of his seed finally — finally — quenched the burning fire he’d lit in me the night before. It went on and on and on, his heat moving through me, deeper and deeper, as I quivered around him and then collapsed onto the bed beneath him.
My body was spent, and the warmth spreading inside me was intoxicating. Now that he’d given me what I needed I slipped away, falling toward a deep sleep that I couldn’t have resisted even if I’d wanted to.
My last memory before sleep took me was a warm kiss pressed into the back of my neck, the touch of his lips lingering on my skin like a promise, even after he pulled away.
4
~ Dane ~
Leaving Wesley was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, and as I drove away it took all of my willpower not to turn around and go back to him.
At first, I’d assumed that just fucking him would be enough to appease my other self, but something about him called to me on a level much deeper than the pure lust that had shot through me the first time I’d seen him. I had the ov
erwhelming desire to tie him to me, to claim him not just for one night, but forever. I wanted Wesley to be mine, and it wasn’t helping that my dragon insisted he already was.
I’d never reacted to anyone this way before.
I’d spent centuries caring for humans, looking out for them, fighting for them, protecting them — both from my species and from their own — and yes, along the way I’d fucked a fair number of them, too. I’d even let myself care for a few, despite the fact that they were so short lived.
But Wesley was different.
Nothing I’d ever felt before had prepared me for the perfection of burying myself in his hot, tight body. Of feeling him surround me, open for me, shudder around me as he came. It had gone beyond the physical, though. On every level, being with him was the closest to bliss I’d come in four hundred years.
I could understand why my dragon insisted that Wesley was our mate. I could still feel him — not just in my mind, the way I felt other dragons when they entered my territory — but also deeper, as if he was a part of me that I’d only just realized had always been missing.
And I’d just given him a death sentence.
My dragon had pushed me from the moment we found him, and even though I’d done my best to resist, I’d still filled Wesley with the heat that guaranteed my seed would find fertile ground. I had no doubt that I’d succeeded in impregnating Wesley. I’d felt it. Which meant that I’d already broken the vow I’d made the day I’d discovered the dragon within me.
I was a killer.
Human bodies weren’t designed to carry our young, even though dragonkind had used them that way for thousands of years. Before Wesley, I’d always thought that the mating stories I’d heard were exaggerated, just another way for dragons who had no care for the humans they doomed with their attentions to justify taking what they wanted. I’d foolishly assumed that if my dragon ever found a mate I would be different, that I’d be able to resist… but I’d been wrong.