by Ginna Moran
“How badly do you want her, CO?” the guy asks, tightening his fingers around my throat. “Enough to—”
Rowan roars, his skin rippling.
Power hums through the air, and I stare in shock as Rowan rips through his clothes and transforms into a giant reptilian beast straight from TV. His dark green scales glitter with metallic gold. He unfolds his wings, his massive form bigger than any animal I’ve ever seen.
Then the beast blows fire, setting the dry grass ablaze by my feet.
The inmate releases me and shoves me forward.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Rowan is a dragon. A real fucking dragon.
Flapping his wings, he bends his legs and launches at me. All I can do is brace myself to be devoured.
But instead, the beast rams his head into my stomach, not giving me a choice but to grab onto his big snout. My skin buzzes, my heart beating wildly. Even though the dragon’s body feels cool under my touch, I can still feel warmth radiating between us.
And then we’re flying.
Chapter 8
Dragon Men
FUCK. FUCK. FUCK.
The ground speeds toward me as the dragon—I mean, Rowan—descends toward the far corner of the main structure of the prison. I grind my teeth, keeping my mouth shut no matter how much I want to scream. This is faster than free falling.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I brace for impact. My body jostles for a moment before the world stills. I’m afraid to move or even open my eyes. I cling onto the dragon until a weird sensation crawls over my skin, sending an intense wave of emotions through me. It’s like everything good I’ve ever felt in my life sneaks back to me to push the twisted direction my future heads away. As quickly as the feelings come, they disappear.
I fall back and hit my ass on the ground. Snapping my eyes open, I gawk at Rowan. He stands a few feet away from me and completely naked. My eyes betray me and dart from his handsome face and straight to his cock and back up...and back down again. I continue to stare at the well-hung appendage that swings with his movements as he closes the distance and offers his hand out to me.
I screech and crabwalk backward and not because of the close proximity of his impressive manhood—because damn—but because he just turned into a dragon. A dragon. And I rode on his fucking head. In. The. Air.
Rowan lifts an eyebrow. “There are those doe eyes again. You afraid of a naked man?”
I open and close my mouth, trying to suck air into my lungs. “It’s not your cock.”
“Good, because it won’t hurt you. You’d enjoy it.” His lips curl into a smile with a flash of fire in his eyes. “Promise.”
I crinkle my nose and narrow my eyes. “Not happening, asshole.”
“Yet. A life sentence is a helluva long time.” Rowan closes the space again, this time not offering me his hand and instead sliding his fingers under my arms to haul me from the ground and onto his shoulder. My eyes stare down at his firm, smooth ass, and if I could reach it from my position, I’d smack him so fucking hard. “Now, try to be quiet. We’ve already drawn enough attention as it is.”
“We? We?” my voice rises with my words. “You turned—you turned into a fucking dragon. You blew fire all over the prison yard. And now you’re standing here butt-ass naked. Don’t include me in this attention drawing bullshit.”
Rocking forward, I surprise him by managing to pinch the top of his ass cheek. Rowan shifts me on his shoulder, dangling me farther down. I scramble to clutch his sides, afraid he’ll flip me off of him completely. But he doesn’t let me go.
“For every damn pinch, slap, bite, whatever the hell else you want to do to me will only make me return the favor, Nova. Think carefully if that’s something you want to happen. This is your one warning from now on.” His voice grows husky and deep, longing even. He dares me to test my luck, and I suddenly want to.
“It’ll be worth it,” I snap, swinging my hand out. I smack him hard enough to make my hand sting.
He doesn’t give me a reaction. Not a startled jump. Not dropping me. Nothing. Instead, he ignores me. It pisses me off, and I swat him again harder. This time, he chuckles.
“All right, Nova. Your turn.”
The world jostles as Rowan stomps his way toward a guard-access only door. I regret testing my luck the second he hauls me inside, marches down a long hallway, and enters what looks to be his private quarters. My heartbeat picks up speed, listening to the door click closed.
“What are you doing?” I ask, bracing myself on his hips to arch my back to glance around the messy room. Rowan’s room looks like he just drops clothes where he takes them off, sets dishes wherever he wants, and probably never dusts. His small studio is chaotic, where Kash’s was tidy and bare.
“I warned you that I’d return the favor.” Rowan flips me off his shoulder and sets me on my feet in front of him.
I place my hands on my hips. “You’re fucking joking.”
He twirls his finger, motioning me to turn around. “One pinch and two spankings.”
I widen my eyes, heat blooming up my cheeks. “Fuck that.”
“I could make you strip too. You are filthy from the pit,” he says.
Shit. This guy. What a cocky bastard with a control complex. Just like when I first arrived here, Rowan undresses me with his eyes, probably fantasizing about me being as naked as he is. I know he wants to play games. I heard him arguing with Maddox about it...and now? It makes me want to fuck with him too.
“You can thank Maddox for that.” I know I shouldn’t mention Maddox. It could turn this hellhole even worse, but I can’t help it. “He thinks I’m his.”
He flares his nostrils.
“So does Kash,” I add.
Rowan growls under his breath, his eyes flashing with firelight. Without him having to say a word, I know I might’ve gotten under his skin. A smile curls my lips, and I comb my fingers through my messy hair, pulling it out of my face and off my neck. I twist on the balls of my feet and glance around his room.
“So maybe you should just take me to my cell.” I feel his burning gaze darting over me, and I purposely keep my eyes elsewhere. “After a shower. Because you’re right. I am filthy, and I bet your shower is better than what awaits for me out there.”
Turning away from him, I head toward the bathroom door, his room having the same layout as Kash’s. I pop open the buttons on my jumpsuit and ease it down, slowly showing off my shoulders and back, letting it hang on my hips a bit until I enter the bathroom. Soft footsteps follow behind me, and I smirk to myself, wondering what the hell Rowan would do if I shut the door on him. I’d kind of love to watch him break it down.
I don’t get the chance. A warm chest bumps my back, pushing me into the small room. I automatically turn around to glare at him. Rowan fills the doorway, his muscles bulging as he grips the sides of the frame. His smoldering eyes trail down my body to check out my breasts and then continue lower, burning across the planes of my stomach.
I lick my lips, trying not to react to the blatant desire crossing his face. I won’t let another Dreki CO turn my mind to mush like I had with Maddox. I’ve learned my lesson, and there is no way I’m leaving this bathroom in sexual frustration. Rowan can suffer blue balls.
“Do you plan on watching me the whole time?” I ask, even though I know the answer. “That’s kind of creepy.”
Rowan enters the bathroom and closes the door. “No. I’m joining you.”
Ah hell. “You are so not.”
My body loves the idea as my vagina clenches, and I squeeze my thighs together. This damn situation can only go in two directions, and I’m not even sure which way I should take it. I know which way I want it to go, but I have to guard myself from Rowan. I know he’s playing games, flexing his power, and will want me on my knees. I know this. He only thinks of me as a prisoner he can do as he pleases with. He has already admitted as much as he plans to lay claim on me, especially knowing that Maddox and Kash have tried to do so too.
&
nbsp; The smart thing to do would be to not test my luck. I shouldn’t feed into this crazy-ass situation. I’m nothing to these COs except the supposed murderer of their friend. This could be some sort of plot to torture me as they try to get under my skin and tease my desires. My good senses scream that all they will ever be is the men on the other side of the cage I’m in, only letting me out to play with to their heart’s content before shoving me back in. I’m basically an animal to them. Their prey. They’ll tease me until they’ve had enough and then devour me.
Rowan turns the water on, dragging my attention from my thoughts. He enters the shower first, releasing a soft groan when the steamy water cascades over his muscular body. And this bastard. He reversed the roles on me.
He shakes his head, flinging water in my direction. “If you want to shower, you can join me then. Your choice, doe eyes.”
I inhale a few deep breaths and stare at him as he turns his attention back to the shower stream sending rivulets of water down his body that now awakens seemingly for me. Maybe because I can’t stop gawking at the rod of flesh turning as hard as the rest of him or because I’m also doing so while standing half-naked. Either way, I appreciate what I see. I think he might even be bigger and thicker and a bit more intimidating than what I felt of Maddox, though I can’t be sure comparing him to Kash.
“Letting the warm air out. You better decide in the next ten seconds, because this is your only chance. Once I’m through, I’m taking you back to your cell before the night inspection.” Rowan shifts and looks at me. “Five seconds.”
Shower with hot guy or—what kind of question is this?
Tugging the rest of my jumpsuit down, I kick out of it and enter the shower. Rowan pulls the glass closed behind me, and I squeeze past and step in front of him. I stick my face into the hot water, using the sensation to try to distract me from the fact that there is barely enough room for the two of us, and I can feel the tip of Rowan’s raging hard-on against my lower back.
After an intense silent minute between us, I ease my face from the water, bumping my head into his taut pec. “Can you watch that thing? It’s uncomfortable jabbing me in the back.”
“Where would you like for me to put it?” he asks, his voice lowering. “You’re in my shower. By your choice.”
I spin around and smack his chest, my movements in the small space causing his dick to slide up my pelvis because it has no other place to go. And fuck me. I nearly say as much the second my gaze meets Rowan’s. My skin buzzes, his closeness setting off my lust and desire and something strange yet inviting, begging me to make a move already. Because he wants me too. I know he does. It’s part of his game. He wants me to prod him just enough to give him a reason to take control and have his way. He enjoys his position of power, but under that cocky-bastard grin, those fiery eyes, and his tough-ass presence hides a man who won’t force me into anything I don’t want. I don’t know how I know this, but it’s an overwhelming and undeniable feeling that lights hope inside me that maybe he’ll eventually see the truth. That I don’t belong here.
Rowan draws his big hand up my arm, tracing my skin from my elbow to my shoulder. Pushing my wet tresses away, he slowly turns his gaze from mine and to my body. “Nova,” he says, his words coming out softly. “Tell me to get out.”
Get out? That’s suddenly the last thing I want.
My heart ricochets around my ribcage, pounding so hard that it’s like each beat nudges me closer to Rowan until my body molds flush against his. Slowly gliding my fingers across his muscular shoulder, I link my hand to the back of his neck, using his solid form to brace against as I rise on my tiptoes. His cock slides against my pelvis again until it slips down and between my legs where I have to straddle his boner because his cock has no place else to go in this position. How he resists picking me up by my ass to slip inside me? I wish I knew.
I realize in this moment that Rowan’s far better at these games than I am. I’m not some sneaky, hard-ass criminal. I’m a free-spirited Sky Dancer who likes to challenge myself and smile in the face of danger so I can brag that I survived. It’s turning into the adrenaline rush I crave and less of everything else.
I’m doomed. Really fucking doomed. The only thing I have going for me is that I manage to keep my lips from his, despite how close the rest of our bodies are.
“I don’t want you to get out,” I finally whisper, closing the space to his mouth yet leaving an inch. I don’t care how torturous this feels. He’s going to make the first move. He needs to make the first move. He has enough power over me already. “Unless that’s what you want.”
Rowan hooks his hand around my waist and lifts me off my feet by my ass. My back hits the cool tile wall as I wrap my legs around his hips, anticipating him to enter me. But instead, he crashes his mouth to mine, kissing me so passionately, it’s almost violent like he wants to break me but yet it feels so good. His lips taste amazing, similar to his brother’s yet sweeter like sugar sprinkles through the cinnamon flavor. His hands twist in my hair as he holds me close and slides his tongue between my parted lips. The heat of his skin warms me up hotter than the shower, and I gasp and comb my fingers through his hair, craving more of everything he has to offer. With my mouth battling his for control, our tongues practically wrestling for a better taste and feel, the rest of the world fades from my mind. It’s just Rowan and me and the steam of the shower, the desire sparking between us, and the hot intensity of our passion that could destroy the universe and neither of us would notice.
I’ve never experienced such fervency in my life—like his kiss is my punishment for trying to beat him at his game. Our breaths mingle, our lips and tongues and teeth exploring each other, sucking and nipping and tasting like one of us will die if we don’t give in to the raging desire exploding between us. I scratch my hands down his shoulder, rolling my hips to grind my body to his. Rowan returns the favor by digging his fingers harder into my ass cheeks, holding me tightly to ensure I can slip and slide against him to my body’s content. And damn does it feel good.
“This isn’t enough,” I murmur, stretching his lip between my teeth. “Get a condom.”
“No. I want you to tell me you’re mine,” Rowan mutters through a kiss, breaking away from my mouth. He glides his tongue down my throat to the sensitive crook where my neck meets my shoulder. He sucks in my skin between his teeth, giving me a hickey. “I want to hear it first.”
I hum under my breath, stretching my neck more to the side. “Not happening. I belong to no one.” My breath gasps with the words.
Rowan growls, the sensation vibrating against my skin. Pulling me up higher, he sucks my nipple into his mouth hard enough to make me moan. I arch back, giving him better access to my breasts, lacing my hands to the back of his neck. I comb my fingers through his hair, grinding my body against his chiseled abs, each hard muscle creating friction between my legs.
“You belong to me, Nova,” he says, slipping his hand from my ass cheek to in between my legs. He teases me with his finger, not getting carried away. He wants me to break first, but I refuse to. “Now tell me.”
I shake my head, sending my wet hair splaying over my shoulders. “Make me. The only way I’ll ever say it is if you make me.”
Rowan slides me down his body until my feet touch the tiles. He doesn’t stop though, getting on his knees only to stretch my leg over his shoulder. I moan so fucking loud as he pulls my body to his face and kisses my clit with another rumble from his throat. I cling onto his head, pulling the wet strands of his hair between my fingers. He flicks his tongue with expertise, sending tingles exploding from my groin and to the rest of me. My leg trembles, my body turning to jelly under his attention. If the wall wasn’t propping me up, I might fall.
“Rowan,” I murmur, the sound of his name escaping my lips a second before I realize what I’ve said.
He slides his hand between my legs from behind, sinking a finger between my heated flesh to send my body into a state of ecstasy unlike an
ything I ever expected to feel with this beast of a man. Where he breathes fire, he also ignites a different kind of flame within me, setting me ablaze to my very soul, awakening a rawer, darker, more feral part of me.
“You’re mine,” Rowan says as he works over my body. He curls his tongue around my clit and sucks it with enough pressure to make me weak in the knees. “Tell me.”
“I—” I snap my mouth shut, my brain refusing to give in to his demand. If he thinks by turning me on and stroking my desires that I’ll bow before him, he obviously knows nothing. It makes me want to resist more. Get him to do more. “I will consider it after you make me orgasm.” I moan again, loving how his frustration turns into determination. I will enjoy every last moment of this while I can. I thought I was losing these power games, but he’s the one on his knees for me. He will be the one to beg.
He growls again, the vibration nearly buckling my knees. The only reason I remain upright is because Rowan’s hulking frame prevents me from doing anything else. He continues on his mission to make me declare his claim on me, rolling his tongue while sucking my clit just right until my body explodes with my intense orgasm, my muscles tightening and pulsing in a wave of indescribable feelings that make me moan so incredibly loud the whole prison might hear our passion. I scratch my nails into his shoulders hard enough to leave eight red lines on his skin. He eases away from me and kisses his way back up my stomach like he can’t get enough of my taste, like he wants to experience every inch of me.
“Nova...” He eases away from me to look into my eyes. “You’re beautiful.”
I suck my bottom lip between my teeth and inhale a few slow breaths, trying to get my brain to function despite my body wanting to just enjoy the lingering pleasure rolling through me.
“I’m more than that,” I finally manage to say. Because complimenting my appearance doesn’t change anything. “I want you to get that straight right now.”