Storm Harem

by Scarlett Grove

  "I'm glad you found it all right." She smiled nervously as she got out of the car. Her pussy hummed with need. They turned to look at her, eyes all boring into her soul. Her nipples pricked with arousal when Yuki flashed a smile, and Ragnar stepped closer.

  Akash was the first to speak. "Yes, your directions were excellent."

  “Good, thank you, Akash. As you can see, this house is right at the edge of a cliff. We are at about two thousand feet above sea level in the ascent up Mount Rainier. If you wanted to fortify your fortress, this would be the place." She laughed. They all made sounds of agreement and followed her inside. She showed them the various features of the interior. Inside the foyer, a staircase swept up to the second floor with a gracefully curving banister of pure oak.

  She showed them into the front sitting room, the banquet hall, the massive kitchen, the library, and the study, which were all on the first floor. In the basement, they visited the indoor pool and bowling alley. On the second floor were more bedrooms, and then on the third floor was an interesting feature. It was almost completely open and something of an observatory, with a domed roof and a built-in high-powered telescope.

  "This is quite interesting," Akash mused.

  Yuki immediately began to tinker with the equipment. "It works."

  "The previous owner was a meteorologist.”

  Akash and Yuki got lost in exploring the observatory equipment. Krista was left standing beside Ragnar on the opposite side of the room. They were hidden behind a bookshelf, and he turned to her, deep hunger in his eyes.

  "You are the most beautiful woman on this planet," he growled in a low voice.

  "I don't think—" She was cut off by his lips pressing aggressively against hers. His tongue slipped into her mouth. They kissed, hungrily, their tongues lashing against each other. Krista threw her arms around his neck as he crushed her to him. She groaned, feeling the desire build. He gripped her backside with both hands and pulled her against his massive erection.

  "What's this?" Akash said in a not completely unpleasant voice. She gasped and turned around, embarrassed at being caught.

  "We were…"

  "It's perfectly all right. I'm sorry I interrupted. He disappeared again, and she turned back to Ragnar, laughing at the circumstance.

  "I will take you out tonight," he said. “I have plans."

  Chapter 6

  Ragnar fiddled with the tie around his neck, frowning and grumbling under his breath. "Is it necessary to wear this strangulation device?"

  "It is a human custom. You do want to show Krista you're taking this seriously, don't you?" Akash asked.

  He growled again, unhappy with Akash’s clothing choice. This was the second time he’d forced Ragnar to wear a three-piece suit and a tie. They were restrictive, uncomfortable, and offered no protection or freedom of movement. "Why do humans wear such garments? They are completely impractical for fighting."

  "You aren’t going to be fighting tonight." Yuki sat on the bed in their hotel room with his legs crossed as he looked at a human mechanical engineering magazine. Ragnar was irritated that both Akash and Yuki were adapting to life on Earth more readily than he was. He'd spent his entire life a warrior in active combat. And that was all he’d ever wanted to do. For almost a thousand years, he'd fought vampires in battle after battle. Very little of his time had ever been spent on leave in the niceties of civilian life. Unlike Akash, who was professor or Yuki who’d escaped experiencing the direct horrors of battle in his work repairing starships, Ragnar was a fighter, a hand-to-hand combat veteran, who'd seen the bloodiest, most violent battles in Dragonia's history.

  He’d nearly stayed on Dragonia to go down with the ship. But Hanish had convinced him to come with the last of the members of the House of Storms. Hanish, his captain, was a warrior himself, tried and true and hardened by years of battle. Ragnar had served with both him and Yuki for many hundreds of years. But without battles to fight, Ragnar was unsure of who he was or what role he played in this new world. How could he woo a woman who had no idea he was even a dragon? He had watched her the night before, slinking in the shadows like a thief while she bathed. This was not Ragnar's way, not in the least.

  He’d almost made himself known as he watched her bring her body to climax. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever beheld, and he hated that he couldn't share it with her. But he’d kept silent at the demands of both Yuki and Akash. The vampires had not appeared during his watch, but he would not let his guard down on their date tonight. He longed to be close to her. The captain and prince of the House of Flames, Kian, insisted they wait until they knew they were a match and were verified by the mating analysis before he took it further than a kiss.

  Ragnar wasn’t willing to wait any longer. He needed to be with her. He needed to feel her, taste her, know her. The kiss they had shared earlier that day had been the most poignant moment of his entire life, even after a thousand years and countless battles—even the moment they’d left their home planet behind and watched their sun implode into a black hole. Kissing Krista was indelibly embedded in his consciousness and would be for the rest of his life. He needed no other proof that she was his mate. But he would not claim her without the leave of his captain and the rest of his crew. He knew the process.

  For a mate to be claimed by more than one dragon, all of them had to be present at once. If he mated with her, he knew his dragon would not resist claiming her, and then he would invalidate the claims of both Yuki and Akash. As appealing as that sounded to his inner dragon, Ragnar was loyal to the House of Storms and would never betray them in that way, no matter how painful it might be to hold back his desires and impulses. He had been through many harrowing trials in his long life, but this would be the hardest.

  He checked his cell phone, which had been connected to the ship’s AI and his internal link, making information flow even faster. He saw that it was almost time to go. The AI gave him GPS directions, and he shoved his human wallet in his pocket. Rather than using gold or digital currency, humans had what were called dollars. And he needed to have those if he wanted to pay for anything on the date.

  "I'm off then," Ragnar said. "Don't wait up."

  "Don't forget what Hanish said," Akash said. "Do not claim her.”

  "I would never take the choice from her, and I would never betray my house."

  "Good man." Akash slapped him on the shoulder.

  "We know we can count on you, Ragnar," Yuki said.

  Ragnar nodded once, appreciating the confidence of his crewmates. He turned and left the hotel room, headed downstairs, bought a bouquet of flowers in the lobby, hopped in the Maserati he’d just purchased for the House of Storms, and drove across the street to Krista’s building. A moment later, he stood at her door with the bouquet in hand, tugging at his tie. He wanted to get rid of it more than anything. But he was determined to show Krista he took her very seriously. He knocked, and she opened the door, dressed in a skin-tight red dress with a plunging neckline that revealed her ample and delicious bosom. He had seen her completely bare, a site that was burned on his brain, but seeing her in this dress, he grew hard immediately and lowered the bouquet to disguise it. His dragon roared inside his mind, and Ragnar used every bit of his warrior training to calm himself.

  "Oh, thank you." She took the bouquet of pink roses and sniffed their sweet fragrance. "These are beautiful. Come on in while I put them in water.”

  Krista sauntered into the living room, her hips swaying alluringly. She bent at the waist and pulled a vase out of a lower cabinet. Her ample behind glowed like a beacon to his eyes. He wanted to run across the room, lift her dress, and thrust into her warm, wet core. But he closed his eyes, pressing them tightly shut as he gritted his teeth and took several deep breaths. He would go mad if he couldn't get his dragon under control.

  Krista stood, cutting the stems and placing them in the vase. She set the vase on her dining room table and gazed lovingly at the blooms for a moment.

  "It's
so sweet of you. I can't remember the last time anyone brought me flowers.”

  "You should get flowers every day. You grow more beautiful when you look at them—if that's possible."

  "Oh, Ragnar, you're so sweet." She giggled as she caressed her fingers down his chest.

  "I'm ready if you are."

  He offered her his elbow, as he had been instructed, and guided her out the door and down the elevator to the Maserati. He opened the door, she slipped inside, and he stowed their overnight bags in the trunk. They made their way to the marina, the high-powered motor of the sports car rumbling under the hood. It made his inner dragon rumble with equal ferocity. At the pier, they got out, and he led her to a pleasure cruise where they would spend the evening enjoying dinner, dancing, and wine.

  He’d booked a private cabin where they could spend the night. Ragnar carried their bags as they boarded the ship and then gave them to the attendant. Waiters offered champagne as they walked down the deck. Sipping their bubbly beverage, Ragnar and Krista leaned against the railing as the ship left the harbor and maneuvered out onto open water. Krista lifted her glass to him and clinked his as the sun slipped toward the horizon. The clear blue sky turned pink and orange as the sun dipped low, appearing to burn as it sank into the water. Krista took a sip of champagne, smiling out at the multicolored sky and ocean.

  "This is so nice," she said in a soft voice. “I don't get out to do this kind of thing nearly enough."

  "This came highly recommended as a first date."

  "Oh, really. Did you do some Internet research or something?

  "Something like that." It had been Azure, their AI, who’d suggested it. After gathering and parsing information from the AI of the House of Flames, she’d concluded this outing was the best possible first date for Ragnar and Krista. Ragnar had been happy to have the AI planning for him, and so far, it was working out well.

  Just then, Ragnar heard the voice of his AI inside his mind through the mental link. “Ragnar. I have the results from the mating test."

  "What is it?"

  "The test was affirmative.

  "She is my mate," he growled.

  "She is your mate. But Krista Wilder is also the mate of Yuki and Akash. If you claim her without their presence, they are both subject to the ravages of the unsatisfied mating impulse.”

  "Did you hear the results?" Akash asked the others through the mental link.

  "I did.”

  "You are going to keep your promise, right?" Yuki asked.

  "Of course."

  They both went silent inside his mind, and he grumbled to himself. It wasn't as if the temptation wasn't there. But he would never think of forsaking his friends, no matter how much they might taunt each other on different occasions. His fidelity to the House of Storms was paramount. His need for Krista and desire to protect her was unbreakable, but his loyalty to his house was equally strong. He could have both Krista and his friends, but that would require waiting—waiting for her to choose them all. He knew it was a long shot, as humans did not typically do such things. But for a man of honor, it was the only choice.

  "Are you okay?" She touched his arm.

  "Yes." He broke from his thoughts. “I was thinking about Yuki and Akash. They like you as much as I do."

  "I know," she whispered. “It's so weird. I have feelings for all of you too."

  "Would you ever want to be with all of us?"

  She laughed then went silent. “I don't know. Maybe. I don't really know any of you very well yet. I would have to get to know you all individually before I made that kind of decision. But I mean, why not? People do it. It's not common, but you never know. It could work out if you all didn't mind and if that's what we decided."

  "That's good to know. I am loyal to my family."

  "It's amazing you guys can imagine sharing a woman. Not many men could.”

  “You will find the Storms are a bit different than the men you are used to."

  Chapter 7

  Ragnar escorted Krista into the dining room. Since the ship was a remodeled ferry, it had an intimate feel to it. The hostess showed them to their table, and Krista and Ragnar took their seats near the window. They gazed out onto water that glowed in the fading twilight. Sitting across from Ragnar in his fitted suit, she couldn't help thinking how out of place this massive man seemed in the luxurious setting. He seemed like he would be more at home on a football field. She could picture him in a gladiator pit with a two-handed sword and a loincloth. A loincloth—that thought lingered in her mind for a moment too long, and she had to pull herself out of her fantasy.

  "The specials today are king crab and scallops in cream sauce."

  "Oh, that sounds delicious," Krista said. “I’ll have potatoes and vegetables as my sides."

  "I’ll have the same."

  "And a bottle of white wine," Krista added.

  "Your best bottle of wine," Ragnar agreed.

  A moment later, the waitress poured their wine. Krista took a sip, gazing across the table at Ragnar. He really was exceedingly handsome in a rugged, almost violent way. She wanted to see him out of that suit in his natural habitat—whatever that might be.

  "So what do you do when you're not looking for houses? You mentioned being a warrior. Does that mean military?"

  He stopped for a moment, his eyes going blank as if he didn't know what to say.

  "My cousins and I are all in security. National defense.”

  "Oh, I had no idea." That explained a lot. Ragnar was a soldier. It all made sense now. "So you are a military man."

  "Yes. For a long time. But not anymore."

  "Is civilian life challenging?" She sipped her wine. She’d heard that soldiers sometimes had a hard time adapting after being in combat.

  He let out a deep sigh and looked at her as if her question gave him a sense of relief.

  "It is more challenging than I can express in words. I know I should be glad not to fight every day. I enjoy my job now. Security gives me the opportunity to protect the people I care about from our enemies. But getting up every day, drinking coffee, putting on slacks—it's a challenge."

  "I can imagine," she said sympathetically. She appreciated that Ragnar was sharing with her, opening up about something so serious. She was beginning to see what was behind that hard façade, and it made her like him even more.

  The waitress brought their meals, and they began to eat. It was all so delicious, and the wine was enchanting. Ragnar told her more about his time at war, in vague terms. She got the sense that he’d been Special Forces, and his missions were classified. He had seen a great deal of action and some disturbing things in his life as a soldier. She had a tremendous amount of respect for the sacrifice he'd made to protect her and her country.

  "This food is good." He cracked into a crab leg. “You wouldn't expect a little monster like this to taste so delicious,"

  "That's an interesting way of putting it, but I have to agree with you."

  "You eat these monsters often?"

  "Not that often. They’re considered delicacies.”

  His way of putting things was charming and endearing. It made her laugh to see that kind of innocence in his hard eyes. He asked her more about her brokerage and how hard she’d worked to establish it. He listened intently to every word, seeming to take in her hopes and fears. He praised her accomplishments, responded to her, and asked questions about her life like he was really hearing her. It was refreshing.

  Even professional men like Deacon could often be dismissive of a woman’s stories about her life. It was a fact that even a successful woman like Krista had to contend with. Ragnar never gave her the sense that she was boring him or that he was only listening because he had to. He truly seemed interested in everything she had to say.

  When the waitress came to take their plates, she asked if they wanted dessert and suggested a crème brûlée. As they spooned the creamy, sweet desserts into their mouths, Krista felt a true connection to Ragnar, something beyo
nd the original physical attraction. Any woman would feel that way about him. He was devastatingly attractive—big and strong and masculine. It was almost impossible not to be attracted to him. But now that she had learned about his service, observed his sense of duty, and witnessed his almost boyish innocence, she felt that she was beginning to understand him at a deeper level. She wanted to learn more about him and see what else he hid behind the shield of the hardened warrior.

  When they were finished with dessert, they strolled into the ballroom. A jazz band played covers of grunge rock songs, creating a very interesting dichotomy that Krista enjoyed. Ragnar took her in his arms, and they made their way out onto the dance floor.

  "I don't know a lot about dancing," he said, but he held her close, and they swayed back and forth to the music as she rested inside his powerful arms. It didn't matter that he didn't know any fancy moves. Being held by him and moving together with their bodies pressed against each other to the rhythm of the music was more than satisfying. She felt that deep rush of need she'd been experiencing so much lately and reached around his neck, looking up into his eyes.

  "I can't get enough of you," he said. “Your eyes are so beautiful in this light.”

  Crystal chandeliers twinkled above them, and sparkling strobe lights flashed from the stage. She smiled, and he leaned in to kiss her, cupping her face with his huge hand. Their kiss deepened, and he pulled away. "I need to take you somewhere private."

  They held hands on their way out of the ballroom. Krista didn’t feel any sense of hesitation. She'd been alone for too long, with sexual release only coming from her toys or her dreams of Ragnar and his cousins. She was tired of holding all her physical needs at bay. She'd been rational and logical all her life. Now it was time to live a little, to give in to the deep need she felt whenever he looked at her.

  Inside the room, Ragnar grabbed her and pulled her to him, cupping her cheek and the small of her back. The force of his kiss nearly bowled her over. His huge cock grew hard against her stomach, and she nearly melted into the floor. She loosened his tie, and he yanked it off of his neck and threw it away.