by Anna Lewis
Amaya set down her own glass of wine, barely touched. “Okay. This is your chance. What are you going to do?”
“Can I…” Raeph’s voice trailed off, but he was looking at her hungrily. Amaya knew what he wanted.
“You can do anything you want, Raeph. I’ll tell you if you need to stop.”
That was all the permission he needed. Amaya didn’t even see him move, she just felt the hot press of his lips on hers. He was more aggressive than Endres, more insistent. She moaned involuntarily against his kiss and he took it as an invitation to press harder into her waiting mouth.
Their tongues slid together, desperate and searching. Amaya hadn’t even known she wanted this, but now desire was her entire world. Raeph loomed over her, thighs bracketing hers as he straddled her chair.
“Raeph,” she sighed, pulling back from the briefest of moments. His lips left her mouth and he explored her neck, kissing along the delicate skin of her throat. His tongue flicked and searched, nibbling and nipping as he reached her collarbone.
His black curls tickled her face, and she plunged her hands into them. Their softness was delectable and Amaya enjoyed the sensation of tugging at his hair while he lapped at her throat. A moan of pleasure escaped Raeph as her hands slid through her his curls, so she pulled again, harder.
He groaned again, an electric hum of pleasure against her soft skin. The force of Raeph’s kiss was so overwhelming that Amaya lost herself in it, only coming to awareness as the tips of his fingers danced up her thighs, daring to explore the edges of her panties.
Amaya wondered wildly how, in all the clothes-tearing excitement over the last day, her silk panties had managed to survive. She thought that it was a shame that the poor garment had literally made it through blood and fire, only to be ripped off now, in a moment of desperation and longing. It was shame, but she also didn’t care. She wanted those panties out of the way. Now.
“Raeph,” she breathed, voice ghosting across his curls. Instructions seemed pointless, he would do as he wanted, so she simply begged, “Please.”
The dragon took his cue, deft fingers pushing passed the flimsy silken boundaries of her undergarment. Amaya shuddered as his fingers found her entrance, wet with desire, and pressed in.
This was nothing like the chaste exchange with Endres earlier that day. That kiss had been full of devotion and shy reverence, this kiss was so much more. Raeph’s kiss threatened to consume her as his fingers claimed her.
There was more pressure against her as Raeph added another finger. She quivered at his touch, full but still wanting. He crooked his fingers inside her, a gentle beckoning that sparked her on to a new level of desire. His kiss assaulted her mouth again, the tempo of his hot tongue matching the pressure between her legs.
He was skilled with those hands, he’d definitely done this before. Amaya’s body tensed at the thought of Endres’ sweet virginal devotion to her, and it seemed cruel to consider his chaste kiss while she was being plundered by his rival.
We should stop, Amaya thought wildly, but Raeph’s fingers were working a steady rhythm now and she could not make her body and mind come to an agreement to ask for a pause. Her mind had a conscience, but her body was hungry, insatiable. Instead of asking for a pause, her mouth begged for more.
Raeph drove her on with his clever fingers, and Amaya’s breath sharpened as she felt herself nearing her climax. “Don’t stop,” she cried, and Raeph obeyed. He pushed faster, harder, and Amaya’s thoughts faded to white as her climax washed over her. Her mind was filled with a silver-white light, while her hands grasped at midnight black curls.
She shuddered against Raeph’s firm body, the aftershocks of her release still shuddering through her. He held her tightly to him as her trembling ceased and she came to into herself. Raeph’s voice murmured softly above her head as he cradled her, whispering words of endearment in a language she did not know.
“Thank you,” she said, finally, when speaking was an option.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her auburn head. “Thank you,” he whispered back. “Thank you for giving me a chance, Amaya.”
The last thing in the world that Amaya wanted in that moment was to pull herself away from the warmth of Raeph’s embrace, but they couldn’t stay like that forever. “We should move,” she warned, tearing herself away from Raeph.
He rewarded her with a disappointed grunt. “Not yet,” he begged. “Stay with me, just a little longer.”
“I can’t,” she said, sitting back and putting proper distance between them. “I don’t want Endres to come home and find us—“
“It’s okay,” Endres’ voice came from behind them. “He’s already home.”
Silhouetted in the doorway stood Endres, his hands clenched at his sides and eyes a deep, dangerous red.
***
Amaya had been expecting fire, another explosion, but there was nothing but coldness as Endres strode toward the kitchen and tossed a small brown shopping bag on the table.
“That’s for you,” he informed her, eyes firmly locked on the floor.
“Endres,” Amaya felt the need to explain, apologize, but he cut her off.
“There are clothes in the bag,” Endres said. “Shower and get dressed, please, then come with me.”
Raeph pushed away from the table, chair skidding against the floor. “You’re not taking her, Endres,” he began.
“I’m not taking her, Raeph,” Endres said, his voice dangerously low. “You made your case, now I need a chance to make mine.”
This seemed to be enough for Raeph, who sat back down at the table, mollified. But his eyes followed Amaya as she obeyed Endres’ instructions and made her way to the restroom to shower and change.
Strangely enough, Endres did not lead her to the roof to exit the factory. Instead, he pulled her to the twisted stairway through which she’d tried to escape earlier that day. It felt like a lifetime. Had it really been less than twenty-four hours?
The stairs were still a mangled ruin, but now a ladder stood in the chasm providing a simple means of exit.
“I thought we might try being civilized,” Endres explained, a small smile flickering across his face, his first since he came home and found Amaya and Raeph. “After you,” he swept his toward the ladder.
When they reached the ground, they set out of foot, pushing their way through the teeming Brooklyn streets. “I thought we might do something… normal,” he explained as he led Amaya to the nearest subway station.
“Dragons take the subway?”
Endres pulled out two Metro cards and swiped them through the turnstile. “Not everything is flight and fight, Amaya,” he said. “Some of us still lead normal lives. Come on.”
He guided her through the station, moving past track after track of crowded commuter trains, until they reached the very end of one empty station. Endres glanced around to assure they were not being watched, then scooped Amaya into his arms and leapt onto the track below.
“Whoa,” she protested. “This isn’t safe. Didn’t you pay attention to, like, every PSA about the subway ever?”
He laughed and carried her deeper into the tunnel. “You know an awful lot about subways for a billionaire’s daughter.”
“Hey,” she huffed. “Not everything is diamonds and decadence. Some of us still lead normal lives.”
Endres paused. “Are you quoting me?”
“Maybe.”
His laughter shook around her. This was a good place to be, warm and safe inside of arms that adored her. Raeph’s affections had been passionate, yes, but could he be as tenderly devoted as Endres?
Down they went through the tunnels, pushing deeper and deeper into the bowels of New York until finally Endres stopped.
“This is it,” he announced, setting Amaya on her own two feet.
The tunnel was pitch black, but it felt different. The air was clear, none of the dank smell that Amaya always associated with the city streets. There was a rustling beside her and then sh
e felt a bundle of cloth being shoved into her arms.
“Hold these for a second,” Endres asked, then the tell-tale pop of shifting. There was a burst of fire that illuminated the red dragon by her side, then a steady light. Another pop and Endres the man was back, holding a flaming torch and gazing at her.
Amaya really didn’t want to bring it up, but there was no escaping the fact that Endres was naked and didn’t seem to notice.
“Um,” she hummed and shoved the bundle of clothes back to him. There was an awkward shuffle of torch and clothing, but Endres managed to get dressed without losing too much dignity. He pulled his final garment—a red sweater—over his head and smiled ruefully at her.
“My family no longer has much in the way of a hoard, Amaya,” he confessed, “but I have this.” Endres took the torch back and swept the light toward the tunnel. The blackness retreated.
An abandoned subway station loomed before them in the flickering torchlight, a relic from the art deco days of the city. This station hadn’t sat dormant for decades, it had been lovingly cared for.
“This is yours?” Amaya asked.
Endres nodded. “When I was young, I loved to explore. My clan forbade it, they claimed that I was too valuable an asset to be wandering around the city unattended.”
He paused and his face grew hard in the flickering flame. “That’s what I always was to them: an asset.”
“But I explored anyway, anytime I could slip away. I discovered this station and it became my sanctuary, a place that was only mine. I’ve kept it a secret for so long, Amaya, but I needed you to see this before you make your decision.”
He looked at her now, eyes shy and adoring again. “I didn’t want you to choose one of us before you had a chance to see what I can offer.”
“Endres, this is beautiful,” she said, running one hand lightly down his arm until she found his own hand waiting for her.
“This isn’t the only thing that I can give you, Amaya,” he breathed softly, tipping his head forward until his forehead rested gently against hers. “Please let me kiss you again?”
“I wish you would.”
This kiss was different than their tentative embrace that morning at the Statue of Liberty, different than Raeph’s passionate plundering back at the loft. This kiss, firm and unwavering, spoke of promises and a future. Amaya wrapped her arms around Endres’ neck, standing on her tiptoes to reach, and pressed deeper into the kiss.
“I can give you so much, Amaya,” Endres whispered, pulling out of the kiss.
“Show me,” she challenged.
Endres pressed her against one cold tile wall of the subway station. He loomed over her, head tipped low to reach her waiting mouth, hands daring to cup her full breasts.
Amaya gasped and Endres immediately pulled back, full of concern. “Is that too much?” he asked, hands moving away from her.
She snatched his tentative hands back and placed them firmly against her breasts again, her heart racing under his touch. “Don’t stop,” she commanded.
Endres needed no further permission. His mouth was back on her, tongue finally daring to explore. Amaya felt her nipples harden as his elegant hands caressed her breasts, and her desire quickened.
She wanted to tell him how good he was, how much she wanted him, but Amaya had no words. She was lost in the moment, the pleasure and electricity of Endres’ touch. His hands ventured lower, sliding down her stomach and coming to a hesitant stop just above the waistband of her jeans.
“Okay,” he said, breathless. “This is the part where I really have no idea what I’m doing.”
Amaya wanted to laugh, wanted to give him instruction, but he was looking at her with such earnest sweetness that she couldn’t tease him about his inexperience.
But she could show him.
Amaya spun Endres around, driving him back against the wall. She kissed him, teeth nipping at his lower lip until he whimpered with his need.
They were pressed flush together and Amaya could feel his desperate desire, hard against her thigh. Her hands fumbled with the button of his trousers. “Is this okay?” she whispered. Something about this place made her feel the need to be quiet, reverential.
Endres gazed down on her, pupils blown wide. He nodded silently.
That was all the encouragement Amaya needed. She deftly unbuttoned his pants and they fell to the floor. The bulge in the crotch of his black boxer briefs was intimidating, but Amaya was undeterred. She ran on manicured nail down the ridge of his outlined cock.
“Amaya,” he moaned. Her name was on loop in his mouth, as if he was incapable of thinking of anything else in this world but her.
His briefs were an easy obstacle, one quick tug and they pulled free. Amaya stilled for a moment, drinking in the view of Endres in his naked glory. She’d seen him nude before, but she’d always looked away in respect.
But now, here in this perfectly private space, Amaya allowed herself to appreciate the graceful beauty of Endres’ cock. It was long and hard, rising from a soft tuft of light hair. She licked her lips and looked up at Endres, who was panting back against the cold station wall, eyes closed and skin aglow.
Her fist closed around his shaft and he shuddered.
“Tell me if you need me to stop,” she said. He nodded, still lost in the glow of her touch.
With that simple nod, all boundaries between them were shattered, and Amaya took the head of his cock between her soft lips.
Endres cried out, sharp and brief, and then stilled as her mouth slid down his rigid shaft.
Normally, Amaya preferred to wait and tease, but not now, not with Endres. She took him down with one deft swallow, sucking him further and further into her throat until the tip of her nose grazed the soft thatch of hair at his base.
“Amaya, that’s… that’s…” he stuttered.
“That’s what?” she teased, sliding her mouth off his tip again with a small pop.
“That’s, really nice,” he finished. “Please don’t stop.”
Amaya did not. She took him down again, faster now, finding a rhythm he liked. Above her, Endres arched back against the wall, crying out each time she swallowed him down.
His cock hardened as his need quickened. She increased her pace now, adding her fist around the slick base of his hardness. He was close now, she could tell. The sounds of his pleasure tangled in his throat, small grunts of desperation.
His hands plunged in to her auburn locks, guiding her skilled mouth toward his peak. Endres cried out and Amaya felt the back of her throat burn as he spilled within her, hot and fast.
She held him in her mouth until his trembling subsided, then eased off his cock.
Endres knees buckled and he slid to the floor, spent. She knelt beside him, arms around her dragon lover, cradling him in his post-orgasmic bliss.
Neither of them were sure how long they stayed like this, curled together and panting on the floor of an abandoned subway station, but it could have been anywhere from minutes to hours.
Finally, Amaya pulled away and stood up, brushing the dust off her knees. Endres looked up at her, appealing. It was torture to have to leave him, but she knew it had to be done.
She reached one hand and pulled him to his feet.
“Come on,” she said. “We need to go home.”
***
The factory was dark when they arrived back and climbed the ladder to the loft. Neither expected Raeph to be at home, but there he was, sitting in the pitch black at the kitchen table.
He looked at them when they came in, but his emerald eyes were not angry. It was a look of sad resignation and Amaya’s heart almost broke.
“So, made up your mind, little goat?” he asked, then knocked back the remnants of a glass of red wine that sat on the table in front of him.
Amaya shook her head, glancing between Raeph and Endres. She had to choose one of them, but the decision seemed so far away.
“I need to go home,” she announced.
Raeph a
nd Endres both shook their heads, so alike in their reactions yet so different in their appearance; one light and noble, the other dark and brooding.
“Not forever,” she clarified, “just long enough to get my things and say goodbye to my father. I’ll be back, I promise.”
Neither man said anything as she climbed back down the ladder and escaped to the street. She half expected a dragon to tail her cab as she travelled back across the bridge to Manhattan, to the Bond Building, but the starless sky was empty for her journey.
If the doorman was surprised to see her, dirty and disheveled, he did not let it show. He simply opened the door and greeted her with a polite “Good evening, Miss Bond.”
Her father, however, did not have the manners of the doorman. His eyes practically bulged out of his face when Amaya walked through the door of the penthouse.
“Amaya,” he croaked, staring at his daughter with blatant shock. “Why are you… how did you–?”
She didn’t answer, simply threw her arms around her father. Despite what Endres and Raeph had told her, she simply refused to believe that her father—the man who had loved her and cared for her for thirty three years—could possibly be the monster who traded her for his fortune. That was not the man she knew.
“I came back to you,” she whispered in his ear before pulling away from the embrace.
“You can’t, Amaya,” he said. “You can’t, they’ll come for you.”
“They won’t, father. We have time.”
He considered this information for a moment. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said.
“There isn’t.”
“There is, Amaya,” he said. Her father looked so sad, she’d never seen this side of him. Amaya had known the brash businessman, full of bravado. She’d known the loving father who had spoiled her for her entire life. But she’d never known him to look like this: a frightened old man.
“I need to speak to you somewhere private,” William Bond declared, the businesslike mask falling back over his features.