by Lila Jean
She laughed. “You’re just jealous.”
“Maybe a little. Will you carry the basket?”
“Sure.” Tina grabbed it and took a few steps back, not entirely sure of how much space he would need.
He tugged his black shirt over his head, the movement ruffling his dark hair. The sleeves caught on his toned biceps, and her eyes drifted to the six-pack above his belt. She waited for the heat to rise again in her face, but it sank to her thighs instead. “Are you putting on a show for me? We only met a few days ago.”
Anthony grinned. “Shifting rips our clothes, and I like this shirt. I’m afraid you’ll get the full view once I shift back for the picnic. There’s an extra pair of pants in the basket, but I’ll only put them on during lunch if you want me to.”
She shook her head, laughing. “You’re so forward.”
“You like it.”
Tina caught his eye, unable to hide her smile as she gestured for him to get on with his shift.
His form shimmered, and he pressed his eyes closed in a sudden grimace. A flicker of concern shot through her at his pain, but it didn’t last long. Fast as lightning, his body morphed. Hair sprouted. A snout grew. A tail swept behind him. One moment, Anthony had stood before her; the next, a massive wolf lowered its head to look her in the eye. Its furry ears perked up, angled toward her as it laid on the ground.
Though she should have been panicked as she eyed its massive claws and razor-sharp teeth, she wasn’t, This is Anthony. He’s safe, Tina told herself, and Damara agreed.
She inched toward him, and his gold eyes watched her every step. He nudged her side, his nose as big as her palm, and she ran her fingers along his silky fur. “Amazing,” she said softly.
He nodded toward his back.
“Wait, I’m riding you?”
A few short huffs of air escaped him, almost like a laugh, and it took a moment for her to realize what she had said.
She smacked him. “Pervert.”
He nodded again to his back. Picnic basket in one hand, she obliged him and hopped on. His soft fur brushed against her skin, the sensation cool and heavenly as she draped her legs on either side of his back. She ran her hands over his powerful shoulders, the rippling muscle hard as rocks beneath his skin. She leaned into him, craving more of him, excited and eager to see where he would take her. He stood, and she wrapped her hands around his neck for balance, her feet dangling several feet off the ground.
Anthony darted past the grassy field and into the forest, his wolf form silent and agile. He dodged trees and jumped logs effortlessly, every step as smooth and gentle as if they were merely walking. Tina watched the world whiz by, a wide smile plastered on her face the entire time.
After a few minutes, he sprinted out of the woods and into an open field. A river tumbled through the meadow, and a lone oak stood sentry by the bank. Her wolf trotted up to the water and laid down, allowing Tina to slide off once more.
As she set the picnic basket down, the edges of his form shimmered. In seconds, Anthony sat naked on the grass with an elbow perched on one knee.
Her eyes drifted instantly downward to his crotch, and she didn’t regret it in the least. He was beautifully endowed. Tina’s cheeks heated, and she forced herself to look at his face.
He merely grinned. “Human modesty is truly adorable.”
She knelt by the tree and busied herself with the picnic basket but didn’t hurry to hand him the pants. “I’ve been told shifters don’t mind being naked, even around other men.”
“As I said, shifting tears our clothes. We spend a good portion of our lives in our animal forms, so we get used to naked human forms pretty quickly.” Anthony stood and closed the gap between them, his tall frame casting a shadow over her as he neared. “We’re not ashamed of our bodies. And, by the way, you shouldn’t be either.”
His eyes flitted to her chest as he closed the final inch between them. His hands caressed her arms, and sparks raced over her skin at his touch. Her eyes drifted to his mouth, and she hoped he wouldn’t let go.
“Are you scared of me?” he asked softly, his warm breath sending a shiver down her spine as he leaned in close and whispered into her ear.
She shook her head. “Should I be?”
“No.” He cradled her head in one hand, lifting her lips to his with one deft motion. When they connected, her entire body warmed. A soothing tingle raced over her skin, and she leaned into him with a newfound hunger. “You never have to fear me.”
His cock hardened, and she gasped in surprise. He nudged her cheek with his nose and possessively nipped her jaw. “Sorry. You bring out the beast in me.”
“Oh, you are so corny,” she said breathlessly.
“You love it.”
“Maybe.”
“Just maybe?” His hands wandered to her waist as he kissed her again, hands roaming over her body and drawing a gasp of pleasure from her. “Well, then maybe I need to work harder.”
17
Draven
Draven stood in front of Tina’s closed bedroom door, one hand in his pockets as he waited for her to answer his knock. Technically it was five minutes before ten in the morning, but he didn’t want to wait a moment longer to have his first official moments with a goddess to himself. In his free hand, he carried a folded red cloak made from soft cotton and lined with white fur. With the day he had in store, she would need it, even in the Indonesian heat.
He grinned, wondering what she would think of his surprise.
The door opened, and her bright red lips curved slightly as she offered him a small smile in welcome. Her addictive floral scent wafted into the corridor, and his inner beast stirred with need.
Most of the time, his dragon called the shots with his romantic conquests. It demanded he deliver whatever it wanted, and it always got its way. Standing this close to her, Draven had to actively resist the impulse to pull her close without a word and steal a deep kiss from her. Such a brash move had worked on women in the past, but Tina was a goddess. She deserved finesse.
Tina eyed him warily, her gaze flickering over his chest and broad shoulders before they returned to his face.
Something shifted as soon as their eyes locked. It was a subtle change, almost imperceptible, but she relaxed ever so slightly. Her scent changed, a subtle hint of arousal swirling in the air as she leaned against the door. Her chin lowered, those beautiful hazel eyes narrowing as she watched him with a veiled expression. It was one with which he was quite familiar.
Desire.
Damara was a powerful being with deeply physical needs, attracted to passion and pleasure. He had no doubt that the goddess could tell what he was and what he could do, both as a dragon and as an experienced sexual partner. Tina would, of course, have emotional needs he would do his best to satisfy, but he could already tell words wouldn’t have as much impact on their connection as physical contact.
He liked it that way.
Draven flashed Tina one of his dazzling smiles, the kind that had made more than one woman fall to her knees back home. “It’s a pleasure to see you, boss.”
She chuckled and opened the door a little bit more. “‘Boss,’ I like that. What did you have in mind for our day together? More training?”
His eyes flitted briefly to the canopy bed in the middle of the room, but he quickly reined in the demands of his dragon to sweep her off her feet and use his tongue to explore the space between her thighs. “I have some ideas, but you’re in charge. I want to make sure you’re comfortable regardless of what we do. Here, I brought you a gift.”
She lifted the thick cloak from his outstretched hand and laughed. “You bought me a coat? In Bali? It’s eighty degrees outside.”
“I know,” he said. “This was surprisingly hard to find.”
She laughed at his dumb joke and shook her head, her smile broadening with each second. Good. He wanted to make sure she was at ease, comfortable around him and willing to let down her guard.
If he want
ed to earn her companionship, he first had to earn her trust. All of this was certainly stressful for her, and she was likely a little anxious about spending time alone with a relative stranger.
It was his responsibility to make her happy, and he would not fail.
“Have you ever seen a dragon before?” he asked, tilting his head.
Her eyes widened, and a mischievous little smirk appeared on her face. “Are you offering?”
“I am if you’re interested.”
She nodded. “But what’s the coat for?”
He smiled and offered her his arm. “I’d like you to see what your temple looks like from above. You’re not scared of heights, are you?”
18
Tina
Barely fifteen minutes later, Tina wiped a trail of sweat from her brow as she stood once more in the field beyond the temple walls wearing the most stunning red cloak she had ever seen. Beautiful, but friggin’ hot. Sweat pooled beneath her eyes, and she wondered if she should tug it off. He had promised not to keep her waiting, but her dress was already clinging to her skin.
“You didn’t ask to leave the temple, Draven,” she said with an annoyed huff.
“Sorry, boss,” he said with a stunning and unapologetic smile. She knew him well enough at this point to figure he had probably either forgotten the rules entirely or willfully broke them every opportunity he had.
She was about to tell him off when Draven tugged off his shirt in one slow, sensuous motion that revealed the hard lines of his abdomen. Without thinking, she took a step toward him, one hand already moving to touch him, to feel the hard muscle of his body.
He pulled the shirt up over his head, the movement drawing her eyes up to his pecs and she sucked in a sharp breath. He was perfect. Absolutely, one hundred percent perfect. What’s more, as he dropped the shirt to the ground, the smirk on his face let her know he knew it.
And the crazy thing was? She didn’t care. In this moment the only thing she wanted was to run her hands over every inch of his half naked body.
Everything about him screamed carnal pleasure, and from the first moment they had come close to each other, both she and the goddess were in agreement. Draven was pure sex. The wild sensation of his hand on hers, the confident way he had offered the cloak to her, the unhurried swagger in his every step: every movement made promises about what those thick fingers of his could do, and she wondered if he could deliver.
“Don’t worry,” he said, nodding to her. “The show is just getting started.”
“Is that so?” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat as his hands went to his pants, drawing her eyes along with them.
As he unzipped his pants, Tina tried not to look. Really, she tried, but in the end she did anyway. And wow, was she glad she had.
“What, humans don’t get naked on the first date?” Draven chuckled, and the sound of his voice brought her gaze back up to his face.
“Well, sometimes, but not usually at the start,” she said, allowing herself one last look at him before trying her best to look at his face. She failed. But only twice.
“You have but to say the word, and the pants will go back on.” He lifted his hand as though he were taking an oath, but that devilish smile of his melted her defenses.
When she didn’t protest, Draven shook out his hands and rolled his shoulders. “Are you ready for me to shift? I don’t want to scare you. Dragons are, well, big.”
“Yeah, I sort of figured.” Her eyes flitted down his body before moving back to his face. “Go ahead.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” Draven smiled and closed his eyes.
As with Anthony, the edges of Draven’s form shimmered like a mirage. His hands balled into fists, and he gritted his teeth with pain as his body warped. Red scales erupted along his skin. Horns grew from his hair. Wings sprouted from his back. His neck elongated, and razor-sharp claws grew from his fingernails. As his body continued to morph, he grew. First twice Tina’s size, then three times, then five. It seemed as though he would never stop.
In a matter of seconds, a fully-grown dragon stood before her, the scales on his body red as blood. He craned his neck and roared into the sky, the vibration shaking Tina to her core. The dragon tilted his massive head until she could see his golden eyes. The fury. The fire. The power. Tina was smitten. She couldn’t move. She could barely breathe. All she could do was stare in admiration and awe.
Slowly, gently, the dragon laid down until his massive head rested on the grass, his glimmering eyes finally on her level. Trails of black smoke escaped his nose, his body rumbling with a barely contained growl.
Just as Tina was beginning to wonder if this was a good idea after all, he winked.
She laughed, and it took a moment to remind herself that this ferocious and awe-inspiring dragon was Draven. All sexual appetite and snarky one-liners, but no bite. At least not with her.
“Can I touch you?” she asked.
He huffed once in answer. Hopefully, that was a yes. With the utmost care, Tina set her fingertips against his neck. His eyes rolled back into his head with pleasure and fluttered closed, and the smoke coiling out of his nose thickened.
I guess he liked that.
Tina ran her hands down his neck, the shining scales hard and cold as diamonds. One of his massive wings curled around her, the webbing supporting her weight as he lifted her into the air. She suppressed a startled yelp as he lifted her onto his neck, and she clung to his body for dear life. “Wait just a—”
With one fluid motion, he soared into the air. Tina’s stomach lurched as he launched into the sky, his powerful wings beating the air and lifting them ever higher with each stroke. In mere moments, the temple below became nothing more than rooftops and pathways through the garden. She clung tighter, not entirely sure she liked this until the first tuft of cloud ambled by.
The nervous jitters began to ebb away, replaced by surging adrenaline. Draven tilted effortlessly on a gust of air, riding the turbulence with grace. Tina barely felt a bump as he traced large figure eights in the sky above her temple.
The biting cold bit her face as they climbed higher, and she was suddenly grateful for his gift. The cloak clung to her body, its fur lining insulating her against the bitter chill. The temple sprawled below, and she saw new paths through the garden for the first time. The street out front that had hosted the kings’ parked limousines now sat empty.
A broad smile crept across her face, so wide that it hurt her cheeks. She let out a whoop, hoping it would egg him to fly higher, as laughter bubbled out of her, wild and uncontrollable.
Tina lost track of how long Draven soared above the temple, and her cheeks were numb with the cold and wind by the time he began to descend. Part of her wanted him to fly forever, but her body had begun to ache from clinging to his neck for so long. She closed her eyes and sucked in the crisp air as adrenaline raced through her.
Instead of returning to the grassy field, he flew over the forest. They passed a few meadows, and Tina recognized the one Anthony had taken her to yesterday. It seemed as though Draven was venturing even further into the forest.
Ahead of them, the river crashed over a cliff. Draven flew over the edge, diving toward the lake below. Tina’s stomach lurched, but instead of a scream, laughter bubbled out of her at the exhilarating rush of the dive.
As the churning surface of the lake neared, Draven pulled up at the last possible second. Water splashed over Tina’s face as he tilted toward a stretch of rocks along the bank. Sunlight glinted off the turquoise water, which shimmered and rippled through the dappled shade of overhanging trees.
Landing in the water with a mighty splash, her dragon meandered toward the bank, tilting his wing so that she could hop off. She obliged him, sucking in the hot and humid air as the adrenaline from their flight began to fade. She laughed, blood still rushing through her veins from the excitement of her time in the air. Her hair was likely a windswept mess, but she couldn’t have cared less. “That was amaz
ing!”
She tugged off the cloak, grateful to be out from under the thick fabric as the hot Indonesian air once more clung to her. Behind her, the thundering roar of the water drowned out most other noises in the forest. She closed her eyes and sucked in the crisp scent of water and earth as the adrenaline slowly faded.
I just rode a dragon. A dragon!
Not for the first time lately, Tina was grateful for the goddess sharing her body. She was on one hell of an adventure.
Out of the corner of her eye, Draven’s form shimmered as he returned to his human form. The water hid the lower half of his body, but Tina grinned playfully as she admired the hard muscles along his torso and abdomen. His biceps flexed a bit, and she wondered if he was showing off.
All charm and sex, he winked and smacked his hand against the surface of the lake, splashing her. The stream hit her shirt, and the warm water trailed down to her pants.
She shook her head, laughing. “Rude.”
“You like it.”
“Maybe.”
“Come join me. We need to work on your defensive techniques and blade work.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to do that on dry land?”
Instead of answering, Draven waded deeper into the water, the lake swallowing his shoulders as he swam through the waterfall’s low-hanging mist.
Tina chuckled and rolled her eyes, obliging him. She stripped off her clothes and bra, deciding to leave her panties on for no other reason than to be a tease. With a coy tilt to her eyebrow, she met his gaze and let the bra dangle from one finger before dropping it onto her pile of clothing.
With only his eyes above the water, Draven watched her like a predator as she stepped into the lake, careful not to slip on the rocks. He waded toward her and took her hand in his as she left the shallows, the water now to her waist. His strong fingers curled around her hips and pulled her close until her breasts pressed against his chest.
Tendrils of need snaked through her core, and a rising tingle of desire hummed between her thighs.