DragonMate

by Jory Strong

  But she’d want to know her cousin was safe. She’d want to know she could return to her world to visit family and perhaps sell the jewelry she crafted.

  A frustrated growl escaped, deep and heartfelt as he found himself making the very choice he’d faulted Xanthus for. One he’d sworn he’d never make.

  “I will wait in Jazzlyn’s apartment for her to awaken,” he said. “Tell Aislinn what’s transpired and that as soon as Jazzlyn regains consciousness we’ll visit Carolyn if she’s still at Inner Magick.”

  Hakon’s eyebrows rose. His emerald green eyes glittered with amusement. To the man at his side he said, “Now you better understand why I don’t get emotionally involved with human females. No matter how fragile and innocent they appear, in the end they rule as thoroughly as a female of our kind, though the truth of it is often masked by pleasure.”

  Chapter Ten

  Jazzlyn woke with a gasp. Fear and smoky confusion buffeted her, assaulting her with wild, improbable images that made her sit bolt upright in bed, her heart pounding so hard she had an instant to wonder if she was on the verge of a heart attack.

  “Easy, beloved,” Kir said, the rustle of sheets preceding his sitting and kissing her shoulder.

  It took her a second to notice they were in her apartment, naked in her bed. Her pulse slowed. Had it all been a dream, then?

  Reason said it must be. But how could it be?

  They’d made love on the beach. She knew that was real.

  They’d gone to Hakon’s home. She hadn’t imagined its beauty, the dragons cast in stained glass, the tropical plants and bellowing alligators. The hot tub.

  Her buttocks clenched in remembrance of Kirill sliding between them, taking her in a way she’d never fantasized about being taken.

  She’d passed out from the pleasure of it. And then she’d woken up to a call from Aislinn.

  They’d gone to rescue Carolyn. And then…

  Her heart began thundering again, like a caged thing. She could almost feel the cold steel pressed against her temple. The flames licking over her like a lover’s caress.

  A small internal voice urged her to believe, reminded her of Kirill’s face in the mirror. Man and dragon. Heartmate.

  The rational part of her mind shied away in denial, claimed all the talk and teasing, all the images of dragons she’d encountered lately had lodged themselves into her psyche. There had to be another explanation, like a struggle that ended in her being injured.

  Tentatively she reached up and touched her head, looking for a bump, something to explain the loss of time, the wild improbable truth whispering through her.

  Kirill’s arm slid around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. She looked down at his wrist and shivered, seeing the image of a sharp talon there rather than smooth skin.

  Impossible, she told herself. And yet as her gaze lingered, she saw the twin scratches on her belly and remembered those final moments in the hot tub. The way he’d pressed his chest to her back, as if he wanted to cover every possible inch of her body with his. The way his teeth gripped her shoulder, possessive, dominant, his arms holding her to him as streaks of pleasure burned across her belly, joining those exploding through her as she clamped down on his penis in violent, shuddering orgasm.

  Arousal slid from her channel and onto Kirill’s thighs. “You test my control, beloved,” he whispered, nuzzling her ear, kissing its outer shell. “Every instinct I possess urges me to take you to my home and keep you there, whether you want to go or not, whether you accept what I am or not.”

  Her stomach knotted despite the heat blossoming in her chest. She turned sideways in his arms, wanting to see his face, to watch his expression as she touched trembling fingers to the tattoo above his nipple and forced the question out, “A dragon?”

  She felt foolish saying it. Some small rational part of her mind still clung to the belief that the world was the way she’d always viewed it, despite all the evidence to the contrary, despite the mirror and Aislinn’s acceptance of Kirill appearing as both man and dragon in it, her casual acknowledgement that Sophie’s mate and Kirill’s relative would appear the same way.

  “No mere human could have reduced your cousin’s captor to ash.”

  Jazzlyn shuddered, felt again the phantom fury of flames as they’d engulfed her. Remembered now that she’d looked down to find herself naked. Understood that it wasn’t a sleight of hand that had created a flaming dessert of the mangos when he breathed over them at Drake’s Lair, it was dragon fire.

  There’d been other hints of the truth, things she’d dismissed. The purring. His speaking of dragons as though they actually existed. The way he’d looked in the moonlight, making her think of shimmering silver scales.

  “Where’s Carolyn?” she asked, giving herself some mental breathing room before delving further into the truth of what Kirill was.

  “At her mother’s house. All is well. I spoke with Aislinn a short while ago. Carolyn woke and was told you’d hired men to find and rescue her.”

  “What was she told about Mark?”

  “Only that he wouldn’t trouble her any longer. She was apparently content not to question his fate. She left a message asking you to contact her. She said she’d remain at her mother’s house until she heard from you. Aislinn told her you were unavailable because you were seeing to the payment of the men who rescued her.”

  Uncertainty made Jazzlyn ask, “And what do I owe you?”

  He growled, low and familiar, and very dragonlike. “A question like that begs for a punishment. You’re my mate. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  His hand slid downward, pushing away the sheet to settle possessively on her mound. Her clit pressed against his palm. Her cunt lips parted and his thighs grew wetter as arousal gushed from her slit with the intimate contact.

  Jazzlyn couldn’t stop a moan of pleasure from escaping. How could she be afraid to face and accept the truth when her heart and body and soul all believed she and Kirill belonged together?

  “If you’re really a…a dragon, show me,” she said before her courage deserted her.

  He tumbled them back onto the bed, pinning her wrists to the mattress above her head with one hand while the other continued to cup her mound. “I’ll show you what I can, what remains true even in this second form. To see the rest of it, to see my first form and belong to me in all ways, you must leave your world for mine.”

  Her mouth went dry. For in instant white noise engulfed her as her rational mind took control again. “If I leave with you, will I be able to come home?”

  He growled again. Nipped her earlobe in sharp rebuke. “Your home is with me. But if you wish to come back here, you may as long as I accompany you.”

  She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Show me,” she whispered, “so I’ll know it’s all true.” So I’ll know I’m not going crazy.

  His mate was going to be the death of him, Kirill thought, letting his grip on the magic ease just enough so the spurs descended.

  Jazzlyn’s breath caught. “I wasn’t imagining things then.”

  He let more of the magic go, revealing his penis. Her gaze shifted lower and remained riveted on his rapidly hardening length. Her scent deepened and grew more lush as he became fully engorged, his true size and the ridges circling beneath his cock head completely visible.

  “No wonder it feels so incredible when you’re inside me.”

  His groan was mingled with a painful laugh. “The pleasure comes from being heartmates.”

  Her eyes lifted to his then. “You believe in the mirror and the heartmate stones?”

  “I believe you’re mine. Totally, completely, irrevocable. For all time.”

  He took her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked as his fingers toyed with her clit. He reveled in the way she was soon panting, writhing, struggling to free her hands even as her legs parted in invitation for him to take her.

  “Let me touch you, Kir. Let me feel you insid
e me now that I know the truth.”

  “When we’re in my world. Say you’ll come home with me.”

  Her hips canted, trying to coax his fingers into entering her. “You don’t play fair.”

  “All is fair when it comes to a dragon male claiming the most precious of treasures, a human mate. If I have you now, I won’t be able to stop myself from using the talons and sending you into unconsciousness again.”

  Her eyes widened slightly, as if he’d confirmed something she’d guessed. “Where is your world? How do we get there?”

  “Trust me. Let me surprise you.” Let me take you there and mount you as both dragon and man.

  Her face flushed as though she’d heard the unspoken thought. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll go with you.”

  It took a supreme effort of will to press the magic back in place, to appear as a normal human.

  “The damage is already done,” she said, rubbing her lips against his. “I need to call Caro first.”

  “Of course.”

  He rolled away from her and got to his feet, avoiding her touch because he knew that’s all it would take for him to forget his intentions and join his body to hers. Doing so would delay them further, something he couldn’t tolerate, not when she’d agreed to go with him willingly, not when he ached to see his dragon image tattooed on her skin by magic after she passed through the portal.

  “Hurry,” he said, forcing himself into a shirt and pants as an added protection, though her continued nakedness made his cock scream against its confinement. “And get dressed.”

  Her laugh was full of female mischief and pride. She obeyed him, but not without teasing and tormenting by sliding on sheer panties and bra so slowly that by the time they covered her, he was actively fantasizing about sending his fire to rid her of the scraps of material.

  He gripped his cock through the torturous pants, not bothering to hide his growls from her as she put on skirt and blouse. “It appears you’ve already forgotten last night’s lesson,” he said. “I’ll remind you again. It’s dangerous to tease a male dragon, especially when he is counting the moments until he can position his female underneath him.”

  Jazzlyn shivered and looked away, hearing in his voice his intent to mount her in what he called his first form. She found the thought of it wickedly erotic, especially now, after seeing the ridges on his cock and knowing how much they added to the pleasure of having him inside her.

  She sat on the bed, clamping her thighs together though it was too late. Her panties were already wet from fantasizing about being with Kirill, from watching as he held himself in check with a fist around his jeans-covered cock.

  He joined her on the bed, lying down on his side and curling around her, his fingers like living fire as they traced her spinal column. “Mine,” he said, and she didn’t deny it.

  Her cell phone was on top of the small dresser next to the bed. She picked it up and punched in her aunt’s phone number. Carolyn answered immediately, asking, “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thanks. I mean it.”

  “When you didn’t show up for Nana’s birthday party I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.”

  “You’re probably the only one who did worry about me.”

  “Worry is what I do,” Jazzlyn said, echoes of their last fight whispering through her mind.

  “I’m sorry for what I said that day in the restaurant.” Carolyn’s voice was subdued. “Go ahead and say ‘I told you so.’ I deserve it.”

  A lot of responses flickered through Jazzlyn’s mind. She bit her bottom lip to keep from suggesting counseling again.

  Only Carolyn could alter the course of her life. Change came with making different choices, but also from taking action, from following through. Jazzlyn had a deeper understanding of it now.

  Going to Inner Magick had been a big step for her, hard for her because approaching people she didn’t know well and asking for help was a challenge. But she’d grown as a result of forcing herself out of her comfort zone. She felt stronger, more confident because of it.

  Her gaze slid to Kir and she smiled. It also didn’t hurt that there’d been some positive reinforcement along the way.

  “I’m just glad you’re safe.” Jazzlyn said, standing, ready to put thoughts of Carolyn’s life aside in favor of concentrating on her own.

  “Me too, obviously. Your friend Aislinn told me about the restraining orders and the woman in Nevada who’s missing. I’d like to think I wouldn’t have ended up permanently missing, but self-delusion is beyond me at the moment.”

  Carolyn gave a weak laugh. “Actually, this a wake-up call, not that I needed it. I’d already sort of figured it out for myself.”

  Jazzlyn sat back down abruptly. “Really?”

  She winced at the hopefulness in her voice.

  “Really. That’s why I wanted to meet you for lunch. I intended to tell you about a shrink I met at a party, a woman. We talked some casually, mainly about men. She gave me her card. I met with her once and decided it was something I wanted to keep doing, only I wanted to go into it without a boyfriend. To kind of clear the slate, you know.”

  Jazzlyn could easily guess the sequence of events. “So you told Mark you didn’t want to see him anymore and it set him off?”

  “I actually said I needed some space to figure out some things in my life and wanted to stop going out for a little while. I wasn’t ready to give him up, at least not emotionally. In my head I figured I wouldn’t know if he was different than the other guys until I put some distance between us.

  “Looking back on it, it’s easy to guess one of his past girlfriends said the same thing to him, about needing space, or something like it. At the time Mark seemed okay with it.

  “I didn’t see any harm in spending one last night at his place… Well you know how that story ended.”

  “Happily,” Jazzlyn said, her voice firm.

  For you and for me, she thought, warmth flooding her as Kirill sat up and began placing tender kisses on her neck.

  She remained on the phone for a minute more, mainly to assure herself Carolyn was really, finally, going to be okay.

  Kirill’s hands were on her breasts by the time the call ended, cupping and kneading, sending delicious pleasure and liquid heat to pool in her belly and cunt.

  “Have you changed your mind about leaving?” Jazzlyn teased, covering his hands with hers, loving his touch. Needing it.

  “You tempt me unbearably,” he murmured, hugging her more tightly against him. “Don’t expect to leave our bed for several weeks.”

  She couldn’t stop herself. “Not even for a game of chase.”

  He shuddered and his breathing quickened. She knew what was in his mind. Remembered all too well their conversation at Hakon’s.

  She grew wetter imagining Kirill catching her, spanking her, fucking her. She could hardly believe she was the same person who’d had such difficulty entering Inner Magick.

  “Let’s go,” he said, voice strained, conveying the same desperate hunger for her as she felt for him.

  The long drive to an old, weather-beaten house along the coast helped bank the fires, turning heightened desire into heightened anticipation and curiosity. When they got out of the car, he took her hand, escorting her to the front door.

  There were symbols carved into the frame. Kirill’s fingers danced over them, as if somehow they were a magical combination lock and he was keying in the code.

  The click of the door unlocking seemed to confirm it. But the sound of it sent a wave of sudden nervousness through Jazzlyn, making her wonder if she could really handle this.

  Kirill turned and touched his lips to hers as if to feed her courage and reassurance. She felt his tension and in his eyes she read his fear that she would lose her nerve and not be able to accept all of him.

  “I’m ready,” she said on a shaky breath.

  He led her into a sparsely furnished living room, then down an equally b
are hallway. They stopped in front of another closed door. It had symbols carved in the frame, too, and a small slot set in the wall next to it.

  There was a waiting feel to the house, an expectant hush. Kirill touched the glyphs, his movements sure and quick though Jazzlyn couldn’t tell if they were the same ones he’d used at the front door.

  For no reason at all as far as she could tell, the hairs on the back of her neck rose. But it was her jaw that nearly dropped when Kirill put his hand in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a fortune in gems.

  “And I thought the bulge in your pants was all you,” she teased, the words tumbling out of the person she was coming to think of as the new Jazzlyn.