The crowd chuckled as he murmured, “Bloody woman.” He took her arm without the dragon-shifter tattoo, the one with the healed burns, and slid the cuff on her upper bicep.
Seeing his name on her arm, covering up her healed burns, seemed fitting. Arabella’s past no longer mattered; only her future with him on Lochguard did.
His dragon growled. Ours.
Yes, ours.
Arabella reached to the table to take out the larger cuff engraved with “Arabella’s” in the old language. He’d barely glanced at it before, but he could see she must have snuck in a request to the silversmith because in addition to her name there were two small dragons playing chase in mid-flight. Just as they’d done right before the first time she’d trusted him with her body.
His heart warmed at the sight. Then Arabella’s voice carried in the hall as she spoke, “Finlay Ian Stewart, despite your cockiness and tendency to tease, I will always love you, even when you refuse to admit I’m right.” The clan laughed and she continued, “You have made me whole and I plan to keep you always. I offer you my mate-claim in front of our clan and some of my old clan. Will you accept?”
Offering his arm, he growled. “Of course, now hurry the hell up. I want your name on my arm.”
The light touch of her fingers as she maneuvered the cuff onto his flesh, combined with the sight of her name on his bicep, sent a jolt straight to his cock. He wanted to claim his mate in all ways.
His dragon huffed. And yet you chastised me. You’re the randy one.
Ignoring his dragon, Finn took Arabella’s hands and kissed the back of each one in turn.
After sharing one glance at his mate, he turned them toward the crowd and hauled her against his side. Everyone clapped and cheered. Even her brother had joined in, albeit half-heartedly.
Finn raised his free hand and the crowd quieted. “Now with the official business out of the way, let’s show the Stonefire dragon-shifters how to celebrate!”
As music blared and the majority of the clan started chatting, he noticed Faye sitting with her brothers and mother off to the side. Even Faye was smiling at something her brothers said.
Then he searched out Bram, Tristan, and their mates. It looked like Meg Boyd had found them and was chatting their ears off.
Convinced his clan could handle themselves for a short while, he leaned close to Arabella’s ear and whispered, “I think we should have our own private claiming ceremony. While the version where I licked every inch of your body and make you come with my tongue will have to wait, I can claim you hard and rough and be back in time for the dancing.” He nibbled her earlobe. “What do you say?”
~~~
Arabella knew the responsible thing would be to deny Finn. Yet her name on his arm wasn’t nearly enough—she wanted to claim his body.
Her dragon snorted. I have been suggesting that all afternoon. Let’s find a quiet place and fuck him.
Arabella glanced toward the secret side entrance and back. “We can sneak off there.”
Finn’s pupils flashed to dragon slits. “Let’s go.”
Rather than sneak away quietly, Finn tugged her down the stairs and out the door. Once he shut and locked it, he pinned her against the old wood. “I’ve always wanted to fuck you against a door.”
Warmth surged through her body and her nipples turned hard. “Then stop talking and do it already.”
He kissed her as a hand snaked down her body and under her skirt. When his fingers brushed her swollen pussy, she cried out.
Finn broke the kiss. “You’re dripping wet already for me, love.”
“Why are you still talking?” He plunged two fingers inside her and she moaned. “Not your damn fingers. I want your cock, Finn. Now.”
Moving his fingers, she could barely concentrate on his words as he replied, “Telling me to do something is the wrong approach.”
He adjusted the angle and she clutched his shoulders for support. She made her voice work to say, “Fuck me, don’t fuck me, whatever it takes to get you inside me. I ache, Finn. I want you.”
Removing his fingers, Finn nibbled her lower lip. “Tell me what I want to hear.”
“If you don’t hurry, someone will find us. Do you really want someone to see me with my skirt tossed up?”
Her mate growled. “I’m the only one allowed to see your body naked.”
“And me, I hope.”
“Bloody woman.” Finn positioned his cock and thrust hard into her pussy.
Arabella dug her nails into his shoulders. “Move, already.”
“You asked for it.” Finn gripped her arse and lifted her off the ground. She had no choice but to wrap her legs around his waist. The second she did, he murmured, “Now, it’s time to claim what’s mine.”
Before she could reply, Finn pulled out and thrust deep. Repeating the process, he increased his pace and Arabella forgot what she wanted to say.
The sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the small alcove. When he moved just a little to the right, Arabella screamed.
Finn took her lips in a possessive kiss, never slowing his movements. She would probably have impressions left by the wood of the door when they were done, but as the pressure continued to build, she didn’t care. She was being claimed by her mate.
He pulled his head back to meet her eyes. While his pupils flashed to slits and back, the human half of Finn was in charge.
Scratching her nails down his shoulder, Finn grunted and adjusted his position. One arm supported her arse as he leveraged her against the door. With his free hand, he snaked it between their bodies to pinch her hard nipple. The mixture of pleasure and pain was nearly enough to send her over the edge, but not quite.
One night apart had been one night too many.
She growled, “More.”
Finn pinched and twisted, and lights danced before Arabella’s eyes. Pleasure shot through her body as Finn continued to pound her hard, her pussy clenching, and releasing his large cock.
Stilling his body, Finn kissed her as he moaned into her mouth. Each spurt of his semen sent her over the edge again.
Several pleasure-hazed minutes later, Finn nuzzled her cheek as he slowly lowered her down to the floor. The second her feet touched the ground, she was grateful for the door supporting her.
She was the first to break the silence. “That was a good start.”
Growling, Finn moved to meet her gaze. “Bloody hell, Ara, that was more than a good start. If I moved away, you’d fall over.”
Smiling slowly, Arabella replied, “Maybe. But you’re cute when you’re angry.”
“I am not ‘cute.’ I’m devilishly handsome.”
“Maybe with age, but right now, you’re cute.”
“I’m this close to finding an abandoned room and convincing you of just how not ‘cute’ I am.”
She brushed her fingers against the back of his neck. “I’m nothing if not open-minded. I can give you five minutes to convince me differently.”
Stepping back, Finn pulled out of her. “Give me fifteen minutes.”
She raised an eyebrow as she smoothed her dress. “Twelve.”
“Deal.” With a grunt, Finn scooped her up and carried her down the hall.
Resting her head against the side of his neck, she couldn’t help but smile. “You do know how much I love you, right?”
“Sometimes I wonder about that. If you loved me, you’d stop fighting me every step of the way.”
“Being complacent is boring. I believe a certain dragonman taught me that.”
Finn looked down at her with amusement in his eyes. “Then that dragonman clearly doesn’t know what he was talking about.”
Arabella laughed. “How about you stop talking about yourself in the third person?”
“Tell this dragonman you love him again, and he just might.”
Shaking her head, she murmured, “I love you, Finn, you bloody irritating dragonman.”
He grinned. “And I love you, Arabella, you bloo
dy irritating dragonwoman.”
As they smiled at one another, Arabella had never been happier in her life. She had a true mate of her heart, her family in the other room, and an inner dragon who was fast becoming one of her best friends.
She may have been hesitant about coming to Lochguard, but Scotland and Finlay Stewart had been just what she needed. There was nothing she couldn’t tackle with him at her side.
*~*~*~*
End Part Four
*~*~*~*
Did you enjoy this story? Then please consider leaving a review. :)
Kai Sutherland, Stonefire’s head Protector, and Jane Hartley’s story is next. (She’s the reporter from Revealing the Dragons) The first part of Reawakening the Dragon will release on July 21, 2015. If you want to wait for the boxed set, it will be out in mid-September! Turn the page to learn how to subscribe to my newsletter and for glimpses of my other works.
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If you like my dragon-shifters, then you might enjoy the first book of my Asylums for Magical Threats series, Blaze of Secrets. Turn the page for an excerpt and an author’s note.
With Gratitude,
Jessie Donovan
Blaze of Secrets
(Asylums for Magical Threats #1)
After discovering she has elemental fire magic as a teenager, Kiarra Melini spends the next fifteen years inside a magical prison. While there, she undergoes a series of experiments that lead to a dangerous secret. If she lives, all magic will be destroyed. If she dies, magic has a chance to survive. Just as she makes her choice, a strange man breaks into cell, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her right out of the prison.
To rescue his brother, Jaxton Ward barters with his boss to rescue one other inmate--a woman he's never met before. His job is to get in, nab her and his brother, and get out. However, once he returns to his safe house, his boss has other ideas. Jaxton is ordered to train the woman and help her become part of the anti-magical prison organization he belongs to.
Working together, Kiarra and Jaxton discover a secret much bigger than their growing attraction to each other. Can they evade the prison retrieval team long enough to help save magic? Or, will they take Kiarra back to prison and end any chance of happiness for them both?
———————————
Blaze of Secrets is now available on all major online retailers.
———————————
Excerpt:
Chapter One
First-born Feiru children are dangerous. At the age of magical maturity they will permanently move into compounds established for both their and the public’s protection. These compounds will be known as the Asylums for Magical Threats (hereafter abbreviated as “AMT”).
—Addendum, Article III of the Feiru Five Laws, July 1953
Present Day
Jaxton Ward kept his gaze focused on the nearing mountain ledge ahead of him. If he looked down at the chasm below his feet, he might feel sick, and since his current mission was quite possibly the most important one of his life, he needed to focus all of his energy on succeeding.
After all, if things went according to plan, Jaxton would finally see his brother again.
He and his team of three men were balanced on a sheet of rock five thousand feet in the air. To a human, it would look like they were flying. However, any Feiru would know they were traveling via elemental wind magic.
Darius, the elemental wind first-born on his team, guided them the final few feet to the mountain ledge. As soon as the sheet of rock touched solid ground, Jaxton and his team moved into position.
The mountain under their feet was actually one of the most secure AMT compounds in the world. Getting in was going to be difficult, but getting out was going to take a bloody miracle, especially since he’d had to barter with his boss for the location of his brother. In exchange, he had promised to rescue not just Garrett, but one other unknown first-born as well.
Taka, the elemental earth first-born of Jaxton’s team, signaled he was ready. He nodded for Taka to begin.
As Taka reached a hand to the north, the direction of elemental earth magic, the solid rock of the mountain moved. With each inch that cleared to form a tunnel, Jaxton’s heart rate kicked up. Jaxton was the reason his brother had been imprisoned inside the mountain for the last five years and he wasn’’t sure if his brother had ever forgiven him.
Even if they survived the insurmountable odds, located Garrett, and broke into his prison cell, his brother might not agree to go with them. Considering the rumors of hellish treatment inside the AMT compounds, his brother’s hatred would be justified.
Once the tunnel was big enough for them to enter, Jaxton pushed aside his doubts. No matter what his brother might think of him, Jaxton would rescue him, even it if took drugging Garrett unconscious to do so.
Taking out his Glock, he flicked off the safety. Jaxton was the only one on the team without elemental magic, but he could take care of himself.
He moved to the entrance of the tunnel, looked over his shoulder at his men, and nodded. After each man nodded, signaling they were ready, he took out his pocket flashlight, switched it on, and jogged down the smooth tunnel that would lead them to the inner corridors of the AMT compound.
If his information was correct, the AMT staff would be attending a site-wide meeting for the next hour. That gave Jaxton and his team a short window of opportunity to get in, nab the two inmates, and get back out again.
He only hoped everything went according to plan.
*~*~*
Kiarra Melini stared at the small homemade shiv in her hand and wondered for the thousandth time if she could go through with it.
She had spent the last few weeks racking her brain, trying to come up with an alternative plan to save the other prisoners of the AMT without having to harm anyone. Yet despite her best efforts, she’d come up empty-handed.
To protect the lives of the other first-borns inside the AMT, Kiarra would kill for the first and last time.
Not that she wanted to do it, given the choice. But after overhearing a conversation between two AMT researchers a few weeks ago, she knew the AMT would never again be safe for any of the first-borns while she remained alive.
The outside world might have chosen to forget about the existence of the first-born prisoners, but that didn’t make them any less important. Kiarra was the only one who cared, and she would go down fighting trying to protect them.
Even if it meant killing herself to do so.
She took a deep breath and gripped the handle of her blade tighter until the plastic of the old hairbrush dug into her skin. Just as she was about to raise her arm to strike, her body shook. Kiarra closed her eyes and breathed in and out until she calmed down enough to stop shaking. Ending her life, noble as her reasons may be, was a lot harder than she’d imagined.
Mostly because she was afraid to die.
But her window of opportunity was closing fast; the AMT-wide meeting would end in less than an hour. After that, she would have to wait a whole other month before she could try again, and who knew how many more first-borns would suffer because of her cowardice.
Maybe, if she recalled the conversation between the two researchers, the one which forebode the future harsh realities of the other AMT prisoners, she’d muster enough nerve to do what needed to be done.
It was worth a shot, so Kiarra closed her eyes and recalled the conversation that had changed the course of her life forever.
Strapped to a cold metal examination table, Kiarra kept her eyes closed and
forced herself to stay preternaturally still. The slightest movement would alert the researchers in the room that she was conscious again. She couldn’t let that happen, not if she wanted to find out the reason why the researchers had increased her examination visits and blood draws over the past two weeks.
Most AMT prisoners wouldn’t think twice about it, since they’d been conditioned not to ask questions, but Kiarra had gone through something similar before. The last time her visits had increased with the same frequency, the AMT researchers had stolen her elemental magic.
Since then, no matter how many times she reached to the south—the direction of elemental fire—she felt nothing. No tingling warmth, no comforting flame. She was no different from a non-first-born, yet she was still a prisoner, unable to see the sky or feel a breeze, and forced to live in constant fear of what the guards or researchers might do to her.
Of how they might punish her.
Dark memories invaded her mind. However, when the female researcher in the room spoke again, it snapped Kiarra back to the present. The woman’s words might tell her more about her future, provided she had one after her treatment.
She listened with every cell in her body and steeled herself not to react.
“Interesting,” the female researcher said. “Out of the ten teenagers, nine of them still can’t use their elemental magic, just like F-839. Dr. Adams was right—her blood was the key to getting the Null Formula to work.”
It took all of Kiarra’s control not to draw in a breath. Her serial number was F-839, and all of the extra blood draws finally made sense—the AMT was using her blood to try and eradicate elemental magic.
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