by Milly Taiden
Jae slapped Ker on the arm. “Thanks for the backup there, man. But I want us both to be happy. Besides, Tor would do more than kick our asses if he found out we pulled a fast one on fate.”
“You could say that again. Last time I pissed him off, I had dirty diaper duty for a week. And you wouldn’t believe that what went in the mouth, would come out like that.” Ker shuddered.
Jae laughed and slapped the seared steaks onto the metal sheet and closed the lid. “Let’s get back inside to see what the girls have been concocting to go with this.” He followed Ker inside where the kitchen smelled heavenly.
Looking at his beautiful lady, he decided he didn’t care what fate had in store for him, mate-wise. He wanted Avery and he would take her. Damn the mark and its match. He’d ignore it or maybe have it removed if possible. If only that were a choice. Then there would be no one to tell him who he had to mate.
EIGHTEEN
After lunch was finished and the kitchen cleaned, Jae noticed Hannah staring out the window. He smelled sadness and worry from her.
“Hey, Hannah,” he said, “thanks for helping with dinner. You ladies are excellent cooks.”
“Of course.” Hannah looked down at herself. “Would you trust a skinny cook?”
Jae growled. “You are a beautiful woman, Hannah. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
Hannah smiled. “Thank you, Jae, but that’s not really what I meant. I’m happy with my self-image. I’m overweight according to charts and diagrams doctors and nutritionists flash around, but over 70 percent of American adults are overweight. That doesn’t make it ‘right,’” she made bunny ears with her fingers for the word right, “but I’m overall healthy and my heart is in great shape. I’ll be around for a long time.”
His anxiety about this fated mate eased. It was better for her psyche and mental health to be happy with her body. He knew that yo-yo dieting put undo strain on a woman’s heart. The number one killer of women was heart disease. He’d make sure his mate knew how much he loved her body. He would never get enough of it. He was thinking of Avery, but it could be this woman in front of him.
His damn mark better show up soon. This not knowing was driving him batshit crazy. He wanted Avery so badly, and told her that as often as he could. But what if his mark showed right after making love to her? What would he say? Thanks for the sex, now get out of my bed so my real wife can have sex with me? Holy fuck, that would be the death of him.
Why was he wavering again? Outside talking with Ker, he’d decided he was going for Avery. Damn the mark. When it did materialize, he’d pretend it never did. But he knew that’s not how it worked. The appearance of the mark began the lust if it hadn’t already happened.
Hannah must’ve felt the awkwardness between. She turned back to the window and said, “What have you heard about the weather for tonight?”
“On the way to the cabin, the radio reported a storm coming in. That’s why I brought up extra food. Figured we might stay a few extra days up here. Keep out of sight that way,” he said. “Are you worried about being snowed in?”
“No,” she said, “I’m worried about the kids and their celebration. They’ve all been looking so forward to it.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “When you’re dying of cancer, you don’t have a lot to cheer you up.”
Oh shit, he thought. He forgot about the cancer event she mentioned earlier. “That’s tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yes. All the parents were coming in today to help setup and spend time with the kids. So, at least they are safe. But I’m afraid others won’t be able to make it tomorrow. If the clowns and balloons aren’t there, the children will be disappointed. If the funds the hospital hopes to raise aren’t there, the children will be sent to another hospital with less special care for each. That breaks my heart.” Tears poured down her cheeks.
Jae took her into his arms and rocked her. “Hey, now, you’re thinking the worst case scenario, which it seldom is. The folks around here know how to handle and live in snow. It’s going to be fine.”
“You can’t promise that, Jae,” she said, sniffling against his sweater.
He grunted. “Oh yes, I can.”
Hannah laughed and pulled back from him. “What? You think your dragon can scare away a blizzard?” She laughed again. “I’d like to see that. If you do that for the kids, then I’ll give you as many children as we can pop out—” She suddenly quieted, this time embarrassment and worry took over her smell.
Jae put a hand on her shoulder. He wanted to comfort her, but his dragon didn’t want to feel her against his body. Without his mark, he guessed his lust for this woman wouldn’t exist.
“My dragon has little to do with me making a promise, Hannah,” he said. “The funds your hospital needs is easy to make a reality. My corporation will make a contribution for $50 million each year for five years. For the other stuff, I need to make a phone call.”
Hannah stood staring at him. Her eyes narrowed. “Are you kidding?” She put her hands on her hips. “You’re kidding, aren’t you? You know it isn’t nice to—”
A hearty laugh escaped his stomach. “I kid you not.”
She threw her arms around him and sobbed into his sweater. “You’re an amazing person, Jae Drachen. I’m honored to know you, mate or not.”
“Same here, Hannah. You have a huge heart and a gift you need to share with the world. We’ll make sure you do.”
“Thank you so much.” She pulled away from him and wiped at her face. “I’m sure I’m a mess. I think I’ll rest and read or take a nap for a bit.” She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for everything, Jae.” She turned and walked down the hall toward the guest rooms.
He sighed and leaned against the window, taking the spot his potential mate occupied seconds ago. No, not potential. Then a thought occurred to him. He’d been selfish and self-centered this entire time. Thinking only about himself and his mark. If his mark matched Hannah’s, then him ignoring it and staying with Avery would probably nearly destroy Hannah emotionally.
And even though Ker volunteered to mate Hannah, who’s to say she’d want that? Her heart and soul were created to be with his and if it wasn’t, would the woman with a heart the size of Texas ever find love? Fuck! He hated this.
NINETEEN
Avery slowly perused the old leather books in the cabin’s formal library. Ker lit a fire in the fireplace with a puff of fuel from his dragon. That had to be handy as shit if stuck in the wilderness at night. Then he left her alone, looking at photos.
On a shelf with pictures, she picked up one with Jae, Ker, and others she didn’t know. The photo was one of those sepia toned, old timey fun photos where women dressed up in Victorian gowns and men put on the suits and hats worn in the 1800s. She and some friends had this kind of photo taken at an amusement park. They dressed as bar saloon waitresses with the corset tops and short skirts. It was fun.
Jae looked rather hot in the suit he wore in the picture. It fit him perfectly. She had to say that Ker was cute and had a great body like Jae did, but the desire, the raw emotions that drew her to Jae weren’t there for Ker. He couldn’t be her mate. But could Jae be Hannah’s? She saw him holding her while she cried a little bit ago. She didn’t know what it was about, but a tang of jealousy hit her hard. She wanted Jae.
And everyone knew Jae wanted her, but did he really anymore? Why was she questioning herself about this? Her heart said Jae and she had her mark and that was that. Jae was her mate. She would proceed with that as a fact. Even though Jae didn’t have his, he didn’t need it. She had hers. That was enough.
Like she had a fucking clue on anything about dragons.
The doors to the library opened. Jae stuck his head in. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you. You disappeared on me.” He came over and wrapped his arms around her and breathed her in. His chest vibrated a growl against hers. Was his dragon happy?
He pulled away and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. “I smell your worry. What’s wrong
? If it’s about Hannah’s cancer event with the kids, don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.”
“Covered?” she asked. “How?”
He took her hand and led her to the sofa in front of the fire. “Don’t worry about it. Everything will go off without a hitch.” His devilish grin warmed her inside more than the fire did her outside.
Her body ached for another taste of him. From the moment they arrived, she’d been fantasizing about getting him naked. The fear she’d felt about moving so fast with him disappeared when she thought about love at first sight. She’d asked her mom about it that morning.
In an unusual lucid moment, she’d looked at Avery straight in the eyes and asked her, “Love at first sight?”
Avery nodded, watching her mother fill a tea cup and making sure she didn’t burn herself.
“Yes, you always said you and dad loved each other from the moment you met.”
Her mom gave her a rare wide smile, not the usual confused frown. “Oh, baby girl. Love at first sight exists. You know exactly what you’re feeling. Love is too special to be confused with anything else.”
It lasted all of a few minutes, but she had calmed all of Avery’s fears with those words. She knew what she felt for Jae. As strange as it was that it was from the moment they met, she loved him and now that she admitted it, she wanted more than just a kiss.
She gave in to the moment and pressed her lips to his. Not in that light touch from before, there was urgency now. She fumbled with his T-shirt, tugging at the bottom of it and pulling it up. He cupped her face and met her gaze with a fiery one of his own.
“Avery?”
She nodded. “More. I want more.”
More of what, she didn’t say. Everything. She wasn’t sure if that was enough for him to understand, but it seemed to be because he let her get his shirt off and he went back to kissing her like he couldn’t get enough of her. He tugged on her sweater, getting it over her head in no time.
His lips sucked on her breast over her lacy bra. The sensation sent her brain cells into overdrive.
Her pants and his came off in quick moves. She gave him all the credit because, at the moment, she could barely think straight with the way he was swirling his tongue over the valley of her breasts.
They switched positions. Now she was the one sitting on the sofa, naked and quite honestly unashamed. There just was no way she could feel anything other than beautiful with the way he looked at her. His eyes were bright again and god, he licked his lips. A lock of hair fell forward, softening his harsh features a little.
The palms of his hands were warm and strong as he got down on his knees and spread her legs apart, inhaling deep.
“You smell good,” he said softly.
“How? How do I smell?” She wanted to know.
Gliding his hands up her thighs, he brought his face close to her crotch, his gaze never wavering from her own. The hammering of her heart in her ears would make it near impossible to hear anything he had to say.
“Like spring and cupcakes. Fresh and delicious.”
Her belly quivered and need flooded each of her nerve endings. She’d never had a man say anything like that before. Now that Jae did it, she found she liked it.
“You…you smell good, too,” she said, trying to calm the ache growing for him.
He lifted the corner of his lips and planted a kiss on her inner thigh. A shiver raced down her back, making her grip the cushions on either side of her.
“Do you like that, love?”
She gulped. “Yes.”
He sat back on his heels. She didn’t expect for him to slip his arms under her legs and grab hold of her, pulling her ass forward and up, almost off the sofa. Her pussy was inches from his face. “What about this?”
He took a long lick from her entrance to her clit, sucking the tiny nerve bundle into his mouth.
A loud squeal sounded from her. “Holy fuck, Jae!”
TWENTY
He chuckled loudly and stopped. She blinked repeatedly, her gaze refocusing on his face. “Is that a yes?”
“God, yes!”
He winked and she almost came then and there. “Let’s see what else you like.”
Another lick and her toes were curling on their own. Heck, her heels were pressing into his back, pushing him closer to her sex. She moaned and another lick came, faster. He curled his tongue over her clit, sucking, licking and grazing his teeth on it. Her breaths came in short pants now.
“Jae,” she gasped. “God. How do you…”
He slipped his tongue inside her, fucking her with it. Whatever she was going to say was totally forgotten. Her mind became a mess of moans, groans and breathless gasps as he drove into her over and over again.
The cushions at her side were forgotten and she gripped his hair in her grasp, wiggling her hips. The movements increased her enjoyment as she went closer and closer to that edge she had only known with one of her sex toys.
“You taste so fucking delicious, Avery,” he grunted. Another suck and he bit the inside of her thigh. She almost jumped out of her skin. “I want you to come on my tongue. I want to taste every drop of you.”
He continued kissing her folds and licking her flesh between words. His saliva slid down her ass, wetting her hole. He held her up with one hand on the small of her back. With his other hand, he caressed her ass cheeks.
Soon, his thumb was circling her asshole, using his saliva to lubricate it and slowly pressing in. She’d never had a man do that, touch her there before. She should be scandalized, but no, she wanted to see how much more he could make her feel.
He nibbled on her inner thigh and before she realized it, his finger was in her ass, slowly going in and out of her.
The feelings going through her were too overwhelming to figure out. Instead, she focused on enjoying it. Every single moment.
He licked at her, faster, harder, with a loud gruff growl as he did. Her pussy slickened at the animalistic sounds he made. She liked him so…out of control. He flattened his tongue on her clit, lapping at her and then flicked it back and forth in super quick swipes. The finger in her ass increased speed at that moment, too.
She clung to his hair, her body growing tense. It was over in an instant. One hard breath and her world shattered. She screamed something when she came. Her body pulsed, her pussy sucked at nothing and a wave of euphoria washed over her. It was dizzyingly amazing. Like going down the highest rollercoaster and realizing you survived. The euphoria was unbelievable.
She was still shaking when he lowered her legs to the ground and sat back on the carpet in front of the fire. There was no way she could walk at the moment, but she’d crawl to him if need be. Now that she knew he could do that, there was no way she would wait to see how he would feel inside her. Besides, she wanted a chance to taste.
On her knees in front of him, she bit her lip and took a good look at his cock. He was hard. Big and hard. She ran her nails over his length in a light caress. He groaned and watched her.
“Avery,” he called out after she stared at the bead on the head of his cock growing with her touches. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with, love.”
She spread the bead over the head of his dick and gave him a slow pump from root to tip. Then she glanced at him. “I know. I want to.”
No more thinking. She lowered her head and took him into her mouth, her pussy creaming at the thought of having his hot, velvety length in her.
He filled her mouth, all down her throat and when she pulled back he was slick with her spit. He groaned and pushed her hair out of the way so he could see better. She took him further down her throat, swishing her tongue under his length and sucking her cheeks in.
“Fuck!”
He tugged on her hair, trying to pull her back, but she gripped him and jerked him as she sucked him in and pulled back faster and harder. She could smell him. He was all outdoors, woods and a hint of something she couldn’t put her finger on, but it wa
s making her hot and wet.
Another tug and he got her off him. “Enough.”
She licked her lips and straddled him, not giving him a chance to take control just yet. Holding him in her grasp, she lowered herself until his cock was kissing the entrance to her pussy.
“For fuck’s sake, Avery. You’re driving me crazy,” he said, his voice a deep rumble.
She smiled. She should feel bad, but it actually empowered her to know he wanted her this badly. This desperately. Gazes locked, she lowered until he was deep inside her, stretching her and filling her like no man ever had.
A soft gasp fell from her lips. She wiggled a little and took him even deeper. The sensation of being full of him was surreal but perfect. It felt right. She felt as though he was exactly where he should be. He bent his knees and lifted his hips off the ground.
The action pushed her forward. She planted her hands on his smooth chest and dug her nails into him as she held on. He gripped her hips, lifted her and proceeded to drop her right back down on his cock.
Her eyes widened at how fucking amazing it was for him to rub her insides with each thrust and retreat.
She rocked back and forth with every drop, his cock being jerked by her pussy. She knew he enjoyed it as much as she did from all the groans and grunts he was making.
“Christ, sweetheart,” he said breathlessly. “I love seeing you by the light of the fire. Your body glowing and your face close to orgasm.”
She licked her lips and dropped harder, pressing into him until her clit rubbed on his pelvis. She closed her eyes for a nanosecond to enjoy it.
“God, Jae. This is…”
“Amazing. You and I are amazing.”
She nodded. It’s all she could do. He was right.
“You’re so tight, so slick and hot. I’d die a happy man tomorrow now that I know how perfect it feels to be inside you.”