Dragon Blues (Immortal Dragons Book 1)

by Ophelia Bell

  “Ah, gotcha. Can I give you a ride somewhere?”

  Belah slid to the end of the booth and accepted his hand again, rising into his arms. The proximity of her took his breath away. Her fingers twined through his and she smiled up at him, the swell of her breasts just beneath his field of vision. The warm scent of her was as intoxicating as a summer wind.

  “Take me home with you?”

  Lukas gritted his teeth. Home might be an issue if Iszak was finished with his gig, but he relaxed his jaw and nodded. “I hope you like the wind,” he said as he led her back toward the stage to retrieve his instrument and tell his band farewell for the night. They wouldn’t like him cutting out before the last set, but they’d manage without him. The audience was drunk enough that most wouldn’t care.

  Chapter Five

  I hope you like the wind, he’d said. The comment startled Belah at first, and she worried he knew her for what she was, but the whirlwind of him gathering his instrument and her saying goodbye to Erika and Geva distracted her.

  She felt truly young again, for the first time in more than two thousand years. Lukas led her through a dimly lit corridor to a doorway in the back of the club, and outside he made a fancy show of handing her an object she had no idea what to make of.

  He turned away while she studied the smooth, orb-like thing. It was hollow, with soft cloth on the inside, but hard and sturdy like an egg on the outside. She just smiled at him giddily while he secured the black case that held his instrument onto the back of his steed.

  “You ever ride before?” he asked, shoving a helmet onto his head and securing a strap under his chin.

  She laughed, realizing her idiocy. A helmet. But why?

  “Put it on, baby. Don’t want your pretty head messed up if we take a spill on the way home. I promise I won’t—the wind will carry us—but it’s against the law not to wear one.”

  “All right,” she said, smiling at him and shaking her head at her own sense of being swept away. Oh, Mother, I don’t ever remember it being like this. Even with … She didn’t finish the thought, refusing to sully the evening with memories of her old mistakes.

  Lukas came toward her, shrugging out of his leather jacket. “Put this on,” he said. “It’ll keep you warm.”

  Cool air wouldn’t be an issue for her, but she agreed with a nod, turning to let him slip the jacket over her shoulders. It dwarfed her slender frame, but smelled like clouds and rain and sky. She took a deep breath, reveling in the scent of him that surrounded her now.

  He eyed her dress as she was about to climb on. “That might be a problem, can you do something about it?”

  The dress itself was conjured—everything she wore was, aside from what he’d just given her. She nodded and gathered the skirt up, baring her long legs to him, and wrapped the length around her waist, tucking it into itself like a sarong. “Will this do?” she asked. Impulsively she also kicked off her shoes and picked them up. He didn’t need to know too much yet. She’d reveal her secrets in time, if he really was the right mate for her. She tried to remind herself to be cautious—there could be hunters about. But she’d know an Ultiori Hunter on sight, as would the various Shadows who she knew were following her.

  Lukas gave her an odd look, but nodded. “Climb on behind me and hold on tight.”

  He wasn’t kidding about the wind, either. The name for his machine finally came to her just as she wrapped her arms around his waist and the motor came to life beneath them.

  Motorcycle, she thought. It’s like a car, but better because it’s between your legs and makes you feel like you’re flying. The thought made her grin like an idiot, but it was true. She found it tricky not to stretch her wings as he sped down the dark streets of the city with her clinging to him. The need to fly made her shoulder blades itch, but suppressing it left her with a building need she hoped he’d help quench once they reached their destination. To combat the urge, she clung tighter to him, letting her hands press against his belly, her face against the taut strength of his shoulder.

  The sheer, vibrant life of him thrilled her. He was the first man she’d touched who hadn’t come to her out of obligation. Who wasn’t one of her own race. During that ride, she nearly cried at how beautiful those sensations were, the warmth of his abdomen sinking into her palms where they pressed against him, and she longed to touch him more, but knew it was better to wait.

  She avoided reading his emotions, aside from the few bits that made her core grow warm. He wanted her. Of course he did, or else he wouldn’t have extended his invitation.

  And she absolutely wanted him. Her hand strayed lower down his belly, her need urging her to touch him. His aura grew warmer the lower her fingers moved, and that smoky cloud she’d seen around him earlier puffed out of him and filtered around her like no other aura she’d ever witnessed. It was unusual, but humans had evolved since she’d last been here, so maybe their auras had, too. Yet it seemed familiar somehow, in a way she couldn’t quite place. The scent of the wind at high altitudes pervaded her senses, making her feel even more like flying.

  His aura didn’t matter when he gripped her hand at a stop light and pulled it lower, pressing it against his hard arousal beneath his his leathers.

  “You want this, Baby? Take it easy on me for about ten more minutes and you’ll get it, all right?”

  Ten minutes felt like ten million. But soon enough he pulled into a darkened street by a massive brick building. She heard nothing around them besides the lap of water nearby and turned to see the waters of a bay. Lukas dismounted and walked to a huge door, lifted it. Inside was an almost empty room, with a shining gray floor like the garage at the hotel she stayed at with Erika and Geva. But there was nothing there but another motorcycle and a collection of cabinets neatly closed.

  Lukas came back to stand before her, tugged at the clip of her helmet and pulled it off. For a split second he looked like he might speak, but he startled her with his lips suddenly pressed against hers.

  The depth of his need pervaded her senses. He’d been about to tell her to come inside, she knew that much. But he was hard to read—harder than most humans, which was odd to her. Yet it lent an air of mystery to him that made her want him more.

  She didn’t care much, though. He tasted good. And even though she knew she should exert her will over him, she didn’t want to. She loved how decisive he was. How much he seemed to know precisely what he wanted and what might please her.

  She’d been in control of an entire race, along with her siblings, for thousands of years. Right now, she really just wanted to let go—let someone else have control of her for a change. She leaned into him, threading her fingers through his hair and letting him devour her.

  With a low growl, he pulled away. “Fuck, Belah, can I take my bike in before you destroy me entirely?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, reluctantly releasing him and slipping off the bike. She followed him inside, dazed by the kiss and wondering how the hell human men had managed to become so much more enticing than she remembered.

  She grimaced, realizing she was comparing Lukas to a man she shouldn’t compare anyone to. Nik had been the ideal lover at the time, because he’d indulged her every desire without question. Yet it had been one of those desires that had destroyed everything. Even him. But that’s what gods do, isn’t it? Mete out destruction on their disciples?

  Except in her case, he’d also destroyed her, his goddess. And her entire race had paid the price.

  She forced herself to forget the ancient past and enjoy the steady, comfortable movements of Lukas as he closed the garage door and worked on his bike for a few moments. He removed the case with his instrument first and set it beside her, kissing her again slowly before grabbing a cloth and walking back to the bike to wipe it down.

  “She gets cranky if I don’t clean her up after a ride,” he explained.

  Belah glanced down at the dark case he’d set beside her, resting her hand on it. “What about her? She did more
work tonight, by my estimation.”

  Lukas grinned. “You’re right, but she gets to sleep in a velvet bed, and she understands I have other priorities tonight. This lady …” He gestured to the bike, “She’s more temperamental.”

  “Do you love all your women so well?” Belah asked, enthralled by this man who had so perfectly embodied her ideal.

  “No,” he said, wiping down the shining silver pipes of his machine.

  Blinking at him she nearly asked why, until he looked at her, his dark eyes intense enough to burn through her soul.

  “The ones who make me too shaky to finish a gig get extra attention.” His movements slowed, his hand pausing on the seat of the bike, regarding her with parted lips. His gaze raked over her. “Fuck it, the bike can wait.”

  Suddenly he was before her, tearing his dirty shirt off over his head and flinging it into a corner. He lifted her up, setting her on a rough wooden bench, and slammed his mouth against hers in a fast, hungry kiss that left her breathless.

  He tore himself away with a gasp as though trying not to drown. They gazed into each other’s eyes, Lukas’s heaving chest making it apparent to her that she had the same effect on him. Never had a man affected her quite this way, with every action more surprising and wonderful than the last, and before they’d made love even once. He truly fascinated her, in a way that was tough to articulate.

  As though sensing she wanted to speak, his eyebrows rose in inquiry. With one broad thumb he traced the curve of her lower lip, a silent enticement to let her words come free.

  “I like watching you,” she said with a slight shrug.

  “Oh? Did you enjoy watching me as much as I enjoyed watching Erika take care of you earlier?”

  She flushed in response to the slow smile that tugged at his lips.

  “Maybe not quite so much. I’d like to see how you look in that moment—then perhaps we’ll be even.”

  “That moment,” he repeated in a rough voice, so laden with desire it seemed to drip with it. He tugged her hips to the edge of the bench and pressed between her thighs, forcing her to wrap her legs around him. His thick arousal felt hot through their clothes. “That moment might come quicker than you think, but I plan for us to have many more.”

  Let’s start now. She wasn’t quite sure whether it was his thought or hers, but she was in no mood to hesitate once it became clear that was exactly what he intended to do. His hands bracketed her jaw and his lips were on hers again, the nips and tugs speaking a language to her that she’d forgotten she knew fluently. She answered with her own urgent, hungry bites, grazing her teeth over his jaw and neck, just rough enough to cause a little pain but not break skin.

  He chuckled against her throat. “You’re hungry tonight, aren’t you? How long has it been?”

  “Too long,” she said in a whimper, urging him back to her mouth, but he shook his head, the determined expression in his eyes betraying the hint of a plan.

  He pulled back, grabbing her hands in his when she reached for him again, hating even the short distance he’d put between them.

  “Hold still, right here,” he whispered, pressing her hands to the edge of the bench.

  She nodded, thrilled by the command, and dug her fingers into the wood, determined to let him have control even though the urge to touch him back was almost too strong to bear.

  It gave her a moment to simply observe him in the light, however. She’d experienced his contact just enough to know he was a well-built man, but seeing gave her a different perspective than touching. He had the solid build of a Dragon, just without their massive stature. He was still large by human standards, however, with broad shoulders and the incredibly toned form of a man who’s comfortable using his body frequently. The dusting of dark hair across his chest made her fingers tingle again with the urge to touch him, but her moment would come soon enough. For now, she would simply enjoy giving into his whims.

  She tilted her head into his hand when he lifted it to her cheek in a soft caress. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she imagined the sounds of his music filling her mind earlier, the rhythm matching every breath.

  “Open up, baby,” he said. “I want our baby blues to see what you do to me.”

  She did, opening her eyes to meet his gaze, so filled with hungry need it made her core ache to have him, but the waiting was part of the pleasure. Something deeper lingered in his eyes, too, and she tentatively reached out with her mind, hoping it might be a reflection of the deep spark of something truly beautiful that had lit inside her when she’d first seen him earlier that night.

  His caress moved down her neck, fingers teasing at her throat, then pushing his jacket off her shoulders. He bent and pressed hot, silky lips against her collarbone and trailed them further south, the path preceded by his fingertips tugging at the strap of her dress, pushing her bodice down until one breast was bared to him.

  She tilted her head back with a moan when his lips wrapped around her nipple. One hand strayed to his head to hold him there, but he chuckled and clutched it, putting it back down beside her thigh on the bench.

  “You make me so hungry for you, baby. Watching you come to the sound of my music tonight was the best introduction I’ve ever had to a woman. Now you get to sit back and watch me play your body like an instrument, and I get to hear the music you make.”

  He moved his mouth to her other breast, the straps of her dress falling down to her elbows. One of his hands slid under her dress, pushing the velvet fabric higher until his fingertips reached the thin lace where her panties crossed her hip.

  She let out a sharp gasp when he twisted the delicate fabric in his fingers and tugged hard until the cloth stretched and snapped.

  “That’s right, let me hear you,” he said, glancing down at her exposed skin, her creamy breasts rising and falling, nipples hard and tingling, aching for his mouth again.

  He tugged the remnant of her panties from under her and let them dangle from his fingers for a second before draping them over a small hook on the wall behind her. She didn’t have the heart to tell him they’d fade away after she left him, but perhaps she’d never leave.

  Then he was on his knees, her thighs spread wide and his face a breath from the slick sensitive skin between.

  All he did was blow, the soft breath gusting against her folds in a cool caress. For all that it was only air, it did something to her. The sharpest pleasure she’d ever experienced began with that sensation against her most sensitive flesh. Subtle at first, but growing exponentially when his fingers parted her and he blew again, a targeted breath aimed right at her clit.

  She moaned and tilted her hips toward him, wishing for more. And he did it again, moving his head in a slow circle, the current teasing her in a spiral, closer and tighter until his lips were against her, sucking gently.

  The shuddering moan that escaped her then sounded far too dragon-like, yet she didn’t care as long as he kept doing what he was doing.

  He didn’t seem in a hurry to stop, taking his time with his tongue and lips teasing her and urging her to vocalize her pleasure.

  “That’s right, baby,” he murmured once. “Tell me how it feels with my tongue deep in your pussy. Tell me what you like.”

  “I want your hands on me, too,” she managed to stutter out, and he immediately complied, reaching up with both hands and clutching her breasts.

  He pinched her nipples once, making her gasp at the thrill the pain sent through her. As if understanding exactly how much pleasure it gave her he did it again. When she let out a fresh moan, he slowed the pace of his tongue on her clit and looked up at her.

  “Like that?” he asked. He rose up in front of her, his eyes wide and excited at the discovery, as though she’d revealed the best kind of secret. “How ‘bout this?” he asked, bending and taking one taut pink tip gently between his teeth, then bearing down little by little until the pain grew to a bright, hot point making her cry out and clutch at his head.

  “Oh! Lukas, please.
More like that.”

  “I got you, but remember, no hands yet,” he said and she immediately smacked her hand back down to the bench.

  He stood up straight again, eyes never leaving hers as he unfastened his pants and released his erection. “I need to be inside you when I make you come,” he said, and she only nodded, beyond ready to have him, especially if he could learn her body’s tricks so easily the first time they were together.

  His thick length parted her slick folds and he sank deep. The first stroke only managed to make her aching core crave more, and the renewed spark of pain his teeth gave her breast caused the need to grow exponentially. He pulled his hips back slowly and thrust deep with a swift, violent surge, biting her harder at the same time.

  She struggled not to reach out and cling to him, instead crying out her affirmation. “Yes! Ohh, yes, don’t stop!”

  The blue velvet of her dress slipped down, tangling around her thigh. Lukas cursed and gripped it hard in his fingers, ripping the front of it with a fierce pull that rent the fabric like gauze. The velvet parted and fell away around her hips, leaving her naked.

  “Sorry,” he muttered, giving her a slight grimace but thankfully not ceasing his steady fucking.

  She wrapped her arms around him tight and clung to him, needing him close against her now that she was fully naked. The dress was the last thing she cared about.

  “Oh, Belah,” he moaned, pulling back to look down at her again. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced. I can’t … can’t hold back, baby.”

  “Don’t!” she gasped, digging her nails into his shoulders and pulling him back down into a desperate kiss. His steady thrusting hit her at the precise angle to set her entire body aflame with vibrant ecstasy. She closed her eyes then, and opened up her senses to feel him fully. All his thoughts and emotions became clear as day to her, wrapped up in the beautiful, puffy cloud of his aura, like nothing she’d experienced in her entire life.