A Dragon's Healing Heart [Fury 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)

by Marcy Jacks

  David sure as hell remembered what his friends had been like at that age. They hadn’t had kids as young as David had, so they didn’t need to grow up as fast as he did.

  “My twenties? Are you disappointed?”

  “No. I’m relieved.”

  He wasn’t going to explain why, and before Storm could ask, David put his mouth back to work on the head of Storm’s dick.

  Storm inhaled a deep, sharp breath. “Fuck,” he sighed.

  David inched himself closer. He spread his legs, reaching a hand down and stroking his cock.

  Not that he needed the help to stay hard. The stupid mating heat was taking care of that.

  Instinct waited for nothing and no one. Not even mourning the loss of another mate.

  Maybe that was why he couldn’t lose himself in this. He couldn’t make himself forget.

  Because the fact that he wanted this so badly, the fact that he was sexually attracted to a man after years of being with a woman, made his first mating with Emily seem so…

  He didn’t want to say worthless. It hadn’t been worthless. But it had been a mating. A drive between their bodies and their spirits. Something more powerful than either of them had pulled them together.

  At the time, with how young they’d been, there had seemed to be no need to wait. They were each other’s soul mates, so what had been the point?

  Now, knowing that fate was replacing her so quickly with someone else just made the whole mating thing seem so cheap.

  He didn’t like it. Didn’t like that he was reducing himself to this with someone he should be close to just so he could get some sleep.

  It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t remotely fair to him, not fair to Emily’s memory, and not fair to this man here.

  A man who had been part of the dragon clan that had rescued his son, saved his life when he could have stayed in that burning building and died.

  He wished he had been left behind to die. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want any of this.

  Storm said something, but David didn’t pick up on it. His brain caught the sound but didn’t turn the sound into a word until Storm pushed against his shoulder, pushing him away from the man’s dick.

  David looked up at the man, shocked he was putting an end to this.

  “What’s the matter?”

  A guilty look flashed across Storm’s face. “You don’t really want to do this.”

  David pressed his lips together, turning away from the man.

  What good did that do? Of course Storm was going to see the look on his face. The regret and the misery.

  “Come on up here.”

  “What?”

  He barely had the chance to realize what Storm was asking for before the man’s hands clasped tightly to his shoulders.

  David’s body moved with Storm. The man pulled him up, and David moved as though they were one and the same.

  He pulled David into bed. He still didn’t think of it as his bed, even though he’d been told by Silver, the clan leader of the dragons, that he could keep this spare room and stay as long as he wanted.

  He was still a guest here. That, coupled with the mating heat, and how good it felt to lie down next to a warm body, yanked all the struggle right out of David. He didn’t want to protest. His body settled as though he had been dying for this moment ever since he first caught Storm’s scent.

  “What are you doing?”

  It didn’t feel as though the other man was going to try touching him any more than necessary. The way Storm held him now was more…comforting.

  That was what this felt like.

  It was comforting instead of erotic.

  “You need to sleep.”

  “I can’t sleep.”

  “Try.”

  David growled.

  “Don’t growl at me.”

  The sharp tone of Storm’s voice caught David off guard. He tensed.

  Storm chuckled. “Thought that would get through to you.”

  He pulled David close until he was pressed right up against the man’s perfect chest.

  He didn’t fight it. The scent of a mate was intoxicating. He needed so much more, and he needed to be able to touch and feel this man. He wanted to fuck Storm. Wanted to be fucked by him.

  But this…this was all right. He was getting the touch of his mate. The warmth of him, his scent and touch, was all he needed.

  His body seemed to fall into a cloudy sense of comfort. His eyelids drooped. For the first time in days, he was able close his eyes and keep them shut.

  The darkness blanketed him. He didn’t want to pull away from it.

  * * * *

  David fell asleep in his arms. Storm could honestly say he hadn’t seen this coming when he’d knocked on the door.

  His mating heat, and his dick, demanded that he come here and make the claim that his instincts so desperately wanted him to make.

  And yet here he was, turning down a blowjob so he could have a proper cuddle with his mate instead.

  He was either the world’s biggest sucker or he was a half-decent mate.

  Actually, he was probably both. Both sounded like the proper answer.

  Still, David’s smell was nice. It was going to be a little on the weird side waking up tomorrow and having to explain what went wrong. This was Silver’s house, so Storm had to knock to get in, and if he stayed the whole night, there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to have to tell the clan leader what was up.

  Rey and Aiden might have some choice words for him, but at least he would be able to say that he’d been a gentleman for the night.

  Storm pressed his nose into David’s hair. He inhaled deeply. That smell…it was so nice. He used coconut shampoo. Likely not something he’s purchased himself. David had been sticking around the territory since being rescued.

  Storm let his hands slide up and down David’s arms and back before he reached for the blankets, covering them both.

  He thought of dead puppies to make his dick go down, all the while telling himself that, when David was ready for him, it would make this all the more worth it in the end.

  Chapter Three

  David woke up feeling as though it was still too early to wake up. It was dark in his room, and then he looked at the digital clock next to his bed. The clock that told him it was almost two in the afternoon.

  He pushed himself up hard. “What the fuck?”

  He reached for the little clock, grabbed it, nearly yanked it out of its socket, and stared at it to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

  No. That was the actual time.

  “Jesus Christ.”

  David jumped out of bed then realized he was naked.

  Still naked.

  Because of last night.

  Heat rushed through his body. He looked around, searching for his pants.

  David didn’t have his job anymore, something which was bound to happen after being kidnapped and held against his will for months on end, but he was still working under the habit that he needed to wake up at six in the morning.

  He was used to that. On days when he slept in, he only slept until about eight in the morning. Eight thirty at the absolute most.

  To sleep in until the day was essentially over? Fuck, that didn’t sit well with him.

  When had Storm left?

  David’s damned body wouldn’t stop heating up. He was too old to be blushing like this. He wasn’t a virgin. He hadn’t exactly gotten around either because he’d spent all of his adult life married. He had sex with his wife enough. It was fun. He enjoyed himself, and so did she.

  But he was damn near forty and he didn’t know a thing about dating. Of course he wouldn’t. He’d always been with the same person. Not only did he know nothing about dating, he didn’t know a thing about dating a man.

  Storm hadn’t exactly complained last night when David was sucking his cock.

  Unless pushing him away like that had been his way of dropping a hint.

  Fuck. David real
ly hoped that wasn’t his way of dropping a hint. That would be so embarrassing if that were true.

  David went to his dresser.

  Aiden had given him some clothes. David was a beta. His son was an omega, so he was a bit taller than his son, but the oversized T-shirts Aiden favored were easily available to him.

  He was going to have to do some clothes shopping in the near future. He couldn’t go around like a slob forever.

  He couldn’t remain stuck in the past forever.

  Especially not if he had a mate he needed to worry about.

  Feeling embarrassed, but sucking it up, David made his way out of his borrowed room and downstairs.

  He was shocked to see no one there.

  Well, of course. It was past lunchtime. Silver might not technically be an alpha, but he was still the commander of this clan. It was more than likely he had some errands to attend to with his dragons.

  David went to the kitchen. He decided that stealing a coffee wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, and as he filled the kettle and waited for it to come to a boil, he noted that there was a drip in the faucet.

  David frowned, the kettle whistled, and he made his instant coffee before heading outside.

  He could fix that. It would be the least he could do for the dragon clan that had taken him and his son in. Emily hadn’t been saved, but they had tried. A few days earlier and she would be here.

  She would be safe, and his son wouldn’t be without his mother.

  He shook the thought from his head. Aiden wasn’t a child. Being without his mother would be hard for him, it would be hard for anyone, but he was done developing. It wouldn’t, shouldn’t, cripple him.

  He hoped.

  David walked out barefoot. He thought it was a warm morning before remembering that it was afternoon.

  It was a sunny day. He should have slept with the blinds open because then he might have woken up a little earlier.

  Children laughed and played. Dragon children with their wings out and little wolf children with their whiskers and claws showing as they chased each other around.

  A few parents looked up at him and smiled a pitying smile as he passed them by.

  He didn’t want their smiles. He didn’t want their pity.

  He didn’t want to be the guy they whispered about behind their hands.

  That poor man lost his mate. Be extra nice to him, he might kill himself.

  No. He’d wanted to die after Emily stopped breathing. He almost had with that fire.

  The thing that kept him going was Aiden. His boy was a man now, not a child, but David hadn’t wanted to leave this earth knowing there would be nothing for Aiden.

  As it happened, he didn’t have to worry so much about that. Aiden was happily mated to one of the dragons who had rescued him. He was likely going to start a family soon.

  That was what dragons did. They put their eggs inside of their mates for incubation. Or something.

  David shivered. Did Storm want to do that to him? He was going to have to figure out how this stuff worked.

  Fuck, Storm was fairly young. David didn’t think the man had any children of his own. Would he want to have them with David? Would he want David to carry them?

  David didn’t think he wanted any children with anyone other than Emily, new mate or no new mate.

  But how would he be able to deny that to Storm? Men and women, dragons and wolves alike, had a deep, biological need to reproduce.

  If his mate wanted children, then how could David tell him no?

  Fuck. He was so fucked.

  David walked up the few stairs of Rey’s deck and knocked on the door.

  “Are you looking for Rey?”

  David turned. It was an omega, one that he didn’t know, but he had a familiar scent.

  He had soft brown hair and eyes. Looked innocent enough, might even be his son’s age. Or younger. He had a full laundry basket in his hands.

  But there was something about him that bothered David. The smell of him.

  He didn’t want to say anything. If the man was here, on this territory, then it meant he was welcome, and he’d clearly been here longer than David had.

  Just because he smelled as though he’d come from that same compound David and his wife had been in…

  He could have been another prisoner. Someone David hadn’t taken note of because he’d been lost in his own misery. He could have been held in another part of the building.

  The Dog Catchers were assholes, but they had money and resources at their disposal.

  “Are you all right?”

  David snapped himself out of it. “Yeah, fine. I’m not looking for Rey. I’m looking for Aiden.”

  “Oh, I think he went with him.”

  “Where?”

  He needed to see his kid. He needed to look at Aiden and make sure he was still there. It was stupid and overly paranoid, but the only thing that got him out of that bedroom every day was making sure Aiden was still there.

  As if he thought his son would vanish if he took his eyes off him.

  “I think they went out to the pond.”

  “The pond?” David thought about that. “The pond that isn’t protected by that warlock’s spells?”

  “Well, yeah, but Rey, Silver, and Storm are there. They’re dragon warriors.”

  “Rey, Silver, and Storm?”

  He could just imagine what they were talking about and why the hell they would need to talk all the way out there.

  Probably about him. Why else would Storm want to be alone with the leader of the dragon clan, his son, and his son’s mate?

  Fuck. He was the adult here. No one should have to explain something like this to anyone.

  And even then, what the fuck were they thinking to bring Aiden out there? He didn’t care how safe anyone said it was.

  “I’ll be back.”

  He marched right by the omega. The man stumbled out of his way. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. I’ll be back.”

  “Uh, look, it’s supposed to be okay to go there in pairs. Silver doesn’t want anyone going there alone.”

  Too fucking bad. He was a beta. He wasn’t a helpless omega, and he was a fucking adult and his son was out there.

  Those sons of bitches were all going to get a piece of his mind.

  * * * *

  Tim watched the other man go. He didn’t know what to do. He was going alone. No one was supposed to go up there alone. The pond had been cleaned up and swept for shit that could have been buried in the sand or hidden in the water, and while Silver found it safe enough after the cameras had been installed, he didn’t want anyone going alone.

  Omegas had to go in groups of four or more. Or at least have one dragon with them.

  He was supposed to be helping with Lightning’s laundry. It was part of his job, part of what he needed to do to make amends.

  Regular household chores didn’t seem to be doing it, however. Lightning was always still so angry with him, but at the same time, it was the only thing Tim could offer.

  And there was no way in hell he was going to tell the man about…

  Well, whatever. That wasn’t important. The only thing that mattered was finding Lightning right now. Hanging the wet clothes to dry could wait.

  He didn’t have to run back to the house. Lightning was outside. He was on duty. At least one dragon warrior had to be walking around the array of houses clustered together where the dragons lived.

  Some houses were new, built closer to the others in a semicircle. The warrior dragons all lived there.

  The other houses down the little hill were older, all built in the fifties or sixties, and they were smaller. A few people didn’t even have houses. There were at least four trailer homes. It was a Saturday, so there was no need for the children to be at school, which was a forty-minute bus ride away.

  He spotted Lightning easily. The man was walking in the middle of the dirt road, ignoring the kids who rode their bicycles and tricycles around
him.

  Even without the scowl on his face, he was easy to spot. His bright white hair, red eyes, and white skin made him stand out against the colorful backdrop.

  The green trees, the dry dirt road, green, white, and brick houses, some of which had well-maintained gardens.

  Tim called out to him. “Lightning.”

  The man looked up, his eyes a touch wide as he was suddenly pulled out of whatever stupor he’d been in.

  The man pushed his way through the kids and jogged up the incline.

  Tim’s heart did that regular pounding thing that it did whenever Lightning got close to him.

  He swallowed hard, looking down at the laundry, and opened his mouth a touch so he didn’t have to breathe Lightning’s scent in through his nose.

  His scent that was so good…

  He doubted Lightning would want to deal with whatever lust was going through Tim’s head anyway. He already suspected him of hiding something, which was true enough.

  He might as well not make it any worse, and besides, it wasn’t a real lust anyway. Tim was an omega, and Lightning was a powerful and attractive alpha type. Just because he wasn’t an alpha in the wolf sense of the word didn’t mean Tim wasn’t being pulled toward him.

  “What is it?”

  Lightning’s worried eyes looked Tim over hard, and when he realized there was no immediate danger, his voice took on a sharper edge.

  “What are you doing?”

  Tim swallowed hard and told him about where David had gone, on his own.

  Lightning cursed and ran after the man, leaving Tim there, standing entirely on his own.

  Tim watched the other man run off. His white hair had become longer in recent months, and it flew behind him even when tied behind his head in a loose ponytail.

  Tim swallowed down any of the lust he felt building up for the man.

  Lightning wasn’t the small, weak boy he’d been back when he’d been a child. When they’d both been children.

  Guilt ate a hole in Tim’s gut.

  The man had it hard. So hard that his own father had cast him out, not even allowing Lightning back indoors during the winter months.

  Albino dragons were considered bad luck because of their hair, eyes, and skin. Even their scales were white, as though they’d been bleached that color, and it attracted the warlocks like nobody’s business.