by J. L. Wilder
His pace quickened, the flat surface of his tongue pressing hard against her clit over and over until she couldn’t take anymore. She let out a long sigh, her body shaking as the orgasm exploded through her. When it faded, Scorn pulled off his jeans and boxer-briefs, his massive, engorged cock jumping out.
The orgasm still flowing through her body, Maddie licked her lips as he crawled on the bed toward her. She prepared to wrap her legs around him as she’d done before, but Scorn had other things in mind. He took hold of her hips again, this time flipping her over onto her belly before pulling her shirt off over her head.
Then he opened her bra clasp and positioned her on all fours, her ass sticking into the air. There was power behind his movements, the animal she knew lurked inside of him, the one he could barely keep under control. She felt like she was being taken by a beast—not a man.
He wrapped his arm around her middle, pulling her ass toward him. Then, with a growl, he dragged his cock over her cunt before shoving it inside, burying himself to the hilt.
“Fuck!” shouted Maddie, her eyes going wide at the suddenness of him being inside of her. She squirmed against him, pushing him deeper, letting her walls accommodate his thickness and length.
Her breasts swayed back and forth to the rhythm of his thrusts, Scorn holding tightly onto her hips as he filled her again and again. The first orgasm was still in her as the second one grew, Scorn’s cock plunging into her so hard and fast that Maddie couldn’t wrap her head around it.
His hand came down on her ass, a sharp crack sounding out. It was hard enough to sting just a bit, but not enough to truly hurt. She loved the way he handled her, the way he took control and made her his.
But she wanted more. Maddie turned her body, the sight of Scorn in his full, naked, muscular glory before her. And in the light of the room, she noticed scars on his body she hadn’t before, remnants of battles she’d found before they’d met.
“Lie down,” she said.
He grinned, his erect cock pointing at her, Maddie still in awe she was able to fit all of him inside.
Then he positioned himself on the bed. Maddie crawled on top of him, Scorn taking hold of his cock as she lowered herself down, down. His head pushed into her, followed by the rest of him. Maddie let out an “ahh...ahh” as she took all of his inches.
And when he was fully buried, she leaned forward, her hands on his powerful chest and her breasts hanging in front of his face. Maddie lifted her hips and dropped back down, the sensation of his cock moving inside of her forcing out another wave of pleasure.
“Your pussy feels so fucking good,” growled Scorn as she moved her hips back and forth. “You’re so fucking wet for me.”
She nodded with her eyes closed, the pleasure too much for her to say anything else. Scorn took hold of her hips, lifting Maddie up and letting her drop back down onto his prick. Then his hands moved to her tits, squeezing them as he teased her now-hard nipples.
The second orgasm grew and grew. Scorn sat up, wrapping his big arms around Maddie as she reached the point of no return. And when it hit, her body tensed, the pleasure like nothing else she’d ever known.
Scorn’s muscles locked as he came along with her, his cock throbbing inside as he shot his load deep, the warm wetness of his cum filling her.
They peaked and crashed together, Maddie falling onto Scorn’s chest and resting her head on him.
And he held her.
As she drifted off to sleep, she felt safer and more loved than she had in a long time.
SHE WOKE UP TO THE buzz of her phone. Maddie opened her eyes to see light peeking in through the drawn curtains over the window. Scorn was still naked, his body as perfect as always.
Maddie was quiet as she got out of bed, stepping over to her purse on the far side of the room. Once she had it in her hands, she quietly unzipped and withdrew her phone.
She saw two things on the screen—the time, letting her know it was a little before nine in the morning, and a text from her friend Katie Simmons.
Hey! Where the hell are you? People are starting to get really worried. Are you OK?
Katie was one of the few people who knew the number to Maddie’s backup phone, the one she’d taken from her apartment the day before.
She fired off a quick text.
I’m fine...kind of. It’s a long story.
The response came instantly.
Thank GOD. Where are you? Can we meet?
She glanced back at Scorn, who was still in bed.
It’s...complicated.
How? You totally dropped off the map; people have been really worried!
She looked at Scorn one more time, knowing he wouldn’t like at all what she was up to.
“Fuck it,” she said quietly as she typed.
Yeah, we can meet. An hour at The Ground Bean?
Yes! See you then. Sooo glad to know you’re OK.
See you soon.
She shoved her phone back into her purse.
“What the hell was that?”
Maddie gasped and turned to see Scorn sitting up in bed, a quizzical look on his face. He rose and stepped over to her, his heavy, thick cock swinging between his legs.
“Was that a fucking phone?”
Maddie’s heart raced.
“It...” Part of her wanted to lie, but she realized it wouldn’t do a damn bit of good. “Yeah. It was a phone.”
He snatched her purse from the floor and opened it.
“Hey!” she shouted, getting up to her feet. “What the fuck?”
Scorn reached in and took out her phone. He swiped the screen, the password not required yet.
“Who the fuck is Katie?”
“None of your business.” Maddie felt exposed and stepped over to the bed to yank a sheet and pull it around her. But Scorn stayed naked, the sight of his body and cock enough to majorly distract Maddie.
“She’s my friend. She’s worried as hell about me and wants to meet.”
“And you told her yes?” asked Scorn, his eyes on the phone. “Where the hell did you even get this, anyway?”
“I had a spare phone in my apartment. I know we’re kind of in a shitty spot here, but I can’t just cut myself off from the rest of the world!”
He shook his head. “You’ve got no idea how powerful these shifters we’re dealing with are. They’ve got resources, could use this to track us. We’re lucky as hell they didn’t find us during the night. And no, you’re not meeting with your friend.”
“Scorn, I have to let her know I’m OK.”
“You already did that—I can see it right here.”
He raised the phone, preparing to smash it on the nearest table.
“No!” she shouted, rushing toward him.
He stopped, confused. “What the hell are you getting upset about? We need to break this so they can’t track us.”
“But I need it to stay in touch with Katie.”
“You’re not staying in touch with anyone,” he said. His voice was firm, and Maddie could sense the animal inside coming out.
She shook her head, unafraid. “No. I’m not going to be your prisoner, Scorn. You want to team up, then we can be a team. But if we’re going to work together, you’re going to have to trust me. All I want is to meet up with my friend and to let her know I’m OK.”
Maddie sensed she was getting through to him, and went on.
“That dragon back at your place—he wanted to kidnap me. You lock me up in some room and you’re no better than them.”
His jaw clenched, and she could sense he was doing some major internal decision making.
“Fine. But you leave your phone here—if they come for us, I’m going to be the one they find. And you meet your friend and get back here by noon. Got it?”
She smiled, knowing it hadn’t been easy for him to let her go like that.
“Got it. I’ll be at this place called The Ground Bean—it’s twenty minutes away.”
Without thinking, she threw h
er arms around Scorn. He grunted, clearly a touch uncertain of what to do about this genuine display of affection. And the sensation of his solid body against hers almost made her want to toss him back onto the bed and hop on his dick for another round.
No time for that. She planted a kiss on his stubbly cheek before hurrying into the bathroom, washing up, and throwing on her clothes.
“Noon,” he said on her way out. “Or I come looking for you.”
She nodded and headed out the door and down the hallway. Moments later, she was outside and in the fresh, cool air. It was early fall in Seattle, the temperature brisk, the leaves of the trees not yet starting their yearly change.
Maddie grabbed the nearest taxi, taking it the ten minutes to the Ground Bean.
And the moment she stepped in, Katie Simmons, short and cute, stood up with wide eyes.
Katie was a woman unlike any Maddie had ever known. She was brilliant, ambitious, well-dressed, and always on her game. She ran a personal consulting business that worked with the rich and powerful to become more rich and powerful.
Maddie had always wondered how Katie had been so...effortlessly successful, how she never seemed to have expended any effort in becoming rich and influential. Maddie had been the same, sure, but she’d worked her ass off to get where she was. As far as she knew, Katie hadn’t put in more than a ten-hour week in years—her clients paid out the nose for even a half-hour meeting with her.
“Oh my freaking God,” she said, running over to Maddie and throwing her arms around her. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine. I think.”
Katie let go of Maddie and moved back, taking in the sight of her.
“Geez, when I sent you on that hiking trip, I had no idea it might be the last freaking time I saw you. Come here—I got some coffee.”
Katie led her over to their usual table in the back corner near a window that looked out over the small garden.
“Tell me what happened out there,” she said. “Because we were on the verge of filing a damn missing person’s report.”
“I don’t even know where to begin.” And Maddie didn’t have any idea how to finish, either. How was she supposed to tell Katie about Scorn, let alone the fact that he was a dragon?
“Just start from when you vanished from the hike and keep talking.”
Maddie closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and went for it. She told Katie about the fall, about Scorn and how he saved her, about how she’d been caught up in some fight between gangs in the forest.
She skipped the little dragon detail, figuring there was no way to explain that without sounding crazy.
But when Maddie was done, Katie, sharp as always, held her hands up to get her to back up.
“Wait, you were in the middle of a gang fight in the woods? Maddie, this doesn’t make sense. Who are these guys? And why are they keeping tabs on you like this?”
Maddie opened her mouth, hoping the perfect explanation would tumble out. But nothing followed.
Katie narrowed her eyes the way she always did when she seemed able to see right through Maddie.
“I’m going to ask you something, Mads. And I want you to be honest with me.”
“What?”
“Is there more to what you’re saying?”
“More? Like what?”
A small, wry smile formed on Katie’s mouth.
“More, as in crazy things, things you might be worried I’d think you’re insane for saying. Things involving, say...” she leaned forward, lowering her voice. “People turning into animals?”
Maddie didn’t know what to say. Part of her wanted to lie, part of her wanted to fess up, knowing that if Katie had been able to guess that accurately what was going on, then there was no sense in making anything up.
“How...how did you know? Kate, I’m used to you being sharp, but this is a whole other level.”
Katie nodded. “Come with me, Mads. We’ve got a hell of a lot to talk about.”
She rosed and hurried out of the shop. Her sleek, silver sportscar was parked out front, and moments later, they were driving through the streets of downtown Seattle.
“I know more than you think I do,” said Katie. “In fact, I’ve been waiting for this to happen to you.”
“Kate, you have to tell me what you know.”
Katie glanced over, flashing a sly smile. “It’s simple, Maddie. I’m a witch. And so are you.”
Maddie was stunned, not sure what to say. But as her mind wrapped around what Katie had said, they pulled up in front of Katie’s ultramodern condo, the top disappearing into the sky above.
They hurried through the lobby, taking the elevator all the way to the penthouse floor. However nice Maddie’s apartment was, Katie’s was another level—a huge penthouse bought with what she’d earned advising the world’s elite.
Maddie plopped onto the huge couch, the towers of Seattle rising to meet the height of the penthouse. Katie opened up the fridge in her kitchen, taking out two bottles of water and tossing one over to Maddie, who caught it.
“Which power came first?” asked Katie, taking a seat across from Maddie and cracking open her water. “Telekinesis? Or how about freezing time? Or, my favorite, pyrokinesis? That’s the one where you can make people turn into fireballs with just thought.” She made a head exploding gesture, complete with a pshh sound.
“Kate, please tell me what the fuck this is all about. I have no idea what’s going on.”
Katie sighed as if realizing she was getting ahead of herself.
“We’ve been friends for a long, long time, right?”
“Yeah,” said Maddie. “Since we were in college together.”
“Right. And there’s something I need to admit—that’s not a coincidence. Mads, you’re descended from a two-thousand-year-old coven of witches. And it was my job to keep an eye on you, to make you sure you didn’t get into too much trouble. And, most importantly, to be there when your powers finally developed.”
“This is insane,” said Maddie. “Witches?”
“Right. OK, another lie I had to tell—the trip you went on? To those old, creepy woods in the middle of the state? You remember those tombstones on the ground everywhere?”
“Yeah. The old, faded ones.”
Katie nodded. “Right. Those were tombstones of witches who once lived in those woods. There was a reason I sent you there on that trip, and it wasn’t just so you’d get some fresh air—it was because those woods are magic, and being around them might’ve been enough for your powers to awaken.” She smirked. “And it looks like I was right.”
“Wait, you knew about this? You knew I’d find shifters out there?”
“That wasn’t the plan. What I and the rest of the Goodwin Coven—that’s the name of our coven, by the way—hoped was that you’d have some kind of awakening, and that was it, you’d come back ready to take your place in our family. We knew shifters were out there, but I didn’t expect it all to play out like this.”
She shook her head. “But it doesn’t matter—your powers woke up, and now you’re back. And we can get to work.”
“I...Kate, you have to give me a second here.”
Katie smiled. “Sure, sure. I know this is all a lot to take in. Witches develop their powers at different ages—I’ve had mine since I was sixteen. But the longer they take, the more powerful they can be. And rarely does it take as long as 40 years.”
She stood up and swept her hand toward the apartment. “All of this is because of my power of clairvoyance. I can see the future—in bits and pieces, that is. I don’t tell my clients that, of course, but I can steer them in the right direction enough to make a killing off being an advisor. Your powers...we’ll have to see what the future has in store.”
“And what about Scorn?”
“Who?” she closed her eyes as if trying to think of something. “Oh, him?” She shook her head. “Whatever you’ve gotten up to with him, that’s not any of your business now. It’s time for you to step int
o your destiny, Mads.”
She smiled.
“And it’s going to be a hell of a ride.”
CHAPTER 10
SCORN
Stupid as fuck to let her go like that. What happens if she never comes back? You sent her off into the city all on her own, trusting her to hurry home like a good little girl.
Now that Maddie was gone, the rage had returned. Scorn threw back one of the tiny bottles of whiskey from the minibar, hoping the whiskey would keep the rage at bay. It was his normal trick, and the reason his cabin was filled with beer cans and whiskey bottles.
But it was far from a perfect solution. Scorn clenched his hands into fists, using every last bit of strength he had not to punch a hole in the wall. He paced back and forth, the anger flowing through him.
You need to do something to make up for this dumbass move, bud. How about this—go back to the woods and face Red one-on-one. Challenge him to an old-fashioned alpha duel. Take his ass out, reclaim the pack you lost. Show you’re worth a damn.
Scorn pushed the thoughts out of his head as best he could, knowing such a stupid angle would result in his death, or worse.
He checked the clock in the room, seeing it was after one. Maddie was due back an hour ago and hadn’t returned. It meant one of two things—that she was in trouble or that she had knowingly stayed out despite their agreement.
He hoped it was the latter, but feared it was the former.
Scorn wanted to tear through the city to find her, to track her down and kill anyone who stood in his way. The rage had returned, that feral, animal power, and this time he feared he wouldn’t be able to keep in it check.
But before he could spend another moment thinking about his situation, a knock sounded at the door. It was more like a bang, one loud enough to make the room feel like it was shaking.
Scorn froze in place, his nerves activated, his animal instinct ready for a fight.
Another series of knocks.
And then a voice.
“Scorn Ryder?” asked the voice on the other side, calm and professional. “I know you’re in there.”