The Dragon's Choice (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 1)

by Jessie Donovan

  What would he do now, she wondered, anticipation making her heart pound.

  Careful, Tori. Don't get in over your head.

  Jose murmured, "Didn't your book tell you to be careful when dealing with a horny dragon-shifter?"

  "N-Not much. Just that you need to be really sure you want it before being alone with one."

  He traced her cheek, then her mouth, tracing the shape of each lip. As he gently stroked back and forth across her bottom lip, the touch made her nipples and center throb. Her mouth opened slightly as if trying to gasp.

  At this rate, she wouldn't have a chance to ask him any questions before they were both naked and "getting to work" as Ashley had put it.

  As Jose spoke, Victoria somehow managed to hear his words despite his steady caress against her mouth. "Yes, wanting it—hot, sweaty, life-changing sex—is true." He pressed the very tip of his forefinger inside her mouth, but he removed the digit before she could nibble it.

  Nibble it? Yes, bookworm extraordinaire Victoria Lewis had been about to lightly bite a dragonman's finger.

  His pupils flashed before he murmured, "And since you're here, that must mean you're really sure about what comes next."

  She nodded, wishing she had some sort of witty remark to make. But Victoria surprised even herself when she asked, "When do we get started?"

  He groaned before lowering his head to her earlobe. He nipped it before licking the sting, and she leaned more heavily against the door. A part of her wished he'd shred her clothes with his talons—she was pretty sure they could change only part of their bodies like that—hoist her up and fuck her against the door. Hard.

  What? She had no idea where that thought had come from. Maybe he emitted some sort of pheromone that acted as an aphrodisiac.

  After nipping her ear again, he said, "I know what my little human needs. But to make extra sure, strip and sit on the couch."

  His request made her cheeks burn. Never had she stripped for a man before, let alone on the day she'd just met him. "Can't I go to the bathroom first to freshen up?" And build up my courage.

  He kissed her jaw. "No way. I burn to see your lovely skin, human." His voice lowered a fraction. "And I don't want to wait to see just how wet and swollen you are for me already."

  Damn, at his dirty words, her clit throbbed as she nearly lifted her hips against him. Okay. She could do this. "Then you're going to have to step back. I don't have superhuman strength like you, unless you want me to knee you in the balls to get free?"

  "You don't want to do that, human." His hand lightly brushed her side, his touch leaving electricity in its wake before he stepped back. "Otherwise, you'd have to wait for me to bury myself deep inside your tight pussy, deeper than you've ever felt before, and I don't think you want to wait, either."

  Her breasts grew even heavier, and she burned to strip and let him do what he wanted.

  Never had she felt this at ease with a man, let alone this soon.

  Maybe he had super dragon-shifter powers of seduction.

  Jose moved to stand near the couch and he raised an eyebrow in question.

  I guess that means it's time to try and strip for a dragonman.

  She took a deep breath and tossed her backpack into a chair. And even though her cheeks still burned, she couldn't tear her gaze away from Jose's, his eyes flashing and full of heat.

  No man had ever looked at her like that, as if she were the most desirable woman in the world.

  It would be easy to get used to that look.

  No. No thoughts of the future. Raising her chin a fraction, Victoria took a few steps closer to the couch, debating when to try and strip for him. Not that she was an expert in any way. But, hell, if this was going to be the biggest adventure of her life, she was going to start doing her best to make it a good one.

  Even if she ended up with her hair getting stuck on a button and she had to hop and ask for help to get free, which would be just her luck.

  That would most definitely not be what the dragonman expected.

  Biting her lip to keep from laughing at his imagined reaction, she unzipped her jacket slowly, loving how Jose's eyes followed the movement. As she tugged the sleeve off, she puffed out her chest and leaned forward a little, ensuring he could see down her shirt.

  And yes, he stared down her shirt, his eyes flashing as he growled.

  Her heart pounded so hard it was all she could hear. But still, she tossed the jacket aside and reached for the hem of her top. Slowly she brought it up, making sure to rub it a few times over her aching nipples, and moaned without thought.

  Jose ran a hand over his mouth as he murmured, "Fuck, now I'm jealous of a shirt."

  His words boosted her confidence, and she tugged the top all the way off—carefully avoiding the decorative enemy buttons—and tossed it at him.

  He caught it, bringing it to his nose, and inhaling deeply. His pupils remained slitted longer than she'd seen since meeting him, eventually becoming round again.

  He reached out a hand, then pulled it back. "Keep going, human. If you stop again, I'll shred the rest of your clothes off with one talon."

  So she'd been right—he could change a nail to a talon only.

  Then it hit her—the man could shift into a who-knew-how-many-feet-tall dragon. One she didn't even know the color of. And for some reason, she needed to know something, anything, about him to make this seem more real.

  Jose took a step toward her, and she blurted, "What color is your dragon?"

  He blinked, clearly not expecting the question. He answered, "Blue."

  "Will I ever see him?"

  "That depends on whether you finish stripping right this second or not."

  She tried to muster up the courage she'd had a few seconds ago, and failed. It seemed her boldness had been temporary, which made sense, given that she usually wasn't that way.

  He closed the distance between them. But instead of ripping off her clothes, he put a finger under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze—a searing look, filled with desire. "What's wrong?"

  Now he was surprising her. Patience wasn't usually at the top of the list of traits she had for dragon-shifters.

  With anyone else, she probably would've looked away and said nothing and tried to change the subject.

  However, as Jose stroked the underside of her chin, the words simply flew from her lips. "I know so little about you and yet I'm about to have sex with you. It's kind of weird."

  One corner of his mouth kicked up. "You must not be the one-night-stand type of human female, right?"

  He had no idea. "Honestly? I didn't think you'd pick me back at the hotel. And I think the more we interact, the more the shock and excitement fades, allowing reality to set in." She paused a beat before forcing out the rest, "And that makes me a little nervous."

  Leaning closer, Jose asked, "Did you change your mind?"

  As she stared into his eyes, a deep brown filled with curiosity, she thought about it. But "no" screamed through her mind. She'd put her name into the lottery on a whim and had accepted her place in order to learn as much as possible, and nothing more.

  But now that he'd touched her skin, nibbled her earlobe, and made her the most turned on in her life, she couldn't go back to only wanting to study him.

  No, she wanted to get to know him better, in all ways. Because there was no way she was going to wonder "what if" for the rest of her life. "No, I didn't change my mind. But maybe we could slow it down a little? You haven't even kissed me yet."

  His pupils flashed, but she couldn't read his expression.

  What she wouldn't give to be able to talk to his inner dragon.

  Slowly Jose moved his head to her cheek, kissed her once—his firm, warm lips making her shiver—and then whispered, "There, you've been kissed."

  She surprised herself by growling. "That's not what I meant."

  One of his hands touched her hip, then slowly moved to her belly before sliding lower to cup her and rock the heel of
his hand against her clit. Victoria sucked in a breath as he spoke again. "How about I kiss you here?"

  Oh how she wanted to scream yes and shuck her pants. Many a novel showed the woman receiving mind-blowing oral sex, but Victoria had yet to find a real-life man who knew what he was doing down there.

  She snorted at the image of Jose fumbling around. She just couldn't picture it.

  After all, the dragonman seemed to be so very good at everything else. She couldn't imagine his pride, let alone his dragon, failing at that, too.

  Jose met her gaze again. "What's so funny?"

  Shaking her head, she answered, "No, I can't tell you. It's embarrassing."

  Removing his hand from between her legs, he took her face between both of his. "Nothing should be too embarrassing between us. Ever."

  The surety of his tone, along with something that must be the dominance dragon-shifters threaded into their voices—she'd read about it in the book—made her believe him. "I'm eventually a sure thing, so there's no need to butter me up."

  His eyes flashed again and his low growl made her shiver—in a good way. "I'm not trying to talk you up. It's the truth—don't hold back from me, Victoria. Ever."

  She stopped breathing a second at the intensity of his words.

  He meant them.

  And now Victoria was starting to think dragon-shifter men were too good to be true.

  Without thought, she replied, "Tori. My friends and family call me Tori."

  "Tori," he murmured. "Yes, I think that suits you better."

  She raised her brows. "How can you say that? You don't even know me."

  He grinned. "I know you like to strip, and don't hold back when I have my hands between your legs. You rocked against my palm without thought, as you should." He strummed his thumbs against her cheeks. "That's something Tori would do, not a Victoria."

  She tentatively reached a hand out to his chest, feeling his taut muscles beneath her fingers. Mustering her courage again, she asked, "And what would a Jose do in this situation?"

  His pupils turned to slits for a few beats before returning to normal. "How about I show you?"

  Her heart thundered inside her chest. If she were a betting woman, she'd say he wanted her naked so he could do naughty things to her.

  But could she do it? Let a man she'd just met have free reign of her body just like that?

  As he continued to caress her cheeks, she thought yes, yes she could. She nodded. "Okay."

  Without a word, he scooped her up as if she weighed nothing. She squeaked. "What are you doing?"

  His eyes turned predatory. "Showing you what Jose would do."

  Maybe she should protest, but she merely looped her hands behind his neck and stared into his eyes. The way they flashed fascinated her. "Do your eyes sometimes stay slitted for long periods?"

  He grunted. "At times."

  Judging by the way he tensed under her body, she sensed he was hiding something.

  But before she could voice her thoughts, Jose stopped in front of the sofa and lowered her down to her feet slowly, so that her body felt every inch of his torso, until his erection pressed against her belly.

  Neither of them moved, gazing into each other's eyes, as heat and wanting spread through Victoria's body.

  And just by how hard he was, through Jose's, too.

  Finally he moved back a few inches and his hands went to the button of her jeans. He paused a beat, no doubt giving her time to tell him to stop, but she gripped his bicep and squeezed in encouragement. The action kicked him into gear, and he had her jeans unzipped and off faster than she'd thought possible, especially since he had to take off her shoes, too.

  Victoria stood, only in her bra and panties, in front of the sexiest man she'd ever seen. A dragonman who looked at her as if she were the plumpest, juiciest steak, ready for him to eat and devour with relish.

  His fingers went to the band of her underwear, a talon lightly brushed against her skin. She drew in a breath, and he growled. "Someday, I will shred these off your body. But right now, we'll keep them whole until your clothes arrive."

  She wanted to scream for him to shred them, but he tugged them down inch by agonizing inch, the slight friction of the fabric against her skin making her body temperature skyrocket.

  Just what did he do to her?

  She finally stepped out of them and moved to take off her bra, but he stilled her hand. "Not yet. I don't want to risk the distraction."

  "Distraction? From what?"

  He pressed her to sit on the couch before spreading her thighs. As he stared between her legs, her face burned as she gleamed his answer.

  Then Jose licked his lips, and her center pounded, aching to feel the pressure of his tongue.

  He groaned. "I can smell how sweet you are. I think it's about time to taste you."

  As he knelt before her, Victoria dug her nails into the cushions of the couch.

  It looked like her newfound adventure was quickly turning into one of the many fantasies she'd created over the years.

  And she only hoped he lived up to it. Because if anyone could, she sensed it was the dragonman kneeling before her.

  Chapter Four

  Not immediately throwing his female down and making her come with his tongue was one of the hardest things Jose had resisted in a while.

  But she had seemed unsure after the fucking amazing strip she'd done—even if it'd only been removing her jacket and shirt—and he hated the change of her confidence level.

  Removing the remainder of her clothes had washed most of the anxiety away, to the point his inner dragon growled, Tell her the truth. She should know she's our true mate.

  Soon, but not yet.

  No, he needed to ensure she was as relaxed as possible before he told her what could happen after he kissed her sweet mouth.

  Luckily, he knew what to do and it meant learning one of the things he burned to know about her—the taste of her sweet honey.

  So Jose knelt between her legs and stared at her wet, swollen center, already glistening for him. Not to mention her scent was stronger now and damn, she smelled better than anything he'd scented before, which only made his mouth water in anticipation.

  After stroking the silky skin of her inner thighs a few times, the final wisps of tension faded from her muscles, letting him know she was ready. With a growl, he leaned down and blew up her slit and back down.

  Victoria sucked in a breath, her nails digging even harder into the cushions, and he smiled. She probably wanted to grab his head and guide him down, but held back. He suspected his human wanted him dirty, their sex as well, but was shy to admit it.

  That just added another level of complexity to the prize that was Victoria Lewis.

  Jose finally closed the distance and gave one slow, long lick up her slit, just stopping short of her bundle of nerves at the top. She moaned, but he barely heard it as he went for another lick, and another, wanting to brand her sweet and salty taste into his memory.

  Keeping her hips in place, he lightly fucked her opening with his tongue, plunging, tickling, teasing her until she was all but ripping the material of the couch with her nails. If she didn't touch him soon, he'd make her.

  Focusing on his female's sweet center, he licked up slowly, this time up toward her clit, but only circled it without quite touching it.

  His female moved her hips, trying to get his tongue where she wanted it.

  And yet, he wanted her to demand it. So Jose continued his torture, licking up and around, never quite touching, his cock aching with each sip of her taste.

  Victoria finally put a hand on his head, threading her fingers through his hair. Yes, both man and beast screamed. Dig your nails in and demand that I make you come.

  When she didn't, he increased his nips, licks, and tongue fucking until she finally pressed his head toward her, her nails lightly scratching his scalp.

  Yes. One day, his mate would tell him exactly what she needed so he could give it to her.
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  Wanting to reward her, he flicked her tight bud once. Her throaty scream made his cock pulse and let out a drop of moisture.

  She put her other hand on his head and pressed harder. Taking the cue, he suckled her hard clit between his lips and stroked with his tongue. She pressed her hips upward, but he kept her in place, resisting the urge to fuck her with his fingers at the same time.

  He was only going to use his mouth to make her scream the first time.

  Jose let her clit go and continued to lap her pussy before heading back up and twirling her tight bud. He bit down hard, and Victoria dug her nails into his scalp.

  Well, well, his female liked it a little rough.

  He did it again, and she bucked upward, moaning as she came. He quickly moved his tongue to lap her pussy, reveling in her taste and slowing spasms, growling even harder when he could taste her orgasm.

  When she finally lay back against the couch, spent, he licked up her slit one more time before raising his head. Victoria's eyes were half-lidded, her face and entire upper body flushed.

  The sight of his female sated made him only want to do it again.

  He kissed up her body, between her breast, and finally to her jaw. "Well?"

  "I-I don't know what to say."

  He chuckled as he watched for her reaction. "Maybe something along the lines that was the best tongue fucking of my life?"

  Her blush deepened and she bit that delectable lower lip again. She was going to make them plump without him ever touching them.

  His beast whispered, I don't want to wait. Tell her. Now.

  Soon. She's almost ready.

  She raised a hand and lightly touched his jaw. Surprising even himself, he leaned into her caress.

  Never had a female been so gentle with him. And he craved more of it. Much more.

  She finally spoke, her voice a bit husky. "You've proven the myth of great oral sex can be a reality."

  The thought of her never receiving the worship she was due made him want to punch something.