Maybe if she wasn't on the verge of coming, she'd think about how that wasn't true most of the time. Only with him.
However, as Jose moved his hips and Victoria felt herself about to break, he stilled and growled, his seed spurting into her mouth. She didn't hesitate to swallow as he did, loving the saltiness that was Jose.
The taste was what sent her into her own orgasm. She cried out around his shaft and barely noticed how Jose moved back and slowly brought her to her feet.
He held her close, and she finally slumped against him, the hot water cascading over them both.
Pressing his cheek against her head, he murmured, "You please me too well, my little mate."
Pride surged through her. Never had she thought giving a guy a blow job would make her feel so good.
Then a question hit her, one she couldn't hold back. "Will the frenzy come back again, once the baby is born, in a never-ending cycle?"
Because if so, she wasn't sure if she could handle it over and over again for the rest of her life.
He stroked her back. "No, love. Just the once." He moved to her ear. "Although if you think I'm not going to remember you digging your nails into my back, my ass, my arms, and ask you to do it every time, then you're crazy."
She smiled against the warm skin of his chest. "Good, because I don't know if I can go back to not marking my man."
He growled. "I like you calling me your male."
Victoria hadn’t realized she’d done it. But it felt right, no matter how strange and short their courtship.
Before she could reply, he finally lifted her head to meet his gaze, her heart skipping a beat at the approval she saw there. "We have a lot to talk about, but let's clean up and get things taken care of with ADDA first." He traced her bottom lip. "But in case you start to worry, or freak out about your situation, then promise me that you'll tell me. I don't want you to hold anything back from me. Ever."
The longer she was around Jose, the more she wondered how every human woman out there didn't go racing for their own dragon-shifter. She'd never seen a man so devoted so quickly.
She nodded. "Okay, I promise. Once we're alone again after the ADDA stuff and are settled on your clan’s land, I have a ton of questions to ask. I had them even before all of this, and now? I may never get to ask them all."
He traced her cheek. "Even if it takes my whole life, I'll answer them all, Tori. You'll see."
The confidence in his voice, as if he believed it, made her heart skip a beat. She wanted to believe they would have a happily ever after of their own, and yet, it was never easy for a human and dragon-shifter to stay together in the US. At least, what she'd read to date, anyway.
Maybe they would be the exception instead of the rule.
Of course, to make that a reality, she needed to make an effort, too. It couldn't all fall to Jose. So she blurted, "How about you just start by telling me how to win your family over? Or, at the very least, how to make a good first impression?"
He searched her gaze, approval burning strong. "You want to win over my family?"
"Of course," she stated. "I want my—no, our—child to know all of their family. Mine might be more difficult since my parents live all the way in Scottsdale in Arizona, but I'm sure we can find a way for them to visit, too. It will probably be the strangest Christmas or Thanksgiving in history, but even so, I'm going to make it work."
Especially since half dragon-shifters could rarely go off a clan's land without permission, and her child would be one.
For a split second, she wondered how the dragons dealt with so little freedom.
But then she pushed it aside. That was a conversation to have with Jose later. Getting to his clan, learning the ropes, and getting used to the idea of living with a dragon clan were her main goals right now.
Oh, not to mention the teensy little fact she was pregnant—inner dragons could almost never lie about that fact—and would be a mom before long.
Placing a hand over her lower abdomen, she tried to believe it was real and imagine a tiny person growing inside her. However, at this stage, it was merely Jose's word telling her so.
He placed his much larger hand over hers, his warmth an instant comfort. She met his gaze as he said, "I'll be with you the whole way, love. It'll be all right in the end."
It was the closest either of them had hinted about the reality of a human birthing a half-dragon-shifter baby—in other words, there was a chance, about a fifty-fifty chance, she could die.
Jose kissed her cheek and said, "Your chances are much better than they would've been a few years ago. As much as I hate to admit it, those bloody British dragon-shifters have been busy figuring out how to keep their human mates alive, even with having more children than dragons usually have in such a short time period. If I have to make a deal with PineRock's head doctor to make sure he finds out why—if he doesn't know already—I'll do it. I want my true mate for more than nine months."
Since Victoria didn't know much beyond the book and the new videocast that had slowly started to introduce dragon-shifter culture to humans, she had no idea what he was talking about. She echoed, "My chances are better now?"
"Yes, love. Much better. The Brits haven't lost any human mates in childbirth for nearly two years." He kissed her lips slowly before adding, "I'll tell you everything once I get the chance to better know my mate. But in order to do that, we need to get to PineRock." He picked up a shampoo bottle. "Now, let me help you get clean and we'll do exactly that."
Victoria had never thought a man helping to wash her hair would be so rewarding, but as he massaged her scalp and she leaned her forehead against his chest, she thought it was something she could get used to.
And she was so relaxed from Jose's ministrations that she barely thought about anything but the dragonman in front of her and how she already wanted to stay with him beyond the birth of their child.
Chapter Seven
Victoria tried her best to focus on the scenery during the car ride to Clan PineRock instead of staring at the dragonman beside her.
It was difficult, and she did steal a few glances, but as long as he held her hand, Victoria could at least attempt to memorize her new landscape. Growing up in and around Las Vegas, she was used to the desert—sand, brush, and yes, even cacti. Not to mention lots and lots of rocks.
However, while Lake Tahoe itself was famous for being a deep lake in a beautiful shade of blue, she'd never really thought much about the surrounding area. The tall, thin pine trees, the ridges with little greenery at the top but occasionally snow—even in late summer—and the chance waterfall here and there were beautiful.
And as they drove deeper into the Desolation Wilderness, an area to the west of Lake Tahoe, Victoria fell in love with the forests and mountains. So very different from back home.
She wondered for the first time if dragon-shifters ever carried humans in the air. She could only imagine how much more beautiful an aerial view would be in winter when snow covered everything and some of the smaller lakes nearby would freeze, although never Tahoe itself.
Jose squeezed her hand and she met his gaze. He motioned up ahead. "There's the entrance to PineRock."
Leaning forward, she tried her best to see it from the back seat.
There was a huge metal gate in front of what looked like an entrance carved into rock. "I never saw anything about you living inside the mountain."
"No, we don't. Just wait. I don't want to ruin the surprise."
She was about to demand more when the gate opened slowly and the ADDA employee Ashley drove them through it, into the carved-out tunnel.
About forty feet later, they emerged into a huge valley—or maybe some sort of clearing? Victoria didn't know the right term—surrounded by mountains on all sides. Within the open space lay various houses and buildings. She could just make out a black dragon launching from the ground into the sky.
Jose murmured, "Welcome to PineRock."
As another dragon soared down
and then landed—a golden one—she wanted to burst from the car and run to see him or her shift into a human.
Yes, they'd be naked at the end of it, but she didn't care. She'd never seen anyone shift before, nor even had the chance to ask about it.
Did it hurt? How often could they do it? Could they ever get stuck in one form or the other?
But now, it was possible. Or, at the very least, soon would be.
Of course, that reminded her of the dragonman next to her. Somehow tearing her gaze away from the mismatched cabins, houses, and taller buildings of indiscriminate nature, she asked, "Will you show me your dragon form soon?"
Jose grunted an affirmative. "Yes, once we get settled. Believe me, my inner beast is anxious to come out and even threatening to shift right now."
The ADDA employee spoke up from the driver's seat. "I'd rather not have my car turn into a crushed pile of metal, thank you very much." Ashley pulled in front of one of the larger buildings that had four or five stories. It could've been a store or a sort of central government building, if Victoria had to guess. Did dragon-shifters have such things? The book had been about British dragon clans, not American ones. And there were bound to be differences.
Ashley turned off the engine and added, "We're here. Now before you two run off to get into trouble, we have a few things to settle first. And I'm sure your clan leader wouldn't appreciate you ditching him before introducing his latest resident, Jose."
Victoria didn't know much about the clan leader, apart from the fact his name was Wes Dalton. "We won't run off. Yet."
Jose snorted. "Wes isn't as fussy as ADDA. As long as you're with me, Tori, he probably won't care."
Ashley sniffed. "Probably being the operative word. Regardless, I don't want him chewing out my ass to my boss." She opened her door. "Now are you going to stick with me or do I have to call a few of the Protectors to make sure you do?"
Protectors were a type of security guard for dragon-shifters, that much she knew from the official ADDA website. Although they often trained with the US Army Reserves and were much more than an average rent-a-cop. Victoria knew she'd never want to meet a dragon warrior in the sky, or even on the ground. Their super senses alone would win them most any fight.
Victoria answered before Jose. "We'll stick with you, Ashley. I'm curious to meet the clan leader anyway."
Especially since he will ultimately be the one to decide if I stay here after the baby is born or not.
They disembarked the car. Jose took her hand again and they followed Ashley into the building.
Victoria did her best not to gape, but failed. A lot of men and even a few women walked around in T-shirts, their dark, inked dragon tattoos on their arms identical. Every single one of them had to be at least six feet tall, even the women. And they all had more muscle than she'd ever seen in one room before, even when she'd attempted to join a gym for a few weeks.
She felt somewhat powerless among them all, too. They all had super senses to augment their strength.
Victoria just needed to make sure she never pissed anyone off she couldn't handle in the end.
A few of the dragon-shifters nodded at Jose, and he grunted back. There were so many faces, she wondered how long it'd take her to learn them all. Because even if they tried to ignore her, Victoria would learn their names. Before she'd become an online teacher, she'd been one with a real-life classroom. And learning everyone's names as soon as possible had been a huge help, her making the effort at least scoring a few points with the students.
Ashley stopped in front of a door. "And here we are. Wes and a few other prominent clan members will be inside. Ready, Victoria? Or do you need a minute?"
Doing her best to ignore her pounding heart—she wanted to meet the clan leader but was still a little nervous since her experience with dragon-shifters was limited to one—she nodded. "I'm ready."
"Then let's get this over with," the other human woman stated.
Ashley entered the room and walked in as if she owned it, her head and shoulders high, her gait determined. Victoria had to give the woman credit—she didn't let much stronger, taller, and faster beings intimidate her. Maybe she could learn something from the ADDA employee.
Once inside, Victoria spotted a slightly older, mildly tanned auburn-haired man with the universal American dragon-shifter tattoo on his arm, leaning back in his chair. To his right was another man, with dark hair, skin, and the same tattoo, as well as a dark-haired female with light brown skin to the center man's left. However, since the woman wore a long-sleeved shirt, Victoria had no idea if she was a dragon-shifter or not.
Then her pupils flashed to slits. Yep, a dragon-shifter.
Ashley nodded to the auburn-haired man. "Dalton."
So he was Wes Dalton, the clan leader.
He motioned for them all to sit. "A pleasure, as always, Ms. Swift." His brown-eyed gaze moved to Victoria. "And you must be Victoria."
Even as they sat, Jose placed a possessive arm around her shoulders. She wanted to frown at him, but she didn't want to be rude to the clan leader. "Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you, Mr. Dalton."
The woman across from her snorted. "So polite."
Wes frowned at the dragonwoman. "Behave, Cris. Her safety is your concern now." Before Victoria could ask what he meant, Wes waved at the woman. "This is Cristina Juarez, our head Protector. She's in charge of clan security."
Victoria blinked. "A female head Protector?"
The woman leaned forward. "Is that a problem?"
Jose growled. "Be nice, Cris."
Cris raised her brows. "I can be nice later. Her safety is more important, which means understanding my role here. I can't have her doubting my authority or ignoring my orders, because that might get her killed."
The man to Wes's right sighed. "Ignore Cris. It's not easy being a female Protector, let alone a head one. She comes off as aggressive, but she cares deeply for the clan." Cris growled at him in warning, but the man ignored her. "My name is Troy Carter, and I'm the clan's head doctor. You'll be seeing me more than probably anyone else on PineRock, apart from Jose, of course."
She nodded at the doctor, grateful for his smile and kind eyes. Not everyone would hate her here, it seemed.
The clan leader spoke again. "And just call me Wes, Victoria. Mr. Dalton sounds like my father." He leaned forward and continued, "With the introductions out of the way, let's get down to business. Victoria, you're to stay here until the baby is born. After that, you'll have an option of staying, but only if you convince us three that you truly want to be here, regardless of the consequences. Not even for Jose’s dragon’s sake will I force someone to live with us." Jose tightened his grip on Victoria's shoulders, but the clan leader carried on unfazed. "Which means you'll have to abide by the clan rules above all. There's no halfway point here—you're either with the clan or outside of it. Do you understand?"
Even though Wes's eyes were kind, they were also steely. She could only imagine what happened if someone dared to piss him off.
Which, of course, she had zero interest in doing. She wouldn't stand a chance against an angry dragon-shifter, and that was before they changed into a big, scaled beast.
She nodded. Wes then waved to either side of him. "Cris and Dr. Carter will help coordinate your stay at the beginning. But after that, you'll have lessons with the clan teachers, as well as learn plenty of stuff from Jose and his family. However, if for any reason you feel threatened or in danger, you come straight to me, okay?"
Jose growled. "I will protect her."
Wes moved his gaze to him. "I know that's your intent. But it's just a precaution and the standard protocol. You know that. Even if Victoria is the first human to live on PineRock for quite some time and is your true mate, the rules haven't changed."
She frowned at that, and something hit her. "Are there any other humans here?"
Wes shook his head. "You're the only one."
"Oh." She'd assumed at least some of the dragons had hu
man mates.
Which meant she'd be completely surrounded by a different species, with their own ways and expectations. No one else would truly understand her situation, let alone would she have a friend with whom she could rant a little when she got frustrated.
Sure, she wanted to make this work with Jose, but there were always times when a girl needed to vent a little. And she doubted they'd let her reach out to her human best friend back in Vegas.
Could she handle the isolation?
As if sensing her slightly rising panic, Ashley said, "After a few months, you can have visitors, provided they pass the background check. Not to mention I'll be stopping by often to check on you, so much so that everyone will get sick of me soon enough."
Even though she hadn't known the ADDA employee long, Victoria already liked her. "I doubt that'll happen."
Jose grunted. "Oh, it will."
Ashley gave him a glance before looking back at the clan leader. "I have all the paperwork with me. Shall we go get this the hell over with?"
Wes's lips twitched. "I should report your unprofessional attitude to ADDA."
"But won't. You never did before."
As they shared a look, Victoria wondered at their history.
However, Ashley stood up and everyone else followed suit. Wes looked back at Victoria. "Jose will show you to your cabin, but know that you have appointments with both Cris and Dr. Carter later today. The sooner you know what to expect, the sooner you can try to establish a routine. From what I understand, you'll be working while living here."
She bobbed her head. "I teach online high school classes. They'll be starting up soon, and I want to keep it up."
"As long as you don't divulge secrets, that'll be fine. But the second you cause trouble, you'll have to quit."
His edict rubbed her the wrong way, but she had no choice but to accept it. Her future, the one where she could stay with her child, dangled in the balance. "I understand."
"Good. Then I'm off to fill out paperwork with Ms. Swift. Welcome to Clan PineRock, Victoria Lewis. I hope you'll think of it as home soon enough."
The Dragon's Choice (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 1) Page 6