A Royal Continuum

by Marie Harte

  Her face felt hot and she prayed she wouldn't feel so embarrassed around Tanner when he woke. Finishing her shower, she searched for a towel but couldn't find one. Dripping wet and cold, she rushed into her bedroom and found an extra in her closet. After drying off and wrapping it around her, she turned to find a body lying on her bed.

  Tanner's injured friend. The minute she stepped closer, she smelled him, and the intoxicating scent froze her to the spot.

  Matthias Dekker lay covered in her pink and white quilt, a bandage on his forehead and a shock of dark hair the only things visible on her pillow. But she'd know his scent anywhere. Immediately, her hormones began fluttering, wanting more of what Tanner had just given her, but this time from a different male.

  Shocked, Ava stepped back as quietly as she was able. She grabbed a pair of sweats lying on a nearby chair and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  Her clothes in one hand, her towel around her breasts cinched with her other, she stared in astonishment from the naked male on her bearskin rug to the closed bedroom door, wondering how the hell her life had become so complicated in so little time.

  Chapter 4

  * * *

  Ava awoke the next morning sprawled next to Tanner on the floor. She'd fallen asleep on the couch, so he must have put her next to him on the rug near the fire he'd started.

  His large hand stroked her back, under her sweatshirt, in comforting loops that made her snuggle closer to him. She felt the press of his lips on her hair and sighed, wondering how she could feel so deeply for a man she'd just met.

  "You are so beautiful," he murmured, his hand shifting to her lower back before circling around her shoulder blades again. "So special."

  His touch, different than last night, took her back to the edge of sleep. So it was a minute before she realized Tanner had stopped.

  "Well, well." Matthias's husky voice sounded from the vicinity of the bedroom. "Ava Tailstack, as I live and breathe."

  Tanner gently set her aside and swiftly came to his feet, and she saw he'd redressed in his clothes from the previous day. "How do you feel?" he asked gruffly, folding those muscular arms over his chest. He kept his gaze on Matthias's face, but Ava didn't have the same strength.

  Matthias stood casually, completely comfortable in his nudity. But hell, what man wouldn't be with that body? Ava wanted to glance away but couldn't stop herself from looking her fill. God, he was so handsome. That shoulder length hair, like black silk framing a face too beautiful for words. His fit body, muscles that contracted as he shifted his arms, the thick length of him nestled between his thighs. She swallowed hard, trying her damnedest to look away.

  Finally tearing her gaze, she noted that his eyes gleamed as he stared from her to Tanner, and he looked like the proverbial cat who'd swallowed the canary.

  Ava followed his stare to Tanner, then brought hers back to Matthias, mentally comparing the two. Both were large men, Tanner fair where Matthias was dark. Matthias was taller but leaner, whereas Tanner had that added muscle and that gleam in his eyes that spoke of danger. Matthias's black eyes sparkled, a shimmer that spoke to the libido in anyone with a pulse. But still, after her encounter with Tanner last night, she was a bit surprised to note Tanner responding to Matthias's sensual presence. His eyes traveled over Matthias's strong frame, lingering on his cock. He licked his lips, his gaze hungry although he tried to conceal it. And Matthias responded with an impressive erection he didn't even try to hide as he stared from Tanner to Ava.

  Damned if Ava wasn't more than a little turned on watching them.

  "How do I feel?" Matthias shrugged. "Like I've been in a bar fight." He left the doorway of the bedroom, walking slowly. Ava wasn't sure if the tension in his body stemmed from his painful erection or the injuries he'd suffered before coming to her place.

  Tanner swore under his breath and helped Matthias to the kitchen table, easing him into one of the chairs with that gentleness she found key to his character.

  "You helped me out yesterday. It's Tanner, isn't it? I know you, don't I?"

  Matthias waited for an answer, his eyes still moving over her and Tanner with appreciation. Though she shouldn't have felt another desirous bone in her body after her orgasms from Tanner, she found herself wanting more...from both men, which had her deliberately walking to the corner in the kitchen to put the table between her and them.

  "Tanner Flay." Tanner said nothing more, and Matthias folded his arms across his packed abs.

  "Okay, Tanner. Let's lay our cards on the table, hmm? I'm here to collect Ava, a chore I should have done years ago."

  "Chore?" She choked on the word, but Matthias, the arrogant bastard, ignored her.

  "And when I happened to be in a seedy little hick bar looking for Ava, I ran into some trouble. Next thing I know, I see you taking men apart left and right, and then I woke here, to pleasure so intense I can't even begin to describe it."

  Tanner flushed, the sight so incongruous with such a large, fierce warrior that Ava did a double-take, as did Matthias. Ava stared, wondering just what she'd missed before coming home, and why she felt as if she should have been a part of it.

  "Lucas is going to kill me," Tanner muttered.

  "I knew it! That jackass has been hounding me about protection, and despite my words to the contrary, he assigned me a bodyguard anyway."

  "Not a bodyguard. Just someone to watch your back," Tanner tried.

  "And my front, too, hmm?"

  When Matthias got that look in his eyes, Ava wanted to melt. She noted Tanner in the same state, the bulge between his thighs becoming more pronounced, even with his jeans on. Hell, she wanted to unbutton those jeans, strip down his zipper with her teeth and sink her fingers into the nest of desire waiting between his thighs. She'd take him between her lips and spread her legs while Matthias took her from behind, his cock huge and thick and...

  Matthias was staring at her with a sensual grin, and Ava blinked to regain her concentration. Licking her lips nervously, she saw Tanner's wide-eyed stare as well. Oh, shit, she hadn't said anything or moaned while daydreaming, had she?

  "Tanner, why are you here?" Matthias asked softly, returning his focus to the large male.

  "I'm here to make sure you don't get hurt," Tanner growled, his eyes flaring with irritation as he turned away from Matthias.

  "Oh, I'm feeling far from hurt." Matthias smiled lazily before his gaze narrowed. "Or did Lucas put you up to a handjob, too?"

  Tanner stilled and slowly faced Matthias. For a moment, his rage in the room became a tangible thing. Ava feared Matthias had pushed too far. Tanner clenched and unclenched his hands, his fingers arching into claws. What looked to Ava like hurt flashed in the kaleidoscope color of his eyes, and then Tanner spun on his heel and slammed his way into the bedroom.

  Ava stared from the closed door to Matthias, wondering at his pleased grin.

  "That was cruel, Matthias."

  "No, it was helpful." Matthias patted the spot beside him at the table. "And now that I have the answer from Tanner I needed, why don't you tell me why you refuse to talk to your uncle. And why you lit out of the keep so fast it made my head spin."

  Ava already felt vulnerable in front of Matthias, her desire for the man still there, even after a night of mind-numbing sex with another. And blast it all, she still loved the lout. No matter that he'd never taken the time to notice her. It made no difference that he'd lusted after a human he'd just met. She still felt for him, deep in her heart. And the knowledge it wasn't returned crushed her.

  She walked past him and scooped up her torn clothes still lying on the rug before the fireplace. She felt his breath on her neck before she saw him, and once again she found herself suddenly tackled, Matthias a heavy weight holding her down.

  Talk about an off couple of days.

  Her muttered protest died a swift death as his hard cock prodded her ass through her sweats. In seconds he had her pants stripped and was covering her again before she could
take a breath. Spreading her thighs with his knees, he hissed into her ear.

  "Do you have any idea how worried Shino is? Or how any of us felt knowing you were out here, all alone, and not with your other cousins, the ones you said you were visiting?" He shifted, angling his shaft between her legs, ever closer to her plumping clit.

  Well, dammit, "they" might have been worried about her, but she'd been pissed that he'd fallen for Lea's sister, and was still probably still in love with the woman. "I don't owe you any explanations," she growled. "Now get the hell off of me, your highness, before I give you another couple of bruises to match the ones on your fat head."

  Matthias shook his head, his soft hair brushing her cheeks. Pulling her waist up to elevate her pelvis, he gave her no room to maneuver as he controlled her body with his much stronger one. His chuckle was intimate, no more than a breath in her ear before he thrust a finger inside her. She groaned, and he removed the digit from her slick heat, only to return the head of his cock at her entrance before plunging deep.

  "Ah, Ava. I've been wanting this for so, so long." He pulled out and thrust again, and she moaned at the heat building between them. "Do you know what it felt like to watch Tanner fucking you, my pretty little golden dragon?" He rammed particularly hard, making her breath catch with desire.

  "Matthias." He'd watched them? Seen Tanner between her legs, kissing her...there?

  "It felt as if he was fucking you with my cock. For years I've watched you blossom, Ava. Shino's a respected man...I couldn't just fuck his precious niece, could I? And even when his daughter tried tempting me closer, I couldn't think of her for want of you."

  His words mingled with the rapture of his thrusts, spiraling her into a madness of lust and love. Possession gripped her, to own him as surely as he owned her heart.

  "Didn't stop you from fucking Cora Venlay, though, did it?" She couldn't help seething about that, her jealousy still an open wound.

  He pounded into her, reaching a hand around to grind his fingers against her clit, and the pressure had her sopping wet in seconds.

  "I didn't fuck her," he said through gritted teeth, grunting as he took her. "How could I when I couldn't stop thinking about you? A young, respectable Dracon with an elder for an uncle? But you're not too young, now, are you Ava?"

  "Or respectable," she muttered, still absurdly hurt.

  "Fuck that. You're fine." Matthias's anger flared in a burst of heat over her body, firebreather breath that was as powerful an aphrodisiac as Matthias himself. "And you're mine. Now come for me, dammit. I want you to shatter around me. Milk my cock, Ava. Take me. Not Tanner. Me."

  Ava fought against it, still upset that he'd paid attention to Cora when she'd been in love with him for so long. She didn't believe all this possessive crap, because she wanted to so badly and couldn't bear to face the sorry truth. It was all just a game to get her to return with him peaceably. All a strategy to help her respected uncle win her over, and maybe an attempt to one-up Tanner, who he was still angry with.

  "Ava," he rasped, his fingers killing her. "Come, baby. Let me love you."

  She hated that voice, that soft, seductive timbre that had her melting with lust. His fingers slid over her just as the crown of his cock hit her G-spot hard enough to shove her into the climax she resisted.

  "Matthias," she moaned, unable to stop the tide of ecstasy from crashing down around her.

  "God, yes." He roared, shooting a bolt of fire into the fireplace, adding brilliance to the already blazing fire. Matthias began thundering in Drac as he jetted into her, words of love and desire she didn't dare believe. Hot seed washed her womb, and for a second she swore she felt Tanner with them, as if he were right there, completing their joining. But when she glanced over her shoulder into Matthias's face, she saw they were still alone. And Matthias was none too pleased with her, despite their shared pleasure.

  * * * *

  Tanner could hear Ava and Matthias fucking, and as angry as he was, the sounds of sex turned him on. He'd felt so tender toward Ava, so possessive, yet the thought of Matthias with her only felt...right. Tanner swore. Prince Matthias Dekker, asshole extraordinaire, and his quarry Ava Tailstack, fallen angel off the mountain. He wanted to go out there and join them, but knew it wasn't his place. Matthias's setdown had hurt. But what the hell kind of reception had Tanner actually expected? He'd fucked around with Matthias while the prince lay helpless, and then he'd fucked the woman Matthias had been in such a rush to find, even if he hadn't known who she was at the time.

  Pacing the room did nothing for him, and Tanner had an urge to feel the wind beneath his wings, the cool air sliding between his scales. But duty called to him, the one thing of worth in life that gave him great pride. He'd been tasked with Matthias's safe return. Trusted to keep the damned prince safe. And whether the bastard wanted it or not, he'd have Tanner's protection until Tanner brought him home. Once in Dracon Mount, Tanner could wash his hands clean of the prince and give him back to Lucas. And then, hell, maybe he'd leave the States for a while. A tour around the world might do him good. Would make for some interesting travels, at the least. Because staying anywhere near Matthias after tonight was out of the question.

  He'd heard that the Dracon clans in Europe held quite a few icebreathers, as well as other unique Dracon spawn. They probably had a lot more tolerance for different Dracon than many of his kind did in the States. There were Dracon in Europe who might not have the same hang-ups about half-breeds that the clans stateside did. Maybe Tanner could join a clan out there.

  He'd never known his father, and frankly had never wanted to. His mother had been more than enough to handle. But there remained in him the smallest niggle of hope that lingered on his worst days. Maybe she'd lied. Maybe his father hadn't known about him when he'd deserted his mother. Yeah, and maybe Matthias and Ava were hopelessly in love with him.

  Hope. Hope was as dangerous as the truth. He ought to know that by now.

  Groaning when he heard Ava and Matthias climax, Tanner said to hell with it and yanked open one of the windows. He climbed out, deciding on a walk around the perimeter to get a feel for the land and its defenses. Though the fight at the bar was a good fifteen miles away, this was a small community in the mountains. If anyone had an inkling that Ava lived out here by herself, or even worse, that she was Dracon, Tanner knew things could go from bad to worse in a heartbeat.

  He took advantage of the daylight and his Dracon senses, aware should anyone near the cabin, and kicked through some dead wood before he hit a stream. The steady trickle of water soothed him and, for a moment, Tanner allowed himself to bask in the quiet, and to think about the odd path his life had taken.

  At fourteen his mother had died, leaving him guilt- and abuse-free for the first time in his life. All her talk of his deadbeat father and how Tanner had royally screwed up her life had come to a screeching halt after one binge too many. Tanner had spent the next few years traveling and had seen enough to know that Dracon weren't so much hated as they were feared in many uneducated parts of the country--the places his mother frequented with wild abandon. For that very reason he'd hid his nature as a shifter from not only his peers, but when she was alive, from his mother as well. She would have disowned him outright had she known how much he really took after his father.

  Tanner knelt by the stream and cupped his hands, appreciating the cold mountain water. He'd often wondered about his father, about the kind of man who would sleep with his vitriolic mother. Mary Flay had been pretty, yes, and maybe not as bitter before Tanner had been born. But the years had changed her, and not for the better.

  Upon her death, drifting from state home to state home, Tanner had seen many ugly things, and not just from the humans he'd tried to live among. After he'd managed to control his shapeshifting ability, he'd tried joining a few clans out west. Once they'd learned of his rare, mixed human and Dracon blood, they'd made his life miserable. So he'd tried to blend in with the humans, moving from one job to the next. He
'd found his niche with security services, and he'd done fairly well for himself so long as he didn't care who he protected. Hell, some of his best clients had been arms dealers and mafia thugs.

  By the time he'd hit twenty-six three years ago, he'd almost given up on the Dracon. Then, during a protection detail for an arms dealer's girlfriend, he'd met a few decent Dracon down in Florida. They'd been fair, which was more than he could say for most of the people in his life. And out of a sense of homesickness for his kind, which was odd considering he'd never really had a home, he'd left the human world behind to protect and serve Dracon-kind.

  He did his job well, and for two years had lived in relative peace south of Orlando. Surprisingly, the Dracon who seemed to appreciate him most were the females he'd fucked. But they'd only been after his body, and the mutual pleasure he'd encountered had set well enough. He liked sex with human females better, though. Humans and Dracon couldn't crossbreed when a female wasn't in heat--and then only rarely--and with his Dracon senses, he knew when to avoid them. And his kind weren't susceptible to disease. No strings attached sex had afforded much pleasure in a life lacking even the simplest of kindnesses.

  So he'd tried to stick it out in Florida, and had done a decent job until one asshole had made a comment about him being a mongrel, a sore subject Tanner couldn't let go, as much as he wanted to. One fist led to one bite and soon to the asshole's near-annihilation. Luckily, the Dracon wasn't quite as popular as Tanner's boss, a Dracon diamond merchant who'd kindly referred him to security in Asheville, in Dracon Mount, or what Tanner liked to refer to as Dracon central.

  Tanner couldn't help smiling at the odd happenstance. Why Lucas had taken a liking to him was beyond his understanding, but perhaps fate had seen a way to give him a fucking break for once.

  Whatever the reason, Lucas Toren, one of the rare icebreathers this side of the Atlantic, had taken him on as part of the king's security detail. Lucas knew everything about him, and still accepted him without question. The giant icebreather had his respect...no small thing, that. Then again, Lucas was no small thing himself. The damned Dracon stood well above Tanner, and had a reputation as the fiercest badass in the Dracon community, on this continent or any other.