by Amelia Jade
“But what about after?”
“What about it?”
“What if you get bored of me? Want to change? I mean come on, look at me.” She dropped her arms, inviting him to look over her body, rolls and all. “I’m not a prized catch.”
“I disagree.” His voice was deep, entrancing. “I see a woman in front of me, a woman that any man should be proud to have. I love your softness.”
“But I’m fat!”
He snorted violently, getting onto his knees and facing her. “There’s just more of you for me to love.”
She couldn’t help but smile. It was cheesy, but it was clear he meant it. “I just mean you’re so gorgeous.”
“Stop.” He spoke softly, but she could hear the steel behind his command. “That’s enough self-disparagement. If you don’t believe me when I say that you’re beautiful, I’m just going to have to prove it to you.” He glanced down.
Marie’s eyes followed involuntarily, already knowing what she was going to find. His cock was sticking out like a flagpole, stiff and at attention. “And if that’s not enough,” he growled, dropping to all fours and easing his way in between her legs with his mouth. “Hopefully this is.”
His tongue flicked across her clit, gentle and slow. Marie had thought herself satisfied from earlier, but the way his breath warmed her skin told her otherwise. Her head fell back, a quiet moan the only sound other than his breathing as his tongue played across her, slick and heated and amazing.
“This conversation isn’t over,” she warned.
“Yes it is.”
Garath didn’t say another word. He slipped a finger inside, pushing her toward the edge as he combined it with the pressure of his tongue, moving them in time with each other. Marie cupped her breasts, kneading the soft flesh and rolling her nipple between her fingers, enjoying the way his eyes went dark at the sight.
She wasn’t going to last much longer, and Garath timed it perfectly, a second finger entering her just as she was at the edge.
Marie shook violently, her muscles already tired from earlier. She sank back into the bed, falling onto her side as she saw stars. He knew just how to touch her it seemed, every orgasm a thundering roar that pelted her entire body with ecstasy unlike anything she’d known before Garath.
“Is it always going to be like this?”
She was gasping for breath already, and he hadn’t even penetrated her yet. Garath got back to his knees, placing his tip between her legs. Apparently that last part was about to change. Marie honestly wasn’t sure she could handle it; her brain was already overwhelmed with all the pleasure it had received that day.
“Yes.”
“Oh, okay. Good. Just checking.” She sighed as he entered her at last.
He lowered himself onto her, and she pulled him in, her nails digging in tight as he pushed his entire length deep into her. Fuck, it felt so good. Renewed energy coursed through her body as he thrust against her.
“Garath,” she whispered, seeing the way his face was drawing tight, eyes alight as he watched her body bounce under him. “I want you inside me. The entire time.”
Her mate—it still felt strange referring to him as that, but she didn’t doubt the truth of it, not anymore—froze. “Are you certain?”
She nodded. Until then he’d always pulled out, but this time she was ready. “I want it. Please. I want to feel you inside me until the end.”
Garath didn’t hesitate a second time. Her legs curled up around his waist as he drove himself deeper.
“Now,” she begged. “Come for me, Garath, my love. My mate!”
He cried out and buried his face in her neck, calling out her name over and over again. She was spent, but this wasn’t for her. It was for him. Warmth exploded inside her and she bit down on the lop of his ear at the same time, drawing another shiver from the mighty giant as he finished inside of her.
A closeness she hadn’t expected came over them as they lay together after, having shared something more intimate than ever.
“Will I get pregnant?” she asked. “How does that even work? With dragons I mean.” She laughed. “I know how getting pregnant works.”
Garath chuckled as well. “Dragons are known for being pretty potent. Are you on any birth control?”
She shook her head.
“Oh. Well, then there’s a good chance. No diseases though,” he added hurriedly as she looked a little surprised. “Never from a dragon.”
“That’s good.”
Her hand curled over her stomach. She would carry his children, she decided. Maybe not today, maybe not this week. But soon.
“We’re getting married,” she told him, speaking softly into his ear before he moved from on top of her.
“With pleasure, my love. When?”
She thought about it. “Two weeks. No more than that.”
“I’ll be there.”
“You’d better be! You’re kind of one of the stars.”
He laughed, sitting up at last. “You’re going to need a ring though.”
“Right.” She held up her left hand, looking at the empty finger second from the end.
Garath’s hand covered hers, his eyes focusing for a moment. Then he removed them.
“Oh, Garath.”
From out of nowhere he’d conjured her a ring. It was made of pure black, but that didn’t matter to her; it was sort of fitting in a way. The band was plain and unadorned, but the stone itself wasn’t actually a stone. It was a sharp-angled and straight-sided cup of sorts. It housed a pool of acid so shiny the light in the room reflected off it as it swirled around.
“Do you like it?”
“Like it? I love it. It’s perfect. It’s so…you.” She looked at it some more.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just…well, what if I turn it upside down? Won’t it spill out?”
He laughed and flipped her hand over. Nothing happened. “Oh. Okay. Then yes, it’s perfect!”
Garath embraced her tightly, reluctant to let her go even a few inches away.
“I love you, Garath.”
His arms squeezed her more. “I love you, Marie.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Garath
“You know, you really are amazing.”
They were back at Fort Banner. After the incident with Liam and the Outsider, Colonel Mara had recalled all the dragons to the base for almost an entire week. It had been tough to be around all of them, but Garath had managed.
He’d had no choice but to trust Cowl during the fight, and the other dragon hadn’t let him down, even putting himself in harm’s way when Garath was in trouble. He was trying to open up to the idea that maybe some of the other dragons here could be trustworthy, but it wasn’t going to happen overnight.
Marie glanced at him from where she sat in the driver’s seat. “I know. But what makes you say it right now?”
He chuckled happily. Garath loved it when his mate accepted how amazing she was. “You love me, even though I have no treasure to offer you. I never did get it back from Liam. He must have spent it all, the bastard.”
“I love you for you, Garath. Not because you aren’t super wealthy. When are you going to accept that?”
“Probably never. Treasure is a core part of who I am.”
Marie smoothly pulled the car into a parking spot out behind of her work. He got out and ran around to open the door for her before she could get out.
“Why thank you.” She trailed one nail down his chest. “I won’t forget that.”
He grinned. “I hope not. I can’t buy you a car with self-opening doors, so I’m going to have to do it myself.”
Marie sighed. “Garath. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Anything my love. I have no secrets from you.”
“Okay. You’re pissed at Liam for stealing your treasure, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Tell me. How did you acquire that treasure in the first place? Did you mine for it
on land you owned?”
He scoffed. “Of course not. I am a dragon. I took it from nobles who no longer had a use for it.”
She rolled her eyes. “So you stole it.”
Garath clasped his hands over his heart. “It wasn’t like that, I promise.”
“Right.” She didn’t believe him at all.
Smart woman.
“Well, these days we don’t make fortunes by robbing people.”
“You don’t?”
They headed into the officers’ mess together. Marie didn’t have to work, but Colonel Mara had called for a meeting of all the dragons. Garath didn’t think it would be anything good.
“No. You make your own fortunes. It’s called capitalism. You provide something others need, and you make profit off of it.”
“I see. That sounds boring and terrible. How about I just go raid some rich person?”
She shook her head. “Most people don’t carry wealth on them anymore. It’s all digital now.”
“I see. Well how do you suppose I make money then?”
Marie thought for a moment while he pulled open the door for her, ushering his mate inside. “Well, what are you good at that others aren’t?”
“Well, I—”
“You are not becoming a gigolo.”
Garath didn’t know what that was, but he could infer. “Okay. Well, I’m pretty good with my dragon powers.”
“Okay! There you go. The other dragons here, they have treasures, right?”
“Yes,” he replied grumpily, unhappy at the reminder that he was the only penniless dragon on the base.
“So you give them lessons.” Marie brightened as she spoke. “That’s actually perfect. You get to make money and you’re forced to get to know them, and maybe even realize that they’re decent people. I like it. What do you think?”
He hated it, and didn’t bother to hide it.
“Good. We’re agreed then. You’re going to start giving the others lessons and charging them for it. Take their treasure, make it your own.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Garath, this will be good for you. Trust me on this, you need to do it.”
“You’re asking a lot of me.”
“I know.”
He sighed as they entered the main dining room. Most of the others were already assembled, the five mated dragons and Kyen, the final dragon shifter. He was an oddball, a scientist dragon. It was he who, in conjunction with a human scientist, had come up with the process for reviving the sleeping dragons. Alongside him was Lianna, his human counterpart. The two of them were in deep conversation.
Conspicuously absent was Cowl, but Garath didn’t bring it up.
“Okay, I’ll try,” he said quietly as they approached the group.
“Good.”
They said their hellos and then took a seat as Colonel Mara stood.
“You’re all probably wondering why I brought you here today. Well, I’m not going to keep you in suspense any longer. Shit just got real.” She picked up a file folder. “This is a DNA analysis of Liam’s body. Ten points to anyone who can guess what it says.”
“Do the points mean anything?”
Marie elbowed him hard in the ribs.
Colonel Mara shook her head. “No, they’re pointless. But I’ll spoil the surprise. It shows Outsider DNA attached to the cells we’ve identified as being a major part of the shifter gene.”
The others all started talking amongst themselves. Garath had already assumed something similar, based on what he’d seen firsthand, but to have it proven conclusively was still stunning.
“There’s more.”
He sat upright at that.
“We think there’s more of them.”
Kallore spoke first this time, sitting with two others with the thick burly stature of crimson dragons. “How do you know that?”
Colonel Mara pointed at the shifter on Kallore’s left. He had jet-black hair and eyes the color of pencil lead.
“When Corde here was courting Kylie, a street gang kept harassing them. When it was over, we found their corpses, devoid completely of life. Thanks to no proof that he was there Corde went free, but we always knew there had to be more to it.”
“It was Liam?” That was another dragon he’d met once, Thorne.
“No. We tracked Liam back as far as we could. That included a trip out of town for nearly a month at the same time as the incident with Corde. We think someone else was liaising between the gang and the Outsider, coordinating movements and giving the thugs more information than they should ever have had.”
A shifter with khaki-blond hair spoke up. “Don’t forget the break-in at the human facility in Barton City.”
“Exactly. Callan here was put at risk because someone in our midst set an Outsider free. Nobody even remotely resembling Liam was ever granted access to our facilities.”
Garath swore. “There’s another one of them.”
Colonel Mara nodded. “There’s another one more infected dragon. At least.”
Perfect.
He gripped Marie’s hand tighter. Things were just getting started it seemed. The times ahead were about to get very, very interesting.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Marie
“Where are you taking me? And are you sure it’s safe for you to be driving a Jeep?”
He groaned. “Seriously? That was a month ago! I’ve gotten better since then.”
She giggled, her hands clamped over her eyes. “But it hasn’t stopped being funny when I bring it up.”
Garath was probably glaring, but she couldn’t see it. “Fine. No surprise for you.”
“No! Wait. I love surprises. I’m sorry. Please take me there.”
The glow behind her hands grew dim and the engine began to echo off of metal. They were inside somewhere now. Garath drove for a bit longer before coming to a gentle halt.
“You’re lucky I’m madly in love with you,” he teased, leaning over to kiss her as he put it in park.
She looked down, her cheeks blazing hot. “I am lucky. I know that.”
The smile didn’t leave her face as he moved around to her side and lifted Marie down from her seat. Taking her hands, he guided her across the floor, ensuring her eyes were still closed.
“Okay. Now you can look.” He stepped aside as she opened her eyes.
“Oh my God.” Her knees went weak and she was forced to lean on Garath for support. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yup. One 1971 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda Convertible owned originally by a James R. Proctor. Good as new.”
She ran forward to the car, running her fingers along the long, lean classic lines of the sports car. It glittered in the muted sunlight that streamed in through a nearby window. There wasn’t a speck of dust on it, evidence that someone had recently cleaned it.
“Garath…how?”
“It was buried deep in storage apparently. A mechanic was looking for spares for another vehicle and came across it. He knew it didn’t belong, so he filed a report. I’d put the word out that I was looking for this car, and so they came to me. I got it cleaned up and ready for you. What do you think?”
She leapt into his arms. “I think I love you!”
He grinned, returning her kisses with equal enthusiasm. “Do you think we could go for a spin?”
Her face had to be like that of a kid, but she didn’t care. The car was all she had left of her father, and the memories of it were ones she would cherish for a lifetime.
And now Garath wanted to make new ones with her.
She nodded vigorously. “Of course. But I’m driving! This is a very different color red than spaghetti sauce. People would notice.”
The dragon shifter groaned.
********
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This concludes Dragon Addiction, Onyx Dragons Book 3.
I hope you enjoyed the adventure. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts on the book, anywhere from characters, to plot, to even
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The Outsiders
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-Amelia Jade
The Outsiders
This is the series/book list for the Outsiders world.
Crimson Dragons
Dragon Temptation
Dragon Seduction
Dragon Devotion