by Tami Lund
“What the heck are you talking about?”
Petra leaned forward and took a pull from the second straw shoved into the drink that took up half the tabletop. “The curse on our colony. The reason none of us will ever find our fated mates.”
Talia fell back against her chair and rolled her eyes. “Gabe has some deep-seated fear of taking a mate, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the curse.”
“He’s afraid to take a mate? And here I just thought he was an asshole.”
“What the hell is your problem? And his? You hate each other, and I have no idea why. And frankly, it’s damned annoying.”
“He told you he hates me?”
“He says you’re never happy and that’s the reason you can’t find a mate.”
Her friend sniffed and drank more of the fruity concoction. “I could say the same about him.”
“No, actually. He’d have no trouble at all finding a mate.” A point that really, really bothered Talia. Far more than it should. She knew the ground rules. She knew the stakes. And even though he promised they were going to hook up again tonight, and yes, sleeping with the same woman two nights in a row would be a first for him, it didn’t mean anything. They hadn’t technically had sex last night, so maybe that was why. Maybe he was out buying condoms as they spoke.
One more glorious evening in Gabe’s bed and then they’d return to the way things were between them. Or as much as they could, after what they’d done together. She should be happy—Petra was right, sex, or almost sex, was good for one’s disposition—but she had a sneaking suspicion that sex with Gabe would be addictive. Gods above, she was probably going to start craving the man, and he would move on to the next conquest as quickly as he could.
Because that’s who he was. He wasn’t the settling-down type. And now that he had an heir, there was absolutely no reason for him to change his ways.
“Earth to Talia. Hello?”
Talia blinked rapidly. “Huh?”
“I said he’s a sorry excuse for a reeve. They never should have given it to him. The Elders selected him because they expected him to provide an heir, and what the hell has he done since? Other than ‘practice,’ I suppose.” Petra rolled her eyes so dramatically, Talia half expected her to fall backward off her chair.
“He has an heir,” she blurted, for some reason feeling the need to defend her reeve. She supposed it made sense; she was the man’s PR manager, after all.
Petra’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. Talia nodded her confirmation.
“Her name is Ruby. A—a mistake that happened about six years ago, right before he became reeve.”
“Are you serious? And he’s just now telling everyone? What a dick.”
“He didn’t know. Remember that call I took a couple days ago while we were having girls’ night, and then I took off without explanation?”
“Yeah. I ended up covering the entire bill, by the way—and you never told me what happened. I assumed it was something to do with Gabe.”
“The call was from Jasmine. Do you remember her?”
Petra frowned and nodded. “Another hot mess. The two of them would be perfect together.”
Talia leaned forward and sucked more alcohol into her system.
“Wait—Jasmine and Gabe?” Petra stared at her. “Seriously? Didn’t she leave the colony a few years back? Was it because of him?”
Talia thought back to the Jasmine she knew then and the woman she’d found, unconscious from a drug overdose, a few days ago. Seemed like three lifetimes had passed in those six years.
“No, I don’t think it was because of him. She…she had her own issues that had nothing to do with Gabe.”
“I remember. The two of you were so different. She was always acting out, getting into trouble, and you have always been down-to-earth, determined to ensure the colony was safe, secure, and prosperous. So where did she go? How did you find her after all this time?”
Talia grimaced. “She ended up in the Rojo colony.”
Petra’s eyes widened. “Aren’t they the ones who make that drug? What’s it called?”
“Dragon’s blood.”
“Yeah, that. And she ended up there—with Gabe’s kid?”
“The only reason I found her was because she called and asked me to come get Ruby.”
Petra shook her head and took another drink. “Wow. You really do go above and beyond, don’t you? You’re the perfect choice for the reeve’s PR manager.”
“I refuse to fail.”
“I know. Uncle Blake loved that about you. Not that he needed as much help as Gabe does.”
Talia shrugged. She didn’t want to argue with Petra anymore about whether Gabe was worthy of the position of reeve. The Elders had chosen him, and now they all had to live with that decision. And someday, the colony would be grateful for their choice. Talia would ensure it. She didn’t fail, remember?
“You and I started hanging out shortly after Blake hired me,” she commented.
“Yeah, my uncle Blake was a good man. Other than the whole dying without naming an heir part. So Gabe really has an heir, huh?”
Talia nodded. “He’s going to declare her at the next colony meeting.”
“So two weeks from now.”
“Yep.”
“Wonder what the colony will think.”
Talia shrugged. “Noah met her this morning. Didn’t even blink an eye over it.”
“He’s not a good example. He just does his own thing. I don’t think he cares if he’s even in a colony.”
“She’s starting school in a couple days, too. Ilsa met her and now knows that she is his heir. I suspect we’ll start seeing an influx of visitors at the house as word spreads.”
Talia placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. Sounded like it was time to get back to work managing Gabe’s image.
***
That evening, she and Gabe together tucked Ruby in for the night. He bundled the blanket up to her chin while Talia kissed her forehead, and then they slipped from the room. Even though Gabe had teased her earlier in the day about hooking up again tonight, she assumes nothing, so she turned and headed for her own bedroom.
He was hot on her heels. She glanced over her shoulder and said, “What are you doing?”
“Going to bed.”
“Your bedroom’s right there.”
“And yours is right here. This is actually kind of cool. Two different bedrooms. Adds a little spice, you know?”
Except this was probably their last night together. Talia didn’t appreciate the way her heart lurched—or the way her dragon growled her disapproval.
“Did you buy condoms?” she asked as she opened the door and stepped into the room.
He snapped his fingers. “Damn it. I forgot.”
Talia glanced at the staircase. “There’s a drugstore a couple miles away. I think they’re open until ten.”
“Or…” He sidled up to her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her back against his quite aroused body. Leaning down so that his lips were next to her ear, he whispered, “We could get creative again tonight.”
She clenched her thighs as warmth flooded her body. It was suddenly twenty degrees warmer in this room. They needed to shed some clothing, stat. She fanned her face with her hand.
“You seem warm,” he commented, releasing her so he could close the door. “Let me help you with that.” Grasping her dress, he dragged it over her head and tossed it to the floor, leaving her standing in the middle of the room, wearing a white silky bra and matching panties and blue sandals.
She could always grab some condoms tomorrow. Stopping this train right now wasn’t remotely tempting.
Gabe snaked his arms around her again, pulling her flush against his body, cupping her ass with one hand while the other tangled in her hair as he devoured her lips like it was a ninety-degree day and she was an ice cream cone he had to lick every creamy drop before it melted.
Her knees buc
kled and he swept her into his arms, moving to the bed and laying her on her back before covering her with his own body. All without breaking the kiss. Or taking off her shoes. When he finally released her lips and nibbled his way across her cheek to her ear, then along the column of her throat down to her chest, she murmured, “You are the greatest kisser I’ve ever experienced.”
He slipped his hands behind her back and deftly unclasped her bra, disposing of the garment before cupping both breasts and laving at each one in turn. “My goal is to be the greatest everything to you.”
“Oh.” She arched her back when he bit down on her nipple. “That’s pretty great too.” Her voice was breathy, choppy, with a faint edge of desperation.
Without pausing in his attention to her breasts, he adjusted his position so that he could hook his thumb into her panties and tug them down her legs. And then he abruptly rolled off her and onto his back by her side.
“Come here,” he said, tugging at her hip. “Sit on my face.”
“Sit…”
“On my face. Yes.”
She sat up, straddled his hips.
“Up here.” He pointed at his face. “I’ve been thinking about peach pie all day long. I want to eat you up.”
She giggled and shifted her position, crawling up his body. “Why have you been thinking about peach pie?”
“Because you smell like peaches. And you taste like heaven.”
Clutching her ass with both hands, he pulled her to him, until she was indeed sitting on his face, balanced on her knees, with her hands wrapped around the wrought iron headboard. The first lick was ass to clit, a long swipe that set her on fire and flooded his tongue with her arousal. Her muscles clenched, and she closed her eyes and threw back her head.
He licked again, swirling his tongue around her sensitive nub until she whimpered. Then he delved into her opening, fucking her with his tongue while she panted and rolled her hips, riding his face like it was his dick. He was right; non-sex was amazing.
Colorful lights exploded behind her eyes as the climax rolled over her, engulfing her. She was soaring without even shifting into dragon form, her body weightless, her limbs tingling while he slowed his tongue thrusts and his grip on her ass eased up, until she gently lifted herself off him and then lay on the bed next to him. Her heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird, her breath coming in short gasps.
He tugged his shirt over his head, used it to wipe his face, then tossed it to the floor before rolling onto his side and propping his head in his hand. “Liked that?” He trailed a finger in circles around her nipple.
She closed her eyes and nodded. She wasn’t sure she could speak just yet.
“Was it the greatest you’ve ever had?”
A laugh bubbled from her chest, and she opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Without a doubt. Although, to be fair, my experience isn’t nearly as expansive as yours.”
He touched his finger to her lips. “Glad to hear it.” And then he bent and kissed her. She could taste herself on his tongue. It didn’t taste like peaches, but was arousing nonetheless. Breaking the kiss, she pushed him onto his back and focused her attention on unsnapping and unzipping his shorts. He threaded his fingers behind his head and watched her progress.
Once she divested him of his boxers, she kicked off her shoes and positioned herself between his legs. His cock bobbed eagerly. Pressing her hands to the bed on either said of his hips, she leaned down and licked the dollop of pre-cum from the head. He hissed, his hands jerking forward to grasp her hair.
“Uh-uh,” she said, pushing them away. “Keep them up there. Hold onto the headboard.” Damn, it was fun bossing him around. Hot, too.
His eyes flared. She could practically see his dragon in them, fighting his natural instinct to be in control. But her dragon liked to be in charge, too, and she wasn’t about to relent at the moment. Baring his teeth, Gabe finally flung his arms back and grabbed the headboard, his hot gaze never leaving her face. She held it as she opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around him, sucking him in until the head bumped the back of her throat. When he threw his head back, groaned, and squeezed his eyes shut, she dropped her gaze and focused on giving him pleasure.
He managed to let her remain in control until that moment right before his orgasm, when his cock swelled even larger and the vein on the underside began to pulse. That’s when he released the wrought iron bar and bowed his body, grabbed her hair, and helped guide her as she bobbed over him, sucking him in and out as quickly as she could, until he gave a shout as hot, creamy spurts poured down her throat.
He collapsed against the sheets, his body slick with sweat, while she gently released him and licked her lips. “Come here,” he said, grabbing her and pulling her down on his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her like that for long moments, with his face buried in her hair.
It was oddly intimate. It was Gabe. It was supposed to be…what? Just non-sex? How had they gotten here anyway? For five years, they’d been business associates, and while he was certainly attractive, she had never considered acting on that feeling. And he sure as hell never looked at her in that way.
Until they flew together. And communicated telepathically. Whatever the hell was going on between them, they had some sort of connection that had triggered an attraction they hadn’t been able to resist. Although, to be fair, she hadn’t exactly tried. When Gabe approached her, her dragon had stood up and done a happy dance, and Talia had been too caught up in the moment to think clearly, rationally, like she usually did.
And now she was lying in bed with the man, who, by the way his chest was steadily rising and falling, had fallen asleep already. In her bed. Apparently spending the night. Which would be the second night they’d spent together.
In just three short days since she’d rescued Ruby from the Rojo dragons, Talia’s life had become almost wholly unrecognizable.
Chapter 10
The sky was gray when Gabe slipped out of Talia’s bed and headed to his own room. Not gray like storms were coming in, but that color it took on in the last moments before dawn broke, the sun bringing forth a new day.
He didn’t bother with a shower before pulling on a pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt. Then he headed to Ruby’s bedroom.
When he gently shook her shoulder, his daughter jerked into a seated position so quickly, Gabe took a few steps away from the bed. She looked around with wide eyes and whispered, “Mommy?”
Shit. His gut twisted like someone was wringing water out of a wet towel. He took a seat on the edge of her bed and patted her shoulder. “No, it’s just me, Ruby.”
She blinked rapidly, like she was coming out of a dream. Or a nightmare. “Oh.” She yawned and stretched and then rubbed her eyes.
“Are you okay? Bad dream?”
Ruby shrugged, far too adult-like in her dismissal of his questions. “Sometimes Mommy would wake me up in the middle of the night and say we had to be really quiet and leave wherever we were staying.”
His dragon roared and paced in his head, torn between comforting Ruby and flying off to go punish whoever the hell had forced her to live in such appalling conditions for the first five years of her life. Except those people were her parents—Gabe and a woman named Jasmine who he couldn’t even recall sleeping with.
“It’s still dark outside,” Ruby commented, and Gabe shook off his angry dragon. Today was not about beating himself up or digging deeper into Ruby’s past. Today was about making new memories.
“Yeah, I know, but this isn’t a bad thing, I promise. Come on, I have something I want to show you. Make sure you wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Then go brush your teeth and come downstairs to the kitchen.”
“What are we doing?” she asked, even as she climbed out of bed and headed to her dresser.
“I’m going to show you something I’ve never shared with anyone else before.” He winked, and then stepped out of the room so she could get dressed.
Noah wasn’t ther
e yet, of course, so Gabe quickly fried up a couple of eggs and made two sandwiches. When Ruby hurried into the room a few minutes later, wearing a T-shirt and shorts much like his own outfit, he handed one of them to her and then snagged two bottles of water from the fridge.
“Let’s go.” He led her out the back door.
They ate their breakfast while they walked across the dewy grass, heading toward the forest on the other side of the lake. “It’s going to be darker in here,” he said as they stepped into the tree line, “but there’s nothing to be afraid of, okay?”
She nodded and then slipped her hand into his. He gave it a reassuring squeeze while mentally eye rolling at the way his chest tightened.
They followed a well-worn trail, ferns brushing at their ankles, until they came to a clearing that was as large as a football field. Gabe pressed a finger to his lips and then guided Ruby off the path and into the cover of the trees. They skirted the clearing until they came to a building, where he knew a bunch of training equipment was stored.
He also knew how to climb onto the roof of the structure, and he knew if one hid in the shadows of the chimney, they couldn’t be seen from the air or ground. Leading Ruby around behind the building, he paused and glanced down at her.
“This is going to be our little secret, okay? You can’t even tell Talia.”
Talia would throttle him if she knew he was about to take Ruby onto that roof. But hey, he was supervising her. That had to count for something, right?
Ruby nodded her head firmly just as Gabe heard a snatch of conversation. The first group of dragons were heading their way.
“We need to hurry. I don’t want them to see us. I’m going to shift and I want you to climb onto my back, okay?”
She nodded again, her eyes shining with anticipation.
“We’re just flying up to the roof and then you need to slide off my back—carefully—and I’m going to shift to human form. Got it?”
“Got it,” she repeated.
He summoned the magic, his beast acting more like an eager puppy, bouncing around until Gabe pointed out that he needed to stand still so Ruby could climb up over his wing and they could get onto the roof before the other dragons reached the clearing. Finally, the beast dropped his wings to the ground and lowered his head, and Ruby didn’t even hesitate to scramble into place, straddling his scaly neck and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.