Dragon Prince

by Charlene Hartnady

  She nodded once.

  “You might need to call it off. Is that going to be a problem?”

  Her eyes took on a worried look. “Yes, it would be. I need to get to work. We’re so close to a breakthrough. My research …” She pursed her lips. “I won’t bore you with all the details but I need to be there. It doesn’t matter that it’s Sunday.”

  “I’ll go easy on you then.” He couldn’t help but grin.

  "You'll go easy?" Her eyes widened.

  Tide brushed his lips against hers. “Nothing to worry about. Tell me more about your work. Why did you choose,” he had to think about what it was that she did, “genetics?”

  “I guess I’m a geek. I always wondered why one person had brown hair and another blond. You’re a shifter right?” She moved onto her stomach, lifting herself onto her elbows. Tide had to work to keep his eyes on her face instead of gaping at her breasts. They were full, her nipples dark like ripe cherries. Despite his recent orgasm, his dick twitched. He wanted her under him. Slow down, Tide! The human needed to catch her breath. Especially if she was going to need her faculties come morning.

  “That’s right, I’m a shifter,” he quickly answered, realizing she was waiting.

  “Exactly, your genetics make you who you are. They give you your better sense of smell. They allow you the ability to shift into your wolf form. I’m sure if I were to take your blood and explore your genetic footprint, I would find canine DNA mixed in with your human DNA. You see, I find it all quite fascinating.”

  Tide nodded. There would be no canine DNA, but she didn’t need to know that. He worked at keeping his facial expression neutral. Fuck. He hated lying. There was nothing he could do about it though.

  “Having said all of that,” she looked thoughtful for a few seconds, “there is more to it. My sister has asthma and she nearly died as a kid.”

  He frowned. “Excuse my ignorance. Shifters don’t have human illnesses. What is asthma?”

  She smiled and pulled a face. “The short answer, and in layman’s terms, it’s a chronic disease that inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs. It causes wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. There are many causes, like pollen, dust mites or even a bit of exercise can trigger an attack.”

  Tide nodded. “Sounds terrible.”

  “It is. Asthma affects an estimated three hundred million people worldwide, with a quarter of a million deaths attributed to the illness thus far. My aunt is also a sufferer and my sister’s little boy has the illness as well.” She shook her head, her eyes turning up in thought. “I can still remember that day like it happened yesterday. It was Saturday morning, we were playing ball out front and my little sis started breathing funny. It was nothing new. She got regular attacks. We went inside and she rustled up her pump but it didn’t work. Her spare pump wasn’t in the drawer where it usually was. Our mom had just stepped out to go to the store and left us alone. I was thirteen and Carly was eleven, so we weren’t babies anymore. Anyway, the attack was bad and Carly deteriorated quickly. Her lungs literally closed right before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it.” She clenched her hand tightly as she talked about her sister’s lungs closing. “I called an ambulance but she was barely breathing by the time they got there. Her lips were blue. I’ll never forget the petrified look on her face while I held her hand and prayed for the emergency services to get there. I kept telling her over and over that she was going to be just fine, but I was completely helpless.” She exhaled loudly. “I decided back then that I wanted to help people like Carly, my aunt and nephew … It’s also why finding a cure for asthma is so important to me. I believe it needs to happen at base level, with the building blocks of our bodies, with our genes, but …” She widened her eyes. “I’ll stop there. Once I start talking nucleotides you’re done for. Your ears will bleed.” She smiled. There were still a couple of grease marks on her face. It wasn’t as bad as earlier though. Very cute and very sweet. He enjoyed listening to her talk. Enjoyed the passion he could see reflecting in her eyes.

  “No, I’m finding it very interesting,” he said. “My ears feel fine.”

  She looked down at the comforter for a few seconds before locking eyes with him once again. “You’re just being nice.” Her cheeks flushed red.

  “No really, we non-humans suffer from an … allergy,” he used her word, “to silver. It greatly affects us and can kill us. I understand how you would want to help your family and other sufferers. We feel the same.” He was saying too much. Needed to keep his trap shut.

  “Yeah, I had heard something about that.”

  “What have you heard?” He narrowed his eyes, his voice turned serious. Shit!

  She frowned, her eyes darting to the side and back to his face. “Just that it’s your one weakness, your kryptonite.” She shrugged.

  For a moment he thought she was talking specifically about dragons and the research they were doing on their affliction but that was crazy thinking. He smiled, trying to defuse the situation. “Exactly. So you see, I get it. You do need time off though, or do you make a habit of working seven days a week?”

  She sighed. “You said it earlier, we do what we have to do. Funds are limited. I’m always trying to raise money for research, but at the same time, I need to show some actual results. It’s a fine line between obtaining the funding and actually doing sufficient research to keep the investors happy. Thing is, fund-raising can be time-consuming.” She stopped talking, clapped her mouth shut for a moment. “There I go again, off on a tangent.”

  Tide laughed. “I told you that I’m enjoying our conversation. I swear.”

  She smiled back. “You’re just being nice. So, what brings you into town? You guys live out in the mountains somewhere don’t you?”

  He nodded and made a sound of affirmation. Shit! What should he tell her? That he was here on a convention? That didn’t seem right. “Sex,” he blurted. There’d been enough lying for one night.

  She choked out a laugh. “Are you serious?”

  Tide shrugged. He’d stick as close to the truth as he could. “Yes. We don’t have many female shifters. In fact, there are just a handful of unmated females where I come from. I’m a male in my prime and well …” He widened his eyes.

  “You have needs.”

  “Exactly. So, I blow into town on occasion to … take care of them.”

  She was grinning. “You come into town specifically to have sex?”

  Tide nodded. “Sad, but true.”

  “And you ended up with me.” Her eyes clouded. “You didn’t have to come back to my place, you know?”

  “I know that. I wanted to or I wouldn’t be here. You’re,” he grabbed a handful of her ass, “delectable.” It came out as a deep rumble.

  Meghan didn’t look convinced. “I’m sure that I’m nothing like the other women you hang out with.”

  “You’re right, you’re nothing like them.”

  Her eyes clouded even more and she folded her arms to cover her chest.

  “You’re better.” He rubbed his hand over her back. “So much more real. There’s no pretense. You don’t try too hard and yet you’re fucking sexy. So damned lush.”

  “Lush? Really? Lush is another word for chubby.” The glint was back in her eyes, but there was also a vulnerability.

  “Lush is another word for curvy and you are plenty curvy.” He let his gaze track her ample side-boob and then down to her plump ass and thighs. He wished he could get an eyeful of the rest of her but she was still lying on her stomach. “Shifters love the hell out of curves. Something to hold onto. Besides, there should be plenty of bouncing during a hard rutting.”

  He could scent her arousal. “I have no problem with my curves. I’ve always just found that guys like you—”

  “Woah! What do you mean guys like me?”

  “Sorry! That didn’t come out right.” She sighed. “You’re good-looking ‒ seriously gorgeous. Guys like you don’t normally look at girls l

ike me.”

  “Human males are blind then. You’re really beautiful.” He ran a thumb down the side of her cheek. “Grease smudges and all.”

  “You should have let me shower first. It’s your own fault.”

  “I’m not complaining. You need to stop being so hard on yourself.”

  “I have plenty of great attributes, my eyes, my smile and I have a higher than average IQ. Look, like I said, I don’t have a problem with my curves, although I wouldn’t mind if my boobs were a tad smaller, they—”

  “Bullshit!” he all but snarled. “You have amazing breasts. Don’t ever say anything like that again.”

  She laughed. “Finding bras in my size is not always easy and,” she turned to the side, looking around them for a few seconds before lifting a bra up, “look at this. When I do find one, it’s plain and boring. It’s like manufacturers expect large breasted women not to want to feel sexy.” It was very plain and an off-white color. Now that he looked at it, he had to agree that it wasn’t very flattering. He knew that some of the human coverings were lacy and silky. They came in many colors. It didn’t matter though.

  “You don’t need a bra.” He tugged it out of her hand and threw it to the other side of the room. “You’re perfect just like that.”

  Meghan laughed. “Trust me, I do need a bra. I can’t leave the house without one. Might start an earthquake.”

  “Yeah, from all the males who would be clambering behind you to catch a glimpse of your amazing rack.”

  She rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't do any of them any good. I'm too busy for a relationship. My ex-boyfriend ended up breaking up with me via email because I kept canceling our plans." She looked shocked at her own admission and then shrugged it off. "It took me three days to finally getting around to reading it."

  “What a dick!”

  “No, he really did try hard to see me in person to do it. It wasn’t his fault. I really should have made more time for him.” She looked thoughtful for a few seconds. “It’s why he broke up with me in the end. We hardly ever saw one another.”

  “So you weren’t that into him then?”

  “We’d been dating for eight months and it was going well.” She pulled a face. “Except for not seeing each other enough.”

  “I think if you really want to be with someone, you’ll make the time. You didn’t make the time to be with him.”

  He could see her mulling it over. “You’re probably right. So, those women shifters … are none of them your type then? Why is a guy like you still single?”

  “A guy like me?” He raised his brows. “There you go again.”

  Her cheeks flushed. “Sorry! I really didn’t mean it like that. It’s just … I’m sure you would have no trouble attracting the opposite sex, no matter how limited they are. That’s what I meant.”

  He shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

  “Not really.” She shook her head. “Boy meets girl, boy likes girl. Boy spends time with girl and they end up together. See, easy.”

  “It doesn’t work like that with our kind. The unmated shifter females enjoy being single. There are so few of them that they have their pick of the males.”

  “What about human women? I had read an article about how compatible shifters and humans are. That there have been shifter/human pairings. How does it work then?” Her eyes were filled with sweet innocence.

  “You’re right, shifters and humans are compatible, but …” He couldn’t exactly tell her about the hunt, now could he? Not when she was talking about regular shifters and not dragons. “As I said, it’s complicated. Now,” he lifted her, Meghan squealed as he slid her on top of him, “it’s time for round number two. Straddle me.”

  She did as he said. Meghan squealed again as he flipped her over so that she was under him. She was so damned soft. “Put your legs over my shoulders.”

  “W-what?” She swallowed thickly. “I’m not sure I can get them up there.”

  Tide chuckled. “Of course you can.”

  She pulled her legs higher up his body. Tide hooked his arms around her thighs until her legs were indeed, over his shoulders. “Oh my god, I’m a pretzel,” she moaned. “Whatever you do, don’t hurt me. You’re a really big guy.” Her eyes were wide.

  Tide nuzzled into her neck. His cock was hard and throbbing. All he wanted was to sink into her heat. “Hurt you? No way. I’m going to do the exact opposite.”

  “Are you really going to make me come again? That would make three times. I don’t think I’ve ever come three times in one night.”

  He grabbed his wallet and pulled out another condom, ripping it open and sheathing himself with it. “No, sweet Meghan.” He swiped a wisp of hair from her forehead. “Not three times.” He shook his head once.

  Tide slid his hand between their bodies and began rubbing on her clit, using a slow easy motion. Her eyes widened and her breath came quicker. “That’s okay,” her voice sounded strained, “I wouldn’t mind if it doesn’t happen again, I—”

  Tide chuckled. “I’m going to make you come more than just three times.” He put his cock at her opening. Still slippery. He was in for another treat.

  “Oh,” she moaned as he began to ease into her. “Okay.” Meghan was panting, her eyes on his. She clenched her jaw and he found himself doing the same. She felt so damned good.

  “It’s going to be more than just okay.” It was his turn to grunt as his hips hit her ass. She was so damned snug. She felt amazing. So damned good. He undulated his hips, circling into her. Fuck! Oh so …

  Her legs tightened around his shoulders and her pussy clamped tight. Meghan’s jaw was slack, her eyes wide. She groaned deeply, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Her sex spasmed hard and he had to work not to come with her. Oops! Maybe he’d gotten a bit carried away rubbing on her clit. Oh well! He’d just have to bring her there again. The night was but a whelp.

  “You good?” he asked as her hold on him eased. His skin felt taut. His teeth threatened to erupt.

  Meghan was panting so hard that she couldn’t string any words together. She nodded. He eased right off of her clit, moving to his knees. Her legs were still over his shoulders. “I can’t,” she groaned.

  Tide chuckled as he gently thrust into her welcoming flesh. “Oh, but you will.” He’d have to prove her wrong. This female was one of the most receptive he had ever encountered. She was utterly spectacular.

  Chapter 4

  Meghan cracked opened her eyelids. First the one and then the other. It took her a few seconds to focus on the white ceiling above her bed. Even though the ceiling fan was one she had looked at many times, it still took her another moment or two to realize where she was. In bed. Her bed. The room was flooded with light. That’s why everything looked so different. She never slept in. Not ever. She was too busy for such luxuries. Why was she still at home? Why hadn’t her alarm gone off?

  Meghan sat upright, moving too quickly. She groaned, wincing as the sheet pooled around her hips. Her muscles hurt. Her … girl parts … hurt. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant pain. It was the kind of pain that told a woman she’d had one hell of a good night. With a soft gasp, she turned her head to the other side of the bed. Empty. The sheets were rumpled, the pillow dented but of the shifter there was no sign.

  There was a big black smear on the edge of the sheet. When she looked closer, there were more of such smears on the comforter. Grease. From her car. Images of Tide flowed through her mind. Images of the two of them. Of him. How his jaw tightened and his eyes grew stern just as he was about to come. How he’d grunted when he was inside of her. All the compliments he’d paid her. How sexy he’d made her feel. They’d had sex, a ton of times. No wonder she was tender. She tried to hold back a grin and failed. It had been good. Better than good.

  Bright light.

  Late.

  She was late. Shit! She scrambled from the bed, her legs giving out. She landed on her ass. Her head felt fuzzy from lack of sleep and her body felt slow and used up. Meghan laughed, despite being late. He’d really worked her over, and this had been him going easy. Another laugh bubbled inside her but she stifled it with her hand. Maybe he was still there. She didn’t want him to hear her laughing like a mad woman. He’d think she was a loon, laughing to herself after falling on her ass. Her heart beat faster at the prospect of him still being in her house. Maybe they could have breakfast together before he left. No! She needed to get to work. There was no sign of his jeans or shoes. Maybe he had already left. She didn’t like the idea. For whatever reason she wanted to spend a bit more time with him. She had enjoyed their conversations as much as she had the sex.

  Meghan sucked in a couple of deep breaths and carefully rose to her feet. Her legs shook. Her throat felt raw. There was a tenderness between her legs. Her arms felt like she’d been lifting weights. She walked over to the closet and carefully pulled a robe over her shoulders, fastening the tie. Then she slowly made her way to the living room. There was no sign of him. “Tide?” She felt stupid calling his name.

  Meghan walked into the kitchen. And peered through the window. His car was gone. Tide was gone. She clenched her teeth. He’d come into town for sex. Now that he had what he wanted, he was gone.

  Typical.

  What an asshole.

  The least he could’ve done was said goodbye to her. Meghan huffed out a breath. She was being silly. He hadn’t promised her anything. No, that wasn’t true. He’d promised her a night filled with orgasms. He’d promised to make her feel good and he’d delivered in spades. She couldn’t blame her own loneliness on him. Tide had been nothing but helpful and sweet. If only he wasn’t just passing through. She might be tempted to make time for a guy like him and it wasn’t just that he was gorgeous or the size of his member. It was him.

  Then she spotted his shirt. The one with the grease stain. It was still slung over the chair where she’d left it to soak last night. She picked up the garment and inhaled. It still carried his scent. Woodsy, masculine, clean.

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