by Willa Hart
Every.
Inch.
I’d had a rough day — hell, a rough couple of weeks — and I deserved to get whatever I wanted. If that happened to bring mind-blowing pleasure to Danic, all the better.
I made quick work of his belt and zipper, shuffling backward off the bed so I could tug his pants from his legs. Damn boots got in the way, which took a little more time, thanks to double-knots in his laces, but success was eventually and inevitably mine. I stopped and stared in wonder at the magnificent beast before me.
He lay on the bed watching me, the only piece of clothing on him the unbuttoned and wide-open shirt. For some reason I couldn’t explain, the sight almost brought me to the edge of climax. His thick cock throbbed when my gaze landed on it, sending spurts of saliva pooling in my mouth. When he moved to sit up, I held up a single finger — a silent command to not move a muscle. To my surprise, he complied.
I wanted to dominate him. Not in a kinky S&M way — though I wouldn’t mind exploring that possibility some other time — but to show him he didn’t always need to be a man of action. That relinquishing control could sometimes be really fun, especially with someone you trusted.
I slowly slid my hands down the front of my body until I could grasp the hem of my t-shirt. Swaying gently from side to side, I pulled it up my abdomen, pausing for effect, then revealing my bra and finally over my head and into the corner of the room. His cock jerked with appreciation as his glowing eyes never wavered from me.
Turning around, I peeked at him over my shoulder and gave him what I hoped would be a seductive smile. From the way his nostrils flared, I was successful. Then I bent over at the waist, legs spread, so I could untie my own shoes. And I didn’t hurry. Instead, I shifted my hips this way and that, giving him a full view as I tended to my feet.
Once the shoes joined the shirt, I unzipped my jeans and hooked my thumbs into the waistband, easing them down my hips until a cool breeze whispered across the heated skin of my lower back. I glanced back at him again to make sure he was still enjoying my striptease.
He was.
Undulating my hips again, I shimmied out of my pants until they were pooled around my feet, leaving me in only my bra and panties. This time, his breath hitched in his chest and I swore I heard an animalistic growl.
Finally, I turned to face him, a blush creeping up my cheeks. This kind of display was so not me, but it felt completely natural with Danic. I only felt awkward in that moment because I thought I should. Brushing away the nonsense, a new confidence washed over me. I could do anything to or with him, and he wouldn’t object.
Pressing one knee in between his legs, I bent low over him, my hair tickling the skin of his abdomen as I kissed and licked and nibbled my way south of the border. His entire body vibrated with tension, so I thought it would be nice to help him out in that department.
As I sat face-to-dick with his equipment, I couldn’t get over its majesty. I reached for it, marveling at how my fingers didn’t even meet when I gripped him. His head fell back, and he moaned loudly, waiting for what was to come. Namely, him.
I stroked him gently, marveling at the softness of his flesh, while what lay underneath was as unyielding as a steel rod. Leaning forward, I let my tongue travel a long, slow path from the base to the tip, teasing him. His hands reached out to cradle my head, but one sharp look from me had them right back at his sides.
Good boy.
He deserved a reward, so I spread my lips around the head, letting my accumulated saliva lubricate his shaft as I took him deeper and deeper until I felt him press against the back of my throat.
“Mmmmm,” I moaned, drawing a gasp of pleasure from him.
That was interesting. I tried moaning again, and once more the vibrations caused his body to jerk in response. Moving up and down slowly at first, I used my right hand to help as my left kept me balanced over him. He tasted a little like the spicy mocha I loved, and I wanted to taste more of him. All of him. I moved faster and faster, taking him a little farther into my mouth each time, as my hand stroked his shaft and balls. With each stroke, he grew a little harder, a little more tense.
Suddenly, strong hands pulled me up the length of his body and he clamped his mouth onto mine. No soft gentle precursor kisses for Danic. He went rogue, as he always did. Our tongues battled for dominance, our hands roaming freely, our eyes never breaking contact. One short, hard tug and my panties lay in shredded splendor on the floor, sweet pain from the friction nearly sending me over the edge. His fingers made quick work of my bra, then he flipped me onto my back.
Oh god, he was going to return the favor, which was fine by me. His hands singed my flesh as if a great fire lived in them, leaving trails of red skin behind. Instead of burning, it warmed me, primed me, made me want him all that much more. My own heat built inside me, low and deep in my belly. When his lips claimed me, I arched into his mouth, desperate for all he could give. His tongue became aggressive, almost violent, but in the most pleasurable way. Then his thick fingers joined the party downstairs.
The first made me moan.
The second made me gasp.
The third made me explode.
Supernovas went off behind my eyelids as he did incredible things to me, inside and out. I thrashed and arched and dug my nails into his shoulders as wave after wave of bliss rolled over me. He never let up, never slowed, never gave me quarter to recuperate, and before I knew what was happening, another wave bowled me over, until I lay a quivering mess under him.
Being a man of action, Danic didn’t hesitate to flip me over onto my stomach. In contrast to his attack moments before, his hands skimmed my flesh gently, softly, as if he was memorizing every inch of my body. The warmth from his hands soothed me, until they reached my ass. The cool air on the wetness between my thighs, coupled with his intoxicating heat brought another groan of need tearing from my throat.
Even though I’d come twice, I wasn’t done, and he knew it. With the patience of an eternal being, he dipped his fingers in me again, priming me, stretching me enough that I could accept his girth without pain. I didn’t argue, I simply buried my face in my comforter and lifted my hips to give him better access.
His growl sent chills skittering across my body, all the way to the point where his fingers plunged into me and I clenched against him. Apparently, that was too much for him, because he pulled free, grabbed my hips and lifted me to my hands and knees. God, yes, about time, I wanted to shout, but my mouth couldn’t form the words. Any words. I wanted him more than I wanted the ability to speak.
Pressing against my entrance, Danic moved slowly, cautiously, testing to make sure he wouldn’t hurt me. Each inch he eased into me was pure delight and agony at the same moment. Not pain, but torture of need, though I didn’t make a move to impale myself on him like I wanted. I wanted this teasing.
Inch after inch, he sank into me until his hips pressed against the back of my thighs, fully seated and quivering. Electricity vibrated through my body, causing my arms and legs to shake uncontrollably as we both held back. Then, with an animalistic snarl, he pulled out and plunged deep, over and over, filling me, stretching me, fucking me.
His hands slid up my back, then reached for my breasts as they bobbed from his furious pounding, his fingers pinching my nipples in unison and almost bringing me to climax again. But I fought the instinct because I wanted this one to last until he was ready too. I wanted to clamp my inner walls around him at the same moment he orgasmed so I could squeeze every ounce of love from him.
Without warning, he pulled me upright, spun me around and pulled me close so I could straddle him. Before I could pick up where I left off, he took my face in his hands and stared at me for a long moment, then bent low to take my lips in the most gentle kiss I could imagine. Not a rough, id-based kiss, but one from the heart, showing me what I meant to him and how much he cared. Snaking my arms around his neck, I showed him the same.
Rocking my hips slowly against his length, I pulled
him back inside me. Each thrust, every movement hit me in exactly the right place. I moved faster and faster as his hands held my ass for support. His fingers gripped tighter, and strange sounds rumbled up from deep inside him, until he clamped my body to his as we rocked in unison.
“Favor,” he murmured into my hair as his entire body tensed around me. My body was a taut wire, and suddenly, I was spilling over the edge. Danic felt the pulsing deep within me, and he let go of his restraint. For the first time, he lost control, rocking into me with abandon, holding me tight as he drove himself headlong into our shared orgasm. When we came, it felt as if Danic had thrust us into that twilight between dreaming and waking, and everything was warmth and bliss for what felt like an eternity.
We collapsed into a pile of sweaty limbs and slick bits, neither of us capable of not touching the other. He pulled a sheet over our bodies, then snuggled in behind me, spooning me with his still-hard cock pressed against my ass. How the hell was a girl supposed to sleep with that going on? I wiggled my hips a little so he could feel my renewed desire for him, but he simply chuckled and kissed my shoulder.
“Later, my love,” he purred in my ear. “Right now, you need some sleep and I need to reload.”
Even as the horny part of me pouted, the exhausted part of me was relieved at his common sense. As soon as the words were spoken, it gave my body permission to shut down. I was safe in my lover’s arms, safe enough to sleep for a century. Which is exactly what I intended to do.
Chapter Thirteen
I bounce up and down in my booster seat, the tips of my toes just barely grazing the back of the passenger seat where Mommy is sitting. I know I’m not supposed to. Mommy and Daddy tell me all the time I need to sit still when we’re in the car, but sometimes I just feel so happy I can’t hold it in anymore.
My parents are holding hands across the armrest between them as we drive into a lovely Oregon sunset. They’re talking about taking me hiking in the woods next weekend because the weather has been really nice. Mommy complains about how hot it’s been, but Daddy and I like it that way. Maybe they’ll take me to the river too, if I say pretty please and bat my eyelashes. Life is exciting, and every day it only seems to get better.
A little voice whispers inside my head that this isn’t real, it’s just a pretty dream I’ve had a thousand times before, but I don’t listen. I think about starting kindergarten tomorrow, I think about how I’m not supposed to kick the back of Mommy’s seat, I think about how Daddy calls me Short Stuff. But that little voice keeps whispering.
It says the dream will always end the same way. It says it doesn’t matter that my parents are so close I could almost touch them. It says their fate has already been cast in stone, and that only the passage of time can erode what has already been carved in the rock of the past, but even then, only the edges will grow fuzzy. The past can never be undone. The voice tells me to enjoy these few moments with my parents as they talk about things we will never get to do together, because in a few minutes, everything will change and I will never see them again.
I don’t really understand what the voice is talking about. I’m here, Mommy’s right in front of me, and Daddy is driving. The voice is making me feel not-happy, so I look out the window at the trees whizzing past. Oregon is really pretty, with all the tall trees and big birds soaring into the endless sky.
It’s getting really dark now. All the yellows and oranges and pinks of the sunset have been chased away by pale blues and medium blues and dark blues. I blink in surprise when a dark shadow moves across the sky. Something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. When I glance to the left, I forget to breathe. A very large, very round, very yellow eyeball with a thin black slit running down the middle is looking inside the car. It’s almost the size of the window itself, and it’s staring directly at me!
My little heart beats really fast because I know that yellow eyeball belongs to someone very mean. Someone who hurt my parents, even though they seem perfectly fine. I hate that yellow eye, so I squinch my eyes really tight, hoping it will be gone when I open them.
“Hope springs eternal,” says the little voice, whatever that means. I peek open one eye, then both fly wide.
The eyeball is still there, but it’s no longer that evil yellow color. It’s orange now, the color of a sunset, and it makes me so happy my chest swells up with love for it. The voice tries to remind me that it’s Uncle Max, and that this dream was altered when I went to live with him. A reminder that even though I might have lost my parents to the yellow-eyed beast, I’ve found a new home, a new family. I’m at peace with Max and Shirley, who love me like their own child.
I still don’t understand the silliness the voice is saying, so I ignore it and wave at the eyeball. I know him. He’s my friend. He loves me and protects me. He’s keeping me safe as he flies next to our car. I look back and smile at the eyeball, but it’s different now. As it grows paler and paler, my heart beats faster and faster.
The huge eye blinks, and just like that, it’s yellow again. The voice whispers that this isn’t the way this dream is supposed to end, not anymore. Not since Max and Shirley took me in. I’m supposed to wake up now, happy that my life is finally on track. “Wake up, Favor,” the voice says, but I don’t know how.
WAKE UP!
I close my eyes again, praying that when I open them, Uncle Max will be looking back at me. He isn’t. That great, unblinking reptilian eye stares back at me, mocking me. Warning me. Panic floods my brain. Adrenaline shoots into my system, revealing the truth. The true identity of the dragon who murdered my parents is laid bare now. He’s my enemy, and the voice merges with my own mind as it whispers his name.
Titus.
The rogue Romanian dragon who once served the dark mage Uncle Max killed to save all of dragonkind. He’s back, infiltrating my dreams to reclaim the true story of my family’s demise. My chest aches with the weight of the knowledge and bile rises in my throat. I open my mouth to scream, to warn my parents or maybe to wake myself, but my lungs become clogged with smoke and ash.
I’m choking.
Choking on the harsh reality, the pain, the threat that’s boiling up from the bowels of hell like a demon sent to taunt me. That demon is Titus, and he’s here to prove to me he’s still as powerful and deadly as he was when he killed my parents. And this time, he has no intention of letting me slip away.
This is all really confusing. I’m no longer five-year-old Favor, whose greatest worries in life were which Bratz dolls to take on road trips. I’m older now, and I can’t understand how Titus has risen from the dead. Uncle Max himself assured me that the rogue had been neutralized, but he’s wrong. I know the truth now, and it’s still staring at me in the back seat. I strain against the seatbelt, struggling to free myself and get away by whatever means necessary. Nothing I do eases the tension on the belt. I’m trapped.
Titus opens his hideous maw in a terrifying grin, and I shut my eyes so I don’t have to see my fate. In a moment, heat will pour into the back seat, Mommy will turn around and start screaming, and the screaming will grow so loud it will feel like someone’s stabbing my brain. Then they will die. Again.
But that doesn’t happen. Nothing happens.
I peek open one eye to find…nothing. No car, no forest, no Titus.
I’m falling through space and time until I hit land and my ankles turn out from under me. Pain shoots up my legs and I cry out as my knees buckle. Before I can crumple to the ground, five pairs of strong, muscular arms shoot out of the dark expanse to catch me. The pain evaporates and I look around the void to thank my saviors, but I can only see darkness.
This place, if it is a place, resembles nothing I’ve ever seen before. Complete darkness, profound silence. Total sensory deprivation. The only thing that penetrates the muffled quiet is my heavy breathing and the sound of my heart beating a steady rhythm. I’m alone, yet…not.
Out of the gloaming step five shadows, surrounding me. Kellum, Ryen, Danic, Ash
and Hale. I know them. They smile at me, standing strong and proud, a faint glow surrounding them and illuminating their features. Kellum and Danic glow a little brighter than the rest.
My boys.
It hardly seems possible my heart can feel so full, but it does. And I know there’s more love to come, and that makes me as happy as when five-year-old Favor thought about ice cream. In other words, ecstatic. The cold that had seeped into my bones from seeing Titus fades and a sense of peace fills all the cracks in my soul. I’m safe again. Titus can’t find me here. And even if he did, my boys — my dragons — who stand before me in a makeshift battalion will protect me. They’re my bodyguards but also so much more. It’s no accident we found each other in the blackness. Out of all the nooks and crannies and crevices in the universe, we somehow ended up in the same warm pocket together. It was fate.
Destiny delivered me to this blank space, just as it delivered me to Max and Shirley. It played us like puppets, dancing us ever closer to one another. Their presence comforts me, even in the face of pure chaos and terror, even in a deep, dark place filled with danger and mortal fear. What we have is perfection. And it’s real. It supersedes jealousy and possession. The standard norms for human relationships simply don’t apply to us. We’re more than that. We’re stronger together. We’re a perfect family portrait, with me at the center.
I smile and stretch my arms out to one, then the next and the next, unsure who to go to first. They return my smile and reach out to me. I spin a slow circle, trying to choose, but I can’t. Something catches my eye and I look to my left. Ash’s glow flickers. The others don’t seem to notice, but I do. As he fades, I rush toward him, desperate to reach him, as if I could anchor him to the spot if I made it in time. But my feet are lead weights wading through thick mud. He blinks out of sight, the space he inhabited once again a blank void.